Negra knows how to make a good thing last.
Cle Elum 7
Lunch
We continue to be amazed by this spring-like winter we’re having in Cle Elum. Today’s sun has made the greenhouse nice and toasty for the chimpanzees. Volunteer caregiver Jake found the chimps in a grooming huddle up on the platform when he brought lunch out this afternoon, but they were happy to take a break to eat.
Is it Winter?
The chimps and I are still in disbelief that it is 42 degrees in January! Jamie and I have been going on nice leisurely walks (Missy did joined us but after a while she would sprint off). Missy has been out all day running everywhere, climbing on all the outdoor structures, and balancing on ropes. Annie and Missy enjoyed sometime together on the Hill playing follow the leader and wrestling in the Playroom. Foxie took her dolls outside and soaked in the warmer weather. Foxie and Jody later went far out on the Hill and explored together. I couldn’t catch Burrito in any photos but he also had been out and about on the Hill and of course played chase in the Green House! And Neggie made some very cozy nests today and laid near the Playroom windows to feel the warm sun shining in.
Missy running on Young’s Hill:
Missy:
Annie staring out towards the Hill:
Annie:
Jamie also running on the Hill with Missy:
Jamie:
Negra:
The Queen Needs Her Rest
We give the chimpanzees 70 clean blankets each day. I wouldn’t be surprised if Negra claims over half of those for herself. One of the perks of being the Queen…
Among the sun spots
Despite snow and storms being predicted these last couple of days, we woke to a sunny, but frosty cold day. And ALL the primates have been soaking in the light:
Jamie surveying her frozen Queendom:
She climbed around licking all the melting frost off the structures:
And just hiding out for a bit of privacy while her staff wait patiently in the wings:
Foxie among the sunspots in the greenhouse:
Beautiful Missy in a rare moment of tolerating the camera:
Annie wasn’t up for eating cold snow and decided to sit in the sun and wadge paper from her chow bag instead:
Even, unbelievably, the Queen made a run OUTSIDE for a snow snack:
Foxie grimacing from the cold on her way back to the greenhouse. In her rush to get back she dropped three of her dolls outside, but several minutes later she scurried back out to collect them and take them to warm up in the chimp house:
Cold winds couldn’t stop the boss from her duties, who figures we can always run to stay warm:
Girl Gang
Today was for the ladies. I found Negra, Jamie, Jody, Foxie, & Missy all grooming each other while we cleaned the playroom (Annie was off doing her own thing), it could not have be a better time than to sit in a line and groom each other for an hour or so. Grooming is a very important aspect in chimp behavior and these ladies made sure to get their fill today!
Negra being groomed by Jamie:
Negra and Jamie noticed my presence and stared at me while I snapped some photos:
Jamie later had Missy tell me to get lost:
Negra, Jamie, Jody, & Foxie (Missy left shortly before this):
Well, of course Burrito wasn’t to far away:
A whirlwind of years
Today is about time flying by and some of the great random moments in the lives of the chimpanzees over the last ten years.
I’ve started and stopped this blog so many times today that I lost count.
There were toys to clean:
Laundry to do:
Amazing interns to train:
Paper braids for evening enrichment to be made (most of which were made by the aforementioned amazing interns):
And of course walks to take. Jamie was in the running mood today, so this quick snapshot was the only halfway decent photo I was able to get on one of our day walks:
Plus a whole host of other daily activities.
And then more walks after dinner! (well after I thought I would have this blog posted).
Courtesy of the unseasonably mild weather and the lengthening days, Jamie did three more walks after her evening meal, with Missy joining her for two of them.
This year’s HOOT! gala on May 19th will celebrate ten years of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees living the sanctuary life. TEN YEARS!
We are in the process of a website redesign right now. I’m really excited about a whole new look that highlights the great photos of the chimpanzees and hopefully makes it easy for people to be drawn in and fall in love with them. Here’s a sneak peek:
When the designers were starting to move the data over from the existing site into the new design, they ran into a snag because of the amount of content that we had in the blog. Ten years worth of photos, videos, and stories, it seems, takes up quite a bit of space.
I love that we have this diary of the chimpanzees’ days and the moments that were funny, poignant, and sometimes even mundane.
I remember being a kid and thinking that a week, or even a day (an hour?), was an excruciatingly long time to wait for something. I remember adults saying, “don’t complain – when you get older, time will fly by.”
Never were truer words uttered.
Lately, I feel like I’m in a movie montage – days pass by in seconds, and years are contained in just a minute’s worth of highlights. But then there’s this blog with all of these posts that mark real moments in time over the last several years. Moments that the chimpanzees were living to the fullest. Days that were spent with companionship, favorite foods, boots, trolls, blankets. Years that marked new additions to their home. Almost a decade of exploration into this new life they were given.
Here’s a look back on the last ten years of blog posts for January 20th (or thereabouts – we didn’t always post to the blog every single day – can you imagine!)
January 21, 2008:
January 19, 2009:
January 19, 2010:
January 20, 2011:
January 21, 2012:
January 20, 2013:
January 20, 2014:
January 21, 2015:
January 20, 2016:
January 20, 2017:
And that bring us to today. Happy January 20th to everyone. Thank you for following along!
