Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Annie’s Birthday Bash

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What a day of celebrating beautiful, dear, sweet Annie! We decided to have the party on Young’s Hill, the chimps’ 2-acre outdoor habitat and it was complete with a chimp favorite, watermelon bowls filled with lettuce, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, onions, and cabbage, and a new treat of banana leaves filled with roasted sweet potatoes and onions and leftover watermelon, and beautiful organic sunflowers strewn about!

Aren’t these amazing?! They’re bigger than Kelsi! 🙂 We have the best volunteers who found a recipe for wrapping good stuff in squares of the leaves and another who found them in Seattle for us! Something completely new for the chimps!

Here’s the birthday lady opening her banana leaf packet:

Jody was actually first onto the hill and was very excited to make it back with two watermelon bowls! I caught her mid-blink – sorry Jo! – and food squeaking with delight:

Negra’s approach to the forage was to wait for Jody to bring her haul back to the greenhouse and promptly try to take it!:

Jody kindly let her have one. That said, when Jody came back later with another one she wasn’t so willing to give it up which the Queen wasn’t too happy about, though she did get what Jody couldn’t shovel in fast enough. Oh, Neggie:

Burrito found a bowl for himself and started to make his way back to the greenhouse food squeaking all the way. But he stopped short when he saw Jody and Negra near the raceway and decided to try and play it cool so as not to attract their attention (or probably more specifically, Negra’s). You can see how excited he is by his hair standing on end (pilo-erect):

Of course, he couldn’t wait too long before taking some bites:

Jamie’s tactic was to collect everything she wanted and put it in a good place to return to when she was ready:

Missy:

Annie and Jody out for more:

And Foxie! She was way out on one of the structures by herself when she found a watermelon bowl.

Then…Oh. My. Heart! We could hear Foxie food squeaking with excitement when all of a sudden she just couldn’t contain herself! When chimpanzees are overwhelmed with excitement or fear they will often express a facial gesture known as a “fear grimace.” This is what Foxie is doing here, but she was SUPER excited. Usually others chimps are nearby and they reassure one another, but Foxie just kept looking at us from afar as if to say, “Do you see this??!! Watermelon bowls!!! I just can’t…” We love how excited the chimpanzees get over something as seemingly simple as fresh food. It never seems to get old for them and certainly seeing their joy never gets old for us.

Happy 44th, Annie! May all your days and years ahead be filled with more love, joy and adventure than you ever imagined. We love you so very much!

You Better Keep Up

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This morning everyone was on the move and cattails were still very much a theme! Jody seemed to have lot of ground to make up for because this morning we could barely keep up with her. In the afternoon the chimps had a delicious lunch forage and spent the rest of the day grooming, walking (Jamie), and playing with human and non-human friends. Overall, the chimps had a nice relaxing Sunday spent with good food, people, and friends.

Negra on the Hill this morning grabbing a few things:

 

Like I said Jody was on the go all morning. However, I did find a sleepy Jo in the early morning before everyone had access to the Hill, curled up on a pile of hay soaking up some sun:

Once they had access to the Hill I couldn’t keep up. Here is a sequence of her movements this morning.

Jody was the first one on the Hill:

Everything looked good so she headed back to enjoy some chow:

Jody (climbing up) seemed to be on a mission (Annie-left, Missy-right, Foxie-behind log):

Over the bridge:

To find cattails:

Burrito always enjoys some early morning play sessions, he was running around like crazy playing chase:

Burrito didn’t really feel like going on the Hill today, so he patiently waited in the Green House for everyone to come back:

Annie also was soaking in the warm sun in the Green House:

Annie walked out bipedally to eat her chow on the Hill:

And also to get some time to herself:

 

Cool mornings and interesting guests!

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We’ve had some lovely (almost fall-like) cool mornings lately. This crisp air makes it prime time for exploring the great expanse that is Young’s Hill.
Annie and Foxie headed for the newest structure we are calling “The Escher.” They have no qualms about climbing to the top.

In fact, Annie took “top” to the whole next level!

Today, we had a visit from some of the firefighters from our local fire district. They have all been taking turns visiting on their shifts and getting the lay of our property and buildings. JB gave them a tour of the buildings, but Jamie had to lead the tour of the property.

Just one thing was required first:

This is Jamie expression as she watched her guest try on her current favorite boot. Notice the pilo-erect hair and intense look on her face -this is one excited chimpanzee! :

Oranges to go

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It was the perfect late summer morning with bright blue skies and cool air. Jody was very anxious to get outside and resume her mother hen duties and make sure Young’s Hill was safe for her friends to venture on and see what she could see. And everyone seemed equally excited to be out and about with their friend and took their oranges from breakfast to go!

Jody:

Missy:

Foxie:

Reunited and it Feels so Good

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This morning we got the okay to reintroduce Jody back to the group. She received a very warm welcome as you will see in the video. Jody was greeted by Jamie and Burrito when she got access to the Playroom. Jamie was very happy to see Jody was doing well, but also needed to inspect the rooms Jody had been in for the past few days. Jody wanted nothing more than to go straight out to Young’s Hill. Most morning when the chimps get access to the Hill, Jody, the mother hen that she is, likes to be first out to ensure it is safe and secure. So of course, that would be the first place to go when you are reunited back with your friends. We are very happy to see Jody is recovering so well!

Jody laying down while Burrito (middle) grooms Jo and Foxie (right) grooms Burrito:

Annie (left) and Burrito (right) grooming Jody (middle):

And well then there is Burrito:

He was some humans arriving this morning and was very excited to see them (Burrito pant hooting):

The ending of Burrito’s excited pant hoot:

Summer’s exhale

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The lush green of summer has melted into a golden reverie. Days are still warm, but early mornings and nights are decidedly cool, sometimes even goosebump inducing. Blooms have turned to berries, seeds are scattering in the wind along with feathers from empty nest boxes, and the remaining wild families are growing, juveniles bouncing between parent and independence. Summer’s exhale.

The chimps spent a long time exploring on the hill this morning after breakfast. Longer than I’ve seen for awhile. Climbing old haunts and investigating nooks and crannies. Annie and Burrito traversed the shaky bridges and just spent time enjoying, well, their time.

Foxie and Strawberry Shortcake:

Jamie:

Jody returned from her wild foraging adventures and sat in the raceway to Young’s Hill with her wildflower treat:

Meanwhile, back in the chimp house, Foxie!

Taking a break from cleaning:

Great Morning

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It was a great morning to go outside! All the chimps were out playing on the structures, walking the perimeter, foraging for foliage, or if you were Negra you were still in bed.

Missy started her morning with some tight rope walking:

And she was feeling pretty good about it:

Burrito spent a lot of his morning following Annie around:

Annie pretended not to notice Burrito, and enjoyed some slices of grapefruit:

I found Burrito under the bridge watching the ladies from below:

Annie on the platform, Missy on the fire hose, and Burrito underneath:

Once they were off the Hill, Missy (left) and Annie (right) decided to groom:

Missy laid down, and Annie kept grooming:

Foxie (front) and Jody (behind) decided to walk most of the perimeter of the Hill until they both got distracted by foliage and climbing structures:

This blanket lump is actually Negra. She was too comfy to get out of bed:

Jamie spent her morning going on a walk, and later laying on a barrel with some of her beloved boots. She had to supervise the volunteers while they cleaned: