Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Jamie’s group was SO happy this morning! We had 3 different groups of wrestlers in 3 different front rooms! Today, enjoy Negra and Burrito mixing it up in front room 1.
And, don’t forget! The Sweet 16 Online Auction goes live tomorrow, June 10th, and ends the 16th. Check out Spring Rayne by our very own Caregiver Ellen. Although, I might fight you for it!
Today we had one of our summer sanctuary visits for some of our donors so we spent the morning getting ready with the usual cleaning and a lunch forage on Young’s Hill but the caregiver’s weren’t the only ones preparing for the day ahead this morning. In today’s blog video you can follow along with Annie, Burrito and Negra for their morning rituals as they get ready for the day!
Burrito is, quite simply, a light in the lives of all who know him. That might sound a bit dramatic, but it is the honest truth! He is hilarious and makes me smile and laugh every day I see him, and brings so much joy to his friends both chimp and human. In today’s video, you can see exactly why.
Here are some bonus photos from the day!
Burrito taking a rest while he waits for his caregivers to be done cleaning.
Negra looking at the Bray from her spot in the raceway.
Negra has such beautiful eyes, and was kind enough to let me capture a close up photo of her!
Jamie eating a strawberry from today’s lunch forage.
A lot of the joys of working with chimpanzees are found in the little moments. Very often, these moments come when we are least expecting them (for example, going back to the chimp spaces to grab more laundry to be washed when suddenly Willy B wants to play, or doing checks to enter a space to clean and being invited to groom with Missy). Sometimes this slows our work down, but then again, it IS our work! How lucky are we?!
Today’s video shows an extra special few minutes I got to spend with Rayne last week, which came as a complete surprise to me! I had been finishing up some early morning tasks, preparing to meet with the team to determine our plan for the day and then serve breakfast, when there was Rayne! You’ll have to watch the video to see why this interaction was so special.
Here are some bonus photos from the day!
Close up of the ever so handsome Burrito
Upside down, goofy Burrito (part of my inspiration for the title of today’s blog!)
Another close-up of Bubs, feeling silly
Honey B
A close up of Beans!
I think it’s fairly well known that Burrito is the jokester among his group. He is constantly making people laugh with his silly antics. He is so funny he can get anyone to usually join in, even Jamie for a little bit! However, if no one is in the mood to play, no biggie- Burrito always has a good time entertaining himself! I think the same could be said for Honey B. Honey B is so funny and always playing pranks on her caregivers, but when she is in the mood to play she is the goofiest of her group member’s.
Bonus Neggie 🙂
As always, I apologize for today’s blog. All staff are arriving at the sanctuary to have our bi-weekly staff meeting. I think I was a little optimistic thinking powering through cleaning to have enough time to grab some photos or video before our meeting. Though we were able to get done with cleaning a little earlier than we usually do, it still wasn’t enough. Especially since it was during the part of day right before lunch, when they are all in the hard to reach spots napping or grooming. I readjusted my plan to get photos during lunch service today. This too was somewhat difficult. On one side, Honey B became a better door than window in my attempts to see/take photos of anyone. On the other side, Burrito just wanted to play, thus souring my attempts with a game of “Poke-the-Camera,” which he finds hilarious.
If you’re wondering why they chimps elected to stay inside instead of venturing out doors today, the answer is weather. There seems to be a little bit of everything in the forecast. It’s cloudy with some sun breakthroughs here and there. Strong gusts of winds are making the panels to the greenhouses rattle. On again and off again drizzles of cold rain are falling from the sky. To top it off, there is some snow that is currently in the forecast for later today. Though realistically (read hopefully) the snow part will change as the day goes on and just turn into rain.
Before the weather started to turn, Negra was demanding to be let onto Young’s Hill first thing in the morning.
Shortly after I opened the door to Young’s Hill, that’s when the weather decided to start. My tall tell sign? Just as fast as she went out, Negra came right back in.
Negra made a beeline straight back to her morning nest.
Negra and her family for the most part stayed in all day. The story next door wasn’t too much different.
But even though outdoor weather wasn’t the most optimal, mealtimes are always exciting. I’m fairly certain I make the same face as Cy and Gordo when my food comes out from the kitchen at a restaurant.
And just as the day started, I will end with Negra in her nest at dinner
Plus Missy and Burrito!
We have a lot in common with the chimps, so this will come as no surprise when I tell you all that some chimps do not not like to have their photos taken. That may sound familiar because I think we all know the people who shine in front of a camera, while so many others loath getting their picture taken. This may also explain why you all see more photos captured of some chimps than others. Cy is very photogenic and never minds a photo shoot. Whereas Missy always seems to disappear when the camera comes out. However, today Missy did not mind letting me take a few portraits while she ate her onions from her forage. Often, when Missy does let us take her picture, she will politely turn away to let us know the portrait session is over. I say this is polite because most chimps try to poke the camera once they have decided the photo session is over, which I can not blame them for!
Please enjoy the Missy and Negra series of portraits and some bonus photos!
Missy portrait series of her eating an onion:
Negra watching her group go out onto Young’s Hill:
Negra at the lunch forage:
And a well deserved nap:
Foxie foraging:
Annie and Foxie foraging together:
Burrito with a handful of forage, watching the neighbors also forage:
Rayne on top of a structure eating her apple out on The Bray:
