Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee retirement

Night Bag Noises

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Nightbags, or night bags, are the post dinner treat for the chimpanzees here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Jamie, Jody, Missy, Annie, Negra, Foxie and Burrito all love these nut-filled bags and each has a preferred practice for how to get the most out of these small but delectable treats.

The sound of the chimpanzees crunching on nuts and seeds is, in my opinion, the sound of satisfaction and a job well done. No other noise is more evocative to me of hope, love, home, and sanctuary. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Listen for yourself and decide.

Jody and plants

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Jody loves plants, of all varieties. In the wild, chimpanzees are known as “frugivores” meaning the majority of their diet is made up of fruit. But they also supplement with leaves, bark, pith, seeds, nuts, honey, ants, termites, and in some communities they will even hunt small mammals. Though Jody loves the fresh produce we offer, she also likes to supplement throughout the day with plants.

Sometimes she forages for native plants that grow wild on Young’s Hill:
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or she also loves to munch on bamboo that we have planted in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill:
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and other times she likes to collect plants we put out as a forage. The other day she collected some pea tendrils from our garden:
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Today she found a mouthful of cattails and took them inside to enjoy at her leisure:
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(and she even found some leftover pea tendrils from the other day, too!)
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Negra’s lips

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One of my favorite blog posts is one that J.B. posted about the stages of Negra’s lips drooping. I think her heavy lips are one of her more endearing qualities, wouldn’t you agree?

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A quiet moment between friends

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We are in the middle of our second heatwave of the season and the chimpanzees are spending much of their time in the cooler chimp house. (With the exception of Jamie who just returned from her third perimeter walk of the day and is currently on her fourth). I recently found Foxie and Dora lounging in the greenhouse, enjoying the breeze:

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Usually the second that Foxie sees us she makes a beeline to us to pass us her troll or Dora doll and start a game of chase. But it’s just too hot for such shenanigans. So we sat for quite awhile just gazing at each other and giving the occasional head nod:

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Those friendships in which you can just spend time with one other without saying or doing anything are pretty great. It is no small gift.

Lounging with Enrichment

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It’s another scorcher of a day here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. The chimpanzees have been taking it in stride though by lounging during the heat of the day with various enrichment in hand (or mouth).

Jody playing with a plastic toy while wearing a sock:
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Jamie lounging with a toothbrush in her mouth:
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Jamie with one of her newest favorite boots:
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Foxie with her bestie:
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Burrito lying around with a brush:
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Negra even held on to a wooden toy:
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Although Annie didn’t have a piece of enrichment with her as she lounged on the catwalk bridge, she certainly seemed to be enjoying the relaxation time:
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And Missy decided to stay out of camera view as she snuggled up in her blanket nest.

Rainy days

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Yesterday, Jamie received a package in the mail with new cowgirl boots from our long time supporters and friends, Don and Karen Young (for whom Young’s Hill was named thanks to their generous contribution to making it possible). When we arrived at the sanctuary this morning, Jamie was watching us from the greenhouse and as soon as we got out of our cars she immediately gestured that she was ready for a walk with her new boots. I think that’s something we can all relate to.

A wonderful article, featuring the chimpanzees, was posted today on One Green Planet speaking to the many ways in which chimpanzees and humans are alike. And today at the sanctuary was another simple example of that. We are getting some much needed rain to the area and the chimpanzees and humans alike are kicking up their heels a bit more with the cooler temperatures. And although Jamie was ready and waiting for an early morning walk, due to intermittent thunder showers, we had to wait for the voltage on the electric fencing surrounding the chimpanzees’ outdoor area to come up before we could give the chimps access to the hill. So just as we humans do when we are waiting for stormy weather to pass, Jamie reluctantly made a nest, holding fast to her new boots, and waited it out.

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Finally, after lunch the voltage on the fence was high enough to give them access to Young’s Hill. Jamie immediately had J.B. put on some boots and they set off for a perimeter walk. While Jamie and J.B. were busy walking, everyone else (well, except Negra who chose to take an after lunch nap) raced out onto the hill to enjoy the brief break in weather.

Missy, being Missy, made several laps up and down, and back and forth, only stopping to occasionally check out the view:

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But it wouldn’t be long before she was off to race across the hill, or chase her friend, Annie, again:

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Jody, marched out onto the hill with purpose, clearly on a mission. A mission to forage for a rather large piece of bamboo to bring back to enjoy in the comfort of her nest before the rain began again:

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Even Foxie felt adventurous and explored the platforms on her own. Well, not exactly on her own as she had Dora with her, of course.

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While these moments captured seemingly simple joys for the chimpanzees that we as humans can relate to, there is no denying the countless ways in which chimpanzees experience the world and their lives just as we do. For me, I just consider us to be different cultures who still have distinctly similar thoughts, emotions, and desires. Who still want the same things in life. Just like all beings we share this planet with.