Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Burrito

The Two Sides of Burrito

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Burrito is not the most popular guy on the block. That may shock those of you who are human beings, because humans are completely unable to resist his many charms. But if you were a chimpanzee living with Burrito, he’d probably be a thorn in your side.

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Burrito is a unique (and completely endearing, says this human) mix of macho and vulnerable. At times, he is a whirling dervish, composed entirely of testosterone and muscle. In the next moment, he is all confused little boy, cowering in a corner while the ladies put him back in his place. As a male chimpanzee who grew up in an unnatural and impoverished environment, he is a slave to instinct but lacks finesse. He is the teenage boy who does something incredibly misguided, and when asked why, cannot provide an explanation. He is more action than thought.

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But most of the time, Burrito is like a puppy. He is affectionate and goofy and a little needy. He just wants love and attention and praise and food and someone to play with. Because he’s slightly intimidated by the other chimpanzees, he usually turns to his human friends to fulfill these needs. It is a burden that we take on because someone must, but it is rough. So rough.

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Green makes everything more vibrant

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Spring, a season symbolic of renewal, growth and new beginnings. Now that spring has “officially” begun, the chimps’ daily routine revolves more on finding fresh green grass and new plants to eat, watching birds and inspecting any movement in the grass.

Plus, it’s the season when pictures of the chimps out on the hill look so much more vibrant!

Burrito took time to sit and eat the new grass.
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Annie (left) took in her surroundings, while Burrito (right) continued eating grass.
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Annie
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Missy (left) stopped by her friend Annie (right) before sprinting off again.
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Here’s a couple of photos of Missy dismounting from one of the structures on the hill, with the help of the fire hose.
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Jody
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Jamie (in front) led the way around Young’s Hill, as she usually does. Burrito (middle) and Foxie (last) backed her up.
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Plus, Foxie brought a friend for support.
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Unfortunately, I did not have the camera when Negra was out this morning. But, you can see plenty of pictures of her enjoying her time on the hill these past few days by clicking here.

And, have you heard the great news?? There is so much excitement in the air!

Easter, Chimp Style

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**Warning** This post contains a lot of photos!!

Easter, chimp style, involves good food…

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…enrichment with hidden food inside…
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…toys and dolls…
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…an Easter egg hunt in the greenhouse…
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and in the playroom…
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and, of course, the Cle Elum Seven!!

Missy found one of the eggs with peanuts inside.
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Burrito scored with the primate chow he gathered in his mouth and hands!
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Foxie took turns with each of her dolls, first with the brunette…
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then with the blonde,
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and later, with both of them.

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Annie held onto her egg as she ate peanuts and primate chow.
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Jody made sure to check every part of the Easter basket for hidden treats.
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Jamie searched high and low for treats, including under this blanket,
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…in these boots,
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…and in these boxes.
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Negra found her favorite treats (peanuts) inside some of the Easter eggs.

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Wishing everyone a happy and joyous Easter!

The Luck o’ the Cle Elum Seven

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The Cle Elum Seven may not head to the pubs on St. Patrick’s Day, but they still know how to have a good time. We had a breakfast party in the greenhouse this morning with fruit smoothie in plastic shot glasses with lime garnishes, peanuts, and chow. The main event, though, was undoubtedly the whole green apples. The chimpanzees find whole fruit infinitely more exciting than the same amount of fruit cut into pieces. We put this morning’s apples inside socks and hung them around the greenhouse. The chimps were beside themselves. Here are a few highlights from the celebration.

Jamie went after the “apple socks” with a laser focus. She had some trouble carrying all her treasures, so she made good use of her opposable toes.

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Foxie with a lime wedge:

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and getting the last drops from a cup of smoothie:

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Negra held onto her apple for awhile before eating it:

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Burrito with an apple and searching for more:

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and enjoying smoothie:

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and more smoothie:

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Annie thought there must be food inside this big green plastic egg that volunteer Alex brought:

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Alas, there wasn’t.

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But she consoled herself with some smoothie.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

A place in the sun

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It’s a beautiful bright blue sky kind of day at the sanctuary, but the wind is biting and cold. In between quick ventures onto Young’s Hill, the chimpanzees have each spent their day finding a variety of warm places in the sun to enjoy.

Annie running up the hill to check the tire swing for ice which she happily found and ran back to the greenhouse to enjoy – and that’s Foxie and Dora on the side:

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Jody has been making daily trips up the hill to check for the wild greens which haven’t started to come up yet. She did come back with what looked suspiciusly like a young bamboo shoot though.

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Here’s Foxie sporting a grimace in response to the cold wind as she quickly heads back inside with her Dora dolls:

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Back in the south facing window of the greenhouse, Foxie warms up with the sun on her face:

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Missy joins Foxie in the sunny spot:

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Burrito having an after lunch rest in the greenhouse:

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There are three levels in the greenhouse and with each one the heat increases significantly. The chimps often like to pile together at the very top where they can bake in the sun. Foxie and Dora are kicked back in the heat:

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Beautiful Missy decided to make a nest on the catwalk in the playroom in the south-facing windows:

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The chimpanzees weren’t the only ones looking for a warm spot in the sun today:

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I wasn’t able to capture any photos of the Queen and the Boss, but Negra has spent most of the day in “happy baby” pose in her nest, holding her feet and luxuriating in the glaring sun. And in between brisk walks, Jamie has also spent most of the day in a warm nest out of view. 🙂

Serving

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I’ve been wanting to write a blog post about serving food for a while now in response to a question I am frequently asked. How do we give food to the chimpanzees if we never enter the enclosures with them or stick our fingers into the enclosures? There are a few different options, including serving the food through the openings in the caging to each of the chimps and setting up forages for the chimps to gather the food themselves.

Serving entails serving food to the chimps’ hand or mouth (or sometimes foot). We make sure to cut foods to a size that will easily fit through the squares in the caging or we can drop food into food chutes (located in the Front Rooms). Things like celery, carrots and cucumbers are easy to hand to the chimps through the openings. Roasted vegetables are softer and we use small paper plates or serving trays that can be rolled up and passed through the openings. Liquids, such as fruit smoothies, (which are served at breakfast) are poured into cups and caregivers hold the cups up to the chimps’ outstretched lips. Serving allows us to know exactly how much each chimp is getting of each food. Check out this link to see examples of meals we serve throughout the day.

The following photos were all taken during the chimps’ dinner from the top of the Greenhouse when the panels were off this past summer. As you can see in the photos, some of the chimps prefer to hang, while others prefer to sit on the ground or utilize the plastic chairs or barrels.

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Foxie usually brings a friend with her to meals (hint, look at what is in her foot).
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Burrito eating his night bag.
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Annie
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Some of the chimps prefer to stay and eat all of their food where it is served, while others tend to gather their portions and go to a different area to eat them.

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Jamie prefers to open her night bag, pour out its contents and pick through the nuts, seeds, popcorn and dried fruit.
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Here’s a closeup of Jody eating her celery.
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Foraging allows the chimps to move around and gather the food themselves, which is what they would be doing in the wild. For forages, we cut the food into smaller pieces and scatter them throughout the various enclosures after we have cleaned (the chimps are locked out of the enclosure humans are in). Once we have locked up and done our safety checks, we give the chimps access to the enclosure and they gather the food themselves. Foraging gets the chimps moving (important for chimps in captivity) and gives the chimps choices over which foods they prefer to collect and eat first. Click on the link at the beginning of the paragraph for a great video of the chimps foraging on Young’s Hill.