Last week we posted some photos of a silly play session between Foxie and Jamie. Here’s some video from that play session. Enjoy the play faces and breathy laughter!
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Jody and plants
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:
or she also loves to munch on bamboo that we have planted in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill:
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:
Today she found a mouthful of cattails and took them inside to enjoy at her leisure:
(and she even found some leftover pea tendrils from the other day, too!)
Negra’s lips
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?
A quiet moment between friends
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:
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:
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
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:
Jamie lounging with a toothbrush in her mouth:
Jamie with one of her newest favorite boots:
Burrito lying around with a brush:
Negra even held on to a wooden toy:
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:
And Missy decided to stay out of camera view as she snuggled up in her blanket nest.