I hope you experience the same vicarious joy that I do when watching the cows race to their spring pastures each year.
chimpanzee
It’s the Great Tomato Hunt, Missy!
To watch Missy during a forage with tomatoes involved is like watching a pinball in a pinball machine. At first it seems like random zooming all over the place. But after a while, you realize that it’s all controlled and Missy indeed has a plan. The best way to describe it is “organized chaos.”
Last August, caregiver Anthony was able to perfectly describe Missy’s tomato obsession.
As soon as she spies us take those waxy red orbs out of the refrigerator, Missy turns into a ravenous lunatic whose sole objective is to ingest as many tomatoes as quickly as possible.”
When Missy first makes her way outside, first thing is to grab whatever tomato that is immediate vicinity.
Once all those are gone, it’s time to make her way to the structures. This serves as two benefits:
1) There are usually some hidden at the base of the structure.
2) Structures also provide a good vantage point to spot more tomatoes.
(Plus there may be a hidden one on the top of the structure.)
At times, when she is at a high view point, it almost seems that she plans out her route to capitalize on her movements.
While during the initial start of the forage, Missy eats as she goes. When she passes this stage, she begins collecting her prized foods. This is where her planning from the top comes in. Racing from one spot to the next, grabbing all that she can hold onto with her hands, feet, and mouth.
Once she cannot carry anymore, she anchors in a spot and enjoys the bounty of her tomato hunt.
It’s days like today, watching Missy zoom from place to place in the hunt for tomatoes, we feel very fortunate to be able to provide things they love. You can help us by donating to this year’s Give Big Washington campaign, which ends tomorrow. Anything helps us reach our goal and it directly helps them. So please consider donating if you can.
Bonus photos of Burrito and Jody grooming:
Negra and The Uninvited Lunch Guest
Today, staff put out a lunch forage of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, and lettuce for the Seven on Young’s Hill. After staff vacated the hill and security checks were performed, the hill was ready for the Seven. As the door opened and the chimpanzees began to scatter every which way, there was an alarm.
Negra had spotted something. As she began to alarm call and asking for reassurance from anybody close enough, the others were set to find the source of her alarm: a coyote on the other side of the fence in the adjacent pasture.
Jody kept Negra company as they watched the coyote scamper away into the tree line after realizing she/he was spotted.
Once the uninvited guest was gone, lunch could continue.
Though Negra took it upon herself to be on the lookout for the coyote or any other uninvited lunch guests.
While Negra kept the lookout, the others foraged as usual.
Jamie:
Foxie:
Missy:
Jody:
Annie:
Burrito:
As they returned to the Greenhouse with their hauls, they all ate their lunch in the most relaxing positions.
And if you are able to, please help support us in this year’s Give Big Washington campaign. The Give Big campaign ends May 5th. We do have a pretty ambitious goal this year, but it’s because we have a lot of ambition and enthusiasm to continue to provide care for our 14 current residents, as well as welcome 6 more home later this year. All of your support, whether through donations, campaigns, fundraisers, the Chimpanzee Pal and Bovine Buddy programs, Sponsor-A-Day program, being a Produce Patron, or becoming a part of the sanctuary with a Personalized Stone, helps us to ensure days like today can continue to happen, as well as help us prepare for the Lucky Six when they arrive. Any thing helps! Truly, thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!
50 Shades of Hay
A friend of me recently told me that they find observing cattle to be emotionally grounding. For sure, a serenely grazing cow radiates peace.
It’s difficult to tell when cattle are truly happy since they express their emotions in a way that seems alien to most humans. Still, there is a notable contrast between a calm bovine and an excited or anxious one. We who work with these creatures learn to differentiate between these various behavioral states and use this wisdom to safely provide optimal care.
In a more spiritual sense, I also love to watch the Moo Crew peacefully munch on a bale of grass hay, browse through the willows along the creek, or mow down an overgrown pasture like a band of professional landscapers. They bring me joy.
Today, we’re sharing the Jerseys and their zen-like bliss with you all. Please feel free to hop in your Gator, grab a bale of your own, and join in.
The Celebration
We had our hands full this afternoon with the virtual tour for the Chimps in Need Campaign, but Anna somehow managed to snap a few photos of the Seven enjoying their Love a Chimpanzee Day celebration.
Don’t forget – you can help us welcome six more chimpanzees to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest this year by donating on Monica and Diana’s GiveBig fundraising page or the sanctuary’s main GiveBig page.
Missy:
Jody (with banana leaves):
Annie:
Negra:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Jamie:
It’s Love a Chimpanzee Day 2021!
Supporter Monica Best named April 23rd Love a Chimpanzee Day and has sponsored this day each year since 2010 for her chimpanzee friends at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
We’re using this occasion as the official kick-off to GiveBig. Monica and I have teamed up by creating a joint fundraising page with a $5,000 matching donation!
Love a Chimpanzee Day has become an official holiday around here. So much so, that we even include the day in the annual calendar.
Monica created Love a Chimpanzee Day in honor of her cat Ozzie on her birthday during a difficult and uncertain time when she was battling cancer. She credits the chimpanzees with helping her through that time and subsequent relapses.
Like many of us, even as a kid, Monica loved and was drawn towards nonhuman animals, especially wolves. She didn’t fall for chimpanzees until she happened upon a television show that featured Carole Noon, the founder of Save the Chimps. She immediately searched for other sanctuaries on the internet and found Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
We are SO GRATEFUL to Monica. She has been an incredible champion of chimpanzees and is always thinking of ways to make their lives happier. She’s also always thinking of ways to broaden the support of the sanctuary and encourage others to donate to help the chimpanzees she loves and chimpanzees everywhere.
We would not be in the position of being able to welcome the Lucky Six chimpanzees coming to the sanctuary later this year without her support.
Today we are celebrating with the chimps and inviting all of their fans to join a virtual tour, see the expansion in progress, and learn about the Chimps in Need campaign and all of the chimpanzees who remain at Wildlife Waystation waiting to go to their new sanctuary homes.
You can still register for this 4:00 p.m. PT virtual event here.
Even if you are unable to attend, you can help us celebrate today and the future with more chimpanzees to love by donating on Monica and Diana’s GiveBig fundraising page or the sanctuary’s main GiveBig page.
Let’s all lean on our love of chimpanzees today and celebrate all the joy they have brought to our lives.
Happy Love a Chimpanzee Day, everyone!!
The Gang Grooms the Day Away
Today has just been one of those busy days. Every time I would go to get some photos of the chimpanzees, they were in spots that are extremely difficult to get photos from. And the times the Seven were exploring Young’s Hill, I was in the middle of cleaning and didn’t make in time to take many photos. I was starting to get worried that today’s blog would just be a hodge podge of random photos I was able to get. In one final attempt, I just went to check to see what was happening in the Greenhouse. And there was the grooming party of all grooming parties.
Annie grooming Jody grooming Burrito:
Jamie and Foxie grooming:
Burrito left Jody and Annie to groom with Missy:
Jamie left Foxie to groom my boots:
And Negra passed on grooming to monitor the progress of dinner being made. Priorities.
And if you’re wondering about the hodge podge of random photos, here they are as a bonus.
