Foxie

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

December 20, 2018 by Katelyn

Today was sponsored by Amanda Hahnemann in honor of her brother, Nathan Day, on his birthday!

Amanda, thank you so much for including the chimpanzees in your family celebration as you honor Nathan! All the primates here so appreciate you thinking of them!

Nathan, Happy Birthday! We hope you have the best birthday yet! Thank you for sharing it with the chimpanzees and for being part of making a difference in their lives.

Good friends, Burrito and Foxie:

There is some whimsical snow floating around and though the chimps didn’t really go out and explore much today, a few chimps like Foxie did partake in eating it! Foxie stood out by the raceway and found any way to get the snow without touching the ground.

Foxie:

You can’t tell from this photo is Burrito is quietly foot stomping. After his nap he erupted into a HUGE game of chase and tickle!

Negra taking a nap:

Four different Foxies

December 4, 2018 by Anna

Every now and then, it’s fun to dig in the vaults of never before seen photos to see what’s hiding in there. Today I found that I had a lot of photos of Foxie, and in each picture she was holding a different doll. Above you will see her with Strawberry Shortcake.

Here she is with Strawberry’s friend, Lime Chiffon:

Here she has a pink haired troll doll:

And finally Foxie and her Lemon Meringue Doll:

Morning happenings

December 3, 2018 by Katelyn

I always think it’s the best feeling to spend time out in the brisk elements and then come inside and get warm. That’s exactly how the chimps chose to spend their time after breakfast today. They climbed, ran, chased, explored and meandered over every nook and cranny of the hill. I even caught someone hanging upside down from a metal bar licking ice off of it who I was certain was Foxie, but was delighted to discover was Jody! Naturally, as I raised the camera she swung off to other adventures so you’ll have to take my word for it. 😉 After a surprising amount of time outside the chimps all returned to the toasty chimp house to make fluffy nests, warm-up and doze off.

Negra:

Annie:

Missy grooming Annie:

Jody:

Jamie after taking just herself and her new pair of boots for a walk all the way around the hill:

Foxie was napping along with everyone else until I popped by with the camera…

Hello. I am Foxie. And I’m fabulous:

Session over! (This is how about 90% of our photos turn out by the way 😉 )….

Burrito was resting as well, but for whatever reasons, his photos didn’t turn out so it’s just the ladies today.

Mixing up the menu

November 29, 2018 by Anna

The chimpanzees eat a diet consisting of primarily fresh produce. For added protein, they eat a variety of nuts, seeds, primate chow and soy protein powder (in their a.m. smoothies). A few years ago, caregiver Debbie was able to bring some hard boiled eggs from her free range chicken friends for the chimps to enjoy. She wrote this blog about their introduction (or re-introduction) to the treat. As you will read, Foxie was completely unsure about why anyone would ever want to eat such a thing.

This summer my husband and I adopted four little red hens that get to roam happily around our spacious yard. Here’s Charlotte:

Since the chickens have come, the chimps have enjoyed hard boiled eggs about once a week for breakfast (to replace their usual primate chow).

And Foxie must have figured it out at some point, because she now seems just as excited to eat them as everyone else:

Bathed in light

November 19, 2018 by Katelyn

The past couple of mornings have been our first breaths of winter dawning at around 18-20 degrees, frost covered land and bluebird skies. Beautiful. While the chimpanzees were being served breakfast I was completing the perimeter check of Young’s Hill (making sure their outdoor habitat is safe before giving them access to it). When I got to the top of the hill, the fields up there were breathtaking!

Once the sun comes up over the hill it warms up to some degree, but I wasn’t sure the chimps would do their usual dash onto the hill. But again and again, we learn never to underestimate their joy of life and curiosity. Negra, naturally, chose to remain in a sun puddle in the greenhouse, but everyone else rushed onto the hill to soak in the beautiful morning light. Missy and Annie stopped briefly to check out construction noises before making their way to the structures to eat frost:

Burrito, extra floofy in the cold morning air:

After spending a good length of time sitting in the sun and licking the frost off everything they could find, everyone made their way back to the greenhouse and playroom to bask, quite literally, in the sunshine streaming through the windows. This entire day the chimpanzees have been utterly quiet, content and bathed in light.

Foxie sat like this, unmoving, for nearly an hour. Keeping an eye on me at the computer, soaking in all that sun:

Jamie remained in this position the entire time we cleaned the playroom. I thought she was asleep, but every time I looked, her eyes were wide as if in a daydream.