Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Happy 4th of July!

by

Happy 4th of July everyone! I am sure we all think of fresh fruit, chips, hot dogs/hamburgers (veggie of course), and a crisp drink when we think about gathering with friends and family to celebrate our Independence Day. I mean what could be more 4th of July than a good old fashion BBQ?! I though I would share what was on the menu for our party.

We started our day with a nice refreshing fruit salad bowl made by our lovely volunteers:

Next we moved to the Hill forage for lunch. We cooked up some veggie dogs, Negra and Burrito almost screamed when they saw the buns, cut up some watermelon, we baked fries, sprinkled a few cherry tomatoes, shucked corn, and cut up some spears of cucumber (that we pretended were pickles)! Don’t worry we did not forget about refreshments, the chimps drank some Martinelli’s as well.

I would scream for this meal too:

I know there is a video, but I thought I would share just a few photos too!

Jamie walking on the firehose:

Annie found one of the many boats:

And Negra.

She was moving around everywhere today, it was fun to see where she would pop up:

The Greenhouse

by

The Greenhouse is a space that provides many benefits to the chimps. The Greenhouse is the gateway to Young’s Hill, there are different levels of platforms for the chimps to look out or rest on, and  warm spots to sprawl out and bake in the spring/summer. The Greenhouse is also a common space where the chimps like to lounge around, have big grooming sessions, and play games with their human and non-human friends. The wide-open, but secure air space in the Greenhouse is what makes it so wonderful for the chimpanzees. The Greenhouse is so lovely that sometimes it is hard to get the chimps out of it so we can clean. Who could blame them for not wanting to leave?! I have a collection of Greenhouse photos from yesterday and today, I hope you enjoy!

Annie:

Bubba (Burrito) being goofy:

Jody snacking on foliage from the Hill:

Foxie in and out of napping on the top of the Greenhouse platform:

Negra:

Missy self grooming:

A thunderstormy Sunday

by

What a glorious day of weather! This morning was bright, sunny and humid as the chimpanzees made their way through the jungle of tall grass that is Young’s Hill right now. We noticed that they came in a little sooner than usual and right on their heels the sky started to brew billowing thunderheads and turn a deep violet. And then the thunder and lighting began.

I remember in the early days of Young’s Hill when a storm would come through and one boom of thunder would send the chimps hooting and running for the safety of the greenhouse. As time has passed, they became much more at ease with storms and even occasionally took cover atop the structures of Young’s Hill to watch the storm approach. If we have a rare extended one like today, it’s not uncommon to see them paying more attention of course, but I think they respond in much the same way we do. A little nervous, a little in awe, marveling at Mother Nature.

Jody sat at the entrance to the greenhouse for some time watching the storm roll in, but once the thunder began she quickly made her way back inside:

Annie:

Jody and Annie:

Everyone seemed to pick a spot they felt cozy in from which to wait out the storm. Foxie took her doll to a safe corner of the greenhouse:

Lightening flashed, thunder boomed, rain poured and the chimp house shook (eliciting a brief alarm call and some hoots). And we had the great joy of standing under the eaves of the chimp house watching the wondrous parenting skills of our neighbor swallow family as the parents braved the storm to keep all their fledglings well fed:

The sun’s back out, the chimpanzees are lounging in the greenhouse as they wait while Anthony prepares their dinner, the cattle decided it was safe to leave their barn and made their way to their new summer pasture and still, the fledglings are calling for their parents, awaiting the next round of scrumptious bugs. And all the while another round of thunderheads is brewing and heading this way. It’s a beautiful day.

A Midsummer’s Day Dream

by

Foxie, as with many of her friends, spent her summer morning blissfully wandering Young’s Hill. Foxie later came back and spent most of her day in the Green House with her new France Dora Doll (sorry no photos of that)!

Foxie in the thick of the tall grass:

These two photos I just can’t get over. Foxie looks whimsical and angelic. When I look at them I can’t help but smile. I hope these bring you the same joy they brought me.

And if you have ever wondered what a relaxed chimpanzee looks like, well Foxie sums it all up in these photos:

A Good Lookout View

by

The grass is so lush that sometimes it feels like we are playing I Spy. This morning, especially for Jody I could barely keep up. Jody was weaving in and out of the tall grass and bamboo bushes. When she finally emerged Jody had stuffed her face with so much prickly lettuce!

Bubba and Annie spent some quality time outside together:

Jamie and Foxie went on a perimeter walk together:

Foxie and her doll having a moment:

I love this photo of Jamie hidden behind the tall grass:

Another busy day (for the humans)

by

It’s been another extra busy day in the chimp house for the humans with unexpected occurrences and cleaning to navigate in addition to the usual. Which of course still means the usual for the chimpanzees: doing whatever strikes their fancy every moment of the day. Just as it should be.

Jody and Annie spent the afternoon luxuriating in the greenhouse, grooming one another:

And if you’re Foxie, it’s just looking fabulous because you were born that way:

Here’s a bonus short story about Jamie and her never-ending ability to amaze us. We were in the midst of cleaning the playroom this morning when Jamie got my attention and had me follow her (immediately!) to the frontroom that the trash can sits across from. She immediately climbed up onto the food chute and frantically gestured for me to show her the trash contents. Well, this was new! But it didn’t take long for me to realize that some of her valued reading material had mistakenly (per Jamie) been throw away during cleaning. So I found myself dumpster diving for Jamie. Rifling through a can full of papers to see what she might be thinking of, holding up each page and getting her nod of approval or her gesture to keep looking. In the end, we found what she’d been missing: two magazine pages of cowboy boots and *GASP*, her beloved Dwell magazine! Whew! Crisis averted. I adore her.