Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp enrichment

Welcoming in the New Year

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We are all continuously so amazed by how generous our supporters are—truly, you all keep this sanctuary running! We are able to give Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Annie, Negra, and Jody a cozy warm home, good healthy food, long-lasting friendships with caregivers, and an endless supply of trolls, boots, and other enrichment directly because of YOU.

This year, our family of staff and supporters has grown stronger and our hearts have only gotten bigger from how grateful we are to see these seven special beings live their lives without the fear of being in confined biomedical lab cages—not knowing what would happen next.

Now, you can see in their eyes they trust us. They trust us. It truly amazes me after all they’ve been through, that they not only forgive humans, but learn to build friendships with confidence, trust us with their most prized possessions, and even help us out when needed. It’s because of your support that we can maintain these important relationships with these chimpanzees and provide them with hope, love, home, and sanctuary.

Our goal for year-end giving of individual donations was fairly optimistic, but we’re getting closer and closer every minute that we creep toward welcoming 2015. As I write this, we are just $1,512 short of our goal for year-end giving! In just a few short hours, you can help us make it to our goal for this year (or surpass it!)

Dora and friends got dressed up for the New Year’s Eve bash:
Dora the Explorer on NYE

Everyone enjoyed a sparkling apple cider forage, especially Jamie:
jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

Missy had her own technique:
missy drink cider

Everyone else was busy collecting the nuts and coconut flakes we scattered around like confetti:

Foxie:
foxie

Annie:
annie

Jody:
jody forage

Negra:
negra forage

negra forage

Cheers to you and yours, and Happy New Year from all of us at
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!

More Avian Visitors

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One particular day earlier this month, Jamie kept zigzagging back and forth across Young’s Hill instead of making her way all the way around the inside perimeter of the fence. There was a loud drumming sound coming from a group of pine trees on the east side of the property and whenever she heard it, she would head straight for it. But the sound always stopped when she approached. She stared at the trees for quite some time before continuing her walk around the hill again.

The area where the loud drumming sound was coming from.
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Jamie on Young’s Hill.
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I was with her on the fourth trip around the hill that day and we spotted the culprits on a dead pine snag within the group of pine trees. She didn’t seem too threatened by them, mostly just curious. She watched them as they made their way to the top of the snag and flew out of sight before continuing her perimeter patrol.

The chimpanzees have had a few new avian visitors this past summer, including Hank the hawk and Bernard the eagle. And now, we introduce you to Wanda and Wallace, a pair of pileated woodpeckers. They were the source of the loud drumming sounds.

Wanda
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Wallace (notice the red streak on his face)
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The pair. This is one of those Where’s Waldo photos except that instead of looking for Waldo, there is a second woodpecker on the trunk of the tree. Can you see it? (Hint: only the beak and lower body are visible on the second woodpecker)
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A wonderful Christmas time

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The chimps (and the humans!) have been having a really great Christmas, thanks to all our amazing supporters! We had five people sponsor the day for the chimps today, so we owe a big thank you again to Laurel H., Kathleen K., Molly W., Michael H., and Janine B.

Also a huge shout out to Lisa S. and Jayne R. for their decorations that we were able to spread across yesterday‘s and today’s parties! Carol M. sent us seven adorable chimpiñatas which we added to the decor, too. More thank-yous are in order for everyone that sent in new toys which became presents for today’s celebration, including Sharon & Larry C., Diana M., Lisa S., Jayne R., and Helen K. Here’s part of the haul in front of Santa’s sleigh:

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Volunteer Patti and supporter Anne also picked up a lot of yummy fresh produce for the party and Patti made amazing roasted pumpkins with quinoa, wild rice, and veggies.

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The day began with a small forage of tomatoes, pistachios, and shaved coconut in the tree. Negra was the first out to see what we had set up under (and in) the tree.

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Missy snagged most of the tomatoes, and went through the presents, too:

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The party then moved into the playroom, where all the food and presents from our friends near and far brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees!

Annie:

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Jamie:

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Foxie:

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Missy:

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Negra:

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Jody:

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Burrito

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As if those photos weren’t enough, here’s a video of the festivities of the day. Thank you again to everyone who has helped bring such happiness to the chimpanzees this Christmas and every day!

Jody’s Snack Preference

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Out of the seven chimpanzees here at the sanctuary, Jody is the one most likely to forage for native plants on Young’s Hill, earning her the title of “Jody the Harvester.” Throughout the summer there are a variety of plants to choose from. However, during this time of the year, there really are no green plants growing on the hill other than the bamboo that we have planted. Even though we serve the chimps fresh fruit and vegetables each day, Jody still likes to have a little snack in between meals.

Shortly after we opened the door to Young’s Hill this morning, Jody was quick to check out what it looked like outside. Timing could not have been more perfect. There was a glimmer of sunshine peeking through a miniscule hole in the clouds. And, it wasn’t raining. She went out onto the hill and came back with this piece of bamboo to munch on.

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Saving Dora

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Foxie has an interesting relationship with her dolls. She almost always carries at least one with her, and we wouldn’t think of putting out the enrichment for the day and not including a handful (or several handfuls) of trolls and Doras. As much as Foxie likes having her dolls with her, she also doesn’t mind being separated from them – temporarily. She’ll toss one to a caregiver, or Jamie will swipe one to entice Foxie into a game of keep-away. But Foxie almost always reaches a point where enough is enough and she wants her “baby” back.

Today a Dora doll was stuck in a toy and Foxie was determined to get it out.

After awhile, Foxie had had enough and grew increasingly upset. With one final pull, she freed Dora, and then screamed at the offending toy for good measure.

Roasted pears on snow, a delicacy

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‘Tis the season for roasting and baking foods for the chimpanzees! They’ve had baked sweet potatoes almost everyday this week and they LOVE it! Food squeaks echo throughout the chimp house when they see the caramelized glaze on the potatoes. Yum! We’ve been experimenting with roasting some other foods, too, to mix things up a bit. Beets, carrots, and pears have all been a huge hit.

Today volunteer Sandra and I baked some pears with the plan to put a couple out as a forage after we cleaned the chimpanzees’ playroom. Here’s the before and after shots:

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I turned off the oven well before we were done cleaning but the pears were still pretty hot when it was time to set up the forage. So we came up with a nice way to cool them off—use them as a topping on some snow!

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Sandra filled bowls up with fresh snow that fell this morning and scattered bits of roasted pear on top. All the chimpanzees huddled around the door as we set up the forage, pant hooting and food squeaking with excitement.

Jamie did not hesitate in grabbing as many bowls as she possibly could. Luckily we scattered many bowls around so everyone got to have a few, but Jamie got the biggest haul. It also helped that she used a box as a collection device. She pulled her box around and added bowls to it as she went through the playroom, as a sort of shopping cart.

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Once she had collected everything she could, she sat down to enjoy her snow and roasted pear snack.

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A Little Adventure on Jamie’s Boots

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Volunteer caregiver-in-training Liz and I were walking around Young’s Hill with one of Jamie’s favorite boots not long ago. When we rounded the last corner of the hill, on our way back to give Jamie the boot, Liz spotted a patch of mud and decided to stick the sole of the boot in the mud “To put a little more adventure on it.” As soon as we went inside, we headed straight for where Jamie was so that she could have some time inspecting and grooming the boot.

Ever since that day, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. We’ll never really know why it is that Jamie insists that volunteers and staff walk around the outside of the Young’s Hill fence (always wearing or carrying a boot or two), while she patrols from inside the fence. Perhaps it’s because it’s just more fun to have company come along, or maybe she feels that she is “leading” the patrol if there is someone else with her. But, maybe it’s because she wants to have a little piece of “adventure” from the other side of the fence; her bit of freedom from the other side.

Whatever the reason may be, we are always happy to join her on her walks around Young’s Hill. The photos are from Jamie’s third walk around the hill today.

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Here is what the boot looked like after the first part of the walk.
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This the boot after the entire way around Young’s Hill with plenty of adventure on it.
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Jamie just as I was presenting her the muddy boot.
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