Missy harvested gold today! I was watching Missy looking around Negra’s cabin. She ever so slyly ran back into the greenhouse with something in her mouth. She had a good sized wasp nest! As Missy delicately ate the larvae her friends took turns food peering, except Jamie. Jamie found her own gold, leftover fingerling potatoes from a forage. She found a large handful and was quite pleased with herself!
chimp enrichment
I spy…
Today, caregiver Anthony took off additional panels to the Greenhouse for Jamie’s group. In addition to more air-flow through the Greenhouse (which is why Anthony did this), this allows Jamie’s group a new angle to sneak a peak at Cy’s group (which is always very exciting).
As you can see, chimpanzees don’t spy very discretely.
Burrito:
Can you spot Foxie?
The seven typically like to spy on their neighbors through the Playroom 1 windows. The Playroom 1 windows give them a decent view of the Oakwood Greenhouse as well as one of the Playrooms for Cy’s group. Can you spot Burrito? He likes to set up a barrel for himself so he has seating.
I think his arm propped up on the window sill is a nice touch.
Don’t worry, Cy’s group was pretty unbothered by their nosy neighbors.
Rayne relaxing in the cool front rooms:
In our recent call out for questions or ideas for the blog, some wondered if the chimps still pay attention to the “howdy door”.
All the time!
For those unfamiliar with the “howdy door”, you can watch a video about the door here. It is a door that separates the two sides of our building and our two chimpanzee groups. Any time there is drama on one side of the building, it is nearly a guarantee that at least one chimp will try to see if they can get a peak of the action through small cracks in the “howdy door”. It is also not uncommon for the chimps to target the “howdy door” during their displays.
Willy B and “Howdy Door”:
Hydration Stations
Local temperatures are expected to reach (or exceed) 99°F for the rest of this week. For comparison, NOAA reports that our average high for the month of July is only 80°F.
“Big yikes.”
When the weather gets this hot, our staff deftly adjusts the daily routine to keep the residents cool, comfortable and entertained throughout the day.
One popular activity is drinking from improvised hydration stations (i.e., containers of cold water). Sometimes, we add pieces of fruit or chunks of ice for the chimpanzees to fish out and snack on. Occasionally, we also mix in a little bit of Gatorade® powder to create a diluted sports drink.* The chimps always have access to fresh running water via the Lixit® drinking fountains in each enclosure, but they seem to prefer drinking from the oversized tubs of cool hose water on days like today.
*The best Gatorade flavor is “blue” because it tastes exactly like the color blue.
I took some photos of the chimps in Cy’s group as they utilized the splashy enrichment this afternoon. It can sometimes be difficult to identify them as they lower their faces into the containers, obscuring their distinguishable features.
On the other side of the building, the individuals in Jamie’s group had already filled up with hose water and floating berries and were lounging in the cool front rooms. I managed to capture a photo of Foxie in the “studio,” staring back at the camera with doll in hand.
Gordo’s 34th Berry Happy Birthday Bash!
Today we celebrate Gordo’s 34th birthday! You’re not going to want to miss the video from today’s celebration! There are berries boxes, and bounces!
We would also like to thank Paulette Wrisley for being the second sponsor for today in honor of Gordo Chimpanzee, and followers Tom Austin and Dan Oksiuta! Thank you so much Paulette for sponsoring today in honor of these three amazing individuals! And happy birthday Tom and Dan! We hope you were able to celebrate today and had as much fun as Gordo did!
Here are some bonus photos from today’s celebrations!
Birthday Boy Gordo:
Rayne:
Honey B bobbing for berries:
Willy B bobbing for blueberries:
Jody:
Burrito with an oatmeal wadge:
Burrito, Jamie, and Missy fishing for berries:
Summer Fun
The days have been getting hotter out here in Cle Elum and we have been working to provide the chimps with enrichment to help them stay cool. In Sofia’s Ask Us Anything blog last week, she talked about how we gave them pools of diluted Gatorade as temps were close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We were able to snag some fun reaction videos from Cy’s group and I wanted to share them with you today! Enjoy, stay cool, and happy summer!
Rayne and Gordo:
Terry with one of the roses we put in the pools:
A Good Day: Friendships and Skeletons
Yesterday, Kelsi wrote about all the emotions that accompany the introduction process. She talked about how proud we are of the 9 chimps that are working so hard to make their new group work and how rewarding it is to see new friendships form. It’s hard to believe that when I first started a few months ago, there was a group of 3 and a group of 6. Back then, we talked a lot about how the goal was to integrate them into one larger social group, which would provide each chimp more social partners- which is hugely important and beneficial for chimpanzees in many ways. As I went through training, I watched the caregivers work on smaller intro’s every day to provide the chimps the opportunity to build a strong foundation that they could then build off on in the months to come. Then, we watched as the final door was opened and for the first time there was a group of 9. While this is a blog continuation emphasizing how proud we are of the chimps and an acknowledgement on how hard they have worked, I want to take a moment and say how proud I am of this group of humans that I get to call coworkers. Words could never do the staff and volunteers here justice.
It has officially been over two months (!!) since that day and, although we are still a little ‘stitous, it is really exciting to watch new group dynamics form. Honey B is making friends, the guys are figuring things out, Dora is everyone’s new best friend… every day there is something exciting!
On top of all that, exciting things are happening on the other side of the chimp house too. Burrito has been healing really well since his dental procedure last week! Today he was reunited with his group of 6 ladies and I believe he is currently enjoying the beautiful day out in the greenhouse. Plus, we received a kind donation from a local chiropractor that made Jamie’s day. Check out the video to see what it could be! 🙂
Also, a BIG thanks to everyone who has donated so far to our June matching campaign from Jennifer Douglas that Kelsi mentioned in her blog post yesterday. When I started to write this post, Diana just shared that we are only a few hundred dollars away from reaching the full $50,000 match because of all of your generosity!
Burrito earlier today, before being reunited with his group:
Jamie and Burrito grooming in the Greenhouse this afternoon.
Willy B checking his teeth out in selfie mode:
Cy chillin’ in the Oakwood Greenhouse this afternoon.
Summer Shenanigans
After celebrating its official start yesterday, we are in full summer mode here at the sanctuary! The season has definitely caught up and it is *warm* outside, with the sun in full force. After managing winter weather and cool spring temps, the jump start to summer has us (or maybe just me) sweltering in the heat. Today ended up being the perfect day to remind us (or, again, just me) why summer is so fun.
Diana brought us bowls of rose flowers and petals for both groups to forage, which was a hit! And on Jamie’s side of the building, we decided to fill up their two pools with nice cool water… and then we added a yummy touch- Gatorade!
The bowl of rose flowers, petals, and lilacs for the forage today:
Gordo enjoying his lunch in the warmth of the Riverview Greenhouse:
Jamie’s group has spent a large portion of today exploring on Young’s Hill, relaxing in the greenhouse, and spending time by the Gatorade pools. Cy and his group have seemed content to spend time in the cool front rooms, and right now I can hear Terry blowing raspberries trying to get someone’s attention.
Check out the video for more on today’s chimp-house-summer-time-shenanigans!