Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum Seven

We need nightbag mix!

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“Nightbags” are paper sacks of a variety of nuts, dried fruit and seeds that we give the chimps each night after their dinner. All of the chimps really enjoy nightbags, especially Negra- whom I’m pretty sure lives for that moment every day. It is her all time favorite thing in the world and there is nothing quite as special as her facial expression as we pass it to her each night. Her eyes get wide and she blinks with excitement- almost disbelief- that the moment has arrived where she can have her precious nightbag. It is the best feeling in the world to be the one giving her that much joy.

But we are really low on nightbag mix! Like I mentioned, the mix usually consists of nuts (peanuts, pecans, and almonds are among their favorites), sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and any type of dried fruit, though we only give the chimps unsalted and sugar free foods, so if you are shopping around- be sure to look at the ingredients! For nuts, raw and in shell is best.

Nuts.com has pre-selected care packages hand picked for the chimps, where for $25 you can get a variety of in-shell, unsalted mixed nuts, however, we need seeds and dried fruit too, and some variety would be great!

***NOTE: Any sugar-free, natural dried fruit is fine except for mangoes! Annie is allergic.***

Here’s Negra enjoying tonight’s nightbag:

Hugs and kisses

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Burrito was a bit nervous going out on Young’s Hill today- most likely because before Friday, due to the Taylor Bridge Fire, the chimps hadn’t been out there in nearly three weeks. As soon as he got out there, he stood bipedally and his hair was pilo erect (standing on end), both signs that he was a bit worked up or aroused. But Foxie and Missy both reassured him that everything was safe.

Burrito trying to steal a hug from Foxie, who was walking by right after the door to the hill was opened:

who then hugged him back as a way to calm him down. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that Burrito is fear grimacing (aka- showing all of his teeth. This facial expression looks much like a human smile, but is usually a sign of fear or intense excitement).

Still a bit nervous, he approached Missy with a bent wrist. A bent wrist is a submissive gesture and often an effective way to gain reassurance from a more dominant individual. He has a large fear grimace in this photo.

Later, seeing that Burrito was still nervous, Missy approached him, breathy panted and gave him an open mouth kiss, again letting him know that all was okay.

He eventually settled down and got busy doing what he does (and loves) best- foraging for chow.

Negra and Jody play

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Negra and Jody are two out of our seven residents that are more relaxers and not as much rough-and-tumble players, like Foxie or Missy. So, it’s a nice treat getting to see them playing with anyone—and even more so with each other!

Cuteness Overload

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Burrito definitely loves playing with his human friends (and we love playing with him!) but I really like seeing Burrito play with other chimps. He and Foxie play pretty frequently– I would suspect that of the chimps, Foxie is his best friend. But he and Missy play sometimes too. I caught them in a rambunctiously goofy play session this morning in the greenhouse. They were so caught up in their silliness that neither of them even noticed me taking photos through the glass window in the playroom.

A present for Jamie

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Volunteer caregiver-in-training Katelyn brought Jamie a new pair of boots today. Jamie continues to be completely in love with any and all cowboy boots.

First, she brachiated around the ceiling of the greenhouse for awhile with the boots safely in her pelvic pocket:

Then she looked for a place to settle down and inspect her treasure.

Thanks, Katelyn!

Today’s photo shoot

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Today I caught Burrito mid-hoot face (the facial expression that accompanies a pant hoot). I love their lips when chimps make this facial expression/vocalization.

When he spotted me taking photos, he seemed to get shy and quickly stopped.

But then as I started talking to him about how cute he was, he seemed pretty happy to show that off.

Meanwhile, the other chimps were pretty relaxed (and beautiful). Here’s Annie lounging around with a hair brush:

Jamie:

Foxie:

Negra, chewing on some gum

Missy’s birthday

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Today is Missy’s birthday, and we decided to set up a whole frozen fruit forage in the greenhouse this morning. Volunteer Patti brought some awesome ’80s-style headbands, leg warmers, and socks in honor of Missy’s goofy and kooky athleticism. After decking ourselves out in the gear (and of course putting most of it in with the party enrichment for the chimps) we let the chimps into the party area and listened as they food squeaked with excitement over the whole frozen fruit. I have been around chimps for 7 years, and this group for nearly the whole time they’ve been at CSNW, and I have never heard so many food squeaks at once. They loved it, and it is just what we needed after the last week and a half of recovering from the Taylor Bridge wildfire. All of the staff were present as well as volunteers Patti and Jennifer. Watching the chimps happily enjoy their forage was definitely just what the doctor ordered—both for staff and for the chimps, too! They have certainly been through a lot in their lives, and getting to see them enjoying their time here so much brought such a huge smile to my face. All I could think about was that we are all so fortunate to be here with them.

Enough of that sappy stuff — here’s some pictures from the party!

Negra enjoying some fun forage boxes (that look like Rubix cubes) made by Patti, and filled with pieces of chow:

Foxie:

Annie:

Jamie, looking very regal as the boss should:

Jody, taking a huge mouthful of watermelon:

Burrito, mid-food squeak:

The birthday girl herself, Missy:

And lastly, some of the ’80s gear on us humans (Diana was taking the picture, but she was also decked out, and somehow J.B. stayed out of the photo even though he was wearing an awesome pink headband)

From left to right: Jackie, volunteers Jennifer and Patti, Elizabeth, Sarah, and myself (Debbie)

Thank you so much to Robbi & Dick Brown and Patti for the fun enrichment, to all that have been so supportive and donated the amazing amounts of produce we were able to freeze for the party, and everyone that has been so willing to offer their help as we cope with the effects of the fire. And of course, to all of Missy’s pals!