Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Caitlin Hawks in honor of Joy Hawks! Thank you so much, Caitlin, for thinking of the chimpanzees in your special gift for Joy. And Joy, we wish you all the things that come with a day in sanctuary…comfort, laughter with friends and family, good food, love, and many wonderful choices on how to spend your time. Thank you to both of you for helping to ensure the chimpanzees experience these things every day.
Missy and Annie:
Although it is true that chimpanzees are often much more quiet than one might assume based on experience with them in the media, chimpanzees can also be quite loud when expressing themselves, given the right circumstances. As a matter of fact, the daily routine of sanctuary life is accompanied by sounds that a caregiver comes to rely on.
When I arrive at the chimp house in the morning the chimpanzees are often still sleeping, or enjoying a quiet morning. Not soon after though, Burrito usually makes some noise in the front rooms. Perhaps he’s letting everyone know that the day is about to begin? At any rate, the morning for caregivers consists of breakfast making with the blender whirring in the kitchen and the sounds of a chimpanzee community getting ready for the day. Burrito’s way of greeting the day is certainly unmistakable.
Meal times usually involve food grunts, squeaks and, of course, some chewing. The rest of the day can run the gamut. When the mood takes them the chimpanzees will spend time grooming together, playing, or occasionally engaged in aggressive displays and each of these activities are often attended by distinct chimpanzee vocalizations. To get a feel for what I’m talking about check out today’s video and make sure to have your volume turned up and your listening ears on!
Missy and Annie covered nearly every inch of Young’s Hill today during a spirited game of chase.
After being chased across the field, Annie took to the climbing structure, and Missy followed.
Another dash across the field.
And then another climbing structure.
Annie tried to get away to the shaky bridge but Missy got her by the foot.
But then it all ended in classic Missy style as she crashed end-over-end onto the bridge…with a smile.
In the wild, chimpanzees create a wadge when eating certain types of food. A wadge is simply a ball of food that is placed in the lower lip and sucked on. Wadging can be a way to extract juice and nutrients from foods that are too fibrous to swallow, or it can be a way to extract the flesh from fruits that have bitter or poisonous seeds. Chimps sometimes create a wadge when eating small bits of egg or meat by adding leaves and chewing everything together. Some think that this might just be a way to prolong the enjoyment of a scarce but highly valued food.
Whatever the ultimate reason may be, it’s clear that some foods are just meant to be wadged, and primate chow is high on that list. As Annie demonstrates here, you start but dumping the entire bag into your mouth and arranging them into your lower lip.
Then, add water.
Make sure you take out the wadge once and a while to check on its progress.
Then, sit back and enjoy!
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Lori Kiers! Today is Lori’s birthday and she shared that she could not think of a better gift for herself than providing this special day for the chimpanzees. Lori, what a lovely and generous thing to say and do! Thank you so much, and from all the chimpanzees and humans here at CSNW, we hope you have a truly wonderful day!!
Christmas (and a whole lot of troll dolls) arrived in the chimp house this morning! And thanks so much to volunteer caregiver, Patti, an amazing fireplace, loads of decorations, and an incredible Christmas lunch!:
Foxie checking out one of the stockings:
Patti, made the most incredible Christmas lunch, complete with field roast and cashew gravy, cranberry sauce in pumpkins and sparkling apple cider!:
Negra enjoying her Christmas dinner as the trolls look on:
Missy enjoying some Brussels sprouts:
See if you can spot Annie:
A big hit of the day were these giant cardboard tubes which came courtesy of Santa’s elf (and volunteer caregiver, Seana), which she stuffed with paper and nuts:
Foxie gazing adoringly at one of her many new trolls:
And in true holiday fashion, Burrito was too full to move by the end of dinner, but that didn’t stop him from making room for pumpkin and Brussels sprouts that lay within arms reach:
Annie’s feet as she takes a rest after the celebration:
And for all of our Jody fans, no worries, she enjoyed the Christmas extravaganza as well, she was just avoiding the paparazzi today. Thank you so much to volunteer caregivers, Patti and Seana, for making the chimpanzees’ day so wonderful, amazing supporters Jayne R. and Pam O. for supplying trolls and decorations, Laurel H. for sponsoring today, and to everyone else who contributed to today’s festivities. And from my heart (which in Grinch style grew three sizes the day I met these chimpanzees) thank you to all of our supporters near and far who help us give the chimpanzees the kind of days they deserve. From all of the primates here at CSNW, we wish you the happiest of holidays!!
The sky is blue and all the leaves are, well, on the ground, but the sun is warmish and the wind is certainly not freezing today. In fact, if I didn’t know better I might be convinced that the worst that winter had to offer was on it’s way out and Spring was just around the corner! Sadly, I realize that this is not the case but that’s not going to ruin such a delightfully warm day in the middle of this otherwise frozen wasteland for me. And while it’s just a little too blustery for the chimpanzees’ taste I can tell that the spirit of Spring is affecting them as well since everyone (including the boss) is full of fun and play today!
