Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Enrichment

Go Hawks!

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We’re always looking for a reason to celebrate and throw a party here at the sanctuary. What better reason for a party than to join fans in cheering on the Seattle Seahawks for Super Bowl XLIX today?

So, how exactly do we throw a Super Bowl Party for chimpanzees you may ask? Well, nothing says a party like green and blue streamers, blankets and toys. Throw in some Seahawks cups, plates, napkins, a football, 12th man socks, t-shirt and arm sleeves. And finally, to top it off (and quite possibly the best part if you ask Burrito) we set up a lunch forage in the Playroom, consisting mostly of green colored foods (lettuce, green peppers, cucumbers and potatoes) and blue drinks (watered down gatorade).

Here are photos from the set up:
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Be sure to watch the video at the end of the blog to see who ended up drinking these!
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And now, the chimpanzees enjoying the party.

Here’s Jamie
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Missy
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Missy and Jamie
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Jody
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Burrito (with Missy in the background)
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Annie
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Foxie during the party.
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Foxie after the party. She may have partied a little too hard.
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Negra
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Who drank most of the drinks from the blue and green cups? Watch the video to find out….did you guess right?

GO HAWKS!

Let it Snow (just this one time, then we’re ready for spring)

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We haven’t really had much snow here in Central Washington this winter. This is sort of a mixed blessing for the chimps. On the one hand, the lack of snow allows them to spend more time outside during the winter, which is great. But on the other hand, snow to a chimpanzee is like an endless supply of food falling magically from the sky. And who wouldn’t want that?

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Today we had the best of both worlds. We woke up to some fresh snow, which kept the chimps thoroughly enriched all morning. By afternoon, the snow was gone, and the chimps were back on the hill getting their exercise.

So that was fun. Now we’re ready for spring.

Jamie’s precision enrichment project

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As many of you know, Jamie loves projects. She appreciates a challenge, and seeks out opportunities for doing things “the hard way.” It’s really the opposite of most people’s instincts, because laziness is almost a default—we ask ourselves to find the quickest way to do things which require the least amount of exertion. Conserving energy might be the ultimate cause for this instinct, but in any case, it’s how most animals (humans included) operate. Jamie, however, has other things in mind. She wants to challenge herself.

Lately, when I serve breakfast, I have a little routine with Jamie. I give her a cup which she pins against the fencing, and then I place her servings in the bowl. So as I hand fruit pieces to the mouths or hands of the other chimps, I put Jamie’s in her bowl and she spends time fishing the piece out of the bowl. Once she gets the slice, she sort of leans the bowl my direction so I can refill it. Doing things the hard way tend to just make her happy. It’s awful to imagine the trauma she must have experienced from boredom in her previous life in biomedical research.

We can’t ever make up for what she must have gone through, but we try to give her as many challenges and projects as we can to keep her happy. Sometimes her projects come from surprising places—like today, I caught her playing with this enrichment toy for quite awhile. The small poles could be pushed through the holes in the wood center, and she would do just that and then flip it over and start again. The thing I found interesting was her technique—rather than just using her fingers to push the poles, she used another pole as a tool. You can see in the video just how precise she was with each push.

After taking some video of this activity I showed it to Jamie, who was interested in watching herself for a brief moment before returning to her project (watch until the very end to see that bit).

Go Hawks!

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Today is Blue Friday, which around the Seattle area means that fans shows their support for the Seahawks by wearing their favorite blue and green Seahawks gear. Since the team will be playing in their first playoff game tomorrow night, we thought we’d join in the spirit and throw a Blue Friday party for the chimps! We had broccoli and grapes for a forage, as well as tea in blue and green champagne flutes, and watered down blue gatorade in Seahawks cups.

The party set-up:

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The blue drinks were a bit hit! Everyone had a taste.

Jamie:
Jamie

Annie:
Annie

Burrito:
Burrito

Burrito

Jody:
Jody

Negra:
Negra

Missy:
Missy

Jamie loved the table we setup with the forage and the decorations:

Jamie drink tea

Jamie eat broccoli

Jamie Seahawks football

We’re glad we were able to throw a fun party for the chimps in the spirit of camaraderie of the pacific northwest fans. Running a sanctuary is all about teamwork, and we are lucky to have some really great fans of our own!

Jamie

Jody Checks Out Jamie’s Boots

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Jamie was intently inspecting one of the boots that I had given her after I wore it outside in the snow today. She went about inspecting (and licking) the boot, not paying any attention to Jody, who was just as intently peering (a common chimpanzee behavior usually geared toward food) at her. None of it seemed to faze Jamie. Jody continued peering for a few minutes, before sitting down next to Jamie. Then she grabbed one of the boots that was in Jamie’s nest and looked inside of it, flipped it around, put it up to her nose and looked inside again before putting it back down. Not long after, she got up and walked back into the Playroom, clearly not as interested in the boots as Jamie was.

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Sometimes you just have to see what all the hype is about.

Welcoming in the New Year

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We are all continuously so amazed by how generous our supporters are—truly, you all keep this sanctuary running! We are able to give Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Annie, Negra, and Jody a cozy warm home, good healthy food, long-lasting friendships with caregivers, and an endless supply of trolls, boots, and other enrichment directly because of YOU.

This year, our family of staff and supporters has grown stronger and our hearts have only gotten bigger from how grateful we are to see these seven special beings live their lives without the fear of being in confined biomedical lab cages—not knowing what would happen next.

Now, you can see in their eyes they trust us. They trust us. It truly amazes me after all they’ve been through, that they not only forgive humans, but learn to build friendships with confidence, trust us with their most prized possessions, and even help us out when needed. It’s because of your support that we can maintain these important relationships with these chimpanzees and provide them with hope, love, home, and sanctuary.

Our goal for year-end giving of individual donations was fairly optimistic, but we’re getting closer and closer every minute that we creep toward welcoming 2015. As I write this, we are just $1,512 short of our goal for year-end giving! In just a few short hours, you can help us make it to our goal for this year (or surpass it!)

Dora and friends got dressed up for the New Year’s Eve bash:
Dora the Explorer on NYE

Everyone enjoyed a sparkling apple cider forage, especially Jamie:
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jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

Missy had her own technique:
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Everyone else was busy collecting the nuts and coconut flakes we scattered around like confetti:

Foxie:
foxie

Annie:
annie

Jody:
jody forage

Negra:
negra forage

negra forage

Cheers to you and yours, and Happy New Year from all of us at
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!

A wonderful Christmas time

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The chimps (and the humans!) have been having a really great Christmas, thanks to all our amazing supporters! We had five people sponsor the day for the chimps today, so we owe a big thank you again to Laurel H., Kathleen K., Molly W., Michael H., and Janine B.

Also a huge shout out to Lisa S. and Jayne R. for their decorations that we were able to spread across yesterday‘s and today’s parties! Carol M. sent us seven adorable chimpiñatas which we added to the decor, too. More thank-yous are in order for everyone that sent in new toys which became presents for today’s celebration, including Sharon & Larry C., Diana M., Lisa S., Jayne R., and Helen K. Here’s part of the haul in front of Santa’s sleigh:

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Volunteer Patti and supporter Anne also picked up a lot of yummy fresh produce for the party and Patti made amazing roasted pumpkins with quinoa, wild rice, and veggies.

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The day began with a small forage of tomatoes, pistachios, and shaved coconut in the tree. Negra was the first out to see what we had set up under (and in) the tree.

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Missy snagged most of the tomatoes, and went through the presents, too:

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The party then moved into the playroom, where all the food and presents from our friends near and far brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees!

Annie:

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Jamie:

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Foxie:

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Missy:

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Negra:

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Jody:

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Burrito

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As if those photos weren’t enough, here’s a video of the festivities of the day. Thank you again to everyone who has helped bring such happiness to the chimpanzees this Christmas and every day!