Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Moving Fourward

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Today was busy busy. While the usual daily tasks were in process, we continued introductions that featured a Honey B, Willy B, Cy, and Terry quad. During the beginning they spent a lot of time divided by the mesh while Cy and Willy B sorted things out with plenty of displays. When they calmed down we opened the mesh and they were together interacting for around 50min. A lot of grooming and playing went down today.

Willy B and Cy grooming – Willy B’s lip smacking was epic.

Honey B and Terry engaged in some intense playing. Terry’s mouth says it all.

So Fresh, So Clean

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Today has been another busy day at the sanctuary, so I’m going to forego my usual style in favor of something simple and brief.

I took some photographs with my phone today in order to show you all what it takes to keep everything clean, organized, and functioning around here. Our care staff has to complete many tasks each day, in addition to special projects and weekly chores, and these images show some of those.

One ongoing project has been the weatherization of the new greenhouses. J.B. has been working around the clock (with some help from special project volunteer Adam) to get the panels secured to the outside of these massive outdoor enclosures. The results are already remarkable! The panels will keep the area warm by radiating sunlight inward and shielding the chimps from the winds of winter, so we’re getting them done just in time.

Meanwhile, inside the building, the rest of the team was busy preparing meals, enrichment and meds; shifting and performing safety checks; cleaning all the enclosures; washing heaps of dirty blankets, dishes and chimp toys; and processing a produce delivery that arrived this morning.

It may look like a chaotic mess throughout the day, but things are looking ship-shape right now as I’m closing up the building for the evening.

We occasionally remind people that caregiving for chimps isn’t all fun and games, but sometimes it takes a chimp-less blog post to sell that concept.

Have a great week, everyone!

Quiet Days

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It was a pretty laid back day around the chimp house today. Everyone must still be resting from Jamieween and Lucky’s birthday! The weather was cold and mostly cloudy today, so it was a good day to just lounge around. In the afternoon there was a window of some sun and the chimpanzees in Jamie’s group took this opportunity to explore Young’s Hill. They were out there for awhile, but then it was back to resting again.

Missy watching the others on Young’s Hill.

Burrito between sprints around the hill.

Foxie with her doll.

Jody took her golden beets from lunch onto the hill.

I couldn’t decide which photo of Annie I liked the best, so I added them all!

This is how I found Willy B lounging this morning when I was opening up the chimp house.

Katelyn took these great photos of Honey B interacting with the foot box today.

Just as I was adding the title of this blog “Quiet Days” Willy B started rolling this scooter back and forth. I think it’s dinner time!

 

Lucky’s 30th Birthday Celebration

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How lucky are we all that we have Lucky Chimpanzee in our lives now?! As Katelyn described, she is a gentle soul with an ineffable charm.

Her lunch forage, as seen in the video above, also included cherry tomatoes, of course, as we have noticed that is one of her favorite foods. We didn’t get a lot of video or photos of Lucky because she, Rayne and Dora enjoyed the party upstairs while “the boys” partied on the first floor

I love these photos that Kelsi took after the party because they are so sweet and because I know she had to go to some lengths to take the photos through the upstairs window to that playroom.

Lucky is the chimp puddle in the front of the photo below, with Terry far left, Dora far right, Cy behind Lucky, and Rayne’s foot in the right corner:

Lucky and Rayne:

Rayne sleeping off that oatmeal:

Thanks goes to Chad for the party plans, Dr. Erin for the oatmeal idea, Kelsi, Anna, J.B. and Lizz for pulling off simultaneous parties in different parts of the sanctuary, and also to Paulette once again for sponsoring Lucky’s special day.

Thursday Mood

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Today the November rains seemed to fully set in. The chimpanzees have been nesting, napping, grooming and intermittently going for walks on Young’s Hill between cloud bursts. I caught Burrito in relaxation mode lounging in the portrait studio. 

Just try not to YAWN when you see this photo. Side note, have you ever thought about where and how your tongue moves when you yawn? What about if you yawn when you’re laying on your back? Does your tongue change positions? These are my deep thoughts on a Thursday.

Jamie’s the Coolest!

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Throughout the day we have moments where we are like, “Jamie is the coolest”. I think I write a blog every year about how much I admire her. She just isn’t afraid to be herself. She says what she wants, does what she wants, and means it whether you like her answer or not! I think we all have to admit that is pretty freakin’ cool. What I love about Jamie is that she has so many layers. She is scary, she can tend to be bossy, but she is also silly and funny. This afternoon as I was trying to find blog material and I found Jamie demanding something very specific. I couldn’t find the exact thing she was looking for until I found her new star cowboy boots. On the other side of the building JB and a helpful volunteer are putting a roof on green house two and three, so she got a bit distracted and went to the window to watch. I went around the building to the window where she was looking out. She let me take these amazing pictures of her and then she ran out onto the Hill very playfully. Her intentions were not to walk but to get a better look at the project going on, Willy B in the chute, and of course to demand me to give her whatever grapes were still left!

This was the lineup for Jamie, including Chad’s cleaning boots that I was sporting for her.

These were the boots she was looking for!

View from the top of the green house. This was the project Jamie was managing from the window.

Jamie, isn’t she amazing!

Jamie’s Boots and a Scarecrow Murder Mystery

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Before I begin, let’s play a game! Who killed the scarecrow?

If you look closely, there is a hint. Be sure to think about it as you continue reading on. The answer will be revealed at the end!

Last week, I received a new pair of Xtra-Tuf boots. After a year and many miles put on them, holes were starting to develop in them. It is manageable though, however, after the other caregivers noticed my boots, I was convinced to finally retire those pair.

“Retire them” is a vague term however. As you may know, Jamie is a fan of the Xtra-Tuf boots. She is also a fan of what boots belong on what humans.

When I unboxed my new boots, I casually walked near the doors to Jamie’s Playroom, just to see if she would notice without any kind setup. It took her about 2 seconds to notice I was not wearing my “normal” boots. As you know, with any new boots, Jamie has to thoroughly inspect them by grooming them.

This moment lasted about two minutes. Jamie quickly determined that these boots do not belong on this human. In fact, these boots belong on any human except this one.

First, she demanded(!) Katelyn wear them around Young’s Hill with them on, not once, not twice, but three times.

Then, she demanded Katelyn take a trip around Young’s Hill (while showing them off) on the Gator with Sam as the driver.

She even wanted to really break them in by racing the Gator.

Funny story about this photo. I was behind the Gator, which Sam was driving and Katelyn was riding in wearing my boots. I was wearing my old boots because like I said, they belonged on anybody but me. I also didn’t belong in the Gator apparently.

Over the past week, she has had every other human wear them.

Jamie grooming them while Sam wears them.
Sofia wearing them around Young’s Hill with Jamie.

During my weekend, I was also informed Diana and Kelsi were told they had to wear them throughout the day.

At this point, I think it’s fair to say every human has worn them more than me. I’m not mad or upset about this. I am fully aware this is Jamie’s world and I’m just living in it. If these boots don’t belong on me, then those are the rules.

Here is a bonus photo of Missy from yesterday. As Burrito and I were running around Young’s Hill, Missy came out with a Brussels sprout stalk in her mouth. She ran the entire way with it in her mouth as if it were the Olympic Torch. As I witnessed this, I radioed Anthony to get a photo before she made her way inside. Where did it come from? The only explanation is that it was stowed away safely somewhere after Jamieween.

Have you locked in your guess who the scarecrow killer was? The person who caused this grisly scene was…

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JAMIE!!!!!

Though she also had accomplices.

Missy and Annie were Jamie’s accomplices.