Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Before the chimpanzees go out onto Young’s Hill, they’ll sometimes stand at the door and contemplate for a moment. I often wonder what they’re thinking during this pause in their busy day. Considering that they spent the first few decades of their lives in tiny cages barely bigger than their bodies, I like to think they’re taking a moment to relish two acres of possibility.
Today the ground is wet from the melting snow, so Missy’s excursions outside were brief and purposeful.
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Judy Nash! Today is Judy’s birthday and she shared that she is giving herself a day for the chimpanzees, who she’s fallen in love with! Judy, what an incredibly lovely and generous gift to give! Thank you so much for including the chimpanzees in your special day. We hope your day is off to a wonderful start and full of pant hoots and food grunts, just like the chimp house is right now!
On behalf of your Pal, Burrito, and all of the primates here at CSNW, Happy Birthday!!
I wonder what Negra is thinking about.
Probably night bags.
For lunch today, caregiver Lisa served the chimpanzees corn, cauliflower, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, and red onions.
Annie with a corn cob wadge (you can see that chimps don’t have the same hangups about “table manners” as we do):
Negra with a mouthful of cauliflower glancing out the window on her way to her favorite spot on the catwalk:
Jody:
Missy heading upstairs with her haul:
She settled in front of the window for a lunchtime view of the valley:
Overnight it appears as though Mother Nature has suddenly come to the conclusion that winter is long overdue. Although we have had periodic snow during this winter nothing really stuck, until now. Starting today, Ellensburg and Cle Elum have joined the rest of the nation as a snow covered wilderness. As you may already know, the chimpanzees consider snow to be a delightful treat so I imagine that they are not that put out by the sudden windfall. Many of them collected a tasty, snowy snack immediately after access to Young’s Hill but not all of them braved the cold for a handful of snow. In an effort to provide access to this good fortune for all we decided on a snow forage in the playroom as extra enrichment today. I’m thinking it was a definite success!
Jamie selecting snow peas from the snow forage:
Annie eating a handful of snow from a bucket:
Burrito eating his snow right from the bucket:
Missy, on the left, eating snow from the table and Jody looking over her shoulder at the camera:
Foxie with a mouthful of snow:
Jody eating snow from a bucket buffet:
Negra, just passing through:
Although everyone sampled the snow, it was Missy who seemed to enjoy the snow forage the most today. She ate mouthful after mouthful.
And kept coming back for more!
Enrichment comes in many forms—food enrichment, social enrichment, object enrichment, and structural enrichment—but sometimes the most enriching things are completely unintentional. Nearly two years ago, JB took out the extremely heavy drain covers we used to have and exchanged them for lightweight covers. They are much easier to handle for the humans, but also much more likely the chimps could get it. However, the covers are durable and pose no danger to the chimps, so the risk of them grabbing it versus practically breaking our backs every time we had to lift the heavy drain cover was worth it!
After JB put in the new covers, we took bets on when the chimps (particularly Jamie) would get it. I guessed about 20 minutes after they had access to the playroom. Diana guessed that night while the humans were away, and JB guessed within 48 hours. We were all wrong! Twenty-three months was the actual answer. We didn’t see how she got it, but when we came into the chimp area a few days ago, Jamie had removed the drain cover, finally.
After removing it, she proceeded to clean it with some scraps of paper. Annie was very interested in watching her—I’m sure they know it is something they aren’t really supposed to have. (Kind of like this time we played keep-away with a laundry basket).
You’ll notice in the video that there is quite a mess in the playroom—it was the day after the Lunar New Year party, so there was a lot to clean up. Once breakfast was brought out, Jamie dropped the drain cover and exited the playroom so we could enter to retrieve it and clean up the party. As far as I am aware she hasn’t bothered to get the drain cover since, but it certainly was enriching for her that morning.
Okay, okay, yesterday was actually Groundhog Day but, as it happens, it was also GAME DAY so we may have been a little bit distracted! As it turns out, it appears the Groundhog has predicted 6 more weeks of winter. [And a Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl win! Oh, wait that wasn’t Punxsutawney Phil, that was me. Did I mention I love football?] Seahawks pride aside, the wind and the snow seem to be in agreement with the prognosticating rodent and have conspired to keep the chimpanzees primarily indoors today.
Annie, in the playroom, relaxing on the bridge:
Burrito, in the playroom, playing with a wooden toy:
Negra, in the playroom, lying down on the catwalk and watching Burrito from above:
Foxie, in the playroom, observing the paparazzi:
Jody, in the front rooms, relaxing on a bench:
Missy, also in the front rooms, relaxing on the bench:
You may be wondering about Jamie’s whereabouts. I can assure you she was around and making her usual rounds but was in no mood to have her picture taken today. Since she is the boss, I was only too happy to oblige her request!
