Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
The grass is turning green, flowers are beginning to bloom and the wind is blowing. I think it’s official- Spring has finally sprung here in Cle Elum!
Even though the chimps don’t enjoy the wind too much, they’ve still been spending more time out on Young’s Hill. Here’s a photo J.B. took the other day of Missy enjoying the view. I just love seeing them in the green grass.
Today we did a big lunch forage on Young’s Hill. It was fairly windy, so Negra decided to enjoy her lunch in the greenhouse, but the rest of the crew went out and thoroughly enjoyed themselves!
Burrito
Foxie
Jamie’s food squeaks were out of this world!
Missy came running over to reassure Jamie during all the excitement
And Jamie kissed her back
After everyone had collected all the most exciting stuff (bell peppers, oranges, lettuce, onions), Missy went back and collected a ton of celery!
Jamie’s favorite spot in the greenhouse lately seems to be this windowsill. I think she likes it because she can keep an eye on almost the entire building from there.
It’s also good for sleeping.
Today was a full day of mini-parties! First, we had a juice forage in the Playroom (something all the chimps love), then we set up a lunch forage in the greenhouse, followed by an Easter Egg Hunt on Young’s Hill! On the menu for lunch was Easter baskets of cut up fruits and veggies in a bed of lettuce, courtesy of volunteers Stephanie and Katelyn. The chimps were so excited!
Missy:
Foxie got a couple of new trolls, thanks to Katelyn and to Dick and Robbi Brown, who donated tons of new toys for the party:
Jody with her head in the game
Burrito always has his head in the game!
Jamie and her loot:
Negra and Jody enjoying their lunch together
Negra was so happy!
After lunch, the chimps went out on Young’s Hill for an Easter Egg Hunt! We were so excited to be able to see them search 2-acres for plastic Easter eggs filled with peanuts and berries. There were also carrots stuck in the ground, allowing them to “harvest” their own carrots! What a fun day!
Jamie never tires of boots, but her favorite bounces around (just like most of us shoe-lovers!). Her current favorite in her collection is this red pair, donated by new volunteer Carrie Parker (thanks again, Carrie!). She has several pairs that are relatively new and that are exciting to her, but today these were the only pair that satisfied her. She had me pull out her entire collection until I finally picked up the red pair, and she immediately jumped up and ran towards the food chute so I could give it to her. The girl knows what she wants!
The chimps have gotten a few visits from old friends lately. Founder Keith LaChappelle was here last week for Sippin’ for the Seven. The chimps are always so excited when Keith comes to visit, especially his pal Burrito! But this time, Negra was especially affectionate:
And today, former volunteer caregiver Kim visited. The chimps were so excited to see her! While we were cleaning the Greenhouse, she got to spend some quality time with Jamie and Foxie through the chimp-proof glass window.
As mentioned on the blog before, the folks that created the treat rock on Young’s Hill had some concrete left over, so they made a little replica of Mt. St. Helens. Foxie and Jody have both explored around the replica, but it also seems to be a nice little perch. Here’s a picture taken the other day of Annie sitting on top of the mountain:
