Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Burrito

Celebrating Easter Chimp Style

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How did the chimpanzees celebrate the Easter holiday this year? In pure chimp fashion, of course (meaning, a lot of food, enrichment and a good ol’ fashion Easter egg hunt on Young’s Hill). Some of the party preparations included festive blankets, streamers, boxes in the shape of bunnies, books, toys, Easter baskets, bags and eggs.

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We decided to set out a breakfast forage in the Greenhouse this morning using appropriate dinnerware, including Easter cups, plates, napkins and straws. Breakfast consisted of grapefruit, muskmelon, grapes and oranges. Probably the biggest hit (next to primate chow) was the morning banana, almond milk, coconut flake smoothie topped with violet flowers.

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Setting up the streamers and the forage is a pretty exciting time and the chimps will often watch from the windows of the loft area that overlooks the Greenhouse. There’s usually a lot of food squeaks, head nodding and intense watching from the chimps, as staff and volunteers use their skills to transform an area into a party room.

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And what would Easter be without an Easter egg hunt? Young’s Hill is the perfect place for just that. We also “planted” carrots, beets, radishes and kohlrabi on the hill for the chimps to forage for lunch.

And finally, photos of the Cle Elum 7 enjoying their Easter party today.

Negra
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Jamie
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Jody
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Foxie
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Burrito
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Missy
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Annie
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Sometimes I wonder who has more fun at these parties; the humans or the chimpanzees. Often times, weeks before a holiday or birthday party, there is talk of what sorts of items (food, enrichment, decorations, etc.) that would be “chimp approved” that can be used to throw the party. Then there’s the time and energy that go into the preparation of the food, enrichment and the actual party setup (and clean up too). Every single bit of it is completely worth it, once we see how much the chimps enjoy the parties.

Parties are a way of breaking up the routine of day-to-day life and we’re more than happy to make this happen for the chimps, but we certainly do not do it alone. We want to be sure to offer a huge thank you to everyone that helps make celebrations like these so special, including Jayne Roepke, Lisa Stuverud, and Patti Sims. Thank you for all of the holiday decorations, enrichment, eggs and food. You helped make this Easter a hit!!

Downtime

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Mornings at the sanctuary are a flurry of activity – the humans are busy cleaning the chimp house from top to bottom while the chimpanzees are playing with each other or outside exploring Young’s Hill. It’s not until early afternoon that we finally have a chance to sit down for a moment and regroup. It’s during this breather that we typically start thinking about what we’re going to post to the blog that day. Occasionally, we’ll catch the chimps doing something particularly interesting earlier in the morning, and we’ll stop cleaning for a second to run and grab the camera. But more often, our morning routine keeps us so busy that we don’t have time for paparazzi breaks, and it’s already one or two in the afternoon when we finally grab the camera and go see if the chimps are up to anything photo-worthy.

The problem with this routine is that early afternoon is siesta time, so we end up with a lot of photos of sleepy, lounging chimps.

Negra:

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Jody:

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Burrito:

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Too Close for Comfort?

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Chimpanzees spend a lot of time grooming each other. Grooming serves hygienic purposes – removing dead skin, tending to wounds – but maybe more importantly it serves to strengthen bonds between individuals. Chimpanzees don’t seem to have the same hangups about personal space as many of us do; they are not shy about getting right up in each other’s faces (or other body parts). It’s hard to imagine how two individuals wouldn’t be closer after a chimpanzee grooming session.

For the most part, the chimps seem to take these invasions of personal space in stride. This afternoon, though, I found poor Foxie pinned into a corner of the greenhouse by Burrito and Jamie, who were both showering her with (seemingly unwanted) attention. She looked like she wouldn’t mind a little breathing room (that’s Burrito in front of Foxie with his back to the camera, and Jamie on the right).

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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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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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Burrito’s big week

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This has been a pretty big week for Burrito.

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Just two days ago, Katelyn wrote about how Burrito has been tagging along when Jamie and her caregivers walk around the hill. It’s a sign of his growing confidence that he’s able to venture further away form the security of the chimp house in the company of other chimps. But yesterday, Burrito decided that he doesn’t even need Jamie’s company anymore. Now he’s the one asking us to go on walks!

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All day long, he’s been trying to capture our attention with playful stomps and head bobs. As soon as we approach, he runs up the hill, waiting just long enough for us to catch up before running off again. You can even hear him laughing as he runs.

Nearly seven years after their release from the lab, and three and a half years since their first experience outdoors, we are still witnessing the chimps grow physically and emotionally.

Burrito even played a lead role in a brief patrol today. This afternoon, an unusual bird call could be heard coming from the woods nearby. Jody was the first to check it out, as she often is. Burrito then walked to the top of the hill to join her.

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At first, Foxie watched from a distance.

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As did Annie.

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But soon a group gathered at the top of the hill, and after a brief investigation, they determined that is was nothing to worry about.

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So Burrito went right back to his new routine.

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I sure hope this continues. I love to see him freely exploring the hill and taking advantage of all of the space that’s available to him. And I’m thrilled that he’s getting so much exercise. But if I’m being honest, there’s one other thing that I’m happy about, for purely selfish reasons:

He doesn’t make us wear cowboy boots.