Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

chimp enrichment

Negra’s 46th birthday party!

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Today we celebrated Negra’s 46th birthday and the 11th anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to their sanctuary. Since it’s Negra’s (honorary) birthday, we geared the day towards the things she truly loves. The morning started with a beautiful brunch featuring buckwheat carrot waffles (with a peanut butter drizzle) made with love by volunteer caregiver Patti, hard boiled eggs from my happy chickens, fresh roses and juicy plums!

I think this video of the waffle feast pretty much sums up how absolutely delighted Negra was.

Then for lunch we set out a giant lettuce forage. It’s really nice that simple things like a whole head of lettuce can still be so exciting to the chimps (even after 11 years!!).
Everyone enjoyed their lunch, but Jamie really wowed us (and not just because she collected a bunch of lettuce). It had more to do with what she decided to do after she filled her hands and mouth:

We were all in awe as she crossed an entire tightrope like this:

Here’s to many more years of waffle and lettuce celebrations!

A Little Slice of Heaven for Jamie

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Jamie was in for quite a surprise today. A very kind friend sent Jamie a package of her favorite things. There was a folio and bag filled with pictures of boots, pictures of Jamie wearing boots, books of other primates, and a calendar of some oh so cute pit bulls! Jamie was satisfied all day! So satisfied that I have barely seen her. Like guys, she didn’t even ask for a walk today! On top of getting such a great package, Jamie also got to supervise activities going on in the new expansion area. Jamie had a really hard time choosing between lounging in her extravagant nest and enjoying her new gifts or observing what was going on in the other room! Watching the chimps get excited about their favorite things always warms my heart. Enrichment really does help these 7 chimpanzees’ lives. So thank you everyone for your support!

I mean doesn’t this just scream Jamie:

Jamie perusing the goods:

Jamie incorporating her favorite things of the day into her nest:

Time to relax:

A look at her amazing and intricate nest:

However, there were people unsupervised on the job so Jamie had to go back to work:

And one extra photo of Jody laying all sprawled out:

 

Thanks for the gifts!

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Earlier this month we put out a special request to our supporters to help us come up with little projects for Jamie to work on. Let me tell you, we had some enthusiastic responses from our donors! She’s received satchels, file folders, folios, cases, specially crafted photos, picture books, colored pencils and much much more! While we can’t always get videos or photos of her enjoying all her new enrichment, we did catch her enjoying her newest journal just this morning.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has helped enrich the boss!

After the Storm

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The days after a snowstorm (or series of snowstorms) are so wonderful, aren’t they? It’s like reawakening to a changed world.

J.B., with the help of volunteer Jonathan, made some pathways in the snow for the chimpanzees today. The chimps watched the work being done for them from the greenhouse. When everything was ready for them, they went outside to stretch their legs a bit, take in the landscape, and get some snow to snack on.

Burrito following Annie:

Jody:

Jody and Missy:

Foxie:

You may have already guessed that Negra wasn’t with the first expedition of the morning, but instead stayed inside until afternoon:

Jamie, meanwhile, was preoccupied with a couple of magazines. In fact, she’s more preoccupied with photos of boots than with boots themselves lately.

She did take the time to go outside to grab a big chuck of snow after lunch before returning to a magazine:

Wanted: Gifts for Jamie

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Many of you may remember this pretty fantastic video of an example of quintessential Jamie enrichment (taken last December):

Jamie loves a project to work on. She likes things she can investigate, take apart and reassemble just the way she wants. She likes things with pockets, compartments and zippers.

We love setting up these special little projects for her and and we could use your help designing more of them. Diana added this Folio to our Amazon wish list as an example of the something we would like to get her.

We also think she would like a used briefcase or messenger bag. If you want to help enrich The Boss, feel free to search your closet or local consignment store for these type of items.

One of the challenges we face when coming up with new enrichment for the chimps is determining if something is safe for them to actually have. Sure Jamie would LOVE to have a real cordless drill, but we also have to think of all the ramifications of her actually wielding such power.

Besides the obvious potential weapon and definite ruin of the building aspects of the drill, we have to consider things like batteries. After the chimps investigate their enrichment, they often try to break their new objects using any means possible. If Jamie did get her hands on a drill, we would never want to see one of the chimps get hurt from biting into a battery.

A long story short, we have a strict list of enrichment guidelines, so please check out this link before you decide to send Jamie a present. We are always happy to help guide your quest for the right item. Feel free to send me an email (anna@chimpsnw.org) if you have any questions.

If you choose to accept this mission, you can send her package to:
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
PO Box 952
Cle Elum, WA 98922

Happy searching!