Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
We all had an adventure on this walk the other day!
It was fun to join the chimpanzees getting caught in the rain.
It reminded me of the very first heavy rain that the Cle Elum Seven experienced. Thanks to this blog, you can learn more about that experience here: Rainstorm Bravery
The photo of Missy in the doorway, watching the rain is still one of my favorites:
I need to take some x-rays of Ms. Honey B’s healing hand, so I will leave you with our most beloved guy, Burrito.
Burrito and a Jolly Ball? What more does one need?
Today, the second day of spring, started out promising! As Ellen and I were giving the cattle an early morning snack, the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds. The sun’s rays felt nice and warm! I was excited, anticipating a warm, sunny spring afternoon. Chimps lounging in the greenhouses, and venturing outside. When I gave Burrito access to his 2 acre outdoor habitat, Young’s Hill, he took off running! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join him but I promised I would do a perimeter run with him this afternoon. Because, you know, it was going to be a sunny spring afternoon, right??
Well, I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere, but, spring in the Pacific Northwest is unpredictable. Cue the rainfall.
So, what do the chimps do when it rains?
Some chimps like to curl up in a big, warm blanket nest (Negra).
Others like to spend time with a challenging enrichment item (Jamie).
Some prefer to watch their favorite movies and videos (Willy B).
Other chimps peruse the latest gossip magazines (Cy).
But, what do Burrito and Foxie do?
You’ll have to watch the video to find out!
p.s. Don’t worry, Kelsi couldn’t deny Mr. Bubs a run around the hill in the misty drizzle this afternoon! You’re a good sport, Kelsi!
As Sabrina mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the weather has warmed up here, the sun is out, and we are thrilled about it! This warm weather has me dreaming of the day the panels come off of the greenhouses, and reminiscing on sweet moments shared with the chimpanzees last spring and summer. It is not quite warm enough to take down the panels yet, as they have an important job of retaining heat when we need to heat the greenhouses and the temperatures are not consistently warm enough yet to put away our winter heaters. In today’s blog video, I’m sharing videos I didn’t get a chance to share with you all last spring and summer of what we have to look forward to!
Today the snow has finally melted enough for some the chimpanzee’s to get outside and enjoy a little jaunt around Young’s hill, although the ground was a little soft for Burrito’s liking.
Today I want to share with you some photos of chimps at play!
First up, Rayne and Dora enjoying the fun that comes with a room full of paper.
Those play faces are the best!
Time to wrestle!
Dora is on the left and Rayne is on the right rocking a waistband.
Next up is Burrito and Foxie!
May we all have those friends in our lives that let us be completely ourselves, and never fail to make us laugh!
Happy Valentine’s Day! Today we celebrated our forever valentines (the chimpanzees of CSNW) with a lovely party planned and prepared by caregiver Jenna! Jenna threw an amazing party, complete with chocolate pudding covered strawberries, fruit-filled ice treats, acai smoothie bowls with berries and homemade granola, chow cookies, and edible flowers in pools of gatorade. She also made mail boxes for Jamie and Cy (the resident book worms) where staff and volunteers could write notes for the chimps (or in Cy’s case, cut out pictures of people from magazines, his favorites!), and banners with photos of the chimps. Check out the video to see Burrito, Missy, Foxie, Negra, Annie, and Jamie enjoy all of their special goodies, and come back tomorrow to see Cy and friends enjoy their party!
