Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp enrichment

Happy Birthday Foxie!

by

I’m pretty sure Foxie was in heaven today. We caregivers were too! Boy Scout Troop 336 from Federal Way made it out yesterday and were able to finish the new bridge. It looks amazing! The chimps were pretty excited about it too– more on that tomorrow.

And, we have just $1,398 to go to meet our goal for $36,000 for Foxie’s Birthday! It’s been an exciting day for everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who’s donated so far and please keep sharing the information with your friends! The day’s not over yet!! Click here to learn more.

As usual, Foxie has been in a super goofy playful mood all day… how could you not be when you are surrounded by all your favorite things?! Thanks so much to everyone who has been tirelessly collecting troll dolls and Dora the Explorer dolls for the big day! I’m pretty sure it was the best day yet for Ms. Foxie. 🙂

More on brave Burrito

by

Burrito is often intimidated by new things, so while we all had high hopes, we never really expected him to explore Young’s Hill all too much (fun fact: almost ALL the caregivers wore Burrito shirts on day one of letting the chimpanzees out onto the hill. That was not planned– but a great way to cheer him on apparently, as he went right out when the door was opened!). He has completely surprised all of us and is surprisingly comfortable out there, though has never ventured too far away from the safety of the greenhouse. But as Diana mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, Burrito spent some significant time out there foraging and exploring areas we haven’t seen him explore yet, including the bamboo and the furthest climbing structure. The interesting thing is that Jamie was the one leading the way for him! While I wouldn’t call them enemies, I also wouldn’t call them the best of friends either. Jamie often picks on Burrito and treats him like her annoying little brother, so it was really nice to see that yesterday Jamie decided to treat him like a buddy.

Burrito and his popper toy

by

All the chimps have been in great moods today! (Check out the status update I posted this morning on our Facebook timeline).

Burrito spent probably an hour non-stop playing with this popper toy. He kept pushing it—with his hands and even on his head! He sat on it, carried it around with him, and seemed to be really enjoying himself. It was pretty hard to focus on getting the front rooms clean when we had to pause every couple minutes to laugh and be goofy with him.

Showing us how it’s done

by

Jamie always seems to want to be in the middle of the action- no matter what that action is. If you are friends with us on Facebook, you probably saw the post from a couple of weeks ago about Jamie and the staff meeting. Elizabeth and I were in the greenhouse brainstorming with a clipboard, pen, and paper. Jamie came over and asked us for the pen, so we gave her one. She then pulled up a chair, flattened her paper out on a flat surface, and joined us. We sat there for quite some time discussing various staff-only related topics.

And that’s very typical Jamie behavior. She often mimics us and wants to be involved in whatever we are doing– even if we are just cleaning.

Luau!

by

Yesterday, we threw the chimps a Luau! Volunteer Steph and I have been planning it for a couple of months now and she went shopping and got so much cute stuff! There were 5 adorable pinatas (including a mermaid, a dolphin, a tiki man, a toucan, and a sun), a giant palm tree, fishing nets, leis, and tons of festive cups for tropical drinks. She went waaay over the top with this party– and it was perfect!

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been collecting all the Luau-like troll dolls and Doras too

Thankfully, the chimps were just as enriched as we were!

Jamie:

Burrito:

Negra:

Foxie:

Jody:

Missy:

Negra and Annie focused heavily on the peanuts in the pinatas:

Once the tropical juice was all gone, the Luau spilled out onto Young’s Hill. Jamie was so excited about the pineapple:

Foxie explored the hill and collected chow with her new Dora

Annie

Jamie

Steph also brought banana blossoms, which Jody thoroughly enjoyed but Annie found one on the hill. She looked pretty proud of herself!

Thanks so much for bringing Hawaii to the chimps, Steph!

Today’s goofy play

by

Today, the chimpanzees were being pretty playful, especially Missy and Burrito. I wasn’t able to get the best video while trying to play tug-o-war with Missy, but I got a short clip. Burrito was playing a lot with Jackie at the barn doors. You’ll want to watch until the very end!