I don’t think I will ever get tired of watching these BFFs play.
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Jody the Harvester
One of the chimpanzees’ favorite activities this time of year is going out on Young’s Hill and harvesting an armful (or mouthful) of the wild plants that grow out there, and bringing them back into the greenhouse to eat or wadge. Jody, especially, is a plant harvesting fiend.
Private conversations
Foxie has good friends. Over the past several days she has been gifted with French Dora, Russia Dora, and Tanzania Dora dolls! They are quick to lose their worldly accoutrements but Foxie couldn’t love them more. While I am not entirely sure what makes one Dora “better” in the eyes of Foxie than another, it seems these are the perfect size for passing through the caging with caregivers, holding in one’s feet during meals, and general ease of portability. She has been utterly smitten with each of them and we have found her gazing adoringly at them on several occasions.
No cultural barriers here. Foxie and her Doras of the world seem to be speaking their own language.
Thank you so much to everyone who has sent these Dora dolls to Foxie! She has been a very happy chimp lady!
Today is for Denice Mikkelson!
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Connie Lamm for her friend and fellow volunteer caregiver, Denice Mikkelson! Connie and Denice have been long time volunteers with Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and we can’t say enough about all they do for us and the chimpanzees. Denice has been feeling under the weather lately and Connie wants to let her know we are all thinking of her and hope she is taking good care of herself.
Denice, if you need any pointers on what this looks like (and if you know Denice, she does 😉 ) perhaps you can get some ideas from Jody, the queen of lounging, relaxing and treating herself right!
Connie, thanks so much for thinking of Denice and the chimpanzees! What a lovely thing that you are always thinking of others and what you can do to make their day better. Denice, all the primates here miss you and are sending good vibes your way. Feel better soon! We are so lucky to have you both among our amazing family of volunteers!
Play as Distraction
Being the perpetually hungry guy that he is, Burrito always knows when meal time is approaching. For instance, he knows that when we’re finished cleaning the front rooms, lunch time is near. Occasionally, for whatever reason, his internal clock is off, and it’s not quite time to eat when he thinks it should be.
This morning we finished cleaning the front rooms a little earlier than usual, and there was still almost an hour to go before lunch, but Burrito was convinced that the clocks were wrong. His excitement turned into a raucous display, and some of the girls got upset with him. Foxie, ever the peacekeeper, calmed Burrito down by engaging him in a little pre-meal play.
Happy Birthday, George!
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by George Halliwell! Today also happens to be George’s birthday! George shared that he wants to celebrate by including the chimpanzees in this special day and that knowing he is helping them brings him great joy.
George, what an incredibly kind, generous and compassionate thing to do, especially on your birthday! The chimpanzees have the best friends! It’s such an honor to be able to witness so many amazing people open their lives to share with the chimpanzees with the desire to improve the chimps’ lives.
Thank you and Happy Birthday, George!! May your day be filled with pant hoots, food grunts, and all good things!
Annie and Missy:
An intense focus
Jamie takes life pretty seriously. She likes to work on her projects, eat meals, take walks, and interact very intensely. Her focus can certainly be intimidating but it’s one of the traits I really admire, probably because it resonates. Today we set up a cabbage forage in the playroom after morning cleaning. In the series of photos that I snapped of Jamie enjoying the cabbage you can see how intently she was savoring each bite. What is even more unusual about this series is that Jamie was so absorbed with her snack that I was able to get in a number of shots before her focus turned to the camera!
