Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Enrichment

Coming Up Next…

by

Christmas may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t planning for the next big celebration! After New Years, we have a big one: Burrito’s 40th Birthday! It’s going to be so hard to believe this Energizer Bunny of a chimpanzee is going to be 40! We are going to try to make it special for him hitting this milestone! I know we have asked a lot recently with the Comfort & Joy auction and Christmas donations, but if you could, please go to our Amazon Wish List and see if there is anything you can help out us getting to throw a 40th Birthday Bash!

Burrito with some of his favorite enrichment items; wooden blocks, slinkies, and Squishmallows!

I don’t even know where to begin describing what is happening here. We were playing, then he picked up this toy cone and started peering through it like a telescope, maybe?

I also want thank everyone who tuned in to listen to ramble on today during the virtual visit talk about enrichment! Plans are already underway for the next virtual visit talk!

Some bonus photos:

Dora pooped out after her Christmas party!

Beautiful Rayne also taking a snooze after partying!

Rayne also watching caregivers clean the Mezzanine the other day!

Negra when caregivers greeted her in the morning!

Cy thumbing through a new magazine!

Burrito loves his snowy treats!

Betsy, Nutmeg, Honey, and Meredith! The bovine are super fuzzy with their winter coats right now! (And yes, Meredith is still Miss Independent!)

Dora enjoying her cherry tomatoes at lunch!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

by

On the seventh day of Christmas, the chimpanzees received giant slinkies. There are some in the groups who love slinkies to play with. We all know that Burrito and Willy B loved slinkies. We are now finding out some of the newer residents also seem to enjoy them. We have seen Rayne and Dora play with them as well as Gordo, though we currently don’t have any footage of Gordo because of his somewhat elusive nature.

Special thank you to:

Marya B. for donating the slinkies!

Rayne

On the Sixth Day of Christmas…

by

On the sixth day of Christmas

Donor Linda gave to me

New People magazines!

– Cy Chimpanzee, probably

We send our most heartfelt gratitude and warmest wishes to our supporters who have donated to the chimpanzees through the Comfort & Joy online auction! You can go directly to the event’s web page to see the numerous items that were purchased by our community on behalf of the chimpanzees who call the sanctuary home.

You’ve probably seen some of the earliest gifts unveiled on the blog recently, from Squishmallows On the First Day of Christmas to a Negra-themed blanket On the Fifth. Today’s surprise is another unconventional enrichment item, intended to excite one quirky individual in particular. Without further ado, we extend a special thank you to:

Linda M. for donating the subscription to People magazine (addressed to Cy Chimpanzee)

Indeed, the sanctuary’s biggest bookworm will now have a steady supply of celebrity gossip and pop culture trivia to entertain him when he needs a moment of peace apart from his companions. Today, Enrichment Coordinator Chad delivered the latest edition of People directly to Cy’s “mailbox” (a gap under the caging of the Marmot Mountain playroom). You can check out the included video to see how Cy reacted to the holiday surprise!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas…

by

Can you believe we’re already at Day Five of our Christmas countdown?! It’s hard to believe that Christmas Eve is this next weekend, even though our foyer is beginning to look like Santa visited early. 🙂 Thanks to everyone who has donated from our wish list! Click here if you want to check it out, there’s still items remaining that we need for the upcoming holiday weekend!

This morning when I went to say good morning to Jamie’s group, I was met with a very playful Burrito who still had the buffalo blanket from yesterday! He had it on his back while he ran across the front rooms to initiate a game of chase. Foxie, on the other hand, was waiting in the Front Rooms with her new Strawberry Shortcake doll. She handed it out to me before twirling away and coming back to take it. On the other side of the chimp house, the Dora Blanket is in the laundry process before being put back in for the 9 to enjoy again. How fun it is to see the chimps enjoying their presents- thank you so much to all those who participated in the Comfort & Joy online auction!

Today, we gave Negra and pals the *fabulous* Negra Blanket! This may be the best Negra blanket to ever exist in all of history. You may ask, how many Neggies is too many Neggies? And the answer is that it’s a trick question – there are never too many Neggies! The blanket features twelve photos of Negra living her best life, which often involves a huge nest and lots of soft blankets. 🙂 Check out the video for more!

Special thank you to:

(our very own) Chadwick de Bree for donating the Negra Blanket

Speaking of Chadwick de Bree – have you seen the news about our exclusive upcoming virtual visit? You will have the opportunity to meet Chad, our enrichment coordinator, and discuss all things enrichment! Click here to learn more and to register.

Handsome Burrito watching the snow fall outside:

Jody enjoying her warm nest:

Negra taking an after-breakfast nap:

Willy B trying to be sneaky:

Willy B watching Cy:

Foxie being silly while playing with her dolls:

Lil’ Bit of This, Lil’ Bit of That, Lil’ Bit of Terry

by

For today’s blog, there really isn’t any theme or story. Just a random assortment of photos I was able to capture today before our monthly staff training.

Honey B, Rayne, and Lucky watch as staff prepare to start our monthly escape drill.
Willy B enjoying his lunch chow in front of the window looking into the Oakwood Greenhouse.
Burrito waiting for his neighbors to make an appearance in their Chute.
Mave comforting Dora after Willy B spooked her. If you are wondering, yes. Mave and Dora hug… A LOT! Scared? Hug. Happy? Hug. Unsure? Hug. Playful? Hug. Mad (at someone else)? Hug. Sad? Hug. Bored? Hug.
A missed opportunity? Yes. This photo is blurry, but had it been in focus it would have been amazing. However, either way it is too good not to share!

Rayne looking as beautiful as ever in the front rooms.

And then there is Terry…

Whenever I seem to be in a jam for photos or blog material, I can usually count on Terry to bail me out of it. I mean, come on. Look at this handsome face!
This year, Terry has also become accustomed to snow snacks!
Terry seems to have developed a taste for the wintery treat!

Don’t forget to check out our wish list! Christmas is fast approaching and things are being added almost daily to help us throw them a wonderful party this year! We are also in need some of the Shutterfly gift cards. We use these for multiple things, including purchasing Jamie’s custom made book of the caregivers’ XtraTuf boots.