chimpanzee retirement

Happy Birthday, Jenna!

July 2, 2014 by Katelyn

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Jenna Miles. Today is Jenna’s birthday and she chose to celebrate by giving the chimpanzees a special day! Jenna shared the following beautiful message:

“Chimpanzees have been my favourite animal for years, and I hope one day there will be no chimps in labs, as pets or in entertainment or being killed in Africa. July 2nd is my birthday, so I sponsor this day both as a birthday present for me, and to express my joy that at least these seven chimpanzees may live a better life than the one they once had.”

Jenna, this is such a lovely thing to do! Thank you so much for your compassion and for thinking of the chimpanzees on your special day. From all of us here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we hope your days are filled with the joy, comfort and love that you help make possible for the chimpanzees. Happy Birthday!!

I Spy

July 1, 2014 by Debbie

Lisa got some pictures of Burrito spying on her from the greenhouse into where she was standing in the front room area, and again from behind the ladder in the greenhouse. It amazes me how anyone could be quite so charming just by shyly spying on you.

Jamie – Keeping it Interesting

June 30, 2014 by Lisa

If there is one thing that we have written about more frequently than anything else I think it must be Jamie’s multifaceted personality. Jamie is the boss but she’s also good friend. She takes things seriously but she can also be quite silly when the mood strikes. Sometimes she shares her things and other times she’ll take what she wants from others. She’s a complicated individual. She likes boots, enrichment projects that challenge the mind, and doing things her own way.

Being friends with Jamie Chimpanzee is an intense ride but there is never a dull moment. Jamie keeps everyone on their toes and keeps life at the sanctuary stimulating. I simply can’t imagine the diamond of her mind trapped in the confines of her previous environment and I take every chance I get to provide her with a project. Yesterday that meant that I found more challenging places to hide the playroom lettuce forage. I filled the square building blocks you see in the pictures with lettuce, closed them up tight, and hid them in the playroom. Rather than foraging for the lettuce easily available on the ground Jamie made a beeline for the greater challenge of the blocks.

Today we gave her cleaning supplies so that she could participate in her version of the front room cleaning. I was pleased to see her complete that task with vigor. Although I was unable to get a picture of Jamie cleaning up after us today you can watch video of Jamie’s cleaning style here.

But it’s not always necessary to be on the move with Jamie. Sometimes she appreciates quiet down time with friends too! Grooming is a great social outlet for chimpanzees and, on occasion, the chimpanzees will ask to be groomed by their human caregivers. We are, of course, always happy to oblige a grooming request.

Close ups

June 27, 2014 by Debbie

Elizabeth caught some great close ups of the chimps recently. Wouldn’t you agree?

Burrito:

Jamie:

Jody:

Negra:

Perspective

June 26, 2014 by Debbie

It’s hard to get photos of several chimps in one frame out on the hill. Typically they are foraging or exploring on their own or in pairs, but getting four, five, or six chimps in one frame is pretty rare. It seems this morning, JB was able to capture these rare moments when all but Negra were out on the hill checking out a helicopter flying overhead. They had a good perspective from where they were, I think. And since these aren’t close ups of the chimps, it gives you a new perspective as well.

Annie, Missy, Jody, and Foxie:

Foxie, Jamie, Missy, Annie, Jody, and Burrito:

I like this series a lot because both Jamie on ground and Missy (just above Jamie) are climbing up posts simultaneously. (Foxie is up top and Annie is on the bridge).

How does our garden grow?

June 25, 2014 by Katelyn

The chimpanzees are ready to harvest their garden! The garden, however, is still growing. But try telling that to the chimpanzees. Thanks to the hard work of volunteer caregiver, Denice, it’s really starting to take off!

And Jamie is keeping a close watch on it. Every single day:

This is what Jamie has her eye on from atop her barrel at the barn doors:

Every day Jamie and Missy in particular look out the windows and emphatically gesture toward something they would like to taste. So far we’ve been able to oblige the chimpanzees’ requests with chives, strawberries and today, onions! Jamie takes in the view of the garden, sliding from window to window on top of her barrel by pulling herself along the walls:

Or if you’re Missy, you balance on a tire while checking out the garden:

The garden not only helps us supplement the chimps’ diet and adds beauty to their home, but as you can see, it also provides great enrichment for them. It’s a wonderful thing for them to be able to ask for something they see and for us to be able to harvest it for them.

Much to the chimpanzees’ delight, volunteer caregiver, Erin, was able to serve them onions from the garden today at lunch. You should have heard the never-ending happy foot grunts from Jamie:

Jody was so excited she was a little pilo (hair standing on end) and reaching out to get Erin’s attention for more:

Having a more dominant position in the hierarchy, Jody thought she would also help herself to Negra’s onion. You can see Negra (left) with a fear grimace reaching out in a submissive manner to touch Jody, asking permission to keep her onion. While this is a normal part of chimpanzee society, it’s actually pretty rare that anyone decides to take anything from Negra. She seems to fall outside the hierarchy and maintains a level of respect from the other chimps overall. It must be her role as queen! But the garden onions elicited quite a bit of excitement and Jody was unswayed by Negra’s royal status.

But of course, there was enough to go around and Negra was able to enjoy some onions along with everyone else:

After all that excitement, Annie cuddled up with a blanket for a peaceful afternoon nap in the warm breeze:

Missy Makes a Nest

June 24, 2014 by Elizabeth

Nestmaking is one of my favorite chimpanzee behaviors to watch. Although each chimp has his or her own style, the basics are the same. A chimp will add one blanket at a time to the nest, arranging it so that it’s perfectly placed before continuing. Precision and focus are the name of the game.

Typically, the purpose of building a nest is to have a comfortable place to rest. But sometimes, it seems that the object is the process rather than the result. Missy spent several minutes building this nest in the greenhouse this afternoon, and just a moment after she had placed the last blanket, she leaped out of it and ran off to her next adventure.