If you follow our blog regularly, you might get the impression that the chimpanzees are always up to something. And they do spend a lot of time playing, eating, grooming, and exploring. But they also enjoy downtime.
Foxie
Summer mornings
Our recent heatwave is on the down-slide, but it’s still quite warm and the chimps and humans are each enjoying the summer days in their own way. After breakfast, most of the chimpanzees headed for the still cool grass of Young’s Hill (with the exception of Negra who took a break from her adventures for the day and made a nest at the top of the greenhouse where she could enjoy the morning breeze). Annie chose to take a walk up the hill bipedally to join Foxie and her troll. If you look closely you can spot the troll’s red hair on Foxie’s back.
Missy took her breakfast chow and literally ran out to climb up a structure where she could enjoy it with a view:
Jody was the first to head out onto Young’s Hill this morning and quickly disappeared into the tall grass to forage for wild greens before her buddy, Burrito, could catch up with her. So he opted to sit in the raceway which leads from the greenhouse to the hill and enjoy the morning sun with me, remaining on the lookout for Jody’s return.
After a busy morning on the hill, by late morning things got pretty warm and Jamie sprawled out in a comfy nest to cool off and doze in the summer breeze.
How profoundly grateful we are that the chimpanzees’ days are filled with such serenity, comfort and peace. Thanks to all of you who make the hours, days and seasons of their lives so beautiful.
In memory of Bryan
This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Judy Riner in memory of her husband, Bryan Riner, and she shared this beautiful message about her special gift in his honor:
“Bryan Riner loved and respected chimps. He especially enjoyed following the lives of the Cle Elum Seven, and he would be proud to know that his family honors his memory in this way. He was a loving husband and father, and that love and compassion extended to all species.”
Judy, thank you so very much for this special gift in Bryan’s memory. You and your family have been such good friends to the chimpanzees and we are honored to celebrate Bryan here today. All of us here at the sanctuary will be holding you all in our hearts and minds. We hope that the love you extend to the chimpanzees, enabling them to live their lives full of joy and comfort, is felt all around you as you celebrate Bryan and his wonderful legacy of compassion and respect for all our fellow beings.
Annie and Missy:
Burrito and Jody:
Foxie and Negra:
Jamie and Negra:
Bubbles
Once in awhile we make bubbles for the chimps with a small drop of non-toxic dish soap. They seem to like how the bubbles feel in their mouths.
Playing with a caregiver, Foxie style
Foxie gets pretty excited when she sees a new troll or Dora the Explorer doll. Today, thanks to our generous supporters, Foxie had a plethora of troll dolls to choose from. Instead of giving them to her one troll at a time, this morning we thought it would be fun to put them all into one container and wait to see which one(s) she would choose.
Turns out, she grabbed one with bright red hair first (you can just see a little tuft of the red-haired doll’s hair sticking up on the left hand side in the the above photo) but quickly went back for another when Jamie took it away.
Jody showed some interest in the dolls as well.
When I walked out to the Greenhouse a little while later, I saw Foxie and staff caregiver Katelyn playing….
She had chosen a new doll (with yellow hair) to pass back and forth to Katelyn.
A Strawberry Solstice
One of the chimpanzees’ favorite summertime happenings is their garden. Volunteer caregiver, Denice, and staff caregiver, Keri, are the driving forces behind this beautiful project each year. It not only helps us supplement the chimpanzees’ food supply, but it provides them with enrichment while adding beauty to their home.
As soon as the weather turned warmer this year the chimpanzees immediately started looking out the windows of the playroom to see if the garden had magically appeared overnight. Once things start growing we get to harvest fresh fruit and vegetables for them almost daily and they LOVE getting to choose what they would like and have their caregivers hand it to them straight from the garden!
With our first full day of summer arriving yesterday in conjunction with the stunning full Strawberry Moon last night, I thought it only appropriate to have a small strawberry feast this afternoon to celebrate. Volunteer caregiver, Ally, picked through the chimps’ strawberry patch as they watched from the greenhouse and then served everyone the fresh berries, still warm from the (official!) summer sun.
Burrito and Jody watch Ally in the distance. The entire time, Annie was banging her feet on the caging and Foxie was blowing raspberries to hurry Ally along with the strawberry picking:
Burrito:
Jody:
Foxie:
Annie:
Jamie:
Missy decided to wait down by the onion patch, but she was happy for a handful of strawberries:
And Queen Negra opted to avoid all the excitement in the greenhouse and wait it out in the comfort of her nest until I hand delivered some strawberries to her. She climbed down from her nest at Negra-style warp speed and though she was not interested in having her photo taken, she enjoyed her strawberries in peace with a view of the flower garden.
Year Four
In celebration of CSNW’s 8th Anniversary, we are taking a trip down memory lane. Today we look back on the chimpanzees’ fourth year at the sanctuary.
By the beginning of Year Four, we had a long-standing dream of expanding the sanctuary and giving the chimpanzees a spacious, open-air outdoor habitat, unlike anything they had experienced in their lives.
Young's Hill – The Dream from Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on Vimeo.
By the summer of 2011, thanks to help from supporters Karen and Don Young and so many others, Young’s Hill was nearing completion.
The chimpanzees were able to watch the construction from the greenhouse, but it’s hard to say what they thought of it. We hoped that they knew it was for them. They were certainly curious.
As the big day approached, we all tried to predict how the chimps would react to the door to Young’s Hill being opened for the first time.
For most of them, this would be the first time in their long lives that they would feel grass under their feet and have an unimpeded view of the sky above. We guessed that they would probably be too apprehensive to stay outside for long on the first day, and that some of them would likely be too afraid to venture out at all.
We should have known not to underestimate them.
On the day that the door to Young’s Hill was opened for the first time, all of the chimpanzees showed astonishing courage by stepping eagerly into the great unknown. Watch video of their exhilarating first moments outside. It was an emotional day for the chimps and for all the humans who love them.
The opening of Young’s Hill set off a series of firsts for the chimpanzees that year. It was the first time they were sharing a habitat with other creatures, and they had to deal with a lot of strange noises.
Having lived in indoor or partially-indoor enclosures for their entire lives, they had never fully experienced weather or seasons. On Young’s Hill they encountered sun, wind, rain, and snow.
Despite their burst of courage and adventurousness on the first day, not everyone felt immediately at home outside. We saw the more confident chimps support and encourage the more hesitant individuals.
We all got chills seeing the chimps behave like a wild troop for the first time, now that they had a territory to patrol.
And we continued to be amazed as they stretched their legs and their horizons.
