Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Missy had such an amazing birthday party yesterday! Because we had so much to cover for her party we weren’t able to share what happen over on Dora’s side of the building! They also had a lunch forage to celebrate Missy. Please enjoy the video and photos from yesterday!
Willy B with an arm full and a mouth full of chow:
Rayne in all her pepper glory:
A very distinguished Mave:
Mave swooping in to grab tomatoes:
Gordo with a mouth full of what we think is chow:
Sweet Dora:
Missy invited me to play chase up the hill this afternoon. When we reached the top, she veered off into the tall grass with a look of determination.
She climbed atop one of the mounds.
And then walked out onto the log bridge.
From there, she scanned the area.
Then she disappeared into the weeds.
When she emerged, it was clear she had found what she was searching for: a yellow goatsbeard flower and a handful of prickly lettuce leaves.
With an equal sense of purpose, she marched through the grass to Jamie’s Tower.
She climbed the ladder and perched on a support.
There, overlooking the river canyon, she munched on her prickly lettuce.
When she was done, she met up with her best friend, Annie, and returned to the chimp house, saving the flower for later.
Before I get to the brief content of this blog post, I have a question for you, or, rather I have a request for your questions.
Several months ago, I recorded a conversation with Jen Feuerstein about integrating groups of chimpanzees with one another. Before that conversation, I invited blog readers to submit your questions for Jen. Then I made that recording available for a small donation.
I am going to be talking with Jen again in just a few days so that I can follow up with her now that she helped us make the final leap in putting the two groups of chimpanzees together. The group of nine has been together for just over a month, so the timing seems right.
Once again, I am inviting you to submit your questions about the integration process and now also post-integration considerations, worries, and expectations.
Your questions can be general to captive chimpanzees or specific to the integration that we just did. My thought is to add the follow-up conversation to the original video and make the whole thing more widely available for anyone who is interested in watching it (perhaps with a donation suggestion but available for free).
Let me know what you think, and write your questions in the comments to this blog post or send them to me by email at [email protected]. Thank you!!
On to today’s musings:
We’ve written about nightbags before. They are the post-dinner packaged treat that we give the chimpanzees. I’ve never met a chimp who didn’t like them.
It’s more than just the food at this point, though.
It’s the ritual.
The crinkling of the paper as your caregiver twists the bag to hand it to you though the mesh.
The cracking open of the bag (however you might choose to get into the contents of your bag – some break the twisted bag in half, others carefully unroll it, open the bag, and reach in).
The immediate gratification of staying right where you are to partake or taking your bag and going to your favorite spot, away from everyone else.
The spreading out on a surface, then sorting with your fingers or lips, or just shaking the contents and pouring the seeds, peanuts, popcorn, and dried fruit right into your mouth (your individual method has been honed to your personal preference over the years).
The finding someone else’s nightbag spot and picking through the leftovers to see if there are any surprise shells with seeds still contained.
All of it is so satisfying.
Just ask Annie:
Or Foxie:
As you can tell from the title, there is some leeked content. I guess this kind of leekage isn’t so bad ;).
Please enjoy these photos of Cy eating a leek:
Terry really liked his leek too:
Bonus photos!
Cy:
Rayne basking in the warm greenhouse sun:
Willy B staring at himself through the camera:
Honey B is ready for bed, and bids you a goodnight:
For the first time in what feels like forever, we have had some consistent sunny days with the temperatures in the 60s. A sunny day with slight overcast in 60º weather and the slightest of breezes are the perfect conditions for the first forage on Young’s Hill of 2022!
Annie:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Jamie:
Jody:
Missy:
Negra:
Annie and Missy:
When former volunteer caregiver, Sandra, came by for a visit this morning during breakfast, Burrito faced a difficult choice: take her on a run around the hill or stay and finish breakfast?
The sights and sounds of lunchtime.
