Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Most of the chimpanzees think being outside on Young’s Hill is worth tolerating some less than ideal weather conditions. Jamie even went for a perimeter walk in the rain recently.
But Negra has her standards. If the weather is less than perfect in any way, she wants no part of the outdoors. Luckily, today is beautiful and Negra was happy to participate in the lunch forage on Young’s Hill.
Annie and Missy are quite well-known for their excited games of chase and wrestling throughout the chimp house. Negra, however, isn’t always the most likely play partner—and when she does play, she’s got her own speed (kinda slow). This time Negra was keeping up with the experts!
This video is a little longer than some of our others but I thought you wouldn’t want to miss a second of this fun play session. Thanks again to Patty W. for sponsoring today for us and for being Negra’s Pal!
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Spring is on its way and the snow is melting, but Missy is happy to get every last bit that is left.
The last couple of days we’ve been experiencing some extra snow fall, which means the chimps get to snack on some fresh snow, which they love! Elizabeth and I filled up the chimps’ sandbox with snow and added some troll dolls for some CSNW flair.
Everyone was snacking on the snow, including of course Jamie. Since she is the boss, the other chimps wanted to make sure they were okay to snack on the snow, too. That’s completely natural chimpanzee behavior, and something that is essential to their society. Jamie was fine with the other chimps enjoying the snow, there was plenty to go around, and she wasn’t feeling particularly territorial of it.
When Jody asked for Jamie’s permission, she displayed perfect reassurance behaviors. She approached with a drooped lip, making it clear that she was not being at all aggressive or threatening. Then she reached out toward Jamie as if to say “is it okay if I join?” Jamie didn’t disapprove, so Jody’s next move was to give Jamie a quick kiss on the mouth. Jamie reciprocated and gave Jody permission by giving Jody a kiss back on her brow ridge. Jody then knew it was fine with Jamie that she join in, and immediately started snacking.
One of the biggest challenges of this job is keeping Jamie enriched. The other chimps certainly need enrichment, too, but Jamie in particular requires a lot to keep her engaged. So I’m continually trying to find things that will be enriching for her. Kongs are a good food puzzle for the chimps because we can put nuts, peanut butter, or even mushed banana into the crevices making it tricky to get the treat out.
Recently I discovered these Kong “Genius” toys which connect together, and I thought it seemed perfect for Jamie! Thanks to Carrie M. who ordered a bunch of these Kongs for us off our Amazon wishlist recently, we were able to make several connected Kongs. Jamie of course hoarded many of them, but all the chimps were able to enjoy this puzzle. You’ll hear in the video just how happy Jamie is with all her food groans and grunts.
Speaking of Jamie and of the wishlist, we are in desperate need of a new boot dryer! Ours broke yesterday and as you can imagine we are constantly running the dryers to get Jamie’s boots quickly dry after we wash them. Dry boots makes for a happy Jamie! Both she and I would be forever grateful to anyone that is able to purchase a new one for us. If you do grab anything from the list now or anytime in the future, send me an email at [email protected] so we can be sure to send you a thank you! (UPDATE: Thank you Patrick and Carrie for purchasing the boot dryer for us! The boss will be happy).
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Joan O’Flaherty in memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen. Although Ned and Noreen were born 2 years apart, they shared the same birthdate of March 1st. Ned and Noreen also shared a great love for animals and their environment, and valued the conservation of both. Joan generously sponsors this day each year in honor of her parents because she feels they would have loved the chimpanzees.
Joan, thank you so much! We are so touched that you include the chimpanzees in such a special memory and it makes us happy to think that your parents still get to be a part of the sanctuary and providing a forever home for the chimpanzees.
Good friends, Burrito (left) and Foxie (right), enjoying each others’ company:
We’ve said it before, but here’s some more evidence of the “aging in reverse” process that has happened for the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest:
Jamie in 2008:
Jamie in 2011:
Jamie this morning:
