Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Annie

Afternoon Routine

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The chimpanzees have developed their own daily routines. Typically, they are at their highest arousal level in the morning time. That is also when they seem to be the most active, often times playing, displaying and greeting one another and caregivers. After breakfast, the chimps spend time building nests with the new blankets, checking out the new enrichment, playing and venturing out onto Young’s Hill. After lunch, the chimps’ arousal level shifts. Most of the chimpanzees either enjoy their afternoon with a siesta, or by grooming themselves or one another. Other chimps demand to go on walks around Young’s Hill.

This afternoon was no different. I caught Annie enjoying her afternoon siesta in the Greenhouse. She looked quite content on the deck and briefly interrupted her resting time to groom Missy before closing her eyes.

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Foxie took her time to enjoy her chow one piece at a time.

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Jody spent a large portion of her afternoon grooming her hands and arms.

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Negra sat on the bottom platform for a few minutes after lunch just looking around before heading inside to get comfortable in her blanket nest.

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Missy and Burrito were busy grooming one another while the other chimps were resting.

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And what do you think Jamie was up to? She was busy looking for someone to go on a walk with her of course.

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Spring is in the air

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Spring is here, which for this region means the weather is predictably unpredictable. Yesterday, we had a beautiful 70 degree slightly cloudy day—the chimpanzees and the humans were loving it! We had the windows open, we did some work outside, Jamie went on lots of walks, and it felt like summer was just around the corner.

Annie enjoying some of the nice spring weather lately:
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Today is, well, not as nice. We have had some very blustery winds with a slight drizzle, but that hasn’t stopped Jamie from making her daily patrols! Most of the other chimps have preferred to stay in the warm wind-protected greenhouse, soaking in the spring sunlight.

What will tomorrow bring? No matter what, I’m sure Jamie will still make her patrols and require her caregivers to come along as well. And maybe Burrito will join and do his new “hop.” Or who knows—maybe even Foxie will come along.

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Thank you, Leanne!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Leanne Preble! Leanne shared the simple, but beautiful message that she wishes for this day to be in honor of “Hope. Love. Home…Sanctuary.” These simple words hold profound meaning for each of us. And we are privileged to witness on a daily basis what can happen for individuals when these things are provided. But we can only imagine what they truly mean for each of the chimpanzees after all they have endured.

Leanne, thank you so much for sponsoring this day to celebrate the chimpanzees and their lives in their sanctuary home. And may all those still awaiting their sanctuary be held in our thoughts as well.

The hope in Jamie’s eyes:

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The love of best friends, Annie and Missy:

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and Burrito and Foxie:

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Jody, at rest in her home:

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Negra, at peace in sanctuary:

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A Day in the Rainforest

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Today’s enrichment theme is Rainforest Day, and we did our best to turn the sanctuary into a tropical paradise. Volunteer caregiver Becca arrived this morning with her arms full – she brought a giant roll of green paper for a canopy and many rolls of streamers.

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The chimpanzees enjoyed a breakfast forage in the greenhouse. They searched the forest for apples, oranges, peanuts, and primate chow.

Missy:

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Jamie:

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Negra:

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Foxie:

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Burrito:

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Annie, stockpiling some chow:

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St. Patrick’s Day 2015

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As Katelyn mentioned in the sponsor-a-day post this morning, we love to find any reason to throw a party for the chimpanzees. So today we filled little shamrock cups with almond milk which was dyed green with food coloring, as well as their usual fruit smoothie which we also dyed green. We picked green apples and kiwis for the breakfast forage—and threw in some oranges because the chimps love them! Add some streamers and St. Patty’s day decor, and you have the perfect recipe for a great party!

Everyone loved the drinks. We added little straws to the cups, and some chimps used them while others tossed them aside while they licked the cups clean! Foxie was especially great at getting every last drop:

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And Missy, too:

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Negra delicately drank from the little shamrock glasses:

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Burrito had filled his hands with chow so he had no choice but to lean over and use the straw for sipping:

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Annie also enjoyed every last drop of the drinks:

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Of course, the fruit was a big hit! Jody was so motivated to get some that she took on some unusual (for her) acrobatic moves to get to the high windows to get a snack.

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Negra:

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Burrito:

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Missy:

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We also hid some peanuts in little green boxes. Annie was the first to find them:

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Burrito:

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Missy:

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Jamie, quite uncharacteristically, was not the center of everything during this party! She grabbed a stash of food and drinks and stationed herself in a corner where we couldn’t get any photos of her. But she certainly enjoyed the forage, and we saw her still searching around for leftovers hours later!

Reassurance

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To follow up on Elizabeth’s post yesterday, here’s a good example of Burrito’s other side – the testosterone-filled Tasmanian Devil side that leaves a path of destruction and screaming girls in its wake. This is the side we usually see when we arrive to work in the morning.

As you’ll see in the video, Annie was the victim of one of Burrito’s drive-by displays this morning. Being a chimpanzee is stressful, but they have some pretty good ways of dealing with that stress. Like hugs, for example.

One thing you might notice in the video is that Annie also seeks reassurance from me and I don’t offer it to her. As hard as it may be to resist in these instances, we make a conscious decision to avoid inserting ourselves into their social conflicts. If Annie was startled by a loud noise, we would gladly offer her a touch with the back of a wrist to help comfort her. But when she’s involved in a social conflict, we risk upsetting the delicate balance in the group if we inject ourselves, even if it’s just to offer reassurance. At these times, the chimps aren’t just looking for emotional support – they may also be looking for political allies or even backup for an ensuing retaliatory fight. So we try to limit our involvement to a polite acknowledgement in the hope that they will work things out amongst each other. And they usually do.

Besides, no one can comfort a chimpanzee better than another chimpanzee.