Cle Elum 7

Small Pleasures

October 9, 2014 by Elizabeth

I think one of the pleasures of sanctuary that brings Jody the most joy is being able to harvest her own plants from Young’s Hill.

Foxie’s eyes

October 7, 2014 by Debbie

We’ve posted before about the chimps’ eyes, especially Jody’s, and how much expression they hold. Foxie definitely has a striking gaze, as you can see in these photos:

Best of today

October 6, 2014 by Keri

There were so many good photos of each of the chimpanzees that I had to share them all on today’s blog. It’s really hard to pick a favorite.

Annie’s beauty is beyond words.

Missy actually sat still long enough for us to get a few photos.

Foxie enjoyed her pears at breakfast. Perhaps they taste better by the mouthful.

Burrito spent part of the afternoon playing with his wooden blocks and his own arm.

Jamie took a moment to pose for the camera before going for a walk on Young’s Hill.

Jody took some time to groom herself and ponder her surroundings.

Negra in her favorite nesting spot on the catwalk.

The chimpanzees have received a couple of donated workbenches over the last year or so, and they’ve been absolute hits. Supporter Wanda Trotta recently sent us another one, and we put it in the playroom after cleaning today.

Thank you, Wanda!

Watching the sunset

October 4, 2014 by Debbie

Jamie has been really enjoying the slightly cooler fall evenings lately and has stayed out late pretty much every day this week! Staff (especially Katelyn and Elizabeth!) have been walking around the hill during these late evenings so much! Jamie normally heads in as the sun goes down, which this time of year is a quarter til 7 o’clock. However on Thursday night, she stayed out long past the sun went down and didn’t come inside until 7:30! Those walks were lit by just the moonlight. Thursday evening Katelyn got this photo from her phone which captured the moon shining down on Jamie.

Last night Jamie came in before it got really dark, but not before she contently watched the sun go down, while holding her current favorite boots.

Once the sun went behind the hills, she climbed down the platform and carried her boots in with her for the night.

But then she had to steal just one last glance at the sunset.

Missy in the portrait studio!

October 3, 2014 by Debbie

I’ve been trying for awhile to collect images of all the chimps in our “portrait studio” — it’s a spot on a bench in the front rooms right next to the window, which allows for the best lighting and background for close-ups of the chimps.

When the chimps first arrived, they spent a couple days in the front rooms before shifting into the playroom (to ease the transition into a big, expansive room—probably scary after years inside tiny cages) and so many of our photos of the chimps when they first arrived are on that bench. For some of them that was the first time in decades they’d had a chance to look out a window.

Anyway, a few months ago I complied some of the more recent portrait studio photos and compared them to the photos of the chimps from those first few days in sanctuary. The changes are so extraordinary! Missy, however, was absent from that post because we didn’t have a recent photo of her in that spot. She is always on the move and doesn’t sit on the bench long enough for us to grab the camera and get a good close-up. The other day, finally, Katelyn was able to snap a couple of quick photos of her before she jumped off. So, without further ado, I present you with Missy’s before-and-after comparison:

Missy, a couple days after the chimps’ arrival: