Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp retirement

Through a Window

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Windows are cool.

They let us keep an eye on the residents but, more importantly, also serve to give the chimpanzees a current view of their surroundings. The chimps use them to socialize with the neighbors, survey the property, and monitor human activity.

Today, I took some photos of the chimps from outside their areas.

Jamie
Jody
Burrito
Anthony, trying his best to be artsy
Jamie

On snowy days like today, the windows are even more crucial. Why step outside and get cold toes when you can just spy on everyone from a warm blanket nest? Their logic is irrefutable.

I also stepped into the new playrooms (under construction but almost finished) and looked through all the windows to imagine what the new chimps will see when they get here. J.B. is still rigging the overhead LED lights and some of the windows are still covered, but the windows and skylights fill the space with soft sunlight even on cloudy days. Of course, Honey B watched me the whole time from the reinforced window that looks into the new addition from the Mezzanine.

Honey B
Honey B and Mave (fore- and background, respectively)

Negra Time

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Negra isn’t featured on the blog as much as some of the other chimpanzees because she’s often not part of “the action” at the chimp house (unless it’s spring and she’s outside eating grass – we can’t wait for those days!).

Negra seems to prefer solo quiet time. She also spends a lot of her time high up where it’s not as easy to get good photos and video.

And she operates on her own schedule. While the rest of the group might eagerly line up by the raceway in the morning to get the first pick of the snow, Negra instead chooses to go back to bed.

But then, an hour or so later, we’ll see her with some snow of her own – maybe she ventured out and retrieved it herself, or many she convinced one of her friends to hand over some of their haul (she can be very convincing). Either way, she doesn’t miss out on what each day has to offer, she’s just on Negra Time.

Independence

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When  the chimpanzees first had access to the two-acre Young’s Hill enclosure in 2011, it was pretty intimidating for some of them. Annie, Foxie, and Negra were among the more wary of the large space and unfamiliar surroundings.

In those early days, J.B. wrote about Annie’s reluctance and Missy encouraging her and about Negra seeking reassurance from Jamie when she got a little spooked after summoning the courage to go out there in the first few weeks. He also wrote about a little motivation game that Foxie seemed to invent that got her outside even when she was hesitant.

The experience of having this new big space really brought all of the chimps together as a group and we saw them look out for one another in ways we hadn’t seen in the years prior. It was so touching to witness.

Fast forward almost seven years to today…

Foxie split off from her walking group:

 

Jake and I completely lost track of her until we spotted her again at the top of the hill on the towers with her red haired doll:

 

Jody was looking for Foxie too, and climbed up to make sure all was okay before she went about her own business:

 

Annie went out with Missy first thing, but then completely disappeared on her own, foraging for her favorite plants:

 

I noticed Missy keeping an eye on Annie, just like the friend that she’s always been:

 

Negra broke free of her usual forage pathway at lunch and climbed up on the shaky bridge (this is highly unusual, based on the old Negra, but maybe part of a new normal level of adventure for her):

 

Each year these seven chimpanzees gain more confidence, but they needed each other for encouragement, motivation, and someone to follow along the way. And even in their newfound independence, they continue to look out for one another.