Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum 7

Sunday Activities

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What are some of your favorite Sunday activities? The video highlights some of the residents of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest favorite Sunday activities.

But before anything else, the morning patrol!

Jamie couldn’t wait to do her morning patrol. She even decided her breakfast chow had to wait until she was on Young’s Hill!

Not far behind Jamie was Burrito, Missy, and Jody.

Annie decided to venture off on her own.

Missy found a perfect spot for a little solitude and to take in the morning scenery.

However, Jamie thought this was also the perfect spot to eat her chow.

I mean, who could blame Jamie? This is the perfect spot to take in all of a Spring morning’s glory.

Missy shortly left to zoom around the hill.

While Annie decided to try to spy on her neighbors: Willy B, Honey B, and Mave.

Then there is this guy. With this glance, I know my legs are about to turn to Jello, I will be soon out of breath, and make a few trips around the Hill, which was exactly the case shortly after this photo was taken.

We here all hope you had the most perfect Sunday!

Training Continues

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Today, the staff continued our PRT training. However, I was able to take a few photos from today of the Seven enjoying Young’s Hill!

The days have been getting warmer and the snow is disappearing quickly. Just like yesterday, the Seven (minus one) spent a lot of time today exploring Young’s Hill.

When the door leading to Young’s Hill first opened, the first order of business was to take in this warm morning.

Annie and Foxie with Orange Blossom, of course!

Well, that was most everybody’s first agenda item. Burrito’s agenda item was to run around the hill.

This was from yesterday, but he may have had an advantage in pathways during our races today as well.

Right behind us came Jamie and Missy, with Jody in tow.

Before Jody continued on the walk, she first tried to look for some ice treats in a hanging tire.

None found, she went for one of her other favorite foraging items, a pine branch.

Coming up behind Jody was Foxie, with two Orange Blossoms!

Annie waited at the bottom of the hill for everybody to return. Though she didn’t partake in the first patrol, she was seen out and about since.

Missy stopped for a snowy treat before making her way inside.

Along the way, Jamie decided she want to climb the Twister and take in the surroundings.

At this point, you may be wondering about the “minus one.”

She did poke her head out in the morning, but decided to stay under a pile of blankets in the Greenhouse.

Summery Sundays

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It was a scorcher today. With temperatures nearing the triple digits, everybody decided to take it easy today. Well, most of the day.

When we check the weather reports and find it’s going to be a hot one, the staff usually tries to complete our safety checks as soon as possible so the chimpanzees can go onto Young’s Hill before the sun goes into full effect.

Jody was the first one on the hill this morning, and she was super excited to be out there.

Look how piloerect she was.

She was so pilo, Annie thought something was wrong and went out to give her reassurance. But Jody was just really excited to be on the hill.

Though this may seem like an intimidating photo, Annie usually walks bipedally when she is on the hill and is a normal behavior for her. You can tell it was a peaceful interaction by identifying Jody’s relaxed lower lip.

Besides that brief period of excitement in the morning, the sun showed it’s force and everybody thought it was best to take it easy.

Willy B took a nap on his leopard print blanket.

While Mave decided the bench above him was the best spot.

The cattle even came by for their daily drink from the trough with Honey leading the way.

And I had to share this one because it looks like an album cover to a pop group. (L to R: Nutmeg, Honey, Betsy. Meredith was right behind them.)

At least some people were busy. The bumble bees were in full force, pollinating the vegetable and fruit plants growing in out vegetable garden.

One very specific plant in the garden the were near was our tomato plants, which are starting to bud.

I know this isn’t the case, but I like to believe they somehow know next week is Missy’s birthday! One can believe, can’t they?

I will leave you with the end of Jody’s Sunday with photos of her nesting.

Bonus photo of her when she moved her nest into another front room with Burrito.

I hope you all have a marvelous Monday tomorrow and great week!

Happy Birthday, Karen!

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Julie Olson, and her sister, Karen Olson, have been a such wonderful friends of the chimpanzees for years, and today, Julie is sponsoring a day of sanctuary in honor of Karen:

“I want to sponsor a day for the chimps for my sister Karen’s birthday. She is the one who introduced me to the fact that the chimps arrived in Cle Elum in 2008. She is a huge animal lover and I know this is more meaningful to her than any present I could give her.”

Julie and Karen, you’ve both made a lasting difference in the lives of the chimpanzees and we’re so grateful to have you as part of their family. We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate your special day with you, Karen, and hope you have the most beautiful time of celebration! Happy Birthday from all of us here!

Burrito, always the life of the party:

Familiar faces, familiar activities

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Have you watched John Krasinski’s Some Good News show yet? It’s one of my favorite things to have emerged in this stressful time we live in right now. He highlights all the good things that are still happening around the world right now and some of the people that are doing them. I highly recommend it to help keep your spirits up! While our version of “some good news” isn’t necessarily that things have changed around here, but more so that the sanctuary remains intact, just as it should be.

Here are some things that haven’t changed:

Jody continues to harvest plants growing on Young’s Hill. Here she is with a sample of newly planted pine tree:

And she continues to know the best way to relax around here:

Jamie is still cooler than I’ll ever be:

And her passion for all things boots burns strong. Here she is with the makings of her afternoon nest:

Burrito will always be playful AND handsome:

Other good news items for the day (sadly not pictured):
Honey B vigorously testing out a new bench Anthony built for the chute, Willy B gazing at newly taken photos, Mave drinking cupfuls of water from an enrichment pool, Negra head nodding from underneath a mountain of blankets, Foxie strolling leisurely on Young’s Hill with her friends and Missy/Annie playing chase.

One thing that has notably changed at the sanctuary, we’ve had to temporarily lay off the vast majority of our volunteers and interns. Since we all miss each other, we put together a Zoom online meetup last night so we could all catch up with each other:

What’s your good news for the day?

Noisy Neighbors and Sock Puppets

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It’s a beautiful day here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. The sun is out, there is a light breeze, and the chimpanzees are spending their time with each other both inside and outside.

When they were given access to Young’s Hill, Missy raced outside with Annie close on her metaphorical tail.

Jody was actually the first one out on Young’s Hill today, and also the first one back. What she really wanted was to spy on her neighbors. Once she realized her neighbors were not in the Chute at that moment, she headed back inside.

With Missy coming in right behind her.

Burrito, on the other hand, knows that he can just wait by the window for his neighbors to make an appearance without having to go outside to check.

And when their neighbors do make an appearance, be prepared for a lot of hooting and hollering.

Jody and Foxie caught a glimpse of Willy B as he made his way into the Chute and immediately began hooting.

Though Willy B, Mave, and Honey B spent a considerable amount of time in the Chute today, they also spent a lot of time keeping busy indoors, as well.

Mave decided she wanted to make a sock puppet.

She was actually pretty happy and satisfied with her sock puppet.

Willy B spent a lot of time napping and requesting his caregivers to play chase with him. When we wasn’t doing that, he made sure his neighbors knew of his presence by displaying in the Mezzanine.

It usually starts out with him dragging his yellow bucket around to make as much noise as possible as a buildup, before it crescendos into a scream and him boxing himself in the mirror.

When the mirror wasn’t used for Willy B’s shadowing boxing practice, Honey B used it to look at herself and her caregivers through the reflection.

What did I miss?

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This past Tuesday marked my first day back from maternity leave and let me tell you, it’s good to be back! As we all regrettably know, the world looks a lot different right now. A pandemic was definitely not part of my worries as I started to plan my return to work, but now it’s the biggest worry (of course it is for all of us). On the bright side, my chimp friends and my coworkers are still here, right where I left them! The chimpanzees are still their reliable old playful selves and it’s great to see that their lives are relatively unaffected by the outside chaos.

Today Jamie made sure that I know nothing has changed on her watch.

Awkwardly sized boot on my foot…✔️

Perimeter walk around Young’s Hill…✔️

Gather a tumbleweed to use for some grooming time…✔️

In other news, we have some good changes happening around here. Chad, who was filling in for me during my temporary leave of absence, has agreed to stay on as a full-time permanent staff member! We’re feeling pretty fortunate that we get to keep him around!

Oh and this…My husband and I welcomed our daughter Luna Nyca Lockey to the world on January 2nd 2020. The chimps met her from a safe distance just a few weeks later. The highlights: Honey B was obsessed with her and really wanted her to come closer and Foxie was fascinated and shot a few mouthfuls of water her direction. My favorite moment was when Negra (pictured here) blew her a few kisses and head nodded a request to see her do some dancing (aka do a little bit of bouncing, the best a newborn can do).