Enjoy this video of the chimpanzees enjoying their spinach and pancake dinner.
chimpanzee rescue
Foxie and the paparazzi
Today I felt a bit like a chimpanzee sanctuary paparazzi. This first set of photos shows Foxie yawning – I just thought they were cute. The second though are spy-like photos of Foxie lying in a nest!! I was at the chimp house late and I caught her in an actual chimp nest (sheets and all!) way up in the corner of the catwalk. This is very exciting. If there were a chimpanzee sanctuary tabloid, I think the Foxie nesting photos would make the cover.
Get ready for it – the first real photos of Foxie settling down into a comfy nest of sheets. I don’t know if she made the nest or was borrowning one that someone else made.
She caught me taking photos, but didn’t seem to mind.
I know this is blurry, but sometimes that’s all we sanctuary paparazzi can get. Foxie is holding a troll doll in her left hand and a long-handled brush in her right.
Tug of war
Here’s a video of Foxie enjoying a game of tug of war with Diana:
Party day
Thanks to the generosity of the chimpanzees’ friends and supporters, the chimps have had a wonderful Mother’s Day (and Jody’s birthday!). For the big day, we purchased some of the chimps’ favorite produce — sweet potatoes, parsnips, bananas, corn on the cob, blackberries, greens — and in honor of Jody, we set out fresh straw and tons of cushy blankets for nesting, and pink and yellow roses for smelling and eating (although Missy preferred to nest with them). The weather in Cle Elum today is slightly windy but warm, and the chimps spent a good deal of time outside this morning playing, enjoying their forage, and sunning themselves.
And here are some photos of the birthday girl (with roses, investigating a bucket of soapy water, and in a giant straw nest):
Thanks so much to all of our supporters for making today such a great one for the Cle Elum Seven!
Today at CSNW
Jody grooming and snuggling a large stuffed bunny:
Burrito having a quiet moment:
Interspecies grooming
In addition to grooming one another, the chimpanzees sometimes enjoy grooming their caregivers. To keep everyone safe, our fingers never penetrate the caging, but the chimps can extend their fingers through the caging and make contact with the backs of our hands (or the bottom of our shoes, as you will see in this video).
Grass forages and family photos
We recently discovered that the chimps are crazy about grass. Today we picked some fresh grass from the pasture on the grounds and spread it in the chimpanzees’ outdoor enclosure. Here are some pictures of Annie and Jody enjoying the forage. Unfortunately, the pictures were not able to capture Annie’s delighted food squeaks.
And here are a couple of pictures of JB serving lunch outside yesterday. The second one is a complete family photo!
