Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Luau!

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Yesterday, we threw the chimps a Luau! Volunteer Steph and I have been planning it for a couple of months now and she went shopping and got so much cute stuff! There were 5 adorable pinatas (including a mermaid, a dolphin, a tiki man, a toucan, and a sun), a giant palm tree, fishing nets, leis, and tons of festive cups for tropical drinks. She went waaay over the top with this party– and it was perfect!

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been collecting all the Luau-like troll dolls and Doras too

Thankfully, the chimps were just as enriched as we were!

Jamie:

Burrito:

Negra:

Foxie:

Jody:

Missy:

Negra and Annie focused heavily on the peanuts in the pinatas:

Once the tropical juice was all gone, the Luau spilled out onto Young’s Hill. Jamie was so excited about the pineapple:

Foxie explored the hill and collected chow with her new Dora

Annie

Jamie

Steph also brought banana blossoms, which Jody thoroughly enjoyed but Annie found one on the hill. She looked pretty proud of herself!

Thanks so much for bringing Hawaii to the chimps, Steph!

Rainy day play

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The wind and the rain have kept the chimps inside for most of the day, so Jody and Foxie played quietly near the door to Young’s Hill, waiting for an opportunity to go out.

This is another example of how the chimps change their style of play to suit their playmate. Earlier in the day, Foxie was running, leaping, spinning, and swinging with joy when she got her favorite Dora doll back. But Foxie knows that Jody lives life at a slower pace than she does, so she toned it down a bit.

Fostering Friendships

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Volunteer Katelyn is in training to be a caregiver. We like to think of training as not only a time to teach people about chimp behaviors and how to safely interact with the chimpanzees, but it’s also a time to foster new friendships. The process usually takes several months beginning with the trainee sticking close to the trainer until gradually the trainer gets further and further away and the trainee gains more independence. It’s a fun process to watch, especially when you watch the chimps become more and more comfortable with the person, and watching their friendship begin. That’s what I witnessed today with Katelyn. She hasn’t had many interactions with the chimpanzees, but today we spent a good deal of time interacting with almost everybody! We played tug of war with Missy and a sock, and Annie came over and tickled the back of Katelyn’s hand– a rare treat! Later, we spent some quality time with Foxie in the greenhouse. Foxie was so playful! She literally rolled the entire length of the deck during a chase game– a sure sign that Katelyn going to be a fun friend.

I feel I should point out that Katelyn and I are standing on different steps in the next couple of photos 😉

Happy 4th!

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The chimps have had a great party today! The weather has been awesome– right now, it’s 70 degrees and it’s completely wind-less (a rarity these days!). This morning, we set up a huge forage on Young’s Hill- plums, grapes, peanuts, and chow, and the highlight– frozen grapefruit bowls. Last week, I had the idea to cut grapefruit in half and freeze juice and berries inside the peel, and a few days later, volunteers Seana, Lisa and Denice went to work and made it happen! They looked so delicious! Thanks so much for pulling that one off, ladies! The chimps loved them!

Foxie:

Missy:

Jamie collected the majority, of course:

and was very dedicated to the cause:

Annie collected an enormous mouthful of chow!

Last week, we asked our blog readers what they thought we should do for the 4th of July party. We received some great ideas! One was from Sara, who suggested “Firecracker Poppers” (toilet paper rolls wrapped in tissue paper, filled with peanuts, and the ends tied with ribbon. Volunteer CJ and I made these yesterday and they turned out so cute! But I unfortunately wasn’t able to get any photos. So, volunteer Julie is here now and is going to make the chimps’ evening nightbags out of them. Thanks for the cute idea, Sara!

Elizabeth was inspired by blog commenter Annie N’s suggestion to make popsicles, so she froze juice inside Dixie Cups with little popsicle sticks. Again, the chimps were thrilled! Thanks for the idea, Annie!

Missy:

Negra was the most excited about these. While everyone else was exploring for goodies on the hill, she stayed in the greenhouse to have a party of her own– a 4th fit for a Queen!

Field Roast hot dogs have become a CSNW 4th of July tradition. Volunteer Patti brought Field Roast Frankfurters, ketchup, and mustard so we could serve them for lunch. The chimps love Field Roast! They truly savored each and every bite.

Jamie:

Negra ate the bread first

before enjoying the hot dog:

Even Burrito took the tiniest little bites of his hot dog to make it last longer! You don’t see that every day!

Along with making the Firecracker Popper Nightbags mentioned above, Volunteer Julie has also been hard at work making another frozen treat for dinner- limes cut in half and filled with red gatorade (to look like watermelon)! The “seeds” are sunflower seeds!

Happy 4th of July, everyone!