Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Just like humans, chimpanzees have a complex array of emotions. Some things are so exciting that they elicit strong responses that one might not ordinarily expect.
As breakfast was being brought out to the greenhouse this morning, Foxie was so overwhelmed with excitement, she started to fear grimace.
Luckily for her, her good friend Jody was just within an arm’s length
Waiting to give her every bit of reassurance that she desperately needed.
Jody Chimpanzee, AKA Jo
Age: 43
Favorite foods: Jody likes most food and is an extra adventurous eater. She loves to eat edible wild plants, flowers and other particularly fibrous vegetation.
BFF: Foxie
Special talents: “manager” of the sanctuary, master forager
Favorite place to nap: in a giant nest, usually built in the warm greenhouse
Favorite activities: making large nests, grooming in the greenhouse
Favorite food puzzle: PVC tubes with peanut butter!
Grooming is a daily occurrence at the sanctuary. The chimpanzees groom each other, which facilitates social bonding, but they also groom themselves. Most of the chimps will use their fingers or lips for grooming, but Missy has a preferred tool: a splinter of wood that she “harvests” from one of the greenhouse climbing structures especially for the task.
And a photo of Missy’s foot, just because:
As J.B. showed in his blog post the other day, for Jamie, springtime at the sanctuary also brings drag racing season. And folks, though we know you just saw a fantastic video of Jamie racing the Gator around Young’s Hill, she continues to outdo herself.
Former staff, now volunteer caregiver, Keri, was with us yesterday and as we were headed back to the barn on the Gator after caring for the cattle, we looked up to see Jamie, hair standing on end in excitement (pilo), stomping her foot and clapping her hands. This is Jamie speak for, “Let’s race!!” So we were off! Be sure to watch for the downhill portion of the track. Pure gold.
Did you guys ever have rainy day recess? That is what today felt like, except the chimps did have access to outside. Some people like Jamie went on a few walks (or sprints with the Gator) but in general the chimps kind of all decided to spend most of their day at the top of the platform in the Greenhouse or playing in the Playroom. Today, I got a few special moments caught on camera. My favorite is Jamie wearing a troll scarf and reading a magazine with boots in it. As Jamie is flipping through her magazine Jody approaches her. Jody has a loose bottom lip and is a little pilo. Jody looks longingly into Jamie’s eyes. Jody reaches out to groom and hesitantly Jamie accepts the offer and they groom for about 10 minutes. After, Jody comes over to us caregivers for some reassurance and then climbs up the Playroom caging to nest. Jamie casually goes back to flipping her magazine like nothing ever happened.
Here are a few extra photos I got today!
Jody cozy in her nest:
Burrito with one of his favorite toys:
Foxie was very excited about playing troll toss, which was what happened immediately after these photos:
Foxie later took a nap on the floor but she had no use for blankets:
Today was sponsored by dear friend of the chimpanzees, Arlene, in honor of her husband, Michael, on their anniversary! Arlene shared this very lovely message about her gift:
“Today is our 29th Wedding Anniversary and I would like to sponsor today in honor of my husband. Michael I am blessed to share my life with you. Thank you for all you do for me and so many others, including animals as well as people. Love you always.”
Arlene and Michael, what a gift to celebrate so many years together! Happy Anniversary from all of us here! We’re so fortunate to have you as part of our chimp family and thank you, from our hearts, for helping to provide so many years of family and love for the chimps. Happiest of days to you both!
Burrito and Negra:
(Don’t worry, Burrito’s only yawning here 😉 ):
Today we messed with the chimpanzees’ routine. There is a tall structure in the greenhouse that needed some repair, so the chimpanzees weren’t able to get outside until J.B. and volunteer Chad finished their fix-it job.
All morning, Burrito alternated between his Tasmanian devil self and his adorable playful self.
Lest you think the change in routine or lack of outdoor access caused his Tasmanian devil self to appear, allow me to elaborate to explain that on pretty much any given day, Burrito alternates between these two extremes.
I only got a picture of the later, but you might be able to see a twinkle of mischief in those eyes.
Don’t let him fool you.
When the greenhouse (and the raceway that leads to the large outdoor habitat) was ready to be occupied by chimpanzees again, we decided to take advantage of the unusually warm weather and provide the chimps with a dinner forage outside. We spread and hid whole tomatoes, pieces of watermelon, and mini sweet peppers all over the enclosure.
Much to our delight, Queen Negra was as eager as everyone else to get outside.
Negra is not one to choose to exert much energy, but apparently the whole tomatoes were worth stretching to get:
Jamie utilized the coolest anatomical feature that separates chimpanzees from humans – opposable toes – to carry a tomato as she continued her foraging:
Jody demonstrated the large capacity of her lips by carrying three peppers stacked on top of one another other:
And now the chimpanzees are back inside, quiet as ever while making their blanket nests, to take a restful sleep and wake up tomorrow to another day of sanctuary life.
