Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Keri

Burrito’s recovery continues today

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Burrito continues to recover from a dental procedure he had this past Friday. He was reunited with the ladies yesterday and this morning he greeted caregivers and staff with foot stomps and head nods and initiated a few rounds of chase. He’s not quite at full speed yet, but as the hours tick away, he’s recovering more and more.

Love and attention from a good friend like Foxie sure seems to help the process. Foxie spent a good part of this morning grooming Burrito, while he sat relaxing on the deck in the Greenhouse. And all of that relaxation allowed for him to spend quite a bit of time foraging for lunch on Young’s Hill, longer than any of the other chimps in fact. Perhaps it was the roasted sweet potatoes and apples that kept him on the hill for so long.

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Nests

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Each day we give out at least 60 blankets for these chimpanzees to use as nesting material. It’s not uncommon for some of the chimps to use over 20 of these blankets and sometimes even 30 for a single nest (Negra)! However, nests are not limited to just blankets. Often times paper, bamboo and other plant material brought in from Young’s Hill, straw, a variety of clothing, stuffed animals and even some of the fire hoses in the various enclosures will be incorporated into these nests as well.

In the wild, individual chimpanzees construct a nest each evening to sleep in. Nests can also be made during the day as a place to rest. Youngsters that are not yet weaned will share a nest with their mother, from whom they learn to build their own nests. Most often, nests are made in trees by bending and lacing together branches from one or more trees. Leaves are then used to line the nest, perhaps to add comfort, provide insulation in cooler temperatures and protect from insects.

In the following photos Katelyn took yesterday, Jody demonstrated that a comfortable nest can be made with fresh straw to get the same effect as a blanket nest here at the sanctuary. Of course, the key to any nest is the testing phase, which Jody seems to have perfected in the last photo.

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Foraging Strategies

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There was quite a bit of excitement around today’s forage on Young’s Hill. I mean, who wouldn’t be excited about raw kale, tomatoes, lemon wedges, carrots and primate chow? Once they saw what was on the menu, all seven chimpanzees headed out to the Greenhouse and anxiously awaited for us to open the door to give them access to the hill. As soon as I opened the door, Jamie lead the way. But, it was Foxie who stayed out the longest.

There seems to be a variety of strategies these chimps use to forage, as you will see in the photos below. Some of the chimps will eat the food items as they find them, while others seem to prefer to gather as much as they can before heading back to the Greenhouse to feast. Take Jody, for instance. Today she gathered so much food in her mouth and both of her hands that she has to walk upright (bipedally) in order to hold onto everything as she made her way back to the Greenhouse. And Missy went for the food items that were up high (on top of the various structures). And then there is Foxie, who took her time eating each piece of food as she found it.

Annie
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Burrito
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Foxie
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Jamie’s strategy was to put all her lemon wedges in her mouth in order to keep her hands free.
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Jody
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Look at her cheeks; they are completely full!
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Missy
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Negra
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Christmas in July

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The day after a big party can sometimes be pretty mellow as the chimpanzees “recover” from all the excitement that comes with celebrating a birthday or holiday. But, thanks to Jeani Goodrich (who sponsored today in honor of her family) and her friend Tora, today was filled with more excitement as the chimps celebrated “Christmas in July.”

Celebrating Christmas in July is similar to celebrating Christmas in December. Stockings were hung, presents were wrapped and a lot of red and green streamers, decorations and blankets were spread throughout the enclosures. We also made sure to include foods that kept with the red and green holiday colors. Green onions, tomatoes, red peppers, brussel sprouts, kale and radishes were spread out in the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill for the chimps to forage at lunch.

The party setup in the Greenhouse just before the chimps entered.
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Annie went straight for the presents before taking her cup of ice out to Young’s Hill to forage for more food.
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Burrito doing what he does best…eating.
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Foxie enjoyed her cup of ice (a good substitute for egg nog when it’s 90 degrees outside).
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Jamie took her cup of ice to the windowsill.
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Jody, wearing her festive sock, searched through the various Christmas enrichment items.
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Missy searched through most of the Christmas stockings.
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Negra dined on peppers, tomatoes and green onions before grabbing her cup of ice.
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Negra in the Portrait Studio

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I try to take photos of the chimpanzees whenever they are in the “the portrait studio” (an area in one of the front rooms that has great natural lighting). Negra was the first chimp I spotted there this morning, but the first two times I went to grab the camera and came back, she was gone. So, when I spotted her sitting on the ledge a third time, I debated getting the camera, thinking the same thing would happen again. Instead, she stayed there, stretched out her legs and let me see what she was “hiding” in her pelvic pocket.

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This is not the first time that Negra has taken a liking to troll dolls. Take a look at the blog Diana wrote from last fall, when Negra brought a troll doll with her while foraging on Young’s Hill.

Summer and Father’s Day

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It’s here; the year’s longest day of sunshine (well, at least for us here in the Northern Hemisphere). The high temperatures the past month may have indicated otherwise, but today truly is the official beginning of summer. By this time of year, plants in the garden are bearing fruit, baby birds have hatched and are growing quickly and the rivers and lakes have warmed up enough to be revitalizing after jumping in.

As for life here at the sanctuary, summer is in full swing, especially in the gardens with all of the fruit and flowers.

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I thought today’s blog would be mostly about how summer means vitality, growth, abundant energy, movement and all that means to be living life. And I was going to take photos of each of the chimps soaking up the long days of sunshine exploring Young’s Hill, eating wild plants and the climbing structures to take in the views. But, the chimps had something else in mind for today, which was a really good lesson for me.

It was as if the chimps were trying to convey to me that summer does entail abundance, energy, growth and all of those things I listed above. But, it can also mean making the most of lazy summer days by taking the time to relax in comfort, nap and soak up what it means to not have constant demands put on them to perform or to be used as test subjects. This was evident in the blanket nests we saw this morning when cleaning the various enclosures.

Here is one we found in the Playroom this morning.
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Jamie took a some time to rest up this morning after venturing out onto Young’s Hill.
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For Jody and many of the other chimps, summer time means endless wild snacks.
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For Foxie, lazy summer afternoons mean napping with a close friend.
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Missy sat grooming herself this afternoon…
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…while Annie lie down next to her.
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Burrito looking pretty relaxed in front of the camera.
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And Negra sat in one of her favorite spots on the catwalk this afternoon.
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Today also marks a special day for fathers. The Cle Elum Seven are fortunate enough to have loving, supportive fathers from all over the world who dedicate their time, energy and offer unlimited support in order to provide a safe and enriching environment for these chimps. Your love has helped these chimpanzees grow leaps and bounds over the past seven years in ways they have never known before. To all these fathers, we cannot thank you enough.

So, however you choose to spend your summer days, enjoy them to the fullest. And to all the fathers out there, have a wonderful day knowing how loved and appreciated you are for all the things you do to provide for those you love!

Carlene’s Tower

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Back in February, the sanctuary received an enormous amount of love as part of our Share the Chimp Love fundraising campaign. The original goal of $12,000 was surpassed and the extra money was used to help build a new climbing structure for the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill. Construction began at the end of May and was completed a few days later, thanks to the hard work of the sanctuary’s founder Keith LaChappelle, JB and long time friends of the chimps Nick, Josh, John, Bill and Marc. The structure is located at the top of Young’s Hill and is the highest of any of the structures on Young’s Hill; consisting of two separate towers with a swinging bridge that connects them.

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As part of February’s fundraising campaign, two generous families won the naming rights of each of the towers. The Garza family named the tower with the roof “Carlene’s Tower” in honor of Carlene Garza. And the other tower, which does not have a roof, was named “Jamie’s Lookout” by Joan and Pat Borders.

Today the Garza family visited the sanctuary to meet the chimpanzees that Carlene had grown to love and to see the new structure with their own eyes. Because it was such a beautiful day, we ended up spreading the chimps’ lunch all over Young’s Hill for them to forage. On the menu was bell peppers, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, red cabbage and primate chow. All of the chimps went out at various times throughout the afternoon to gather food and some of them enjoyed their food from the new towers.

Here is a photo of Carlene’s Tower.
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Missy enjoyed some of the food she found while foraging on Young’s Hill under the shade of the roof of Carlene’s Tower.
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Burrito also spent some time on Carlene’s Tower…
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…and below the tower. (Annie is in the background, also foraging for food).
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Jamie gathered some of the onions and peppers that were spread out around the hill as part of the lunch forage…
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…and made her way to Carlene’s tower to take in the views, while Annie stayed below Jamie’s Lookout.
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Annie (sitting on right) and Foxie (climbing the ladder) also spent some time in the shade below Jamie’s Lookout.
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Then, Foxie climbed the ladder for a higher view.
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To the Garza family, everyone here at CSNW thanks you for your generous support and continued love of this very special family. I have a feeling that Carlene has a huge smile on her face, knowing she and all of you are helping her dear friends here. Her love will continue to live on in the lives of everyone here. Thank you!