Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Missy had such an amazing birthday party yesterday! Because we had so much to cover for her party we weren’t able to share what happen over on Dora’s side of the building! They also had a lunch forage to celebrate Missy. Please enjoy the video and photos from yesterday!
Willy B with an arm full and a mouth full of chow:
Rayne in all her pepper glory:
A very distinguished Mave:
Mave swooping in to grab tomatoes:
Gordo with a mouth full of what we think is chow:
Sweet Dora:
We all know that Missy is an accomplished athlete.
She tirelessly outruns the fastest Gators, deftly balances on the thinnest tightropes, and snatches the juiciest tomatoes from her opponents with ease. Her cunning and skill have been lighting up the blog for years. This stocky, springy chimpanzee truly know no bounds.
All of her feats are even more impressive when you take her age into account. We will be celebrating Missy’s 47th birthday at this time tomorrow!
How does one stay so energetic and spry into their late 40s? Missy’s keys to success seem to be regular practice and excellent nutrition. Athletes have to “limber up” before strenuous physical activity so that they’re ready to perform when the stakes are highest, and Missy never forgoes an opportunity to sharpen her skills. The tomatoes she acquires along the way are just extra motivation to keep moving.
Today, we scattered an exciting “pregame” lunch of fresh veggies for the chimpanzees to forage in their grassy outdoor enclosure. This afternoon’s spread wasn’t nearly as exciting as tomorrow’s party forage will be, but Missy and company spent a good amount of time searching for produce in the tall grass. Afterwards, they returned to the Greenhouse to engage in another of Missy’s favorite activities: social grooming.
Jody:
Jamie:
Missy:
Jamie:
Negra:
Missy grooming Jamie:
Jamie being groomed:
Burrito:
Be sure to check in with us tomorrow to wish Missy and her companions a happy, tomato-filled 47th birthday!
(In case you want to review the record books, here are links to Missy’s most recent birthday celebrations: 44th, 45th, and 46th.)
P.S. Here are some bonus images from this morning: Cy and Gordo hanging out in the shady Oakwood Greenhouse!
Gordo:
Cy:
The Cle Elum Seven formed by Negra, Jamie, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, Annie and Missy have been neighbors to the newly formed group of nine chimpanzees for almost four months now. We have received questions about whether they react or not to the other group. The short answer is yes, the long answer is that it depends. I have been working as a caregiver at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest for about 15 months now and during this time I’ve noticed that some of the chimpanzees under our care react more than others when it comes to ruckus on the opposite group. Some members of the Cle Elum Seven get very invested when they hear something going on, while others continue their day like if it were business as usual.
A great example of this is what happened today at lunch time. We set up a forage in Young’s Hill for the seven that included corn, mini peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, onions, and chow. With the idea of grabbing stills of them foraging for their favorite items, I brought the camera with me. Every single one of them was super excited to get out there, with Negra leading the way. About 3 minutes into the forage, the nine had a disagreement and the screaming on that side commenced. Jamie, Foxie, Annie, and Burrito dropped what they were doing to investigate. They went to the corner of the hill with the best view of the greenhouses and stood bipedally trying to figure out what was happening. As the screaming on the other side of the sanctuary continued, they eventually went inside to the greenhouse and playroom to peek from the windows and display at the other group. I realized that six of the seven chimps were inside and ignoring their meal. So where was Negra?
I walked outside and found her. Alone. On top of a platform, enjoying an ear of corn. She seemed completely unfazed by what she could hear happening in the distance. Cases like this make me wonder whether she thinks her group mates are fit enough to handle the issue without needing her assistance, or whether she simply put food first and decided to let the situation unfold. Whatever it was, she looked peaceful, at ease with her corn and chow, simply unbothered.
Burrito had a pretty busy day! It seemed like everyone wanted to play with him, which for Burrito is the perfect kind of day! It was fun to see that even Annie wanted to join in! Burrito and Annie do play and interact with one another. However, they tend to have some miscommunications with each other as well, so to catch a small moment of them having a good time is always a treasure.
It’s hard to decide whether or not to film these fun moments the chimps are having with one another. Pulling out our phones or camera can often distract or stop them from engaging in the interaction with each other, and there are times when it feels like they should just have the time to play and interact without us disrupting them. There are other times when we decide that maybe they are in the moment enough to not notice and we go for it. We never want to interrupt, but we also want to be able to share it! Today was a day I was able to capture these moments without bothering the chimps!
Bonus! Today was a warm one, so what better way to cool down than with a Popsicle!
Foxie approved!
Today, we have three blog “topics” to cover, all related to upcoming celebrations. (I’ve dotted the blog with recent photos as well.)
First and foremost, this day of sanctuary was generously sponsored by our friend Laura Bradshaw to honor the birthday of her son, Ben.
To accompany her gift, Laura wrote:
I’d like to celebrate my son, Ben’s birthday. He is an avid animal lover and counts the CSNW critters among his very favorites (including barn cat and office cat and dog). Thanks to your wonderful blogs, he counts chimps and cattle among his dear friends. Thank you for all you do.
We’re ecstatic that she thought of the sanctuary on this special occasion and hope Ben has an amazing birthday. Thank you so much for your kindness, Laura and Ben!
Additionally, we have a big anniversary coming up this Thursday, August 18th: the third anniversary of Honey B, Mave, and Willy B’s arrival at CSNW.
It will be the first arrival anniversary celebrated as members of a larger social group, so the party will be bigger than ever. Be sure to check out the blog this week to see the festivities!
On top of all that, we’re also finalizing plans for Missy’s upcoming 47th birthday celebration which will take place on Tuesday, August 23rd. Enrichment Coordinator Chad has filled our Amazon Wish List with an eclectic assortment of items that will help us to give Missy and her friends a special party! You may even be able to guess the party’s theme if you’re particularly astute…
You can access the wish list directly via the following link: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2L5WRNKBKB8B2?ref_=wl_share
Have a great week, everyone!
There was some slight reprieve from the heat today. The sky is blanketed with clouds and rain has been on and off since morning. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this reprieve because though it is cooler, it’s still a “brisk” 97º out, making the day more humid. The chimpanzees didn’t seem to mind though.
During lunch, Rayne chose to perch herself on a pool of diluted Gatorade in the Riverview Greenhouse. She ate her entire lunch there, taking sips in-between bites. I was able to get some photos of here enjoying her chow biscuits. This series of photos is also a good depiction of how a wadge is made.
Some bonus photos from today:
Negra watching her group embark on their first patrol of the day.
Honey B watching me as I was taking photos of the Gatorade pool.
Jody taking it easy in her Greenhouse.
Burrito coming over to tell me to stop taking photos of Jody and to play chase.
Lucky patiently waiting for dinner service.
