Enrichment

Mask Madness

August 10, 2022 by Kelsi 6 Comments

What I love about my job the most is that every day is never the same. You really never know what will be sitting in the foyer for the chimps when you come back from your weekend or what new interest they have. Through sanctuary the chimps get the opportunity to evolve and change, while also being able to have consistent steady things in their lives. For example, Foxie loves troll dolls! Because of our kind donors, she will always have troll dolls in her life, but she has also gotten the opportunity to expand that interest into other types of dolls. While her enrichment and opportunities have grown and evolved into new things, her dolls will always be there to comfort her and that will never change!

Recently, someone donated a troll doll mask! Foxie liked having her caregivers wear it for her, but to our surprise Gordo thought the mask was the funniest thing! The moment he saw it, he erupted into a game of chase! He would make us run all around the chimp house with it on (safely of course!). In between chasing he would playfully spit and bounce up and down while laughing! Donations like this are so wonderful, because even though it was terrifying for the humans to look at ;), it was an enriching opportunity for Gordo. Honey B really loved it too! She was playing chase and following me around while I wore it, she even gave out a sweet little kiss!

The Boss & Bonus Footage

August 7, 2022 by Grace 9 Comments

A frequent question we get asked is how we know when one of our residents wants something specific or when they want one of us to do something with them. While this definitely gets easier as you get to know them better, and it’s never a perfect science, we are often able to determine what a chimp is looking for in how and where they are gesturing.

For example- if Burrito or Gordo are trying to get you to play a game of chase with them, they will look at you and then run away! We would also watch for behavioral indicators of play that include a play face, foot stomp, and exaggerated movements. If Jamie is wanting a specific pair of boots, she will often stand in the playroom loft and gesture through the kitchen door. She will continue to gesture until you bring back the right pair (no matter how many wrong pairs you offer her first) and then she will likely either come down to take it or she will take off for the hill- which is a sign that she wants you, and said boot, to come with her on her patrol. She also sometimes wants you to wear the specific boot instead of carry it… no matter the size. I would like to take this moment to formally apologize to my coworkers (*ahem* Sofia) that have had to squeeze their feet into my toddler-feet sized boots. Y’all are troopers. 🙂

Lately, though, Jamie has been all about raspberries and frozen treats- which are a hit with everyone. Check out the video for more!

Negra enjoying the cool morning on Young’s Hill.

Annie looking particularly beautiful in the morning light of the Greenhouse.

Cy being his dreamy self.

Here’s to One Year and Many More to Come!

June 26, 2022 by Chad de Bree

One year ago today, staff were waiting at the Chimp House, glued to our phones waiting for every update from J.B., Diana, and Dr. Erin as they were driving up from Southern California following a well air conditioned trailer carrying six new friends we were all desperately waiting to meet. At that point we have heard all about them, but I don’t think anything could have really prepared us for these six individuals about to pull up the driveway. Upon first sight those of us who had been waiting had fell and fell hard in love with them.

I remember Lucky was actually the first one from that group I had met. I helped offload her from the trailer and got her ready to enter her new home. She had a fear grimace, which to be fair, I would too in a new situation like this, not knowing what was happening or why it was happening. I let out a few breathy pants to her and gave her some reassurance and her grimace faded away. The door then lifted and Lucky entered her new home. Then one-by-one the rest entered their new home: Dora, Gordo, Terry, Rayne, and last but definitely not least, Cy.

That entire day seems like forever ago since they have been considered a part of this family. It feels like they have always been a part of our lives, yet the calendar does indicate it has been only one year(!). To commemorate their celebration, we threw a party with some of the greatest hits from parties this past year: oatmeal with berries, fingerling potatoes, tomatoes, heads of baby iceberg lettuce, and young coconuts.

Here are some of the photos from today:

Cy:

Dora:

Gordo:

Honey B:

Willy B:

Even Missy’s Group got to celebrate!

Missy:

Jody:

Though he wasn’t able to participate because he is still recovering, Burrito was up and about and already playing games today! And he got extra attentions from caregivers!

When I arrived in the morning, I went in to check on him. He was still pretty sleepy, but gave some very soft Bronx cheers, and played a game of tag, albeit while laying down.

After some time, he was up and about and ready for some visitors, which he did get throughout the day.

(Don’t worry. Jamie left right when I took this photo.)

Play, Soul Sister

May 16, 2022 by Anthony

For today’s blog post, I’m sharing this video of Dora being casually goofy with caregiver Grace.

Enjoy!

___________________________________

P.S. I apologize for the title pun. I don’t even like that song.

Love a Chimpanzee Day 2022

April 23, 2022 by Diana

Today was a Love a Chimpanzee Day for the books! Not only did Monica continue her tradition of generosity by paying for party supplies (including a bunch of stuff like scarves and giant stuffed animals that are not pictured here, but the Primate Awareness Network at Central Washington University also got involved and planned the party! It was bug themed and the food for the day included bugs on a log (celery with peanut butter and berries), whole sweet potatoes, watermelon radishes, kale, bok choy, and Swiss chard.

We didn’t get a lot of photos of all of the elements of the parties because the chimpanzees were a blur of excitement, but Kelsi and Anna got some great photos of the chimpanzees. There were so many, I had a difficult time selecting only a few.

Thank you to those who have already donated on my and Monica’s GiveBIG fundraising page in celebration of Love a Chimpanzee Day. Monica’s matching donation is live, so your donations will be doubled.

Huge hugs of thanks to Monica, and Happy Love a Chimpanzee Day to everyone!

Gordo enjoying Swiss Chard:

Terry enjoying bok choy:

Beautiful Rayne:

Some set-up shots of creative party elements that the Primate Awarness Network made for the chimps:

Negra digging into a box and later eating some greens on the hill:

Willy B with the big party banner:

Missy slack-lining and carrying sweet potatoes:

Burrito with a watermelon radish and bok choy then “hanging out”:

Annie with some kale:

Jamie was the first on the hill and collected as much bok choy as she could:

A goodnight photo of Mave grooming Honey B while Honey B was in her nest:

Cy Solves a Fire Hose Puzzle

March 19, 2022 by Diana

Cy has been trying out different ways of retrieving the walnuts out of the fire hose knot puzzles over the last few months. The last few times that I’ve been in the chimp house when Cy’s group has gotten fire hose knots, I’ve seen him chew the nut while it’s was still in the fire hose, then suck on the fire hose, I suppose getting some essence of walnut out of that process.

Last night, however, I was lucky enough to get this video of Cy’s new, and more fruitful, method of getting that sweet, sweet walnut reward.

Sunny Tuesday

March 15, 2022 by Sofia Castro-Loza

Sunny days are always great, specially after some days of non-stop rain. Today, the clouds scattered away and the rays of sunshine made an appearance. To say the least, everyone, including the caregivers were very happy to catch a break from the Pacific Northwest gloominess. If only there were away to turn OFF the wind!!! But regardless of the wind, the chimps in Jamie’s group went on countless walks around the hill and spent most of the day in their warm greenhouse. Cy and his friends also spent the day in their greenhouse and every so often you could walk by and someone would pop their heads off the edge of the platforms for a subtle “hello”. Willy B and his friends were very into the raisin boards they got for daytime enrichment, although it is very likely that Willy B got every single raisin.

Annie looking over at the neighbors before sprinting over to catch up with Jamie, who was going on a perimeter walk with caregiver Grace and her sweet new boots: