Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimp sanctuary

Cold Snap

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The Pacific Northwest is experiencing a cold snap this week. Today the high is 18ºF with a low of 5ºF tonight. With temperatures such as these, the chimpanzees have sought refuge in the upstairs areas of their respective playrooms where it is nice and warm. They are all napping as I write this.

With days like today, it can be difficult to get photos of the chimpanzees. The upstairs areas are notoriously difficult (read pretty much impossible) to take photos of. I was able to get a few opportunistically throughout the afternoon, mostly during lunch when they all came down.

Terry eating his carrot during lunch.
Willy B working up his display toward Cy’s group during lunch service.
Dora waiting for her turn to be served her lunch.
Rayne eating her primate chow on the highest leaf platform on the tree in her playroom.
Mave and Honey B grooming after lunch.
Mave!

Micro/Macro: The Sequel

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Today’s post is a sequel to a blog entry I penned back in October: Micro/Macro.

In case you’re short for time or simply don’t want to delve back into the archives, I’ll briefly summarize the first post with this TL;DR (“too long; didn’t read”):

Macro photography is the practice of photographing objects so they are magnified at a ratio larger than 1:1. It’s good for taking pictures of small subjects or zooming in on select portions of larger things. I personally rented a versatile macro lens for my Nikon camera (they call theirs a “micro” lens) and used it to take close-ups of the chimps. Some of these images turned out nice.

Well, it probably won’t surprise you to know that I eventually purchased the micro lens for myself (partially because I’m committed to improving my skills and partially because I’m a helpless sucker for Cyber Monday deals on new tech gear).

The lens arrived on Christmas Eve and I immediately brought it to the sanctuary the next day. Some of the chimps were once again patient enough to model for me as I reacquainted myself with the new glass. Half-sisters Honey B and Lucky were extremely interested in the lens and kindly tolerated my company as they relaxed in their indoor areas, resulting in the following photos:

Honey B looks down into the lens
A close-up of Honey B’s eyeball
Honey B foraging and unwrapping gifts on Christmas Day
Lucky
Lucky’s fingers
Lucky’s toes (her feet are crossed)
Lucky

So This is Christmas 2021

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We are very grateful to be able to throw such fun parties for the chimpanzees! It’s all because of the people in their lives who care – people who have personally known the chimpanzees for years and those who only recently were introduced to the sanctuary online.

A giant thank you to each and every person who makes sanctuary a reality for these incredibly deserving individuals, including the bovines who got their first taste of some new alfalfa today!

Three More Sleeps

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This month has flown by! Can you believe there are only three days left until the chimps celebrate Christmas? The caregiver elves are working really hard to get everything ready for the highly anticipated day! Today Anna and Chad built Jamie and Honey B’s workbenches! Lucky’s group has not yet experienced a CSNW Christmas and we look forward to them opening the amazing presents everyone has donated! Every year we express our gratitude to you all for your generous donations and kind words and this year is no different! As the presents roll in, I am always in awe of how much support you all give to us! So thank you!

And as a thank you I thought I would share a little photo shoot with the ever so kind and beautiful Lucky!

And because it is the season of giving we have a few bonus photos ;).

Jamie savoring her icicle!

Gordo playing with one of his favorite enrichment items (a box!) and eating one of his favorite foods!

A Window to New Friendships

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Introductions between Cy and Willy B’s groups have been progressing along. Today we decided to do something new and different. There are panels between the two greenhouses that provide a visual barrier between the two groups. We removed one of the panels so the two groups can now see and safely interact with each through this portal.

When the groups were given access their greenhouses, Lucky and Rayne were the first ones to notice. Rayne waited around the portal for some time, but nobody showed up. It took a while for Willy B and Mave to realize there was a panel missing. As with new things, a lot of excitement can happen. Usually a lot of screaming and displaying. Surprisingly, there wasn’t as much as we expected. There was mostly positive interactions.

The paneling is located on the second story of the greenhouses, so getting photos up there is almost impossible especially in the winter when the outside paneling is up to keep the chimpanzees warm. I was able to catch a couple of photos from the ground floor of Willy B during one of his displays.

Willy B looks at his neighbors looking at him.
He begins to work up his display with hooting.
He stands bipedally and become piloerect.
Just a blur.

Here are some bonus photos of Gordo and Cy enjoying some snow snacks!

Gordo
Cy

 

It Flakes One to Snow One

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The Pacific Northwest is projected to experience a snowy La Niña winter, but I personally wasn’t expecting to have this much snowfall so early. Today’s local forecast predicted only a couple inches of precipitation yet we just shoveled at least triple that amount from the same sidewalks we just cleared yesterday evening.

The chimps are warm, cozy and entertained (hanging out in their heated indoor areas by choice), the cattle are fed and dry in their winter paddock and barn, and the other caregivers are busy finishing up the daily tasks. There’s also a formidable amount of shoveling and plowing to do outside so today’s blog is unapologetically brief!

As much as I love plowing the driveway with the new tractor, the brightest moment of my week actually occurred yesterday afternoon while doing farm chores. As I drove out to muck the cattle barn, I spotted a distinct trail of animal footprints crossing the pasture. The tracks had the telltale shape and gait of a coyote’s, registering four clawed digits from each paw. Of all the region’s native carnivores, coyotes are perhaps the best suited for living in proximity to humans; their adaptability makes them one of my favorite animals to observe and learn from. I followed the creature’s path across the driveway and stopped where its trail plunged into the brush, eventually crossing the nearby highway and descending towards the wooded riverbank below. As I tend to do, I took a photograph to share with you all.

A close-up of a coyote print

Here are a couple more shots from yesterday:

Meredith
Nearby mountains as seen from the winter barn