Foxie

Rayne Rayne Don’t Go Away

July 28, 2021 by Kelsi

I think many followers often wonder how we identify the chimps. It’s a fair question. Once you know them you will feel silly for ever having a hard time telling them apart. We obviously look at physical features, behavior, and even body language. For instance, when Foxie goes out onto Young’s Hill, even when she is far away I can see it’s her by the way she walks. She is quite stomp-y. I can also identify her by her sexual swelling that we describe as a bow tie at the end, her white beard, her tiny figure, the intensity in her eyes, and a very sassy personality. We can not go off of things like areas they commonly nest or if a particular chimp is holding a doll because we have fake Neggie’s among us and from time to time Jody carries a doll around. But for you viewers you only get photos and videos which can be hard. So I thought in this blog I would help you all identify a new member of ours, Rayne!

Rayne has kind and curious eyes, when you look into them you feel a sense of calm.

Rayne has a longer face and slender body. Rayne also has a white beard. She seems to have bigger ears than the others in her group and has a pronounced brow-ridge. Rayne also has a lack of freckles. Rayne’s forehead is also a little ashy, which we hope to be able to help with :).

Rayne also looks like Tatu. For those who do not know Tatu, she lives at the Fauna Foundation in Quebec Canada. Rayne and Tatu are also sisters! I worked with Tatu for many years and I see a lot of Tatu in Rayne.

Rayne’s sister Tatu knows sign language. Tatu is very articulate when she signs. Rayne’s long fingers remind me of Tatu’s.

I hope this helps everyone identify Rayne a little better!

Happenings of the Day

July 11, 2021 by Sam Jones

When I was opening up the chimp house this morning I found Negra still resting in the Greenhouse. She knows how to make a comfy looking nest!

Annie exploring Young’s Hill in the morning.

Missy close behind Annie.

Jody watching the others on the hill.

After her walk around Young’s Hill Missy was eating breakfast with style.

Foxie cooling off in the front rooms.

After lunch Missy went around and picked up all of the leftover cucumber pieces.

I was attempting to get get some photos in the afternoon and Burrito just wanted to play. So I stopped taking photos to get a little workout in.

It is very hard to catch this guy being still! He was resting after many play sessions with Chad. It didn’t last for long! By the time I was uploading this photo he was ready to play again.

Honey B was making such a good nest of blankets, troll dolls, her scooter, and some scarves that I was trying to get a photo of it. I got the Honey B stare instead 🙂

I worked with The Lucky Six a couple of times last week and here are some of the photos I was able to get. I am really enjoying getting to see their personalities more as the continue to open up with us! I didn’t work with them today, but as I was performing safety checks Terry was in my line of vision from a distance ready to play!

Gordo right before a game of chase started.

Dora and her sweet face.

Cy is definitely going to steal some hearts around here!

Theme Scheme

July 7, 2021 by Kelsi

There is no real theme for today’s blog. Who needs a theme anyways! I just have these great photos I wanted to share with you all.

The beautiful, sophisticated, and distinguished Rayne.

Terry, Terry, Terry. He is too much!

Dora! Dora is so sweet. I posted this photo recently on our Instagram, but I thought it needed to be shared here too.

Mave with her legs crossed, giving that laid back feeling.

Yesterday was pretty warm. Honey B looked as though she was melting into her nest.

And of course Honey B shredding on her skateboard.

This morning as I let the seven onto Young’s Hill they all immediately race out to get a glimpse of the new neighbors.

Jamie spying.

Burrito standing bipedal so he could get a better look.

This guy Cy is the whole package! He is sweet, playful, a big goof, well read, and quite handsome.

Tiny a.k.a Foxie.

Negra was pretty silly today. She even let me snap of few close ups of her!

We are truly lucky to be able to spend some time with Lucky.

Don’t forget to check out the Amazon wish list. We have added a lot of books. The Lucky 6 seem to enjoy reading books and magazine just as much as Jamie!

Corn in the USA

July 4, 2021 by Sam Jones

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your day. I know we did here at the chimp house. The first part of the celebration involved all of the chimps receiving a mid afternoon treat of dixie cups scattered around their enclosures. These were filled with blue Gatorade, strawberries, and blueberries to follow the theme of the day. This was a big hit and Rayne was sooooo excited! She was the fist one over to get as many Gatorade cups as she could.

All of the chimpanzees enjoyed a celebration lunch of corn, tomatoes, and heads of Romaine lettuce. The corn was a huge hit all around! A few of the Lucky Six were a little weary of the corn at first until they got a taste of it. Then it was pure excitement. There was a nice breeze today and it was “cooler” than last week, so the seven got to enjoy their lunch as a forage on Young’s Hill. During forages I like to see what each chimp searches for first. Today it was everything! They were gathering as much corn and romaine as they could carry in their arms and mouth! The tomatoes went very quickly and Missy was quite happy. A lot of the chimps take their findings back to the Greenhouse and eat in the shade.

Cooler weather and celebrations make some pretty happy chimps and that makes us caregivers happy as well.

Blue Gatorade with strawberries and blueberries in each one.

Jamie enjoying the Gatorade and fruit.

In the excitment before their forage on the hill I caught Burrito and Negra in a play session.

Burrito enjoying the first head of Romaine he found.

Negra went straight to this spot.

Jody usually wins the award for most food she can carry.

Foxie climbing to grab more corn on the platform above.

Annie enjoying her corn back in the Greenhouse.

Look at Missy’s pile!

Jamie found lots of corn to keep her occupied for awhile.

Diana helped get photos of the three while serving lunch. They were also super excited about the corn!

Mave

Willy B

Bonus photo of Rayne that JB was able to capture yesterday.

Going Head to Head & Toe to Toe

June 23, 2021 by Kelsi

What a wonderful day, especially for Burrito. To no surprise he was playing all day! If he wasn’t making his caregiver’s run until they almost passed out from heat exhaustion then he was playing with other chimps and even a giant stuffed unicorn. There is some video of him playing with the unicorn, but the clip was hard to fit in with all the amazing other play sessions going on. However, I feel I need to describe to you what happened. It was amazing! Caregiver Chad was outside fixing a few holes on the rattle snake fence when he noticed Burrito dragging a giant stuffed unicorn onto Young’s Hill. He was even throwing it up into the air (that part was not caught on camera). Burrito then dragged the unicorn back to the raceway and eventually into the greenhouse. Which led into a lazy wrestling game with Foxie. Later, we found Burrito playing with Jamie. They had their heads together, breathy panting (chimp laughing), and grabbing each other’s toes. All in all it was a good day, but Burrito had a great day.

We have been very busy getting ready for the arrival of Cy, Lucky, Gordo, Dora, Rayne, and Terry and it’s coming up quickly! We have added more stuff to the Wish List in preparation of the 6 new chimps. We are hoping to get some new chairs. They have been really helpful for Honey B, Willy B, and Mave in the new greenhouses. But, the chimps use the chairs everyday. Jamie loves them for sitting and grooming her favorite pair of boots, many like to lay on them, and sometimes they use the chairs as tables to put their food on.

¡Hola!

June 17, 2021 by Sofia Castro-Loza

Hello blog readers! My name is Sofía and I recently joined the CSNW team as veterinary assistant and animal caregiver. I was born and raised in the south of Puerto Rico in a town called Ponce. I lived there up until I graduated with a BS in Animal Science from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM) back in 2017. By then, I was interning in several animal hospitals to gain experience in the veterinary field, and also interned at a dairy cattle farm to complete graduation requirements. I always knew I wanted to care for animals, I just needed to figure out in what way. Right after finishing my BS degree, I moved to the United States to pursue a MS degree in Primate Behavior and Ecology from Central Washington University (CWU). While completing my master’s degree, I interned here at CSNW and achieved a Captive Primate Care Certificate from CWU. After defending my thesis and graduating, I moved to the Bay Area, California to work full time at a small animal veterinary hospital as veterinary assistant for almost two full years before moving back to the Pacific Northwest.

Here I am getting groomed with a tool by the boss herself, Jamie

I can’t even begin to explain how happy I am to be back with the Cle Elum Seven, and how amazing it has been to get to know the California three and the four majestic bovines. Complemented by amazing human coworkers, I can only describe this as: the dream job. These past weeks have been filled with hands on training with the goal of becoming lead caregiver. From security checks, to learning more about the chimps personalities, it has been serious business in the Chimp House.

But enough about me, I know all of you want to see some chimps and I wanted to show off how it’s going during photography practice!

Foxie, making sure only her best side is captured. All of her sides are her best side.

Willie B enjoying the breeze in one of the platforms in the new green houses

Missy enjoying some forage in the hill

Jody coming back in after exploring in the hill

Small Moments

May 26, 2021 by Kelsi

Throughout the day I catch small moments of the chimps interacting with each other, with humans, or just by themselves that just make me smile. Sometimes the moments are just a split second, but they always make my heart burst with joy. I thought I would share a few from yesterday and today.

This morning as we cleaned the front rooms, Foxie tossed her strawberry shortcake doll to me by the Playroom. We played chase from front room 1 to the playroom. When Foxie was running she was doing a bunny hop with her back feet. That one always gets me :).

Yesterday, I found Willy B laying on a big comfy blanket. I sat down and we scrolled through some photos on my phone.

Jamie this afternoon was being groomed by Missy and Jody. Because Jamie seeks out humans so often I love seeing her with chimp friends.

Yesterday, Missy came down from the loft in the playroom and began gesturing to something. I looked over and all I saw were some magazines. I offered one to her not thinking she really wanted it, but to my surprise she took the magazine and gestured for the one next to it. Once she had both magazines she climbed back up to the loft to make a nest.

We put out a pre-lunch lettuce forage on Young’s Hill today. I found Negra and Burrito playing right before I let the chimps back on the Hill. They even had a stuffed animal in their mouth playing tug-a-war.

While I was doing a chimp count for some checks ealier. I found Jamie in a nest fast asleep.

While Jamie napped in the loft, I also spotted Jody grooming a very sleepy Negra.

Burrito is often found on this barrel playing by himself, spying on the neighbors, or occasionally getting someone to play with him. This morning he started off playing by himself, but Foxie joined him a little later. Foxie would knock on the barrel while Burrito spun around on top. They were grabbing each others toes and laughing.