Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Keri

In Search of The Perfect Snow to Eat

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It didn’t take long for the chimpanzees to make their way outside today once the sun came out. Jamie, Jody, Annie, Missy, Foxie and Burrito all made their way onto Young’s Hill. While Jamie continued on to do her first perimeter walk around the hill, the other chimpanzees were more focused on eating the pieces of crusty snow they found. Missy seemed to be on a mission to find the perfect piece.

Missy took her time making her way across the logs, eating chunks of crusty snow along the way.
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Then she moved on to Negra’s cabin in search of more pieces. Of course, as many of you know by now, Missy has a knack for climbing. She climbed up one of the posts and made her way up to the roof of the cabin.

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Lo and behold, there it was, another big piece.

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She took her time enjoying the morsel, taking in the scenery and scoping out where to find the next piece.

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When she finished, she climbed onto the roof of the cabin and then proceeded to check for more crusty snow chunks on the other side.
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After that, she continued up to the top of the cabin.
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Ahhhh, the perfect piece.
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Close-ups

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It’s not often that I take non-blurry, close-up pictures of each of the chimps. There are number of reasons for this, one being operator error. Second, third and fourth reasons are that the chimps are often moving, just out of sight of the camera, or would rather not have their picture taken. So, when the close-up photos actually turn out, I cannot stop looking at them.

Sometimes pictures just convey so much more than words ever can about the beauty, serenity or nature of each of the chimpanzees. These are some of my favorite close-ups of each of the chimps from the past few weeks.

Jamie
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Burrito
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Jody
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Negra
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Foxie
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Missy
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Annie
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Jody Checks Out Jamie’s Boots

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Jamie was intently inspecting one of the boots that I had given her after I wore it outside in the snow today. She went about inspecting (and licking) the boot, not paying any attention to Jody, who was just as intently peering (a common chimpanzee behavior usually geared toward food) at her. None of it seemed to faze Jamie. Jody continued peering for a few minutes, before sitting down next to Jamie. Then she grabbed one of the boots that was in Jamie’s nest and looked inside of it, flipped it around, put it up to her nose and looked inside again before putting it back down. Not long after, she got up and walked back into the Playroom, clearly not as interested in the boots as Jamie was.

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Sometimes you just have to see what all the hype is about.

More Avian Visitors

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One particular day earlier this month, Jamie kept zigzagging back and forth across Young’s Hill instead of making her way all the way around the inside perimeter of the fence. There was a loud drumming sound coming from a group of pine trees on the east side of the property and whenever she heard it, she would head straight for it. But the sound always stopped when she approached. She stared at the trees for quite some time before continuing her walk around the hill again.

The area where the loud drumming sound was coming from.
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Jamie on Young’s Hill.
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I was with her on the fourth trip around the hill that day and we spotted the culprits on a dead pine snag within the group of pine trees. She didn’t seem too threatened by them, mostly just curious. She watched them as they made their way to the top of the snag and flew out of sight before continuing her perimeter patrol.

The chimpanzees have had a few new avian visitors this past summer, including Hank the hawk and Bernard the eagle. And now, we introduce you to Wanda and Wallace, a pair of pileated woodpeckers. They were the source of the loud drumming sounds.

Wanda
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Wallace (notice the red streak on his face)
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The pair. This is one of those Where’s Waldo photos except that instead of looking for Waldo, there is a second woodpecker on the trunk of the tree. Can you see it? (Hint: only the beak and lower body are visible on the second woodpecker)
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Resting Up For Big Days Ahead

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The next few days are going to be filled with parties and festivities for the upcoming holidays and I think the chimpanzees are resting up in anticipation. This morning while caregiver Katelyn and I were cleaning the Playroom, we noticed an exceptionally well-made nest. Actually, it was two nests made together, causing us to believe that they were made by Missy and Annie. Missy takes great care to make her nests with high walls, but this one was beyond most I’ve seen. They were over a foot high and in total the nests contained 25 blankets!

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Negra taking a nap in her cozy blankets.

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Jody

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Even Jamie took time to rest up this afternoon.

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Jody’s Snack Preference

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Out of the seven chimpanzees here at the sanctuary, Jody is the one most likely to forage for native plants on Young’s Hill, earning her the title of “Jody the Harvester.” Throughout the summer there are a variety of plants to choose from. However, during this time of the year, there really are no green plants growing on the hill other than the bamboo that we have planted. Even though we serve the chimps fresh fruit and vegetables each day, Jody still likes to have a little snack in between meals.

Shortly after we opened the door to Young’s Hill this morning, Jody was quick to check out what it looked like outside. Timing could not have been more perfect. There was a glimmer of sunshine peeking through a miniscule hole in the clouds. And, it wasn’t raining. She went out onto the hill and came back with this piece of bamboo to munch on.

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A Little Adventure on Jamie’s Boots

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Volunteer caregiver-in-training Liz and I were walking around Young’s Hill with one of Jamie’s favorite boots not long ago. When we rounded the last corner of the hill, on our way back to give Jamie the boot, Liz spotted a patch of mud and decided to stick the sole of the boot in the mud “To put a little more adventure on it.” As soon as we went inside, we headed straight for where Jamie was so that she could have some time inspecting and grooming the boot.

Ever since that day, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. We’ll never really know why it is that Jamie insists that volunteers and staff walk around the outside of the Young’s Hill fence (always wearing or carrying a boot or two), while she patrols from inside the fence. Perhaps it’s because it’s just more fun to have company come along, or maybe she feels that she is “leading” the patrol if there is someone else with her. But, maybe it’s because she wants to have a little piece of “adventure” from the other side of the fence; her bit of freedom from the other side.

Whatever the reason may be, we are always happy to join her on her walks around Young’s Hill. The photos are from Jamie’s third walk around the hill today.

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Here is what the boot looked like after the first part of the walk.
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This the boot after the entire way around Young’s Hill with plenty of adventure on it.
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Jamie just as I was presenting her the muddy boot.
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