Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Caregivers are racing around completing chores on this rainy Monday afternoon, so today’s blog post is absurdly simple.
In honor of National Napping Day, here’s a portrait of Honey B lounging on the heated floor in one of the indoor enclosures.
Chad explained yesterday that the chimps have no concept of “daylight savings,” but they definitely know how to spend a gloomy, damp day like this one.
Today is Daylight Savings! Meaning for most of the United States (Arizona and Hawaii excluded) most of us lost an hour of sleep as our clocks were set an hour ahead. But for us here at the Chimp House, it was business as usual since the chimps don’t obey the concept of Daylight Savings. All this means is that the humans come in an hour later, though in reality it’s the same time had we not set our clocks forward.
When the chimpanzees were given access to Young’s Hill, Burrito zoomed out of his greenhouse and was off to the races.
Before we finished our morning run, he stopped for a bit and took in the morning sun.
For others, business as usual can mean something else.
For Mave, it meant a full day of lounging around.
Rayne spent the day fishing for raisins from raisin boards.
Honey B being mischievous.
Dora be inquisitive of the camera.
Cy being as handsome as ever.
Also being very inquisitive of the camera.
A closeup of Lucky’s eye.
And Terry watching the human caregivers walk by.
Hopefully the chimpanzees’ day helped you push through the hour that was lost. We hope you have a wonderful week ahead!
It’s Cy’s 32nd birthday!
His group arrived less than a year ago, so it’s the first birthday that he has celebrated at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
Birthday Fairy Paulette Wrisley helped to make Cy’s celebration even more special by sponsoring a day of sanctuary in his honor. Thank you for remembering so many birthdays, Paulette!
Cy had a fabulous birthday today that included a library theme. Big thanks to Carpenter Memorial Library in Cle Elum for not only donating magazines and books to add to the celebration, but also for giving Cy an honorary library card!
Katelyn coined the term “magazineworm” to describe Cy, and he was certainly happy to have his passion recognized on his birthday:
Enjoy these close-up photos of Cy that Kelsi took during some quiet time today:
No celebration at the sanctuary is complete without a feast. On the lunch menu today were cherry tomatoes and lettuce as a forage and corn (a Cy favorite!) plus giant spring onions and passion fruit.
Jamie was the only chimpanzee out of the sixteen who demonstrated a passion for the passion fruit right away.
All of the other chimpanzees seemed pretty skeptical of this new fruit, but we did see Rayne and Dora collecting the discarded ones later.
Speaking of Rayne and Dora, Rayne really took to this Farmer’s Market book:
And here are some bonus photos of Dora close up, with different color tones:
One of my favorite parts of every morning is the “first look” the chimpanzees take before they journey into the wide expanse of Young’s Hill. It’s that special quiet moment where they determine which direction they want to head out and which quadrant of their outdoor space they want to explore first.
Bonus! Willy B empties his giant Kong.
The Riverview and Oakwood greenhouses provide an incredible amount of warmth, even on snowy days. The chimps also seem to really love the vertical space! We often find them up high in the greenhouses grooming or taking a nap in the cozy snug greenhouse.
The progression of Dora falling asleep:
Terry and Cy having their heads together before grooming.
Terry with his dream-eyes.
Rayne holding her feet and laying in a nest.
Bonus photo! A silhouette of Annie laying next to Foxie.
After taking in several days of great weather, we are back to winter conditions. What started off as rain, quickly turned into snow, with it supposed to last throughout the afternoon and into the night. With a day like today, the chimpanzees are spending most of the day in their nests on the upper story, where it is nearly impossible to get any photos. But who can blame them. It’s the perfect day to just cozy up and nap.
I was able to get some sporadic photos here and there though.
As Katelyn noted yesterday, it’s already beginning to feel like spring. That means a lot around here, but I doubt anyone appreciates this transition more than the sanctuary’s bovines.
Every year, the small herd of four rescued Jersey cattle spend the winter in an enclosed paddock on the northern side of the property. This area contains their main barn (and a couple secondary shelters) where caregivers provision them with grass hay, alfalfa, water, minerals, and supplementary grain.
As the days get longer and warmer, the Moo Crew begin to spend more of their time roaming around the paddock and sunbathing. The muddy brown landscape slowly develops a tinge of lime green and the bovines venture into the creek to browse.
It won’t be until May that the pastures are mature enough to support these large herbivores. (There are several tests that we do to verify that the prairie grasses are ready.) At that time, the crew will pick a day for “The Running of the Cows“– the opening of the gateways to the larger grazing areas— and the bovines will be on their merry way to ruminant bliss.
With that being said, there is always a lot of work to be done before we can safely turn them out for the summer. First, the cattle need their annual visit from the hoof trimmer who makes sure their feet are ready for another year of strenuous trips around the hilly property. Dr. Erin also uses this as an opportunity to give them their annual vaccinations and quick physical exams.
Finally, the fencing itself usually needs a minor facelift. This task will be more difficult than ever this year due to the ongoing expansion of Young’s Hill and construction of The Bray, both of which will now occupy what was once cattle pasture. Instead, the bovines will most likely get access to the wooded farmland further up the slope which we will have to enclose with suitable electric fencing.
Last week, I took some photos of the cattle enjoying a couple fresh bales of hay in their winter paddock.
Honey:
Betsy and Honey:
Nutmeg:
Meredith:
While the bovines have been serenely waiting for pasture, the chimps seem particularly excited about the human activity around Young’s Hill. This afternoon, J.B. hosted some familiar faces who have volunteered to help furnish the new outdoor areas. As is tradition, the tour was mirrored by a few curious chimpanzees. (Unsurprisingly, one of them had to scout out everyone’s footwear.)
Volunteers Tom, Greg, Steve and Brian, with Jamie Chimpanzee & Co. in the background:
This spring will be busy and challenging, but it’s exciting to utilize more of the property and give the chimps and bovines some new experiences!
