Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

Winter Break

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It was gorgeous this afternoon! No wind (a rarity around these parts), clear skies and that welcoming yellow orb in the sky. Everyone except Burrito and Negra spent quite a bit of time on Young’s Hill enjoying this little break from winter. Burrito was very happy to grab snow from the raceway and Negra peaked out but went back to the warmth of her nest.

These two don’t spend much time with each other, but today Annie and Jody went on a little hike together:

Jody and Annie in the bamboo

Jody hid herself above the bamboo:

jody behind bamboo

Annie found a perch:

Annie perched on log

 

Meanwhile, Missy was busy with a large piece of ice she found in a tire:

Missy hold ice

Missy eat ice

Missy carry ice in mouth

 

Jamie was busy trying to stuff a tie (with a troll doll tied to it) into one of the holes in the treat rock:

Jamie stuffing tie into treat rock

 

and Foxie wandered all around with her dolls:

Foxie walking with troll dolls

Foxie walking with troll dolls 2

Jody and Foxie on the hill

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Jody sampled the snow from many different areas of Young’s Hill today. Her favorite seemed to be the snow from the crater in our miniature Mt. St. Helens replica.

Foxie also went all the way outside today, but she tried to keep her feet off of the snow as much as possible.

Everyone else seemed content to grab some snow from the end of the raceway and watch Jody and Foxie brave the cold from the warmth of the greenhouse.

Thanksgiving Day Brunch

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At my house, we traditionally have our Thanksgiving Day meal at lunch because usually we all eat so much that we need a nap almost immediately, but then can get up later and have leftovers and pie! In the spirit of family, I incorporated some of that tradition into the chimps’ day, only they had brunch instead (so they can still have room for their Field Roast dinner and dessert tonight!). Their Thanksgiving Day Brunch included small plates of sweet and regular baked potatoes, Brussels sprouts, onions, pumpkin, cranberry sauce, and some delicious blueberry pomegranate juice. They were going crazy watching us set it all up!

The chimps were so excited when they went into the playroom that a small fight broke out. Chimps are very emotional and sometimes excitement can lead to aggression, which is exactly what happened today. Chimps’ emotions are very strongly tied to their limbic systems, meaning they have less control over their emotions- so when they feel something, they truly feel it and sometimes it gets out of hand (which is why the most predictable thing about chimps is that they are unpredictable). Not surprisingly, like a true Queen, Negra stayed out of things while everyone else worked it out. In fact, while everyone else was screaming and running around after each other, Negra was quietly sitting in her nest enjoying her Brussels sprouts. The argument only lasted about 2 minutes and soon everyone was quietly enjoying their Thanksgiving brunch together.

Negra enjoying her Brussels sprout stalk while sitting in her nest in her favorite spot in the playroom:

Jamie loved the Brussels sprouts!

Missy enjoying a little onion

Burrito was so excited! I wasn’t able to get too many good photos of him today because he was moving around so fast collecting his favorite foods! Here’s a photo of him mid-chew, enjoying the delicious baked potatoes:

Annie enjoying her sweet potato:

Here at CSNW, we have a lot to be thankful for! It’s been a spectacular year and so much of that is because of our generous donors and supporters! In addition to Emily Ruch and Marcia Douthwaite, who both sponsored today, a special thank you goes out to Robyn Petticrew and Barbara Bakaletz, who both made recent donations to help ensure a spectacular day for the chimps! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Two months since Young’s Hill

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Today marks the two month anniversary of the opening of Young’s Hill. Coincidentally it was also volunteer Katelyn’s birthday, so we did have a small party for the chimps. It was only later that I realized we could have also considered it the anniversary party! Here’s some (hopefully) never before seen pictures of the first day on Young’s Hill. I can’t believe it has already been two months! In just that short amount of time we’ve seen the chimps grow more and more comfortable on the hill, and I expect that when next summer rolls around (and all the snow is gone!) they will stay for hours and hours basking in the sun and looking up at the open sky. I watched the KOMO news story again today, and it still warms my heart. It was such an amazing, emotional, and remarkable day.

Annie giving Missy a reassuring kiss
Missy playing chase with Negra
Annie
Burrito
Foxie
Jamie
Jody
Missy
Negra

Snowballs

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You may notice in this video that the chimps often hold the snow out on their extended lower lip to inspect it. This behavior is common with wadges, the clumps of fibrous foods such as seeds and leaves that chimpanzees chew and suck the juice out of (see below). For some reason, chimps love to inspect their wadges as they chew them. Perhaps snow falls into the same category to them, or maybe it’s just too cold to keep in their mouths.

Annie with a wadge of cattails

 

Thank you Kathleen Flynn

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With Thanksgiving approaching, we’d like to give our thanks to a very special supporter. Kathleen Flynn is an architect who has donated her considerable talents to many projects, from public memorial spaces to affordable housing for people in rural and underserved communities. We connected with Kathleen through the 1% Program of Public Architecture, a service that links organizations in need of design assistance with architects willing to donate their time, and we’re both excited to collaborate on a new project for the sanctuary. Through her firm, Wild Goose Architecture, Kathleen has been helping us design our new veterinary clinic addition and develop master facilities and site plans for the sanctuary.

On her website, Kathleen notes that she takes inspiration from the wild goose, which the ancient Celts viewed as “energetically quirky”. Kathleen, if you’re looking for energetic quirkiness, you’ve come to the right place…