Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
We had our hands full this afternoon with the virtual tour for the Chimps in Need Campaign, but Anna somehow managed to snap a few photos of the Seven enjoying their Love a Chimpanzee Day celebration.
Don’t forget – you can help us welcome six more chimpanzees to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest this year by donating on Monica and Diana’s GiveBig fundraising page or the sanctuary’s main GiveBig page.
Missy:
Jody (with banana leaves):
Annie:
Negra:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Jamie:
When we set out food forages for the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill, the chimps’ outdoor habitat, especially on a gorgeous day like today, all of the staff onsite tend to gather at the base of the hill near the greenhouse, frequently with more than one of us taking photos.
It never gets old watching forages, and we often narrate out-loud to one another what’s happening. Today, Missy provided some excitement for our (and her) enjoyment.
The lunch forage was whole tomatoes (a Missy-favorite!), big chunks of lettuce, celery, mini sweet peppers, primate chow biscuits, and a few pieces of sweet potato.
Missy was keen on finding the tomatoes, but was also busy gathering lettuce. We spotted her on the treat rock (an artificial termite mound) taking a moment to eat some lettuce.
She must have spotted some tomatoes on top of Negra’s cabin from the vantage point of the treat rock, because she leapt off the treat rock in a way only Missy would. J.B. got a shot of her in motion!
Here’s the zoomed-in version of that photo. I dubbed it Stunt Missy.
Negra was settled in inside her cabin, casually enjoying some chow biscuits and lettuce, when Missy approached.
Missy was determined to climb up the log support of the cabin, even with her hands quite full. The humans watching wondering if she could do it…
Of course she could! She scaled up the log one-handed, not dropping a leaf of lettuce.
and enjoyed the tomato reward when she reached the top
Earlier, Diana and I were discussing how serving meals to the Seven has changed over the years. It used to be that you would grab the first course – tomatoes, for example – and serve each chimp his or her portion until that course was done. Then you’d move on to the next course. It’s not that they never became impatient but there was at least a logical and orderly process. But the chimps have turned everything upside down. Missy now has to eat her tomatoes first. Negra, on the other hand, has to have her chow first. Meanwhile, Jamie is going to have her leeks first and that’s not a request that’s an order. It’s not just a simple matter of preference – if they don’t get their desired food first, it’s a full-on hunger strike. So now we’re just grabbing food from this bowl and that bowl amidst a frenzy of Bronx cheers and spit. Sometimes I feel like it’s my first day as a waiter in a busy restaurant. OK, Table 2 wants water with no ice, Table 6 wants a large salad but in two small bowls, Table 9 is still waiting for their entree, and wait…was it no ice or extra ice for Table 2??
I used to be able to write down exactly who ate what and how much, but now it’s all a blur. Today’s log:
Lunch:
Chimps ate food.
Perhaps it has less to do with the chimps and more to do with the natural affects of aging on the brain. But I swear, somehow the Californians are even pickier! The problem over there is that Willy B can be a bully at mealtimes and Honey B is the Slowest Eater On The Planet. The number one rule for lower-ranking chimps is to consume your food as fast as possible. But Honey B doesn’t play by anyone’s rules. And who are you calling low-ranking, anyway? By the time Willy B is done and starting to get antsy, she’s still sitting on a pile of food just licking a piece of fruit and staring into your eyes.
Of course, these fall into the category known by the chimps as “Human Problems”, which as you might guess, are of no concern to them. As it should be.
We all have preferences for food. Our likes and dislikes. The chimps are no different. I can’t tell you how many times Foxie has poked away something green and looked offended that I would even offer kale. Or how many times Honey B has politely given back pieces of food she does not want. I thought you might all want to know what foods the chimps think are the most delicious and the worst! Let’s start with what collectively everyone loves; cabbage and lettuce! So simple and plain, but the chimp house will erupt in excitement when they see a head of lettuce or slices of cabbage.
Now, let’s get into personal preferences. 🙂
Negra, as we all might know is all about chow and peanuts. Negra is a carbs girl so of course for our special holidays she gets the most excited for dinner rolls, well, maybe besides Burrito. They might be in a tie for that one.
Jamie will never say no to any type of pear. She really loves onions in any form, green onions, leeks, raw onion, baked onions! Jamie loves them all.
Missy might be the easiest to guess. She eats, sleeps, and breathes tomatoes. Missy also really like lettuce, sweet potatoes, and ice! For her birthday, we do tomato parties!
Foxie can be a bit picky. Do not give her green foods! Foxie mostly lives for smoothies and fruits! She also likes sweet potatoes (especially baked), tomatoes, and ohhhh she loves avocados! Foxie for her birthday gets watermelon bowls, which are one of her favorites.
Jody is a forager. She loves going on the Hill and finding prickly lettuce, dandelions, cattails, flowers, and whatever else she can find. Jody really likes bananas and carrots. There are many amazing things about Jody, but the best is when she is really content or happy Jody makes the dinosaur groan of satisfaction. That is how we know she is really enjoying something good.
Annie is easy to please. She really likes everything, except for mangoes. She is allergic to mangoes! Annie loves grass, flowers, green onion, and kale.
Burrito LOVES food! Obviously, his favorite is pasta, but he only gets it on special occasions! Burrito is also pretty easy to please. He really like all potatoes, regular or sweet!
*** Willy B, Mave, and Honey B are hesitant to try new foods. Often, they just stare at you when you try to serve them something new and delicious, like you are trying to poison them. For example, for Negra’s brunch we served waffles to everyone. The three just stared at us like we were crazy for offering! Eventually they tried the waffles and enjoyed them. ***
Willy B loves cabbage. He also really likes carrots and sweet potatoes. Willy thinks cucumbers are disgusting. He does not like tea or any other beverage that might look like a suspicious drink. However, Willy B is a fun individual to watch eat. For example, when Willy B eats a carrot or cabbage he eats it like Bugs Bunny!
Mave is a California girl! She loves a really good avocado and fresh pineapple! Mave was hesitant about baked goods, but now she loves baked onions, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes! Mave is always the first one up for breakfast, it might be her favorite meal. Mave will only eat a cucumber if there is nothing else, it is her last choice.
Honey B LOVES lettuce and smoothies! She also likes carrots, popcorn, and brussel sprouts. Something you all should know about Honey B, if you don’t already is that she is the world’s slowest eater! Honey B also rarely eats a cucumber.
When Honey B is eating, she likes to stare deeply into your eyes. We joke that her actually food is our souls. If looks deep enough she will steal it :). I believe this photo embodies that.
Mave eating is pure bliss.
Mave’s facial expression feels almost looks like a taunt. Like, you hungry? Or, you want some of this?
I managed to get an action shot of Willy B eating his cabbage like Bugs Bunny!
Don’t forget to check up on our Wish List! Thanksgiving may be tomorrow, but Christmas is just around the corner and we are slowly adding items on their list!
Jody has a healthy appreciation for fresh, hand-picked greens.
Recently, local volunteer Krissy has been delivering bags of primate chow to the sanctuary’s front gate. More often than not, she also leaves behind a large bin of produce from her home garden. This weekend, we added the generous assortment of leafy greens to the chimps’ lunches, which we then dispersed in Young’s Hill so that they could spend the afternoon foraging.
Most greens are cultivars of one species: cabbage. In its wild form, cabbage (Brassica oleracea) grows on the seaside cliffs of Europe. Over millennia, the domesticated variants have become a common food crop for humans around the globe. Despite their distinct grocery names, kale, collared greens, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts are all just types of cabbage that have been shaped by artificial selection. Of course, “Farmer Jo” loves them all equally.
Today, Jo did her usual thing (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) and gathered up an impressive bundle of greens. Although it was an unusually quiet day at the sanctuary, even around the chimps, the loud crunch of woody stems filled the Greenhouse for a short while. Negra spent the early minutes of the forage collecting the grapes and chow biscuits nearest to the Greenhouse, but missed out on the kale. Upon returning, she sat behind Jody and begged for a piece. Jo ignored her, but eventually discarded enough leafless stalks to satisfy Neggie, who promptly scooped them up and waddled inside.
Compared to the usual dynamics, today’s drama was relatively tame.
Volunteer and friend of the sanctuary, Krissy, recently dropped off some garden-grown cabbage for the chimps. Some of you might not consider cabbage to be breakfast food but the chimps would beg to differ. In fact, it may have been more popular than the oranges, apples, and primate chow.
In addition to everything she personally does for the chimpanzees, Krissy also supports the chimpanzees through her business, The Whole Pet Shop (in Woodinville, WA and Roslyn, WA), which is a Chimpanzee Champion-level sponsor of Hoot! 2020. Have you checked out all of the incredible items up for auction now through September 12? Your support will not only help keep Negra up to her ears in cabbage, but it will also help us provide a home for even more deserving chimpanzees.
There are many techniques to eating an eggplant. For example, us humans would probably put some salt on our eggplant to pull the water out before cooking with it. But these chimps, especially Mave, Honey B, and Willy B, enjoy it raw and preferably whole! That seems to be the most exciting way to serve it to them! Honey B will run and grab hers through the food chute and then sprint out into the chute to enjoy her eggplant. Mave, as you will see in the video, has the best method. Though, I don’t think many of us humans could get away with this in public.
Bonus Negra photos!
