Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee rescue

Happy New Year To(es) You

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First, please pardon my attempt at a pun in the title of this blog post. I think it’s fair to blame some other staff for their pun-influence. I am not even sure it qualifies as a pun, but somehow I couldn’t help myself.

Second, today is the first day of 2022. You know that. I’m just still trying to digest that fact. 2021 was a huge year for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We are forever grateful for all of the support that blog readers have shown. All of our matching funds were realized this month, and we are off to a great start for another big year that’s full of the promise of new habitats and new adventures for all of the animals in our care. Thank you.

Third, I hope this video gives you as much joy as it did me when J.B. showed the clips to me on his phone.

A very happy new year to all of you, from all of us, right down to our toes.

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!

The Eve of the Eve

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Holiday preparations continue as caregiver elves now take on the challenge of wrapping at record pace all the toys that were so nicely donated by our amazing supporters. For the chimps today is just a normal day. Willy B, Honey B and Mave got some hanging puzzles as enrichment this morning to encourage foraging behaviors. Willy B was all about it!

Here’s two sequences of Willy B getting going nuts about nuts!

Sequence #1

Goal achieved

Sequence #2

Goal achieved

Willy B about to catch an almond as it falls

Mave was also very excited about nuts

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