Burrito is a man of many charms.
Cle Elum 7
Laying and Playing
Foxie and Burrito are two of our most playful chimps! So when we get the chance to watch them play, it is really quite fun. Foxie and Burrito began the morning with a post breakfast nap. After, a quick power nap they started a lazy game of wrestling which turned into a full game and then back to a lazy game. Below are some photos of the progression from napping to playing. Happy Sunday!
Foxie & Burrito napping:
Foxie & Burrito wrestling:
Stilling wrestling:
Back to laying and playing:
And a few extra photo for you all…
Annie’s silhouette:
Jamie holding one of her favorite boots:
The First Snow
We woke up to our first snow today! There are some mixed feelings about this white dust.
1.) First and foremost we are excited to eat the snow!
2.) We like the beauty of it, but also it came too soon…
3.) It is making us a little reluctant to get outside…
SO… We like you snow, but please not yet!
Young’s Hill:
Jody eating some snow from the Hill entrance, but not going outside:
Burrito doing the same:
As enrichment we filled buckets with some snow and put them everywhere:
Jamie snuggling with a boot and keeping warm with blankets over her:
T-Minus 2 Days
The countdown to the spooktacular Jamieween has begun and we only have 2 more days left. The anticipation has been building and there are a lot of excited chimps and humans waiting for Tuesday to come. The chimps have been very active this morning and everyone has been exploring Young’s Hill. Unfortunately there were not many photo opportunities, but the chimps decided to save some energy for Jamieween and have been napping and grooming the rest of the afternoon.
Jamie walking the hill and staring out at the view (there were some cows in the field across the highway):
Burrito playing with one of our volunteer caregivers:
Negra:
Jody grooming herself:
There is still time to celebrate Jamie’s big day by becoming Chimp Pals with Jamie or any of her friends!
Busy work
We had this giant box of shipping/moving paper saved up with a fun enrichment project in mind. After Jamie and Burrito dismantled the box, Missy was more than happy to recycle the paper as lining in her giant nest!
Crisp days and spooky nights
We’ve already seen some snow in the surrounding mountains and apparently have a long stretch of rain on the way, but for now the days have been dawning with beautiful blue skies and crisp, frosty mornings. Despite being able to see our breath in the morning air, the chimps have been loving being on Young’s Hill and waiting to warm up in the bright sun:
Peas-in-a-pod, Annie and Missy, climbed up together to enjoy the view in the cold autumn air:
Jody sat for ages in the morning sun then ventured up the hill for a snack to bring back to the top of the greenhouse where she could warm up:
And much to my surprise, when Jamie and I were returning from a walk around the hill, I spotted Negra of all people enjoying the sun and the view despite the cold temperatures:
I think Foxie was just as surprised to spot Negra out on such a brisk morning and decided she and her current favorite doll would check in on Negra:
Double-decker chimps:
In other news, Jamie has been doing something new this year! As a little background, if you’ve been a follower of the blog for very long you are probably aware that Jamie often enjoys late evening strolls with her caregivers. After dinner, after the other chimps have gone to bed, and past the time that her caregivers are supposed to go home for the day. We can’t blame her, evenings at the sanctuary are lovely, peaceful times and during summer a welcome relief from the heat of the day. We’ve adjusted our schedule so that we all rotate to cover PM on call in the evenings and two of us can be with her in the event that she (or anyone else) chooses to stay out past the end of our shift. This is one of many beauties of sanctuary; the chimps get to choose when they want to come in for the night. And it’s really a heartfelt joy and honor to be able to provide such a home for them.
Up until this year, we knew that even if Jamie wanted to stay out late, once it got dark she was ready to come inside. Well, that’s no longer the case! Back in August, and again last night, Jamie decided to brave walking around the hill with us in the pitch dark! The first time Jamie did this she was clearly nervous, but clearly wanted to go so Kelsi and I grabbed the spotlight and scanned the hill for her so she could see everything and know she was safe. It took her awhile to build up her courage, but once she made up her mind we were off! Kelsi held a light for us to see where we were going while I held the spotlight just ahead of Jamie to light her path. At every corner of the perimeter we’d stop and I’d light up the entire path ahead of her to remind her she was safe and then we’d venture on.
It’s phenomenal to me when I think how much courage this took for her to do. Not only is it entirely unnatural for a chimp to be on the ground outside in the dark (let alone one who spent three decades in a small cage in biomedical research), but she had to trust us enough to hold the light for her all the way around and not leave her. But once we made our way safely around she was thrilled, ready to go again! We walked around and around that night, carving a path with the light until 10:30!
So last night Jamie decided she was ready for another brave adventure. In the spirit of spooky, magical autumn nights and the month of Jamie-ween (we celebrate Jamie’s birthday on Halloween) here is Jamie in the pitch dark of the green house last night gesturing for Kelsi and I to put on the cowboy boots and get ready to run around the hill again. To say she was thrilled with the evening is an understatement. You can see the light from the chimp house through the doorway behind her where everyone else was cozy and asleep in their night nests. And what better way to celebrate Jamie’s birthday month and get into the spirit of Jamie-ween than a photo a little reminiscent of the “Blair Chimp Project”:
Forage While We Can
What a great day to be at the sanctuary! The morning started chilly and we thought the chimps couldn’t possibly want a forage on the Hill. But, to our delight it was the perfect day to be outside and especially to have a forage on the Hill. It is important to spend time outside while we can before the dreaded winter comes. The chimps spent a great deal of their day in the Green House and out on Young’s Hill. We also had some visitors for our lunch forage that Jamie was very curious about. She even had the group walk the perimeter with her.
Negra nestled in the comfy nest soaking up the morning sun:
Jody also relaxing in a soft warm bed soaking up some vitamin D:
Missy sitting on the window ledge in the Green House:
Annie being very photogenic as per usual:
Negra enjoying the forage and observing guests:
Annie foraging:
Jody with a handful of food and trying if there is any more left:
Jamie sitting on the fire hose and eating kale:
Jamie also wanted to show off a bit for the group:
And man does she have balance:
After Jamie made the group go on a walk with her:
