Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.
Today has been a busy, busy day in the chimp house! I managed to get some photos today and hope you enjoy them!
Cy:
Foxie was out on Young’s Hill this afternoon when it started raining. Her and her Blueberry doll hurried in.
I tried to be artistic here taking a photo of Honey B behind the leaves that frame the chute.
Lucky:
Mave (let’s ignore the troll mask in the background nearly ruining the photo):
Today started off as any other. Caregivers arrived, served breakfast, and began their tasks of cleaning of the day prior. When the door leading to Young’s Hill opened, the members of Jody’s group were eager to set off on their morning adventures.
Burrito, of course, wanted to take his morning run. Cold doesn’t seem to bother him one bit when it comes to his morning exercise. Between his sprints, he would take a break and seem to just take it all in.
As we were nearing the top, I caught something out of place in my peripheral vision. Something that stood out like a sore thumb amongst the brown and yellow foliage of winter.
This purple-haired figure on top of a moving black mass could only be one thing…
It’s Plum Pudding hitching a ride on Foxie!
After reaching the top of the hill, Foxie and Plum Pudding headed back to the Chimp House…
But not before a little thrilling adventure!
Plum Pudding ended up in a perilous predicament!
And only Foxie could save her!
This rescue was so dramatic, Jamie had to be a bystander to witness it all unfold!
But nonetheless, Foxie would not give up on her Puddin’! She was able to rescue her and whisk her back to safety!
Bonus Photo of Cy during a game of chase!
What a day! The video above says it all, but below are a few still photos.
Chad, on his day off, happened to see Missy’s climb as he was accompanying a former chimp house volunteer on a walk around the hill. He and J.B. took some videos with their phones as I walked up with the camera and telephoto lens, which was not working right away, but I did get one good photo of Missy amidst the branches, foraging on pine needles:
and some photos on her way down:
I mean wow! Foxie cannot thank you all enough for the stack of Strawberry Shortcake Dolls. She is rich in dolls! Now, she won’t get them all right away, but we did give her a new one. To say she was happy would be an understatement. She was holding her new doll close to her chest, flipping her around, and passing Strawberry Shortcake back and forth with her caregivers. It’s nice when something so simple can bring someone so much joy.
I hope everyone is staying safe and warm out there. Maybe these portraits of Foxie and Jamie can warm up your day.
Jamie and Foxie had a pretty epic play session while we were cleaning the playroom this morning. A few things to note about this video:
Oh, and I’ve got some good news to share – we’d like to thank the Glide Foundation, and all of you who donated this past year, for helping us purchase our very own portable digital x-ray machine! As you may know, we have been fortunate to be able to borrow an x-ray unit as needed from a generous local veterinarian, Dr. Kellar, but with additional chimpanzees on the way we knew it was time to have one of our own. Not an easy decision when you are talking about something the price of a nice new car, but we consider it a necessary investment in the health of our growing family and we’re so grateful that you all made it possible. We’d also like to thank our friends at Project V.E.T.S. for sending along some gently used radiation protection equipment to keep our staff and consulting medical professionals safe!
I have to apologize in advance, as this post contains nothing but photos of Burrito playing. Save your angry letters! Out of fairness, we have to feature him on the blog every once and a while.
The volunteers set out a forage on the hill this morning.
After an initial course of smoothie, vitamins, and peanuts, the chimps went outside to search for pieces of orange, plum, grapefruit, and banana as well as some primate chow.
Jamie (below and at the top of the post):
Negra:
Burrito, confronting the dilemma faced by most male chimpanzees from time immemorial – do I feed myself and otherwise engage in the basic behaviors necessary to sustain life, or I do I follow that girl in estrus wherever she goes? For the most part, he chose the latter (poor Jody), but he did manage to grab a few scraps of food along the way.
Missy:
Annie, developing a nice wadge of primate chow:
Not to be outdone, Jody made a wadge of her own:
And finally, Foxie:
Though we didn’t fill the termite mound with food this morning, Foxie nevertheless checked its contents using a tool and technique never seen before in any wild population: Strawberry Shortcake dipping.
