Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

A Walk with Friends

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Patrols around Young’s Hill with Jamie are pretty much a daily occurrence- even today, when the wind is winding, Jamie was off on a walk first thing this morning! She found me again later in the morning when I was rinsing some toys and gestured to a pair of boots that had been donated a few weeks ago that she loves. I gave her one, thinking that’s what she wanted, and when she took it out of the food chute I thought I had gotten it right on the first time. So, I was feeling pretty good about myself. 🙂 A few seconds later, though, I looked up to see Jamie squeezing the same boot out over the top of the playroom door before chucking it down at me. Feeling like I actually hadn’t gotten it right, I picked up the boot and put it on. Voila! Jamie took off and together we (and Missy!) went for a walk around Young’s Hill.

I recorded the whole walk to share with you today, because I find that I always feel re-centered after a walk with Jamie. Something about the calm pace she takes, the quiet, the view, and the moment that you’re sharing with her is grounding. I thought it might be for you, too, so please enjoy this ten-minute walk around Young’s Hill with Jamie (and Missy).

Class Clowns

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I think it’s fairly well known that Burrito is the jokester among his group. He is constantly making people laugh with his silly antics. He is so funny he can get anyone to usually join in, even Jamie for a little bit! However, if no one is in the mood to play, no biggie- Burrito always has a good time entertaining himself! I think the same could be said for Honey B. Honey B is so funny and always playing pranks on her caregivers, but when she is in the mood to play she is the goofiest of her group member’s.

Bonus Neggie 🙂

PNW Chimp Activities

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No two days are quite the same here in the chimp house and that’s part of the fun! At first, my plan for the blog today was to give you the above video I was lucky enough to catch of Jamie and Missy in a quiet grooming session after breakfast from the other day. Kelsi and I were cleaning the playroom and when I looked over to the window, I was excited to see them spending quality time together!

And then today happened. Today has been a bit busier and the chimps are off doing their own thing. We decided to do forages for both groups today since it was cool, cloudy, and not too windy. A light sprinkle of rain came not too long after when us humans were off eating lunch, so when I went over to check on Cy’s side after lunch I was surprised to see Lucky, Terry, Cy, and Gordo all out on the very top of the Bray! Lucky and Gordo spent a lot of time exploring the new structure that was put in last weekend. It was amazing to see them so confident in themselves as they climbed to the top and walked across the firehose!

There must have been something about today, because then I looked over and saw Burrito and Foxie meandering around Young’s Hill. These PNW chimps didn’t let a bit of rain get in the way of their afternoon adventures! 🙂 So today’s blog has become a video of two friends grooming + photos from today, because I couldn’t choose just one!

Negra wrapped up in her blanket after foraging on Young’s Hill.

Negra foraging on Young’s Hill. 🙂

Jamie with some serious side-eye during today’s lunch forage.

Foxie went back out later in the afternoon and scored some sweet potatoes that had been missed earlier!

Annie taking a moment during the lunch forage to see what everyone else was up to.

This afternoon, Burrito decided to take an enrichment item (a stack-able cup) up to the top of a structure on Young’s Hill to enjoy!

I mean, does it get any better than this?

Terry during today’s lunch forage. Look at that beautiful green spring grass!

Sweet Lucky

Lucky and Gordo exploring the new structure on the Bray!

Go, Gordo, go!

Cy opted to bring his reading material out with him. 🙂

Say Cheese!

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We have a lot in common with the chimps, so this will come as no surprise when I tell you all that some chimps do not not like to have their photos taken. That may sound familiar because I think we all know the people who shine in front of a camera, while so many others loath getting their picture taken. This may also explain why you all see more photos captured of some chimps than others. Cy is very photogenic and never minds a photo shoot. Whereas Missy always seems to disappear when the camera comes out. However, today Missy did not mind letting me take a few portraits while she ate her onions from her forage. Often, when Missy does let us take her picture, she will politely turn away to let us know the portrait session is over. I say this is polite because most chimps try to poke the camera once they have decided the photo session is over, which I can not blame them for!

Please enjoy the Missy and Negra series of portraits and some bonus photos!

Missy portrait series of her eating an onion:

Negra watching her group go out onto Young’s Hill:

Negra at the lunch forage:

And a well deserved nap:

Foxie foraging:

Annie and Foxie foraging together:

Burrito with a handful of forage, watching the neighbors also forage:

Rayne on top of a structure eating her apple out on The Bray:

Stay a While

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The chimp house can be a bit chaotic in the morning into the early afternoon, but in a good way, of course. The building is humming with energy in preparation of the day, as the humans prepare meals, enrichment, food puzzles, work on laundry, clean the building, and do more laundry. Meanwhile, the chimps are either laughing and playing or displaying and causing a ruckus. Most days are a combination of all these activities. However, by the afternoon, the chimp house seems to be calmer, at least for the humans. After lunch, is often when you will see the chimps in the position I like to call, come over and stay a while. This is when the caregivers can sit and spend some time with their friends. The chimps often sit in a comfortable position and when they see you, they may get up and invite you to groom or sit with them for a while. Sometimes though, as we walk by to grab laundry or clean toys, we just admire how cozy and laid back they look.

Willy B grooming himself, foot up on the mesh to show he is very relaxed:

Obviously, Willy B have to try to look at his teeth through the camera:

Honey B can somehow look relaxed in a nest while simultaneous looking up to no good 🙂

And Rayne, the laid back queen herself:

Bonus photo of Annie! We put out a lunch forage today with some whole oranges and a few whole veggies. Annie went all the way to the top before everyone and scored big time!

 

 

Good Morning!

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Mornings in the chimp house are busy- there’s breakfast to make, smoothies to blend, lists to check, and chimps to greet. Some days, there’s only time to give the chimps a quick hello while you do other tasks (like safety checks to give them access to the outdoor enclosures). Other days, things take on a slower pace and you find yourself spending quality time with the chimps before breakfast. Today was one of those mornings.

As I was opening up both sides of the chimp house today, I noticed something- Jamie’s side, with Burrito immediately getting me into a game of chase and tug-of-war, felt like greeting a morning person with all the energy to do all the things right away! Cy’s side was like greeting people who need more quiet time in the morning- with lots of grooming and watching of the humans getting their tasks done. It’s not always this way- sometimes Burrito is off doing his own thing and sometimes Cy immediately snags you to play a game of chase, but this morning I felt two very different morning-vibes from each group of chimps. Personally, I categorize myself as a 10am to 2pm kind of person. This morning, though, it was really nice to spend time with morning-chimps and also some not-so-morning chimps. 🙂

P.S: There’s only one more day left of Early Giving for GiveBIG!! The event culminates in a 48-hour giving period on May 7th and May 8th, but you can help us get closer to our fundraising goal by donating early. Help us make BIG things happen here at CSNW! Click here to support us today.

Bonus Photos

Handsome Cy resting this afternoon

Sweet Gordo enjoying his groups’ lunch forage in the Greenhouse today

Boss lady Jamie, enjoying a lilac this morning

On the Daily

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Happy May, everyone! It truly feels like spring is here in Cle Elum, as the (arguably) gale force winds that arrive every spring are here with gusto today.

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, which is an important topic. We are pretty candid on this blog and have written about compassion fatigue and burnout, which are frequent experiences for those in care fields. We’ve also written about compassion satisfaction, a counterweight to fatigue and burnout. Like Kelsi wrote in her blog on compassion satisfaction, it’s all about finding moments that remind us of our why- why we’re here doing what we do, despite the tough moments. The last year has been hard on all of us, with the grief of Jody and Nutmeg’s passing omnipresent, and it’s been important for me to remember that joy and sadness are not mutually exclusive. That they can coexist in the same moments.

To honor National Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought I would share a list of things that bring me joy and compassion satisfaction here that happen almost every day. It’s a list I started keeping in my phone to look at when I feel overwhelmed. It’s not the big stuff, it’s the little moments- the ones that happen almost daily.

(Disclaimer: This list is not entirely comprehensive and all chimp-human contact is protected. Click here for more details.)

  • Going in to say hi to the chimps in the morning and being immediately greeted with excited breathy pants
  • Foxie asking me to babysit her baby dolls while she takes some time for herself
  • Terry kisses (especially when he sticks his tongue out and just kind of licks the back of my hand)
  • Watching the chimps enjoy the sunshine
  • Serving a meal item that the chimps find super exciting (corn, baked sweet potatoes, apples…) and hearing Mave and Burrito’s high-pitched excited food squeaks. All food grunts are joy-inducing sounds, but those two jump the octave and really just make you grin
  • Annie’s bird noises
  • Cy with his magazines
  • Walks around Young’s Hill with Jamie
  • Games of chase with Burrito
  • Grooming with Lucky
  • The way Gordo gently sets down his smoothie cup instead of tossing it to the floor
  • The way Gordo will find even the smallest piece of paper to sit on in the greenhouses for breakfast, instead of sitting directly on the cool ground
  • How the group of 9 will watch us prep meds in the morning from the front rooms with the clinic door open… It’s just nice.
  • How Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Gordo, Cy, Dora, and Honey B hold their smoothie cups during breakfast
  • Terry’s incessant raspberry sounds
  • Looking up to the corner of the playroom to see Negra cozy in a nest that looks like it’s as thick as four mattresses.
  • When the chimps decide they do or don’t want something (i.e. if Foxie decides not to give us the greenhouse for cleaning- we’ll get it the next day, but I love the moments where the chimps choose how the day goes)
  • How Jamie will save her chow and put it in a cup to let it soak in water before she eats it.
  • The noises Willy B makes when he wants us to set up our phones for him to watch YouTube while we clean.
  • How Missy will tight-rope walk across the firehose in the playroom at dinner to grab her food
  • When the chimps take food with their feet. 🙂
  • The little happy toe rubs that the chimps do during meals
  • Rayne sitting in boxes, all day, every day, no matter the size of said box

Some photos of these moments:

Foxie enjoying a walk on Young’s Hill after giving me her baby to watch.

Gordo + pear + foot

Terry, giving one of his morning kisses

Cy enjoying a magazine (and a coconut)