Foxie

Foxie’s evening

July 29, 2015 by Katelyn

Each night after dinner the chimpanzees receive their food puzzle for the evening. This is typically a pretty exciting time and once everyone has their puzzle they find a quiet spot to enjoy their treats in peace and the chimp house begins to wind down for the day. This evening’s puzzle was frozen applesauce and banana in PVC tubes and I caught Foxie enjoying hers:

When the chimps finish their food puzzles, they usually head straight to their chosen sleeping spot for the night, blankets in tow, and begin making their nests (with the exception of boss Jamie who still has a lot of things to do). But this evening, Foxie decided to hang out as we finished the closing routine and seemed to be enjoying the peaceful time, occasionally glancing out the window next to her as the sun began to sink lower over the sanctuary.

About this time we gave Jamie her “boot package” for the evening. Jamie often requests her favorite “boots du jour” before we leave which we fill with enrichment items for the evening (such as a toothbrush, cup, comb, nail file, scarf, etc) and pass to her through a chute. As she also requested the boots she had me wearing at the time, I happened to be barefoot. And at the sight of bare human toes, Foxie thought it would be a fantastic time to play one last game of chase, interspersed with pirouettes, through the chimp house (never mind that people were settling down to sleep).

After a few minutes of play, we said goodnight to everyone and turned off the lights in the chimp area, answered by the chimpanzees giving nest grunts goodnight in return. Nest grunts are a vocalization that chimpanzees make when they are settling into their nests for the night as a way to check in with each other before they go to sleep. (Admittedly, it’s one of my absolute favorite moments of the day).

As I was closing the door to the chimp area I saw Ms. Foxie head out to the solitude of the greenhouse. I went to say goodnight and found that she had decided to camp out on the top platform, looking out over Young’s Hill, as she held Dora (with some wild hair) close to her. Goodnight dear Fox.

Grab bag Tuesday

July 28, 2015 by Katelyn

The chimpanzees are ultra low-key today. They have all spent the day relaxing this warm summer day and most everyone has been tucked away in their nests or out exploring Young’s Hill. On these kind of days it can be tough work for the paparazzi to get any photos, so one has to loiter in the hopes of getting anything. But eventually a few of the ladies were willing to oblige.

Jody, enjoying a relaxing moment in the greenhouse.

Foxie was having fun running back and forth from the spigot to me with mouthfuls of water and getting pretty excited about me anticipating being spat upon (as is evidenced by her hair being pilo-erect). This is a favorite game of hers and though she didn’t spit any at me she does a pretty good job making you think she might. Which is, I’m sure, half the fun.

And the beautiful Missy.

Burrito’s recovery continues today

July 26, 2015 by Keri

Burrito continues to recover from a dental procedure he had this past Friday. He was reunited with the ladies yesterday and this morning he greeted caregivers and staff with foot stomps and head nods and initiated a few rounds of chase. He’s not quite at full speed yet, but as the hours tick away, he’s recovering more and more.

Love and attention from a good friend like Foxie sure seems to help the process. Foxie spent a good part of this morning grooming Burrito, while he sat relaxing on the deck in the Greenhouse. And all of that relaxation allowed for him to spend quite a bit of time foraging for lunch on Young’s Hill, longer than any of the other chimps in fact. Perhaps it was the roasted sweet potatoes and apples that kept him on the hill for so long.

An afternoon in the greenhouse

July 22, 2015 by Katelyn

Grooming is an important part of chimpanzee culture and whether in the wild or captivity, chimpanzees spend a lot of their time engaged in this behavior. If you think about it, so do we humans! Chimpanzees will groom each other or themselves to remove dirt and debris, attend to wounds, during times of relaxation, and most importantly to build and maintain bonds with one another. Grooming is key to social interactions and is often used by chimpanzees to gain support and remain in good standing not only in the community, but with higher ranking chimps.

The chimp house was very quiet this afternoon before lunch so I went to check on everyone and found several people grooming Jamie, as she basked in her role as the boss lady. (Clockwise: Jamie, Burrito, Foxie and Jody):

Jamie being groomed by Burrito in background:

Jody appointed herself the paparazzi police and immediately positioned herself next to me, at the ready to poke the camera should I continue to take photos of the boss. Though she eventually decided it was more fun to play a game of tickle (a rare Jody happening!):

Lunch service arrived and after a lot of excitement everyone headed up to the top of the greenhouse. (L to R) Foxie, Annie, Jamie, Negra (barely visible in between the blue chairs) and Jody:

Each of the chimpanzees has their way of attempting to gain the server’s attention, especially when they see something they really want (or want more of). Because Jamie is the most dominant in the hierarchy we typically offer things to her first. And she has no problem gesturing if she wants us to serve something other than what’s being offered at the moment for something she prefers on the tray. She will also let us know if there is a particular piece, or color, of fruit or vegetable she wants. For example, she will ask for red peppers over green if she sees them in the bowl and she refuses carrots that aren’t peeled. She will even gesture for us to return any offending carrots to the kitchen for peeling.

Foxie blows incessantly loud raspberries, Negra claps and sometimes clacks her teeth on the caging, Annie blows raspberries and stomps her feet, Missy shakes her head vigorously, and Jody just positions herself in front of the server. If someone is being served something she wants more of, she will just move in front of them or reach across to take it from the less dominant chimps. (This is all part of a normal chimp hierarchical society.) And then there’s Burrito who shakes, rattles and rolls, with a soundtrack of raspberries for pretty much everything on the menu. Just so we don’t forget he’s there…

Annie above and Burrito below (hair standing on end with excitement):

Missy pulls up a chair for her lunch:

On the other side of the caging was their server today, Whitney, one of our volunteer caregivers extraordinaire, getting a workout. Chimpanzees make for a rowdy lunch crowd.

Burrito:

Foxie decided to eat her lunch with me and made her way back to me with each serving to sit in the sun as I took photos next to her.

First course: tomatoes!

Back again with the second course: green peppers!

And finishing up the meal with primate chow in to-go bags:

Burrito, very pilo (hair on end), is often high arousal during mealtimes. Food is just very exciting if you’re Mr. B:

Jamie headed back inside with her chow to make an lunch nest:

Today is in honor of Andrea

July 16, 2015 by Katelyn

This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Juliette Brush-Hoover in honor of her sister Andrea. Juliette shared this beautiful and touching message about today:

“Andrea was my younger sister who left this world way before her time. She was beautiful, hilarious, generous and creative. She loved to help people. And she loved monkeys. I know that chimps are technically apes but I don’t think this distinction would have mattered to Andrea. In memory of my sister’s birthday I am making this special donation to Chimp Sanctuary NW. Knowing the chimps will have a special day full of treats and surprises seems a fitting tribute to my fun loving sister.”

Juliette, we are so honored that you would think of the chimpanzees in remembering Andrea and celebrating her life today. We will be holding Andrea and you in our thoughts today, grateful for all the compassion you both hold and seeing her kind spirit carrying on in the world.

It sounds like Andrea may have had some things in common with fun-loving Foxie, shown here with sweet, Annie (left):

Foraging Strategies

July 12, 2015 by Keri

There was quite a bit of excitement around today’s forage on Young’s Hill. I mean, who wouldn’t be excited about raw kale, tomatoes, lemon wedges, carrots and primate chow? Once they saw what was on the menu, all seven chimpanzees headed out to the Greenhouse and anxiously awaited for us to open the door to give them access to the hill. As soon as I opened the door, Jamie lead the way. But, it was Foxie who stayed out the longest.

There seems to be a variety of strategies these chimps use to forage, as you will see in the photos below. Some of the chimps will eat the food items as they find them, while others seem to prefer to gather as much as they can before heading back to the Greenhouse to feast. Take Jody, for instance. Today she gathered so much food in her mouth and both of her hands that she has to walk upright (bipedally) in order to hold onto everything as she made her way back to the Greenhouse. And Missy went for the food items that were up high (on top of the various structures). And then there is Foxie, who took her time eating each piece of food as she found it.

Annie

Burrito

Foxie

Jamie’s strategy was to put all her lemon wedges in her mouth in order to keep her hands free.

Jody

Look at her cheeks; they are completely full!

Missy

Negra

Christmas in July

July 5, 2015 by Keri

The day after a big party can sometimes be pretty mellow as the chimpanzees “recover” from all the excitement that comes with celebrating a birthday or holiday. But, thanks to Jeani Goodrich (who sponsored today in honor of her family) and her friend Tora, today was filled with more excitement as the chimps celebrated “Christmas in July.”

Celebrating Christmas in July is similar to celebrating Christmas in December. Stockings were hung, presents were wrapped and a lot of red and green streamers, decorations and blankets were spread throughout the enclosures. We also made sure to include foods that kept with the red and green holiday colors. Green onions, tomatoes, red peppers, brussel sprouts, kale and radishes were spread out in the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill for the chimps to forage at lunch.

The party setup in the Greenhouse just before the chimps entered.