Annie loves snow:
Annie
Hurry up and play
Missy tends to speed up in the winter. I think she knows she won’t be able to stay outside as long so she has to cram all of her activities into ten-minute bursts.
Yesterday, she ran outside and immediately started to climb all of the structures.
Then she jumped off of them.
While climbing a structure at the top of the hill, she noticed something.
Ice is somewhat of a delicacy for chimps and Missy is good at finding it.
Of course, wherever there’s a Missy, there’s an Annie close behind, trying to catch up.
Playing in the sunshine
It’s been another cold, yet sunny day today and a few minutes ago, six out of seven chimps were out roaming on the hill (can you guess who was inside?). As I rounded the corner of the greenhouse to see what was happening out there, I saw Missy just standing in the bamboo with a big playface:
Annie came running out of the raceway towards her, full speed ahead!
Her playful charge was pretty anti-climatic at first…
But it wasn’t very long before Missy engaged Annie, and a wild foot grabbing, tickling, and laughing chase game ensued.
Sometimes, play is serious business.
Celebrating Margaret and Karen
Yesterday, longtime friends of the Cle Elum Seven Margaret and Karen got married in Seattle. Margaret and Karen are truly beloved by anyone who meets them. They are bright and warm and kind. They have possibly the biggest hearts of anyone you’ll ever meet.
We wanted to celebrate their joy, so today we put out the happiest, most colorful enrichment we could find. The chimpanzees spent quite some time taking inventory.
Foxie:
Annie:
Jamie:
Appropriately enough, the weather at the sanctuary is gorgeous and sunny today and the chimpanzees have been feeling pretty carefree. Annie and Missy enjoyed a lazy game of chase in the greenhouse this afternoon.
We’re so happy for you, Margaret and Karen. Lots of love from CSNW!
Playful spirits
No two souls can cheer me up quite like Annie and Missy. A couple of weeks ago, the BFFs were chasing each other around the hill, taking turns being the chaser and the chasee.
First Annie chased Missy
but she started to gain on her
as Annie passed, Missy playfully bit her shoulder
Then they played a little bit of peak-a-boo through the lexan panels of the cabin
Routine and Choices
As much as possible, we make a point of sticking to a daily routine here at the sanctuary. We think it’s important that the chimpanzees know what to expect each day and when to expect it. (I’d imagine that one of the horrors of laboratory life would be never knowing what’s going to happen to you next.) We serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time each day. The chimpanzees are asked to shift to a separate area of their enclosure if they’d like to participate in the meal. Since we never enter an enclosure with the chimps — last Tuesday’s fight serves as a great reminder why — we need them to leave an area before we can enter to clean. Once in awhile someone chooses to skip a meal and stay out (usually Missy when she’s looking to have the Playroom to herself for a little while), in which case we just put off cleaning until the next meal. The vast majority of the time, though, everyone willingly shifts for the meal and we’re able to access the area they’ve evacuated. Since this is part of our daily routine, none of the chimpanzees are ever blindsided by the consequences of their choices. If Missy chooses not to shift for a meal, she knows that she’s also choosing not to eat that meal. She also knows that another meal will be offered a few hours later. Most days, if someone stays out for breakfast, everyone will shift at lunch and we can do our Playroom cleaning then. Very occasionally, someone will stay out for both breakfast and lunch and we’re unable to clean until dinner. Whatever happens, we have to remain flexible. Chimpanzees are intelligent and willful, and when they’re given the opportunity to make their own choices — like they are in good sanctuaries — they will.
Today Missy and Annie have skipped both breakfast and lunch to hang out in the Playroom. (If Missy chooses to play hooky from a meal, Annie almost always joins her.) It’s a rainy, gray day and I can’t blame them for not wanting to stray too far from their nests. If they choose to come in for dinner, Jackie and I will clean the Playroom then. If not, we’ll try again tomorrow morning. Either way, we’re happy that Annie and Missy and the rest of the Cle Elum Seven are now able to make their own choices for the first time in their lives.
First snow
Today is the first truly snowy day of the season. This morning, as we were getting ready to let the chimpanzees out onto Young’s Hill, Jody gazed out the window longingly while food grunting (snow is a delicacy for the Cle Elum Seven). Nobody has ventured too far outside yet – I guess even delicious snow isn’t worth freezing feet – but they’ve been spending the morning standing at the door to Young’s Hill and reaching outside for a handful to enjoy in the relative warmth of the greenhouse.
Annie:
Jamie:
Missy:
