Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee rescue

In the grass

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Over the last 3 (almost 4!) years, we’ve had tons of blog posts about grass forages (in case you haven’t heard, the Cle Elum Seven love to eat grass!). Oddly enough, the first blog post about grass forages was on May 1, 2009 (almost exactly 3 years ago from today). What’s awesome is that we no longer have to set up a grass “forage” (unless we want to) because the chimps get to harvest it themselves on Young’s Hill. And that’s exactly what they did today. I wasn’t able to catch any photos of her, but even Negra went out a couple of times grabbing big handfuls of grass to take in the Greenhouse.

Burrito:

Jody:

Jamie:

Foxie:

Foxie greeting Jody:

Chimps’ Choice- Spry gum!

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I just looked in the cabinet and realized the chimps are out of Spry Gum! The chimps actually love to chew gum. Sometimes they just swallow it, but usually they will chew it and sometimes even play with it (check out this adorable video posted in 2010 of Negra enjoying a piece of gum). We don’t give the chimps sugar or artificial flavors so Spry is great because it contains Xylitol, a natural sweetener, which is great for your teeth and gums.

So, I would like to propose a challenge: the first 5 people to send this 5-flavor pack of Spry Gum from our Amazon Wishlist will get something extra special from me in return, along with the joy that you helped enrich the Cle Elum Seven, of course! What could be better?

Let it snow!

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Just kidding!

We’re still getting to enjoy beautiful spring-like days here in Cle Elum, but to mix things up a bit, volunteers Stephanie and Katelyn (who drive over from Seattle) stopped at Snoqualmie Pass this morning to pick up some snow for the chimps. Mixed with strawberries and juice, it was a delicious treat! The Cle Elum Seven are certainly not native to the Pacific Northwest, but they certainly know how to make the most of it!

Missy:

Foxie sucking all the juice out of the snow:

Jamie:

Jody:

Annie

But mixing things up for the chimps didn’t stop there. Stephanie brought tons of super soft new blankets for them. Jody was extremely happy. She immediately collected as many as possible and built a giant nest by the barn doors, constantly rubbing them on her face and making an “ahhhh” sound. After a cold snack, new soft blankets were probably right on time. Thanks Stephanie and Katelyn!

Celebrating Negra’s playful side

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Sometimes I feel there is nothing more special than seeing Negra play. And there really couldn’t be a better combo than Negra and goofy Foxie.

(Be sure to watch this video to the very end. It’s hard to see through the caging, but well worth it once you do!)

Jody’s face

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Sometimes Jody can be a tough gal to please. She will often communicate her displeasure with us by spitting mouthfuls of water in our faces or trying to poke us while we’re serving the chimps breakfast. (All of that is normal chimpanzee behavior and we never discourage it. We always want her and the other chimps to be free to express their chimpanzee-ness.)

There’s something about Jody’s face that I find so endearing, though. Even when she’s upset with me and doing her best to make my job as hard as possible, I can’t help but melt a little when I look at it.

Spring on the hill

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The grass is turning green, flowers are beginning to bloom and the wind is blowing. I think it’s official- Spring has finally sprung here in Cle Elum!

Even though the chimps don’t enjoy the wind too much, they’ve still been spending more time out on Young’s Hill. Here’s a photo J.B. took the other day of Missy enjoying the view. I just love seeing them in the green grass.

Lunch Forage

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Today we did a big lunch forage on Young’s Hill. It was fairly windy, so Negra decided to enjoy her lunch in the greenhouse, but the rest of the crew went out and thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

Burrito

Foxie

Jamie’s food squeaks were out of this world!

Missy came running over to reassure Jamie during all the excitement

And Jamie kissed her back

After everyone had collected all the most exciting stuff (bell peppers, oranges, lettuce, onions), Missy went back and collected a ton of celery!