Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Enrichment

Light Reading

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Cy’s reaction to magazines still catches me off guard. Is someone food squeaking? Alarm barking? Oh, it’s just Cy looking at magazines again. We’re going to need a name for that vocalization.

Willy B continues to be the center of attention at the sanctuary. When he goes into the courtyard, the Seven hoot and holler, which causes the Lucky Six to respond, which in turn causes Willy B, Honey B, and Mave to call back. And around it goes. Eventually they all settle down. But it’s quite the soap opera.

Speaking of soap operas, that little Dora continues to look for Willy B wherever he goes.

Once and a while they meet across the hallway…

While I was on my perimeter check this morning I came across Meredith grooming her buddy Nutmeg.

Then Betsy came over to groom me.

The Light Reading Chronicles Continue

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Yesterday, fellow caregiver Anthony gave us great insight on the history of magazines and provided some amazing pictures AND a video of Sir Cy enjoying one of them. Today has been no different for Cy. While all the other chimps in his group were resting or perched in the top platforms of the green houses, Cy has been carrying around the same magazine since 11AM. We give them so many to choose from that I found very interesting how much this one magazine has caught his attention today. He would move from enclosure to enclosure with the same one. I managed to get him on camera skimming through it with such intensity in his eyes while hanging out in the second level of their play room. The magazine of the day was not about famous artists or gossip, but about food! As a highly food motivated person, I can say his content of choice today is on point. Great choice, Cy!

Here he is holding his magazine pick of the day in one of their green houses.

He then brought it back inside to the play room. Look how concentrated he is, I bet there’s a really good recipe on that page. My current goal is to retrieve said recipe, once he is done with it, of course!

Dora, forever a huge fan of the platforms in their green houses.

Gordo was all about his feet while perched on one of the platforms.

EXTRA: A beautiful Rayne spotted standing on one of the barrels, she was probably on some sort of undercover mission.

Sunday Leftovers

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Today, I decided to share some “leftover” photographs of Mave’s birthday celebration that didn’t make it into earlier posts!

On Thursday, we threw a bash to commemorate Mave’s 32nd trip around the sun. The party- planned to perfection by Chad, the sanctuary’s Enrichment Coordinator- featured whole coconuts, giant banana leaves, pineapple bowls, and massive heads of iceberg lettuce. Anna posted and amazing video from the event on Thursday, and Diana shared another fun clip on Saturday of Honey B enjoying the sandbox well after the party!

Now, here are some still images to complement their media coverage of the festivities. Enjoy!

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Mave immediately grabbed a coconut and ran away to devour it in peace.

Then, Mave also annihilated an entire pineapple stuffed with iceberg lettuce.

Honey B preferred to drink her coconut by the pool.

(Sadly, I didn’t get any good photos of Willy B because he was running around scarfing down all the lettuce and stomping on coconuts.)

On the other side of the building, the neighboring group of chimps had an equally amazing birthday bash in honor of Mave. Since they can hear and see each other, it would be unfair to leave them out of the fun, and they seemed to appreciate all the same appetizers, entrées, and desserts.

Jody, forager extraordinaire, swiftly grabbed a coconut and then went back out for peppers afterward.

Annie found a coconut and loudly slurped all the liquid from inside. The sound was kind of gross, to be honest, but it was funny that we could hear it from 100 feet away.

Missy went after the lettuce, but had to acknowledge Jamie before she could run away and eat it all in privacy.

Negra’s strategy was to chase everyone else and beg them for food. It works sometimes.

Foxie “flew under the radar” during this forage. She was barely visible as she ate iceberg lettuce atop a distant platform.

After displacing Missy from her perch on the Treat Rock, Jamie harvested a bunch of coconuts, iceberg and peppers. Even though she paused to sip on a coconut, she had a hard time carrying it all back into the Greenhouse.

Burrito’s manner of transporting lettuce and coconuts made us all chuckle. At one point, he gave up trying to hold it all and just kicked his coconut downhill towards the Greenhouse.

Thank you to everyone who sponsors chimps, donates items, follows and engages with our online media and supports the sanctuary! Once again, you facilitated another memorable birthday party for Mave and her companions.

The Many Uses of Fire Hose

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Nicolas Santos, an 8th grade student at St. Luke School, recently collected fire hose for the chimpanzees. Nicolas’ parents, Erica (a former CSNW board member) and Enjay (a former CSNW volunteer), gathered up the family to help deliver it to the sanctuary.

The response to his project was so overwhelming that they had to rent a U-Haul trailer.

Already, Chad and I have began to hang some of it up in the new greenhouses, which are just weeks away from completion.

By the way – we’re very grateful to the donors who purchased the safety harness and lifeline from our wish list. Look at the view from up top! Just don’t look down.

As Nicolas mentioned in his flyer, chimpanzees use fire hose in a number of different ways.

They walk across it:

They climb across it:


They sit on it:

They swing on it:

They lounge on it:

They…do whatever this is:

Occasionally, they even wear it:

Thanks, Nicolas, for helping us enrich the chimps’ home! Honey B, Mave, Willy B, and the “Lucky Six” are going to love it.

Daily Smile

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If you saw our Instagram post yesterday, you saw some of this video. Here’s the longer version. This should definitely put a smile on your face!

50 Shades of Hay

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A friend of me recently told me that they find observing cattle to be emotionally grounding. For sure, a serenely grazing cow radiates peace.

It’s difficult to tell when cattle are truly happy since they express their emotions in a way that seems alien to most humans. Still, there is a notable contrast between a calm bovine and an excited or anxious one. We who work with these creatures learn to differentiate between these various behavioral states and use this wisdom to safely provide optimal care.

In a more spiritual sense, I also love to watch the Moo Crew peacefully munch on a bale of grass hay, browse through the willows along the creek, or mow down an overgrown pasture like a band of professional landscapers. They bring me joy.

Today, we’re sharing the Jerseys and their zen-like bliss with you all. Please feel free to hop in your Gator, grab a bale of your own, and join in.