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
Between Two Burns
This morning, the staff were greeted by cloudy skies, relatively cool temperatures, and even a tantalizing sprinkle of rain.
The overcast weather created a welcome break from the blistering sun and oppressive heat of the past few days. With the worst of the Northwest’s heat wave now seemingly behind us, the sanctuary’s chimpanzee residents have resumed their routine of patrolling the outdoor enclosures, lounging in the greenhouses, and playfully chasing their caregivers between areas. We humans also appreciated the respite as opportunity to properly ventilate the Chimp House and get some chores done outside.
We’re well aware that the nice weather may only be an intermission between difficult times. With the air staying hot and dry and the wind picking up again, the risk of wildfires has dramatically increased in the region. E2xperts are warning of extreme fire danger and have implemented a burn ban for much of eastern and central Washington (including the county where we are located).
Still, we’re quite prepared for fire season and continue to make the property more fire-wise each year. Earlier this summer, we gave the rescued Jersey cattle access to the upper pasture where they can trim down the vegetation that would otherwise be potential fuel. Our ongoing efforts to renovate the outdoor habitats (and add irrigation to both the existing and new areas) will also improve our defensible space around the Chimp House!
The Unsuspecting Friendship
Today, my phone sent me a notification of a memory from last year. One year ago, the quarantine period for the Lucky Six ended and got to be closer to their neighbors (at the time): Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. It doesn’t feel like it has been a year, but at the same time it feels like it’s been over a year. A lot has happened since, like the Lucky Six’s “neighbors” aren’t their neighbors anymore. They are one big group. Since they have been living together for almost three months, it’s hard at times to think they were ever two separate groups.
One of the budding relationships we didn’t anticipate in this new group was that of Mave and Dora. During the introduction process, Mave and Dora didn’t necessarily have bad interactions. Their interactions just were never the best. Lackluster is a word that could describe it. They were mostly low key and in short spurts. After the full integration, their friendship really started to come to fruition. At first, it seemed like Mave would just follow Dora constantly with Dora trying to get away. As the weeks went by, and Mave showed Dora what support she could offer as a friend, Dora stopped trying to escape Mave. Or at least as much. There are still times when Dora does want her alone time, but Mave now seems to get the hint when that is. Mave will leave her alone for a little while (but not too long), interact with the others, before returning to Dora.
It is now not an uncommon sight to find these two together in the afternoon, side-by-side.
One day, I even found them like this. Laying down, holding hands, and just staring at each other.
Later on, something startled Dora. I couldn’t see what caused Dora to become upset, but she started alarm calling, followed by screaming, before racing off into the Riverview Greenhouse. Mave was in the other room, but she heard Dora and followed the screams to the greenhouse. As Mave emerged from the Marmot Playroom, Dora leaped towards Mave and they embraced in the most endearing hug I have seen.
That hug seemed to calm Dora down.
I, for one, personally cannot wait to see how this friendship blossoms even further!
Here are some bonus photos from today!
Gordo eating some fingerling potatoes at lunch:
Jamie enjoying a raspberry branch as browse:
Terry in the Riverview Greenhouse with a mouthful of water and wadge in hand:
Jody watching some construction around Young’s Hill:
And resting in the afternoon:
Annie foraging for some pre-breakfast prickly lettuce:
Burrito racing toward me as I was taking the above photo, telling me it’s time to race:
Rayne relaxing inside where it’s cooler:
Dora in her patent Happy Dora Pose:
Cy grooming Mave grooming Willy B:
Cy catching up on all the latest celebrity news a couple of days ago:
We also want to thank our friends at Tru Earth! About a year ago, as an ongoing effort to reduce our environmental footprint, we switched the detergent we use to wash the chimpanzee’s blankets. Tru Earth were kind enough to start a fundraiser store just for us. Twenty percent of every purchase made from this unique URL will go toward the chimpanzees! If you are in need of cleaning supplies or other eco-friendly products, please consider shopping at this site!
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:
Flourishing in Sanctuary
If you read the blog daily you have probably heard us use the words elusive or aloof to describe Gordo at some point in time. Gordo has been coming out of his shell for a while now, but recently he has been REALLY playful with not only his chimp friends, but his human friends too. I use this word a lot when talking about the chimps, but it has really been a true honor to watch Gordo flourish in sanctuary. But that is what it is, an honor, especially a chimp like Gordo who always seemed more reserved than others. When someone like Gordo lets you into his circle how could you not!
Gordo’s birthday is on Tuesday, he turns 34! We still have a few party things on the wish list for him!
Bonus photo of Mave:
Thank you all for your questions and ideas! If you missed yesterday’s blog, check it out here! We are so grateful for your support and curiosity! We will be sorting through them and we look forward to writing these ideas for future blogs!