Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Finally! Here are a few shots of the chimps enjoying the beautiful weather. It’s been right in Negra’s “sweet spot” – between 65 and 75 degrees – so she’s been outside a lot.
We had a forage outside for lunch – lots of broccoli, cauliflower, and peppers. The last photo is of Foxie with a “whimper face”. I’m not sure what she was whimpering about; she probably lost one of her trolls for a moment.
In an effort to encourage Foxie to explore more types of enrichment, Diana had the idea to tie several trolls into a blanket. Foxie carried this “troll blanket” around with her today for quite awhile, sometimes walking tripedally while cradling the blanket in her free arm. The troll blanket also inspired some great play between Foxie and Jody:
Foxie (with troll) and Annie.
I was thinking today about how incredibly playful Foxie is. She is the most playful adult chimpanzee I have ever known. She doesn’t seem to have non-playful days, ever. When she’s not playing with Jamie, Jody, Missy or Burrito, she play games of catch-the-troll with her caregivers. And if we’re busy? Well, she just invents her own troll games, like this one this morning…
Recently, the chimps received a visit from Joyce Tischler, founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), and Bruce Wagman, ALDF’s chief outside litigation counsel (and also a CSNW board member). Bruce and Joyce have written wonderful accounts of their first trip to meet the Cle Elum Seven, which you can read on their blog. You’ll also find never before seen videos of Jody and Foxie! We encourage everyone to check it out and support the great work that ALDF does every day to protect animals.
Foxie and Jamie have been so playful together lately. Not that we don’t love playing with Foxie, but it’s even better to see her playing with other chimps.
I caught a couple of still photos the other day when Foxie was playing with her troll-in-the-sock while watching herself in the mirror. Missy did persist in trying to get Foxie’s attention and eventually engaged Foxie in play. I think they are both “kooks” 🙂
