dora the explorer

Foxie’s 39th!

August 8, 2015 by Diana

Today we celebrated Foxie’s 39th birthday! It was a day filled with some of her favorite foods – lots and lots of fruit, fruit smoothie in shot glasses…

Foxie found a smoothie shot on the hill:

plus there were carrots, celery, more fruit, avocados, sweet potatoes, corn, and fresh-pressed carrot & apple juice!

There’s a video below, but first a few shots of the chimps enjoying the celebration in their own way:

Burrito looking for food:

Annie chillin’ in the hammock:

Negra getting that last bit of coconut from the cup:

Jody in her characteristic belly-to-the-ground position, finishing her meal:

And Missy, who was not going to let a bit of the flaked coconut that was in this piñata go to waste.

Not one…

little bit

There were several people who contributed to Foxie’s celebration, including Karen Young who provided decorations and money for food, Tracy H. who sponsored the day, Jayne R., and many people who sent Foxie Dora and troll dolls. Thanks for making her day special!

Enjoy the video!

Keep Away

June 12, 2015 by J.B.

As Katelyn mentioned in her post on Tuesday, Negra has once again taken an interest in Foxie’s dolls. And the other day, she had a little fun teasing Foxie with a game of keep away.

Foxie gazing at Dora

March 14, 2015 by Diana

One thing that has become clear to me during my years of working with chimpanzees: there is often no answer to “why” questions, such as “why is Foxie so enamored with troll and Dora the Explorer dolls?” Or, similarly, “why does Jamie want her caregivers to put on cowboy boots and “join” her on her walks around Young’s Hill?”.

Maybe rarely having access to answers for “why” questions makes the chimpanzees endlessly fascinating. And maybe it also allows us to concentrate on the “what” and the “how” questions, like, “what can we do to enrich Jamie’s life today?” or “how can we make sure that Foxie always has a choice of dolls?”

Today, this was the doll Foxie picked:

The bite test:

The gaze test:

and this is Foxie looking at me holding Dora before the three of us started playing chase:

Why does Foxie like her caregivers to play chase while holding one of her dolls? I don’t know. But, as more time passes, the better I get at figuring out what makes her particularly giddy when we’re playing these games.

A beautiful day

January 30, 2015 by J.B.

There’s just something about a warm, sunny day in the middle of winter that makes you appreciate the great outdoors a little bit more. Last Monday, as people all over the Pacific Northwest were putting on shorts and flip flops and laying out in the sun, the chimps were enjoying the day in their own way.

Jamie, Foxie, and Dora the Explorer:

Missy and Annie:

Foxie:

Missy:

A Mouthful

April 25, 2014 by J.B.

We served breakfast in the greenhouse this morning, but afterwards the chimps enjoyed a chow forage on the hill. As soon as we opened the door, they raced up the hill in search of treats.

The trick to a chow forage, if you’re a chimp, is to collect the pieces in your mouth as you go so that you can gather as much as possible and enjoy them all at once.

Foxie:

Burrito:

Annie:

Sometimes you have to do some delicate rearranging to make room.

Missy:

Brute force works too…

Jamie:

But some things will always be more important than chow.

Foxie and Dora:

Foxie’s new love

February 15, 2014 by Diana

It’s a winter wonderland at the sanctuary today:

But Foxie is keeping Dora warm inside:

Foxie has not left her new Dora the Explorer doll alone since she got it yesterday as part of the Valentine’s Day celebration. I found her gazing lovingly at it several times today.

Meanwhile, I have been gazing lovingly at our Share the Chimp Love fundraising site! We are 74% to our goal with 12 days to go. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated and shared the site and the Share the Chimp Love video.

I am really looking forward to the Grapes for Apes wine tasting in Kirkland on Saturday, March 1st where we can celebrate reaching the $10,000 goal for the month, some other really loving things that occurred this February (more on those soon), and the kick-off to our Hoot! ticket sales. There certainly are a lot of things to look forward to both inside and outside the chimp house in the coming months!

#GivingTuesday – this is what it’s all about

December 3, 2013 by Diana

Hopefully you are subscribed to our e-news (if not, subscribe here), which means that you received the Giving Tuesday message today with the Foxie Inspires Us video in your inbox early this morning.

The video is below, along with some more great photos of Foxie. We would really appreciate your help in spreading Foxie’s story by sharing the video via Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest pages on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Linked In, and by emailing it to your friends. Foxie appreciates your love!