Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Today was a very low-key day at the chimp house where everyone seemed to be very much OK with doing their thing, even if it was absolutely nothing.
Missy on the top platform of the green house
Missy grooming a resting Jody
Burrito, wooden toy in hand and wearing a slinky as a sock
Cy and his version of random patty cake through the glass
Rayne with her favorite enrichment: Raisin Boards!!
Terry winding up for a display
A Willy B thread
It is important to be flexible during the introduction process. For example, it has been a while since Cy and Willy B had some one on one time with each other. They have been dying to get some alone time together, but it isn’t always up to the shifting person. Some days you get a Gordo who just waltz into a room, not quite realizing what he might have signed himself up for, but I mean it’s Gordo so you have take the opportunity! Or like today you get a Lucky who simply won’t leave the front rooms. My goal as lead today was to get a “bro date” set up for them. I had it almost all set up, Willy B was alone in the Mezzanine, but I need to get Cy alone in the front rooms. Atlas, with all my best efforts I did not win the shifting battle! There is nothing wrong with Lucky not leaving, it just means a change in plans. So we went up to the Mezzanine to see if anyone would join Willy B for a quad! Honey B politely obliged! We have done this quad before, but it is important to build strong relationships, so repeats of the same intros are just fine! Make sure your volume is on for the video. There is a lot of grooming noises or what we like to call “teeth clacking”!
It’s been a snowy, cold, gloomy January. It’s hard to believe that we had clear weather and bare ground at this time last year (see: Winterspring).
While I love the unpredictable moodiness of Northwest winters, the sporadic windows of sunny weather are welcome reassurances that the valley will eventually see pleasant days again. Last Monday, the sanctuary was lucky enough to get a glimpse of the clear blue beyond for a few minutes, drenching the frozen tundra in warm sunshine.
At the time, the entire sanctuary had been coated with hoarfrost for several days. These feathery deposits of ice are created when fog freezes on cold surfaces, thereby giving them a “hairy” appearance. The phenomenon looks absolutely amazing when illuminated by sunlight and outlined by turquoise skies, and the property’s numerous Ponderosa pines are particularly stunning when adorned with the frosty spikes.
I don’t know if the chimps appreciated the hoarfrost as much as I did, but they definitely seemed to enjoy the sun’s rays. When I went to see what the chimps were up to that afternoon, I found most of them lounging on the elevated platforms in their respective greenhouse enclosures, grooming and snoozing the hours away. Only Dora was interested enough in my presence to shift her gaze, studying my camera and nodding approvingly before rolling back over for another nap.
Rayne has charmed many supporters since arriving at the sanctuary last June, including Monica Best, who is another person who is sponsoring today’s day of sanctuary in honor of Rayne’s birthday! Thank you, Monica!
There is no doubt that Rayne is someone to be admired. We knew that Rayne was a strong individual, considered the female leader of her group (with Cy being the male leader) by those who cared for her at Wildlife Waystation. When she first arrived, she was a little slow to show her silly side, but once she settled into her new home and decided she could trust us, Rayne really warmed up to all of her caregivers. She greets us with friendly breathy pants and will play great games of chase throughout the building. She likes boxes, scarves, slinkys and smoothies, all of which she is enjoying in abundance today.
Today is the first birthday Rayne is celebrating at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We think she makes 32 look pretty great.
Just like humans, chimpanzees have a variety of decibels in which they vocalize, though when they are loud, they are LOUD.
It’s that time of year when it’s cold outside and the chimps are hard to find. It was a relatively quiet day, of course as I write this blog I can hear the three groups starting to shout back and forth to one another, but that is to be expected with sixteen chimpanzees. The chimps spent most of their day grooming and nesting in high places, so capturing photos were few and far between. However, we can always find Honey B in the front rooms! Honey B and Mave spent the morning napping close to each other or grooming quietly with one another. Please enjoy these images of Mave and Honey B, I really tried to get more photos!
Cy thought you might want to know we just added some magazine subscriptions to the Amazon wish list!
Not all of the chimps like to be in front of the camera lens equally. Lucky and Willy B, for example, will scooch right up to you and your electronic device with gusto. Others prefer to nonchalantly observe the photographer from an intermediate distance, and a few chimps will even try to sternly poke the camera lens when they’re not in the mood for a portrait session.
Then, there’s Gordo.
Lately, I’ve been making a conscious effort to get portraits of the individuals who spend less time in the spotlight, and Gordo has been the most challenging of that bunch.
Gordo is a wallflower. Despite getting along with chimpanzee companions and human caregivers alike, he exhibits some introverted tendencies. It seems like his ideal afternoon would probably be spent lounging quietly on a lofted platform with an enrichment puzzle in his hands, avoiding drama and staying out of the limelight. This makes him one of the more difficult chimpanzees to photograph.
A couple weeks ago, I saw Gordo laying among his group-mates in the indoor front rooms. Everyone was avidly grooming each other, as they tend to do in the downtime that follows breakfast. Gordo was serenely looking down the hallway, clasping his feet and soaking up the warmth from the heated floors, and we eventually made eye contact. I nodded reassuringly, and he kept staring back. I slowly reached for the camera hanging around my neck and raised it up to eye level as if to ask “can I take your picture?”
Gordo coolly remained where he was and allowed me to approach. I gently knelt in by the caging, brought the viewfinder up to my right eye, and turned the focus ring until Gordo’s auburn eyes and platinum goatee were visible in sharp detail. After I got a couple good shots, I put the camera down and simply sat in Gordo’s proximity for a little bit, enjoying the moment. It wasn’t the fervent grooming or exuberant play that we associate with the sanctuary’s more extroverted residents, but his acceptance made my day nonetheless.
