Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Portraits of happy chimps under blue skies

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I still get goose-bumpy when I see the chimps out on the hill, especially with the sun on their backs and blue skies overhead. I just can’t imagine how amazing it must feel for them. What a difference a few years can make!

Foxie:

Annie:

Jody:

A different view

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Yesterday JB walked up to the top of Young’s Hill to get some shots of the chimps from that angle. The sky was blue and the sun was out, and it made for a really pretty backdrop.

 

 

Regular Morning Routine

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As we mentioned on the Facebook page yesterday, sometimes the daily routine fluctuates, and as caregivers we have to be pretty flexible depending on the choices the chimps make. Typically though, we do have a regular schedule. First we invite the chimpanzees in for breakfast—and as long as everybody comes in, one person (the Care staff or Level III volunteer) will serve breakfast while the other person (the Lead Caregiver) will start cleaning the playroom. We never enter an enclosure at the same time as the chimpanzees, so we have to ensure that all the chimps are out of the room we want to clean, and that every chimp door is secure. We do this for cleaning the playroom, front rooms, and the greenhouse. (To see what cleaning is like, watch this video from a couple years ago). Today things followed the regular routine, which you’ll see in the video below.

Happy Birthday, Kathy Cochran!

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Bob, Willie, and Sue sponsored today in honor of Kathy Cochran’s birthday. Kathy recently used her vast video production skills to create an amazing video to honor Bob, Willie, and Sue’s mother, and knowing how devoted to CSNW and the Cle Elum Seven Kathy is, they wanted to sponsor her birthday as a thank you.  (Incidentally, Kathy has also put her enormous talents to work for the chimpanzees – she’s responsible for designing our gorgeous Year One and Year Two books, among other things.)

Happy birthday to Kathy from Bob, Willie, Sue, and all of us at CSNW.

(Humans are not the only species to appreciate a good video.)

Me and my shadow(s)

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Jody is often the first to go out onto the hill when we open it up these days. She may not go out right away, but once she builds up the initiative, she goes! And often Foxie is right there with her. Yesterday, Jody waited a long time before going out but then she all the sudden came charging into the greenhouse from the playroom and walked right out there, with Annie and Foxie right behind her.

But, later Foxie took “following Jody” to a whole new level:

And when Jody decided it was time to go back inside…

Foxie was still right behind her…

and Annie came running after

Stealth Mode

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As many of our readers know, Jamie is the most dominant chimp of the Cle Elum Seven. That means that if food is nearby, whether she is interested in it at that moment or not, the other chimps respect it as hers and avoid grabbing anything that she might consider her own. You’ll see a couple interesting politics in the following video. Burrito knows that Jamie has left some chow on the floor and abandoned them to start wrestling with Foxie. He’s waiting for a point where he can take advantage of that distraction and get the chow pieces for himself. Once he eventually gets his opportunity, Foxie catches him in the act, and wants some for herself. Although Jamie still appears uninterested, Foxie asks for her permission to take some chow… but Jamie decides that she wants to keep the few pieces remaining for herself.