Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Annie

Play On Their Terms

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Some chimps love to play with their human friends.  Think Burrito, Cy, Terry.  Others are less interested in human interaction, for different reasons.

Annie and Gordo are two of these chimps.

I don’t often get to interact with Annie.  She tends to be a nervous chimp, and it seems like she is a little uncomfortable about interactions at the mesh caging.  Most of my interactions with Annie have happened with a window between us.  I jump at these opportunities!

Gordo likes to play chase with his human friends.  But you have to be paying attention to his cues, because they are quite subtle.  On this occasion, Diana had been playing with Willy B (another chimp that engages less often with caregivers) and Gordo wanted to play, too.  So I attempted to entertain Gordo.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t into it.  I tried a few different methods, with little success.  Until I tried, what I like to call, “I’m gonna get you” (one of Burrito’s favorite games!).  Gordo loved it, and laughed so hard Diana could hear him throughout the building!

I hope you enjoy today’s video of me with Annie and Gordo, playing on their terms!

 

Smoothie Bandit Strikes Again!

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A recent study added to vast knowledge we know about chimpanzees. One area in chimpanzee studies that keeps surprising us is their use of tools. A recent study added to what we know about chimpanzee tool use. The study conducted by Dr. Alejandra Pascual-Garrido and team at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania; the same area Jane Goodall first observed chimpanzees using tools to complete a task.

The task at hand? Fishing for termites. What Dr. Pascual-Garrido and fellow researchers determined that chimpanzees don’t just use any ol’ stick lying around. Their tool is carefully selected based on what the chimpanzee wants to accomplish. For instance, with termite fishing, chimpanzees were found to use certain sticks/stems based on their qualities and features. Since termite mounds are a series of long, winding tunnels, the chimpanzees will use tools that are more flexible to better weave through the tunnels to find the colony.

If you are an avid blog follower, then you know we have a handful of chimp residents here who use tools for various things. Whether its a stick Jamie picked out that is sturdy enough to groom caregivers’ boots, or Honey B ripping the bamboo out of the ground in her greenhouses and cutting it down to size, we have some pretty amazingly intelligent chimpanzees. A few years back we found some chimps who found new use for these long, plastic straws they are given as enrichment.

One new use that had the entire blog following rolling in laughter was Annie’s use of the straw to siphon Jamie’s smoothie right out of her hands. Well, seems like someone found this use and decided to try to get Negra’s morning juice supplements as she was drinking it… TWICE! On two separate occasions!

Be sure to watch the video to find out who!

Walking in the Rain

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We all had an adventure on this walk the other day!

It was fun to join the chimpanzees getting caught in the rain.

It reminded me of the very first heavy rain that the Cle Elum Seven experienced. Thanks to this blog, you can learn more about that experience here: Rainstorm Bravery

The photo of Missy in the doorway, watching the rain is still one of my favorites:

Missy in doorway during rainstorm

Warm Weather Wishes

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As Sabrina mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the weather has warmed up here, the sun is out, and we are thrilled about it! This warm weather has me dreaming of the day the panels come off of the greenhouses, and reminiscing on sweet moments shared with the chimpanzees last spring and summer. It is not quite warm enough to take down the panels yet, as they have an important job of retaining heat when we need to heat the greenhouses and the temperatures are not consistently warm enough yet to put away our winter heaters. In today’s blog video, I’m sharing videos I didn’t get a chance to share with you all last spring and summer of what we have to look forward to!

 

 

Valentine’s Day with Burrito and Friends

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Today we celebrated our forever valentines (the chimpanzees of CSNW) with a lovely party planned and prepared by caregiver Jenna! Jenna threw an amazing party, complete with chocolate pudding covered strawberries, fruit-filled ice treats, acai smoothie bowls with berries and homemade granola, chow cookies, and edible flowers in pools of gatorade. She also made mail boxes for Jamie and Cy (the resident book worms) where staff and volunteers could write notes for the chimps (or in Cy’s case, cut out pictures of people from magazines, his favorites!), and banners with photos of the chimps. Check out the video to see Burrito, Missy, Foxie, Negra, Annie, and Jamie enjoy all of their special goodies, and come back tomorrow to see Cy and friends enjoy their party!

Blue Skies

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Though the air might be chilly, the skies are blue, and for January, that’s really all we can ask for! As soon as the sun peeked through the clouds, Jamie’s group couldn’t resist soaking up some much needed Vitamin D. A little sunshine can do wonders, especially in the middle of winter!

Burrito, Annie, Foxie, and Missy were ready to get out and explore:

Burrito climbed up and enjoyed the view:

More of Burrito:

  

Missy adventured past the path and into the snow:

Foxie came out with her doll to see what was happening:

Jamie went out onto Young’s Hill for a quick lap and then tried to get some snow to go. Unfortunately, this snow is pretty hard and compacted so it wasn’t very fruitful:

If you’re looking for ways to support the chimps, our Wish List is a fantastic way to make a direct impact on their care!

Three Short Stories

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To understand the impact of the first story in today’s video requires the background of yesterday’s blog post by Jenna. So go read that first if you haven’t yet.

Can we talk about celebrating another year of Burrito??!! Tomorrow’s bash is going to be a celebration focused on the things he likes most in life, and we hope you’ll join us here on the blog tomorrow evening to see how charming Mr. B celebrated his 42nd birthday.