Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

Dr. Missy’s Miracle Spring Grass

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The chimps are constantly snacking on grass this time of year. Despite having access to two acres of the stuff, the best grass seems to grow just outside the greenhouse, which means that the humans have to do all the work and the chimps don’t have to get up and walk anywhere.

Convenient, isn’t it?

Missy requested a couple of bunches this afternoon and proceeded to make a nest on the greenhouse platform. This is quite common – when the chimps receive something they know they will enjoy, like when Jamie gets a new book or pair of boots, they often choose to make a nest before settling down with their new treat.

Sometimes the chimps shove handfuls of grass into their mouths all at once, while other times they take a more delicate approach, carefully separating each blade from the stem and eating them one by one.

Using their lips and tongue, they fold the blade up like an accordion and swallow it with minimal chewing.

As we’ve mentioned before on this blog, this is very similar to the way some chimps in the wild ingest certain plants for medicinal purposes.

We do routine checks for parasites so it’s unlikely that they are self-medicating the way wild chimps do. But who knows? Maybe its preventive medicine. Or maybe it’s just a snack. Whatever the reason, the prescription is always the same: More of that grass, please.

Between the storms

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We’ve had some lovely damp days in Cle Elum! Our refreshing spring rain has left a slight warm comfortable humidity in the air and this overcast afternoon made perfect conditions for the chimps to thoroughly enjoy a lunch forage on Young’s Hill.

Negra savoring her corn:

Jamie doing her patrol for fresh produce:

Burrito:

Annie elevating herself to get a better view:

Jody gathering her loot so she can eat it indoors:

Can you spy the prized pineapple top?

P.S. We are low on gift cards to our local Safeway store! If you’re interested in helping fill the chimps’ fridge full of fresh fruits and veggies, you can send us these cards directly from our Amazon wishlist!

A Spotlight on Annie

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Annie Chimpanzee, AKA Annie Bird or Annie Bananie
Age: 44
Favorite foods: Green onions or fresh kale
BFF: MISSY!
Special talents: Making bird noises, playing games with Missy, and drinking smoothies through a big straw.
Favorite place to nap: By the bridge next to the big window on the second floor of the playroom usually not far from Missy or on a blanket in the greenhouse
Favorite activities: Playing with best friend Missy and tickling human bare feet with a tool!
Favorite food puzzle: Annie really likes dipper tubes with peanut butter
Biggest fear: Snakes

 

 

 

 

 

The day after the party

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All of the chimpanzees slept in this morning. While it’s not unusual to come in and find a few people still in their nests, it’s a little unusual to find everyone not only still in their nests, but most of them sound asleep. Even as I began quietly unlocking doors and starting the morning task list, it was a few minutes before anyone woke up.

Foxie was curled up on the heated floor with her doll, still in dreamland, and when she eventually stirred she sat up sleepy-eyed, hair on end in excitement, and trundled over to say good-morning, eyes barely open, but full of joy. Negra even skipped the first part of breakfast and chose to take advantage of having the greenhouse all to herself to get a few more minutes of sleep. But I think we can all relate to the day after an exciting party event.

And yesterday’s birthday lady, Jody? Well, see for yourself…

Happy Mother’s Day Lynda!

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This special day was sponsored by Jamie Ferguson in honor of her mother, Lynda Ferguson! Jamie shared this beautiful message for her mother:

“What better day than Mother’s Day to honor and celebrate the woman who instilled in me my love for animals and passion for animal welfare? My mom, Lynda Ferguson, has always loved animals and it’s because of her that I grew up respecting and loving them too. While she loves all animals, she absolutely adores the chimps of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and she delights in seeing the photos and videos you post each day about their adventures. She introduced me to the chimps as well and, of course, I fell in love with them too. Happy Mother’s Day, Lynda Ferguson! Thank you for sharing with me your love for animals and for truly being the most loving, selfless and generous mom anyone could every ask for and for being my best friend. I love you!”

Jamie, thank you for honoring your mother in such a gracious way and adding even further to the chimpanzees’ lives. We’re so thrilled knowing how much they mean to you both.

Happy Mother’s Day, Lynda! Thank you for loving the chimps and for the difference you make in the world for so many by sending that love through your heart and your daughter.

Mother’s day is a very special day here at the sanctuary. Annie, Foxie, Jody, Missy and Negra are each mothers and we honor them and their children today, as well as each of the chimpanzees and the childhoods they themselves lost. Mother’s Day is also the day we chose to celebrate Jody and her official-unofficial birthday and as such, Jody is 44 today! Jody is the self-appointed “mother hen” of the group, always ensuring that everyone is safe, present and accounted for.

Jody and Foxie:

Who doesn’t wish they had a turtle pool to relax in?

When she’s not rounding up her family members or luxuriating in one of her creative nests, she finds time to maintain her title of Queen of Foraging:

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone celebrating today! We celebrate and honor all the many nurturing, supportive and loving forms which mothering comes in and wish you each a beautiful day.

And Happy Birthday, Jody!! We love you so very much! Everyone tune in later today to see the celebration. 🙂

Sanctuary Wildlife

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Things have been quite busy around here lately with construction and the usual springtime projects so like any rational person I prioritized my task list, divided it into manageable pieces, and proceeded to tick them off one by one in a steady and methodical manner. Just kidding. Instead I became consumed with an unrelated and largely unnecessary project: decorating the new sanctuary bathroom!

We decided that the bathroom should be filled with photos of wildlife taken on the sanctuary property so we went about searching through our archives. I enjoyed this so much I thought I’d share them with you. Long-time blog readers will recognize most of them.

Above is a photo of one of a pair of coyotes that built a den in the old irrigation canal just below the sanctuary residence. For a few months we would watch them return to the den with freshly caught rodents and the occasional chicken from our careless neighbor’s house.

Below are a couple of mule deer fawns. The deer on the sanctuary property are unbelievably tame. Some of the does will even challenge our 85-lb pit bull to a fight through the fence, which to my mind seems just a bit reckless. The herd doesn’t travel very far from our 90 acres so we get the pleasure of watching them year after year and seeing them grow up, sometimes to have fawns of their own.

The sanctuary has a number of distinct wetland areas owing to several springs that flow year round. In an area that doesn’t receive any measurable rain for the summer months, these become oases for many species. But some animals have discovered the benefits of moving into the irrigated gardens surrounding the chimp house. This guy found a perfectly nice grape leaf that gets a light rain every night from 2:00 to 2:15 a.m. As long as he doesn’t go in the chimp house, it’s the perfect set up. If he goes in, he will be Negra’s dinner.

The fence posts and wildfire sprinklers around the chimp house are popular spots for many birds like this blue bird pair. Here, the male sings his song and boasts of his athleticism and his many achievements.

Some birds take up residence in our barns, like the pigeons, swallows, and this fledgling Steller’s jay who wasn’t angry that I was taking his photo, just disappointed.

The sanctuary’s compost system is now the Grand Central Terminal to a vast network of ground squirrel tunnels. In the spring they are lithe and svelte. After a few months of compost scraps this guy is going to need to widen his tunnel.

The skies are always filled with raptors, including bald eagles and red-tailed hawks, keeping us under constant surveillance.

No collection of sanctuary wildlife photos would be complete without a photo our beloved and not-so-wild friend, Ellie.

And while cows aren’t wildlife, we’re using the term loosely to mean “not chimps”. Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg are the first four cows to call our sanctuary home and will soon be moving the lush, green pastures surrounding Young’s Hill. We’ll see how they get along with the chimps.

There are a number of animals on the property that we haven’t yet photographed, like cougars, bobcats, and bears, who are typically more elusive. But the plump hoary marmot that lives beneath the front porch of the upper cattle barn is just begging for his picture to be taken. We’ll have to find some room in the foyer for the rest of our wildlife family.

What’s Your Strategy?

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Today, while observing the chimpanzees forage on Young’s Hill, volunteer Patti said she likes how Negra goes about things.

While Missy is running from one structure to another, finding all of the food that was placed or hidden high up on the structures or the treat rock:

And Jody is busy running around collecting as much as she can, mostly from the ground (low hanging fruit, you might say):

Negra wanders about until she finds some food:

And then she plops herself down and simply enjoys what is at hand (in this case, a beet that she seems to have splayed open and a prized pineapple top):

After finishing, she’ll sit for a bit and look around before moving on to the next station:

J.B. described this as a lack of a strategy, but I think it’s still a strategy to have a laid back, “see what happens” way of approaching the forage.

Either way, she looked very happy out there. ❤️