chimpanzee sanctuary

Green House Naps

March 23, 2022 by Sofia Castro-Loza

Today was a warm, sunny, and windy 56F degree weather day, perfect to enjoy from inside the green houses. All three green houses were packed with chimps napping and relaxing all afternoon. Jamie and her six friends went on multiple walks around the hill only to come back and relax again. Willy B, Mave and Honey B got access to the Courtyard where Willy B spent a big chunk of time basking under the warm sun. He did not seem to mind the Spring wind at all. The girls remained in the chute enjoying the day. Lucky, and the other five members of her group spent almost the entire day in the green house as well. With optimal napping spots up in the platforms, and raisin board enrichment as extra enticement, it was no surprise that it was just the place to be all day. Even the cattle and Barn Kitty were spotted enjoying this day in the most relaxing ways.

Gordo using a chopstick to get raisins from the raising board enrichment his group got today

Rayne napping…until she heard the “click” of the camera…sorry 🙁

Lucky resting but watching my every move from the platform in the green house

Dora napping

Jamie on the top platform of the original green house, next to a boot…of course!

The cattle in their most relaxed form courtesy of Caregiver Chad who took this photo today while on cattle care.

Even Barn Kitty was into the sun’s warmth for some nice resting time

Chimp ID: Dora

March 22, 2022 by Chad de Bree

Today we will round out our Chimp ID Series of the Lucky Six! Though she is last in this series, she is certainly not the least. Today is all about none other than Dora!

When Dora first arrived here, she was a bit of an enigma to the caregivers. She was very quiet and reserved, and wanted no interactions with the humans outside of meal time. Though she loves spending time with her chimpanzee family, she also enjoys were alone time equally as well.

Lucky, Dora, and Rayne eating breakfast.

As the months went on, Dora really started showing her personality to the human caregivers. She let them know that she indeed loves to play.

Just like a certain someone we all also know well, she is tiny but fierce. Dora is in the fact tiniest member of her group. But despite her small stature, we have seen her step up to the big guys in her group if they get too rowdy.

In fact, today Willy B began displaying in the Oakwood Greenhouse while she was grooming Terry in Riverview. As Willy B was displaying, Dora was the first one to begin to respond to his displays with pant hoots and a swift kick to the caging that separates them.

For us caregivers, it is this tiny body that allows us to identify her easily. But as you may have noticed, though she has a tiny body, she has big eyes. Her eyes are very unique to her group. This is another feature we use to tell it’s Dora.

We are really only starting to get to know Dora, and can’t wait to see her shine!

Marmot Madness (and Other Harbingers of Spring)

March 21, 2022 by Anthony

Although years, days, and seasons are observable phenomena supported by astronomical measurements, the custom of starting our calendar year in early winter seems comparatively arbitrary.

Personally, I tend to feel that western cultures missed a grand opportunity by not using the spring equinox to mark and celebrate another long journey around our star. The logistics of that switch may get a bit messy, but I would support it symbolically… in spirit.

For one thing, spring is accompanied by the start of baseball season. That’s reason enough for me to regard it as a “new year.”

Importantly, it’s also a time of rapid transition around the sanctuary. We caregivers witness the local wildlife emerge from their winter dens (MARMOTS!), the pastures develop a tinge of green, and the chimpanzees venture outside for both recreation and reconnaissance. (Also, there are marmots.) All of these little signs gradually accumulate, day by day, until the landscape is bursting with wildflowers and songbirds and we’ve forgotten all about the winter snowstorms.

In honor of this “new year”/equinox, I’m sharing some recent photos that feel undeniably spring-like. (Did I mention the marmots already?)

The Jersey cattle eating some fresh grass hay

Filling up the cattle’s water trough in the winter barn

A black-tailed deer (one of last year’s fawns) beginning to shed it’s winter coat

The crew from Sage Mechanical setting the fence posts for the expanded outdoor enclosures

A pair of ground squirrels having a moment in the sun

A yellow-bellied marmot peeking out from its brush pile

This morning’s duplicitous weather: snow above, rain below

Willy B foraging for scattered nuts in the outdoor “courtyard”

Cy Solves a Fire Hose Puzzle

March 19, 2022 by Diana

Cy has been trying out different ways of retrieving the walnuts out of the fire hose knot puzzles over the last few months. The last few times that I’ve been in the chimp house when Cy’s group has gotten fire hose knots, I’ve seen him chew the nut while it’s was still in the fire hose, then suck on the fire hose, I suppose getting some essence of walnut out of that process.

Last night, however, I was lucky enough to get this video of Cy’s new, and more fruitful, method of getting that sweet, sweet walnut reward.

a little bit about Fantastic Ms. Foxie

March 18, 2022 by Diana

It was recently brought to my attention that we haven’t had a lot of blog posts about Foxie lately. So, I wanted to let everyone know that Foxie is as fantastic as ever.

I did try to get some photos of her today, but I only got a couple of mediocre ones with my phone as Foxie anticipated and then ate the avocado that Sofía served at dinner:

There’s virtually no where you can go on Foxie’s side of the chimp house without seeing signs of her. Here’s a few photos of Foxie calling cards that I took tonight while spot-cleaning the loft:

I remember several years ago remarking on Foxie’s suddenly gray hair on her arms, which was an undeniable sign of her getting older.

Just last week, however, Foxie did a full flip from a standing position while playing with me. That old lady still has a lot of energy and is way more fit than I am!

Here’s a selection of Foxie photos from the past:

This photo of Foxie:

taken by Katelyn, was the inspiration for this year’s HOOT! graphic, created by loyal blog-reader, Foxie fan, and graphic designer, Kathleen Corby:

It’s true – we are planning an in-person HOOT! fundraising fête this year on September 16th. Stay tuned for more details.

Thank you to everyone who loves Foxie. She is one-of-a-kind and has a way of stealing our hearts every day.

Honey B and Mave Play!

March 16, 2022 by Kelsi

We all know Mave is a laid back chimp, but she has her playful side too. Her playful side might be more short lived than others!

Bonus!

A very handsome Gordo:

And the ever so beautiful and kind eyed Lucky:

Sunny Tuesday

March 15, 2022 by Sofia Castro-Loza

Sunny days are always great, specially after some days of non-stop rain. Today, the clouds scattered away and the rays of sunshine made an appearance. To say the least, everyone, including the caregivers were very happy to catch a break from the Pacific Northwest gloominess. If only there were away to turn OFF the wind!!! But regardless of the wind, the chimps in Jamie’s group went on countless walks around the hill and spent most of the day in their warm greenhouse. Cy and his friends also spent the day in their greenhouse and every so often you could walk by and someone would pop their heads off the edge of the platforms for a subtle “hello”. Willy B and his friends were very into the raisin boards they got for daytime enrichment, although it is very likely that Willy B got every single raisin.

Annie looking over at the neighbors before sprinting over to catch up with Jamie, who was going on a perimeter walk with caregiver Grace and her sweet new boots: