Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

Same boy, different toy

by

Today’s blog is kind of a revisit of last Wednesday’s blog. Same boy, different toy.

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_I_kd_IMG_7740

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_II_kd_IMG_7742

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_III_kd_IMG_7744

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_IV_kd_IMG_7746

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_VI_kd_IMG_7751

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_VII_kd_IMG_7752

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_VIII_kd_IMG_7754

As most of these games with Burrito go, this is just his warm-up. Eventually, he can stand it no longer and launches down off the bench (as he’s moving to do here) to advance into the tickle and chase portion of the game.

web_burrito_slinky_fr4_VIV_kd_IMG_7756

Of course, it’s incredibly fun to have the honor to play with any of the chimpanzees, but it’s hard to find words to express the heartfelt gratitude as we witness them living their lives with such joy after all they’ve been through. That they find within them such a capacity to enjoy each day out from under the shadow of their histories is the best gift of all.

Enriching Jamie Chimpanzee

by

Of all the residents at CSNW, Jamie is the most interested in participating in human activities. We’ve seen her shovel snow and use tools, along with many other human oriented projects. Our strict guidelines for enrichment mean we can’t give her absolutely everything she desires (can you imagine Jamie wielding a real power tool?!). But with some creativity, we can still find things that entertain her. The other day we had a bit of success with some new art supplies.

The New Annie

by

Just a few years ago, Annie was glued to her best friend Missy’s side. Missy was Annie’s security blanket, and she followed her everywhere. Annie was afraid to be alone.

That’s not the case anymore. These days it’s not uncommon to see images like this one of Annie enjoying some solitude on Young’s Hill this morning:

web_Annie_sit_log_triangle_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7705

She sat there for several minutes until Missy, who had been doing her own thing further up the hill, came over to say hi.

web_Missy_walk_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7690

web_Missy_Annie_snow_log_triangle_YH_ek_IMG_7694

web_Missy_Annie_snow_log_triangle_YH_ek_IMG_7696

Missy sat down next to Annie and they hung out together for awhile, taking in the view.

web_Annie_Missy_sit_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7697

web_Annie_Missy_sit_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7700

web_Missy_sit_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7699

Eventually, Missy decided to head inside to the greenhouse. Old Annie would have followed.

web_Missy_sit_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7701

web_Missy_walk_toward_greenhouse_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7702

But new Annie is plenty confident in her own company.

web_Annie_sit_log_triangle_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7706

web_Annie_sit_log_triangle_snow_look_at_camera_YH_ek_IMG_7711

web_Annie_sit_log_triangle_snow_YH_ek_IMG_7712

A shock from the past

by

When I was gathering photos the other day for the Share the Chimp Love Video, I came across the photo below of Jamie and gasped out loud.

I think it’s been a few years since I saw this image, but it’s very familiar. It was taken in September of 2008, three months after the chimpanzees arrived to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. J.B. posted it to the blog back then.

It was one of the best photo portraits we had of Jamie, and we even used it for some early  postcards that we made.

jamie
Jamie “Before”

 

But looking at it now, it’s just not the Jamie of today.

Her cheeks were hollow and her eyes sunken. Her freckles were more pronounced – maybe because they hadn’t darkened from sun exposure yet. And the look in her eyes just wasn’t the determined, curious Jamie that we now know and love.

Compare that before photo with the one I included in the Share the Chimp Love Video, taken last summer:

Jamie strong and confident

 

Or these that I took this morning of Jamie getting the most out of a new book:

Jamie look at camera

Jamie book in face

Jamie eating book

Jamie look at hand

Stirring Up Trouble

by

Jamie does not live in the moment. She is a thinker and a planner. Sometimes you can see her wheels turning and you have to wonder what she’s up to. As the leader of her group she performs frequent dominance displays, but with Jamie, they don’t always seem to be about dominance. Or at least not solely about dominance. Sometimes it seems that Jamie displays because she’s bored and wants to stir up a little excitement.

This happens a lot when all of the other chimpanzees are settled down, quiet and doing their own thing. Jamie struts around the room, assessing the situation and planning her strategy.

web_Jamie_quadrupedal_stand_plan_next_move_PR_ek_IMG_7622

Then her hair stands on end, she pant hoots, drums on her go-to plastic barrel, and ends by screaming and throwing the barrel across the room.

web_Jamie_display_PR_barrel_kd_IMG_9019

She then quickly looks around to see if she got anyone riled up. If not, she tries again. And again. Eventually the other chimps can’t help but get caught up in the excitement. Pant hoots are like yawns to chimps – they’re contagious. Once the chimp house is a cacophony of noise, Jamie seems to feel like she’s done her job and she’s finally able to settle down.

web_Jamie_hold_cloth_enrichment_PR_ek_IMG_7626

web_Jamie_inspect_cloth_enrichment_PR_ek_IMG_7624

web_Jamie_inspect_cloth_enrichment_PR_ek_IMG_7625

web_Jamie_hold_cloth_enrichment_look_toward_camera_PR_ek_IMG_7627

web_Jamie_profile_PR_ek_IMG_7630

web_Jamie_PR_ek_IMG_7633

web_Jamie_PR_ek_IMG_7631

Burrito’s invisibility cloak

by

Burrito is known for his ridiculously adorable shenanigans. And today was no different. (There are some blurry action shots that I just couldn’t leave out).

web_burrito_veil_play_I_kd_IMG_7604

web_burrito_veil_play_II_kd_IMG_7606

web_burrito_veil_play_III_kd_IMG_7607

web_burrito_veil_play_IV_kd_IMG_7608

web_burrito_veil_play_V_kd_IMG_7609

web_burrito_veil_play_VI_kd_IMG_7610

web_burrito_veil_play_VII_kd_IMG_7611

web_burrito_veil_play_VIII_kd_IMG_7613

web_burrito_veil_play_X_kd_IMG_7615

web_burrito_veil_play_XI_kd_IMG_7617

Despite the blur of Burrito, I love his huge play face you can just make out under the veil. At this point, he jumped down to begin a raucous game of tug o’ war with the scarf. This guy.

web_burrito_veil_play_XII_kd_IMG_7618