Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Find someone that looks at you the way Annie looks at Missy. But make sure you have separate hobbies or something like that because, to be honest, Annie can be a bit clingy at times.
Seriously, Annie is a completely different person than she was when she first arrived over 14 years ago. She’s far more confident and secure. And I would attribute that in large part to the thousands upon thousands of hours she has spent grooming with her best friend Missy.
Burrito had a pretty busy day! It seemed like everyone wanted to play with him, which for Burrito is the perfect kind of day! It was fun to see that even Annie wanted to join in! Burrito and Annie do play and interact with one another. However, they tend to have some miscommunications with each other as well, so to catch a small moment of them having a good time is always a treasure.
It’s hard to decide whether or not to film these fun moments the chimps are having with one another. Pulling out our phones or camera can often distract or stop them from engaging in the interaction with each other, and there are times when it feels like they should just have the time to play and interact without us disrupting them. There are other times when we decide that maybe they are in the moment enough to not notice and we go for it. We never want to interrupt, but we also want to be able to share it! Today was a day I was able to capture these moments without bothering the chimps!
Bonus! Today was a warm one, so what better way to cool down than with a Popsicle!
Foxie approved!
A frequent question we get asked is how we know when one of our residents wants something specific or when they want one of us to do something with them. While this definitely gets easier as you get to know them better, and it’s never a perfect science, we are often able to determine what a chimp is looking for in how and where they are gesturing.
For example- if Burrito or Gordo are trying to get you to play a game of chase with them, they will look at you and then run away! We would also watch for behavioral indicators of play that include a play face, foot stomp, and exaggerated movements. If Jamie is wanting a specific pair of boots, she will often stand in the playroom loft and gesture through the kitchen door. She will continue to gesture until you bring back the right pair (no matter how many wrong pairs you offer her first) and then she will likely either come down to take it or she will take off for the hill- which is a sign that she wants you, and said boot, to come with her on her patrol. She also sometimes wants you to wear the specific boot instead of carry it… no matter the size. I would like to take this moment to formally apologize to my coworkers (*ahem* Sofia) that have had to squeeze their feet into my toddler-feet sized boots. Y’all are troopers. 🙂
Lately, though, Jamie has been all about raspberries and frozen treats- which are a hit with everyone. Check out the video for more!
Negra enjoying the cool morning on Young’s Hill.
Annie looking particularly beautiful in the morning light of the Greenhouse.
Cy being his dreamy self.
Missy harvested gold today! I was watching Missy looking around Negra’s cabin. She ever so slyly ran back into the greenhouse with something in her mouth. She had a good sized wasp nest! As Missy delicately ate the larvae her friends took turns food peering, except Jamie. Jamie found her own gold, leftover fingerling potatoes from a forage. She found a large handful and was quite pleased with herself!
Today was a busy one here in the chimp house, but I still had to stop to catch little snip-bits of Burrito playing throughout the day. There is nothing better than the sound of his breathy pants when he gets really into a play session, and today he couldn’t be stopped! Both Annie and Foxie got in on his good mood this morning and I felt it had to be shared!
Although we often share him playing, when he does decide to relax – he is the *master* of chill. See photo for reference:
On the other side of the chimp house, Caregiver Chad caught Dora taking a mid-morning, post breakfast nap in the Oakwood Greenhouse.
She caught on quick though.
In other news, a few weeks ago we introduced a new addition to our chimp house family – a full sized human skeleton, that we lovingly named Kirk! He seems to be settling into the routine here pretty well so far…
Which caregiver do you think is responsible for us discovering this when we got to work this morning? It’s still a mystery to us! (But I’m looking at you, Diana)
This morning when we walked into the chimp house, every chimp was super playful! Gordo was bunny hopping around, Annie was playing chase with Burrito and her caregivers, Missy was chasing Jody, Jamie was playfully foot stomping to her caregivers, Dora and Mave were playing, and chimps on both sides were grooming in the greenhouses. Every day at the sanctuary is a great day because the chimps are safe, secure, and cared for, but that does not mean that every day is sunshine and rainbows. Obviously,the chimpanzees have their own feelings and moods, just like us. Some days we walk in and one group is displaying, while the other group is calm. Other days it’s loud everywhere you go. However, most days you get a balance of some calm with a little bit of displaying from time to time. And then you get a day like today, where both sides of the building are just silly and playful!
While most people wanted to play, Negra wanted to sleep all day:
We are running pretty low on magazines. If you have any laying around, I am sure Cy would love to take them off your hands!
It has been a busy day here in the chimp house! After the morning cleaning, it started to rain and since then the chimps have been keeping us busy. Burrito is being his normal playful self (which has involved at least five runs around the hill with the caregivers), Foxie is blowing raspberries to try and get Caregiver Katelyn’s attention, and Jamie is observing all. On the other side of the chimp house Terry is looking for shoes to groom, Willy B would like to see our camera reels, and Lucky is hoping to snag some extra tomatoes. While we work to get our daily tasks done we’ve also been snagging photos – so today’s blog is a montage of short stories from throughout the day. 🙂
This morning, Caregiver Katelyn and I gave Foxie two new Strawberry Shortcake dolls. When Foxie saw them she expressed her excitement with a ceiling punch! She quickly came downstairs to get them and give us some happy grunts. Katelyn snagged this photo of Foxie and her new doll shortly after in the Greenhouse and we just can’t take it!
This morning was overcast and cool – a nice morning, but damp from last night’s rain. I thought that Jamie’s group wouldn’t be waiting for Young’s Hill access, since it was so wet, but when I opened the door everyone proceeded to head straight out! Annie went almost straight for the hammock, where she picked some grass before going for a stroll around the hill. Annie has been disappearing during the mornings lately to enjoy some time by herself on the hill- you can read more about that in Kelsi’s blog here.
Negra also went straight out on the hill… and kept going… and going! Negra will often go onto Young’s Hill and stop a short ways out where she will sit and enjoy the morning, but today she joined the rest of her group and enjoyed the morning out far on the hill. Spring has really sprung!
We weren’t the only ones surprised to see Negra so far onto the hill – Jody also came over to make sure all was well with Negra. Caregiver Chad caught this sweet moment of Negra reassuring Jody that all is well, before they both went back to their respective morning hill activities.
I found Dora in the Oakwood Greenhouse this afternoon. The sound of the rain on the greenhouse panels was peaceful and calming, which matched the sight of Dora and Terry grooming. After Terry left, Dora continued to sit and relax in the greenhouse.
Have a great evening, everyone!
