Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

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In Memory of Gina & A Celebration of Love

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From all of us here at the sanctuary, thank you Douglas for sponsoring today in honor of your wife, Gina!

“In memory of my wife, Gina, who died earlier this year. Today would be our 32nd wedding anniversary. Although she did not know of the Sanctuary, she loved all animals and wanted to protect them all. I started following your blog because I grew up in Wenatchee and I believe my mother had some relatives in Cle Elum. Now, I am grateful for your care for these terribly wronged chimpanzees and I know Gina would whole-heartedly approve.”

We are so thankful for your support, Douglas, and our hearts are with you!

A flashback to summer forages with Negra and her ear of corn!

Jamie with her summer forage haul:

Annie enjoying her lunchtime chow:

Gordo enjoying the summer sunshine in the Riverview Greenhouse:

 

 

 

Vignettes of Young’s Hill

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We caregivers have been excitedly toting around cameras while the chimpanzees continue to explore the new version of Young’s Hill. The outdoor habitat has retained all the lovable qualities of the original and provides the chimps with even more space and a potential for novel experiences (e.g., climbing up the trunk of a real tree). The weather has cooled substantially since last Wednesday’s big reveal, but we can still count on Jamie and her companions to do a thorough patrol of the new perimeter each morning.

For today’s blog post, I thought I’d share some additional images from the group’s first outings in Young’s Hill 2.0.

The group patrolling together:

Missy climbing a new log structure:

Burrito using the familiar Twister to get a better view:

Burrito waiting impatiently for the others to catch up:

Burrito perched on a tree trunk, inspecting the new vegetation:

Annie using a new structure to take in a new view of the property:

The most popular addition has been the grove of Ponderosa pines (and one Douglas fir) that is now located just within the enclosure’s eastern boundary. The relocated lookout tower provides a perfect vantage to both examine the evergreen trees up close and take in the scenic mountain views across the valley.

With the bright afternoon sunlight coming down from the southwest, the chimpanzees were visible as dark silhouettes against the golden backdrop of early autumn. Missy made an imposing figure when perched atop the lookout.

 

As Jenna demonstrated yesterday, focusing the camera lens on the chimpanzees is tricky when we have two layers of field fence and electrified wires between us. Our objective isn’t to make you forget about the fencing entirely, but rather to portray the chimpanzees as we perceive them, with the wires out of focus and their expressions in clear view. If you look back at any of the photographs above, you can see the hazy streaks created by the fencing that separates us and them.

Auto-focus admittedly makes tracking the chimpanzees a little bit easier, and a lens with a wide aperture helps to blur out foreground obstacles, but we still often find ourselves embroiled in games of trial-and-error just to get a few photos for the daily blog.

This image, for example…

…was taken just milliseconds before this one:

Have a great week, everyone!

P.S. The answer to yesterday’s guessing game is 17 blankets. Congratulations to Linda C., Nancy Potter, and Gayle Marie Stone for guessing correctly!

Spectators

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The chimps in Jamie’s group have been supervising the expansion and renovation of their outdoor enclosure, Young’s Hill.

It’s been a few months since J.B. gave this detailed progress report on the project, and it’s been several weeks since Chad posted this update that the chimps would be temporarily without access to The Hill. J.B., volunteers, and the team from Sage Mechanical have been working around the clock since then to quickly make the necessary additions and improvements (including moving the lookout tower to a new home). Staff have tagged in this week to help put up the last few sections of fencing and clean up the area in preparation for chimpanzees.

The chimps remain interested in all the work, but they seem to be less anxious and more curious now that Young’s Hill appears ready. We still need to conduct a comprehensive safety and security check, but it won’t be long before we let them go out and explore their new backyard.

Jamie viewing the new enclosure:

A new path leading to the Young’s Hill perimeter:

Ponderosa pines next to the new fences:

The new access gates:

Annie watching Chad and J.B. working:

The shady new location of Carlene’s Tower:

New vegetation planted in an irrigated section of Young’s Hill:

The driveway up to the new Young’s Hill gate:

The view from the new perimeter:

Foxie watching curiously:

You may have noticed the construction materials scattered around outside the enclosure. There is still much work to be done on the other side of the hill, and we’re not really “cleaning up” as much as we are migrating to the other side. From their south-facing greenhouse enclosures, the chimps in Cy’s group monitored the construction of the sanctuary’s second open-top enclosure, lovingly named The Bray.

The Sage Mechanical crew shifted their focus to The Bray as soon as they finished their work on Young’s Hill, so they were working right in front of the chimpanzees today. The chimps acted like spectators, bringing their breakfast chow up to the platforms in order to get the best view. Some of them even asked their caregivers to serve them their meals out there instead of in the interior hallway.

Katelyn serving Terry outside:

The unfinished Bray containing a few familiar structures:

Jose from Sage Mechanical working within view of the chimps:

J.B. working with Chad to install the final section of snake exclusion fence:

Gary’s arsenal of power tools:

The crew transporting fence posts with the telehandler:

Gordo watching Gary’s telehandler go by:

Ryan’s Lookout, a new installation that will be a keystone structure in The Bray:

Keep a close eye on the blog this week for further updates!

Eat, Drink and Be Terry

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We caregivers often talk about Terry’s kind and easygoing personality. He’s not without occasional bursts of machismo, but these emotional tempests quickly subside to reveal his true gentle nature. It’s always a pleasure to be in Terry’s warm presence, and he seems to hold us caregivers in equally high esteem.

Today, I sat near Terry while he industriously processed a paper braid stuffed with seeds and raisins. It’s always nice to see the chimpanzees engaged with their enrichment, and we value opportunities to share those moments with our readers and supporters. On that note, here’s a clip of Terry’s sweet face for you all to enjoy!

Versions of Annie

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It’s been a busy day. Rather than write a detailed blog post, I’m sharing a simple portrait of Annie that I took earlier this afternoon.

Annie was lounging on the elevated platform in her group’s greenhouse enclosure. The chimpanzees who live on that side of the building have been closely watching J.B. and the Sage Mechanical crew as they put in another full day renovating Young’s Hill. I thought her expression (or lack thereof) made for a good portrait. I also included some alternate versions of the image, each edited in a unique way. Let me know if you have a favorite edit!

My “preferred” version:

The original:

Black and white with red and yellow hues lifted:

Black and white with blue and green hues lifted:

Increased contrast with “cinematic” preset settings:

Paparazzi

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Jamie is always aware of what the humans are up to and doesn’t shy away from sharing her opinions.

I love Jamie’s dominant personality and respect her autonomous attitude, but satisfying her desires for choice and control is a continuous challenge given the limitations of her captive environment. I am grateful that her outspoken honesty provides some insight into how she perceives her world, allowing us to tailor our caregiving to her preferences. Not all chimps express satisfaction and displeasure quite like she does, accepting a new piece of enrichment with a deep grunt or telling us not to close a door by waving her arm at us. This candid rapport between Jamie and human is extremely beneficial when we engage the chimps socially; Jamie can say “go ahead” or “not now” in her own special way and still be understood.

Jamie demonstrated her forthright demeanor as I was photographing the chimpanzees in her wing of the facility earlier today. I saw her sitting on the bench in Front Room 4, a small indoor area with a good amount of natural light. I saw that she had a single raisin daintily held between her lips and approached to take some photos. Before raising my camera to my face, I pointed to the bulky device and politely asked “Can I take your portrait?” I’m not sure if Jamie understood my request word-for-word, but she nodded eagerly in response. I pressed the shutter over and over again as she patiently stared back into the curved glass of my 85mm lens for what felt like minutes. We exchanged another friendly nod before I moved on to a different location.

 

I passed Jamie’s perch again as I circled back to the foyer and presented the camera to her again. This time, she ignored my inquiry and just stared back. I had just lifted the viewfinder to eye level with my finger and taken the first two exposures when Jamie suddenly threw her arm up in my direction. I took it as a casual but clear signal that patience for my creative exploits had waned and her participation in the photo shoot was over.

If you’re wondering where Jamie got the raisin…

Puzzles

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Today’s blog is centered around a short video of chimpanzees extracting food from enrichment puzzles.

All of the chimps are given enrichment activities and items every day, but we’re giving additional enrichment to Willy B to keep him entertained while in recovery. So far, his favorite activity has been to tease grapes, walnuts, and other coveted snacks out of the transparent puzzle feeders. These specialized devices were purchased by our supporters from a helpful company, WildlifeToyBox.com. We’re always in need of more durable enrichment items, so Chad has set up a wish list on their site. You can see this special list by clicking here.

You also visit our Wish List page to learn more about our needs or go directly to the Amazon Wish List to see which other items we currently need for the chimpanzees (and cattle)!

Thank you all for your continued support of the sanctuary!