Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Afternoon Routine

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The chimpanzees have developed their own daily routines. Typically, they are at their highest arousal level in the morning time. That is also when they seem to be the most active, often times playing, displaying and greeting one another and caregivers. After breakfast, the chimps spend time building nests with the new blankets, checking out the new enrichment, playing and venturing out onto Young’s Hill. After lunch, the chimps’ arousal level shifts. Most of the chimpanzees either enjoy their afternoon with a siesta, or by grooming themselves or one another. Other chimps demand to go on walks around Young’s Hill.

This afternoon was no different. I caught Annie enjoying her afternoon siesta in the Greenhouse. She looked quite content on the deck and briefly interrupted her resting time to groom Missy before closing her eyes.

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Foxie took her time to enjoy her chow one piece at a time.

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Jody spent a large portion of her afternoon grooming her hands and arms.

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Negra sat on the bottom platform for a few minutes after lunch just looking around before heading inside to get comfortable in her blanket nest.

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Missy and Burrito were busy grooming one another while the other chimps were resting.

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And what do you think Jamie was up to? She was busy looking for someone to go on a walk with her of course.

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Happy Birthday, Heiwon!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Don and Karen Young for their granddaughter, Heiwon Young, who turns 7 years old today! Don and Karen generously helped to make the chimpanzees’ 2-acre outdoor habitat, Young’s Hill, possible and we are grateful for their compassion and support of the chimps every single day. They shared the following sweet message about today:

“Heiwon is the daughter of Rob and Soo Mi Young, the sister of Helton Young, and our precious granddaughter. She is a Princess, loves animals, is a dancer and an extraordinary artist, but more importantly, she is a gentle, lovely, compassionate little girl.”

Don and Karen, thank you for keeping the chimpanzees in your hearts and sharing Heiwon’s special day with them.

Heiwon, how exciting to be turning 7 years old! We hope you have the happiest of days and thank you for sharing your 7th birthday with the Cle Elum 7!

Our beloved resident dancer, Foxie. (And for an oldie, but goodie, check out this video of Foxie dancing to the “Lord of the Dance” video).

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Spring is in the air

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Spring is here, which for this region means the weather is predictably unpredictable. Yesterday, we had a beautiful 70 degree slightly cloudy day—the chimpanzees and the humans were loving it! We had the windows open, we did some work outside, Jamie went on lots of walks, and it felt like summer was just around the corner.

Annie enjoying some of the nice spring weather lately:
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Today is, well, not as nice. We have had some very blustery winds with a slight drizzle, but that hasn’t stopped Jamie from making her daily patrols! Most of the other chimps have preferred to stay in the warm wind-protected greenhouse, soaking in the spring sunlight.

What will tomorrow bring? No matter what, I’m sure Jamie will still make her patrols and require her caregivers to come along as well. And maybe Burrito will join and do his new “hop.” Or who knows—maybe even Foxie will come along.

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A Day in the Rainforest

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Today’s enrichment theme is Rainforest Day, and we did our best to turn the sanctuary into a tropical paradise. Volunteer caregiver Becca arrived this morning with her arms full – she brought a giant roll of green paper for a canopy and many rolls of streamers.

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The chimpanzees enjoyed a breakfast forage in the greenhouse. They searched the forest for apples, oranges, peanuts, and primate chow.

Missy:

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Jamie:

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Negra:

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Foxie:

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Burrito:

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Annie, stockpiling some chow:

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St. Patrick’s Day 2015

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As Katelyn mentioned in the sponsor-a-day post this morning, we love to find any reason to throw a party for the chimpanzees. So today we filled little shamrock cups with almond milk which was dyed green with food coloring, as well as their usual fruit smoothie which we also dyed green. We picked green apples and kiwis for the breakfast forage—and threw in some oranges because the chimps love them! Add some streamers and St. Patty’s day decor, and you have the perfect recipe for a great party!

Everyone loved the drinks. We added little straws to the cups, and some chimps used them while others tossed them aside while they licked the cups clean! Foxie was especially great at getting every last drop:

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And Missy, too:

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Negra delicately drank from the little shamrock glasses:

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Burrito had filled his hands with chow so he had no choice but to lean over and use the straw for sipping:

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Annie also enjoyed every last drop of the drinks:

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Of course, the fruit was a big hit! Jody was so motivated to get some that she took on some unusual (for her) acrobatic moves to get to the high windows to get a snack.

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Negra:

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Burrito:

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Missy:

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We also hid some peanuts in little green boxes. Annie was the first to find them:

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Burrito:

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Missy:

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Jamie, quite uncharacteristically, was not the center of everything during this party! She grabbed a stash of food and drinks and stationed herself in a corner where we couldn’t get any photos of her. But she certainly enjoyed the forage, and we saw her still searching around for leftovers hours later!

Foxie gazing at Dora

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One thing that has become clear to me during my years of working with chimpanzees: there is often no answer to “why” questions, such as “why is Foxie so enamored with troll and Dora the Explorer dolls?” Or, similarly, “why does Jamie want her caregivers to put on cowboy boots and “join” her on her walks around Young’s Hill?”.

Maybe rarely having access to answers for “why” questions makes the chimpanzees endlessly fascinating. And maybe it also allows us to concentrate on the “what” and the “how” questions, like, “what can we do to enrich Jamie’s life today?” or “how can we make sure that Foxie always has a choice of dolls?”

Today, this was the doll Foxie picked:

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The bite test:

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The gaze test:

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and this is Foxie looking at me holding Dora before the three of us started playing chase:

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Why does Foxie like her caregivers to play chase while holding one of her dolls? I don’t know. But, as more time passes, the better I get at figuring out what makes her particularly giddy when we’re playing these games.