Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Enrichment

All we want for Christmas is…

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Can you believe it’s already December?! The holidays are fast approaching and supporters are always asking us what we need or want. This year, we came up with a pretty comprehensive list and added a ton of stuff to our Amazon Wishlist. There are a variety of things on there, both for the chimps and for the humans, including our biggest need: a new external hard drive. Ours is apparently no longer backing up our data, which is scary when you think about how many amazing photos and videos we have on this computer! Four years of memories! So, we would love a new hard drive that will protect all of those awesome images, like this one of Ms. Foxie:

If you peruse the wishlist, you’ll see we’ve added everything from cleaning gloves to new plastic chairs for the chimps (they love to sit on the chairs during meal times). I also found a few new food puzzles (like this one) that I added to the list. As you may already know, Jamie is the smartest person on the planet. She loves a challenge, so finding projects to keep her busy and enriched is my daily goal, and a lot of times (because she is so much smarter than me) my daily challenge. But I think I’ve found a few things to help occupy her (and everyone’s) mind. Check them out!

You’ll probably notice that some of the goodies on the list are more “fun” than others, but we added a lot of things that are key parts of our daily routine – pens for example. But actually the pens are not just on there for human use. With Jamie’s love of drawing, we are always in short supply of pens. So having extra pens around the chimp house will enrich both the chimps’ and the humans’ lives. It’s a win-win for everyone!

So, check out our wishlist and feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions or other ideas of things we might need. Thanks so much!

Foxie mid-yawn

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I guess yesterday’s Jamie-ween party was just so exhausting, Foxie couldn’t help but take a big yawn. Here she is holding the Dora doll donated by Bailey as mentioned in yesterday’s blog.

Happy Jamie-ween!

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It is no accident that the boss’s birthday is our biggest party of the year! Jamie’s (honorary) 35th birthday party has been pretty epic! In addition to caregivers being decked out in goofy Halloween get-ups, we had tons of mini pumpkins, pomegranates (a favorite), pinatas, several new pairs of boots from friends (1 from Linda Gere, 1 from Dick and Robbi Brown, and 1 from Tamela Burgess), and a giant pumpkin carved by the super artistic volunteer Stephanie.

It may have been the boss’s day, but that doesn’t mean she’s the only one that gets presents! Foxie’s new friend Bailey Ford sent her a brand new Dora the Explorer doll, which she wrapped in a cute box covered in stickers. Jamie opened it first:

but everyone knew it was for Foxie! She quickly took her Dora out to the hill for some exploring:

Stephanie is amazing at finding pinatas and decorations, and given that it’s her (and my) favorite holiday, Jamie-ween is always over the top!

Annie with the skull pinata:

and Jamie’s birthday decor would not be complete without a boot pinata!

Juice seems to be an all-time favorite party treat around here. Burrito was a squeaking machine!

Jamie with one of her new pairs of boots

For some reason Missy didn’t end up in a lot of our photos, but we did manage to get this one close up of her munching on a pomegranate.

We put out several mini pumpkins on Young’s Hill. They were filled with a mixture of pears and blackberries. Negra was the first to rush out the door when I opened it this morning. She was so excited about the mini pumpkins!

She would grab as many as she could in her hands and mouth and carry them inside to enjoy in the greenhouse. But as soon as she was done, she was back out for more! This went on all morning long (even hours later). She may not spend a lot of time on the hill, but I think it’s safe to say that she is feeling more and more comfortable, especially with the right kind of motivator!

Jody enjoyed them too

Once their palates were set on pumpkins, there was no stopping Jody and Negra from diving into the big one! Jody munched on it for a while but once Negra was finished collecting mini pumpkins from the hill, she happily took over.

The large pumpkin has been passed around to everyone today, though. Burrito had his head in it earlier and then shared a little with Annie. I think we all know who is going to be sleeping good tonight!

Thanks so much to Robbi, Dick, Tamela, Linda, Bailey, Wanda and Stephanie for making today such an awesome celebration! Here’s to the boss!

“Oh no!” Laundry basket keep away

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Normally we don’t give the chimps laundry baskets, not because they are unsafe (because they aren’t) but because we need them to do all the laundry, to dry all the washed toys, and to have a spot for the day’s enrichment. So, we reserve them for human use only, and the chimps understand that. If they ever get their hands on something they “aren’t supposed to have,” they think it’s pretty funny. Especially Foxie:

 

Young’s Hill Anniversary Forage

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If you were on Facebook this morning, you might have noticed that I posted a link to the video from the chimps’ first day out on Young’s Hill—exactly one year ago today! I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by—I remember that day like it was yesterday. A lot has happened in the last year and we’ve seen so many changes in the chimps. Burrito hasn’t been the most confident in the open air but he is going farther and farther. Missy is a fearless running machine. Annie has gotten to walk through grass that she hadn’t seen since her infancy in Africa. Jody and Foxie were both hesitant in the beginning but will now spend hours exploring the hill. Jamie never showed any hesitation to exploring every inch of the hill, and protecting it from intruders (deer on the other side of the fence). Negra still doesn’t spend too much extended time out there, but she goes out most days first thing and soaks in some sun before heading back in to her favorite spot in the greenhouse or inside the playroom. Today, she was the first one out when I opened the door! She quickly grabbed some forage and went back in before I started filming, so I don’t have any Negra footage, but I caught shots of all the others enjoying their anniversary forage.

I can’t wait to see what changes and growth this next year will bring. Any ideas?

 

Chimpanzees watching “Chimpanzee”

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Supporter Dana Alan Troyer thoughtfully sent the chimps the Disneynature movie “Chimpanzee”. Burrito and Foxie have always been fascinated by movies and they were especially excited about this one! You may notice at one point it looks as though Burrito is “dancing” to the beat of the music, but in reality I suspect he was just generally excited about seeing the chimps on TV. He loves TV but is particularly interested in movies with free-living chimpanzees. His face while watching the movie was just priceless! Thanks, Dana!