Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Burrito

Thank you, Virginia!

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Today’s 4th of July day of sanctuary was sponsored by the chimpanzees’ good friend, Virginia Keulen! (You may have noticed that Virginia also generously sponsored yesterday in celebration of her birthday!)

Freedom and independence represent many things to many people. Virginia, thank you so much for sponsoring today for the chimpanzees so that they may continue to define and experience what these things mean to them.

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The chimpanzees have the best friends and we are profoundly grateful for all of our supporters and everything each of you do to make the chimpanzees’ lives better. Happy 4th of July everyone! And be sure to check out the chimps’ celebration later today!

I Spy

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Lisa got some pictures of Burrito spying on her from the greenhouse into where she was standing in the front room area, and again from behind the ladder in the greenhouse. It amazes me how anyone could be quite so charming just by shyly spying on you.

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Perspective

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It’s hard to get photos of several chimps in one frame out on the hill. Typically they are foraging or exploring on their own or in pairs, but getting four, five, or six chimps in one frame is pretty rare. It seems this morning, JB was able to capture these rare moments when all but Negra were out on the hill checking out a helicopter flying overhead. They had a good perspective from where they were, I think. And since these aren’t close ups of the chimps, it gives you a new perspective as well.

Annie, Missy, Jody, and Foxie:

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Foxie, Jamie, Missy, Annie, Jody, and Burrito:

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I like this series a lot because both Jamie on ground and Missy (just above Jamie) are climbing up posts simultaneously. (Foxie is up top and Annie is on the bridge).

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Play as Distraction

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Being the perpetually hungry guy that he is, Burrito always knows when meal time is approaching. For instance, he knows that when we’re finished cleaning the front rooms, lunch time is near. Occasionally, for whatever reason, his internal clock is off, and it’s not quite time to eat when he thinks it should be.

This morning we finished cleaning the front rooms a little earlier than usual, and there was still almost an hour to go before lunch, but Burrito was convinced that the clocks were wrong. His excitement turned into a raucous display, and some of the girls got upset with him. Foxie, ever the peacekeeper, calmed Burrito down by engaging him in a little pre-meal play.

Wadging

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Whenever I try to describe wadging, I end up making it sound too clinical: Chimpanzees wadge in order to extract nutrients from fibrous foods. This is true in the sense that humans eat food in order to extract nutrients, but but it doesn’t get at the enjoyment that we feel when we eat.

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I’m pretty sure that chimps get that same feeling when they wadge. One of the most mysterious aspects of it (to me anyway, maybe there’s a good explanation) is that they seem compelled to keep checking on the wadge. They hold it out on the tip of their lips for a visual inspection. They take it out and hold in their hand. They work on rolling it into the perfect ball. I don’t know what makes a wadge good or bad from a chimp’s perspective, but it seems like they are constantly evaluating them.

Young’s Hill is too dry for growing cattails, but we collect them from a nearby pond and give them to the chimps. Cattails are great for wadging, as Burrito demonstrates here: