Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Honey B

The Magic of Dora

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As J.B. discussed in a recent blog, Willy B, Mave, Dora, and Honey B are currently living together in a subgroup. We are and will continue to monitor the subgroups to determine what our path forward will look like, but for now I wanted to share some wins with you all!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed (and will see in today’s blog video), Honey B and Dora are keeping up with their rigorous play schedule. Mave joins in at times, but seems to prefer the quiet moments grooming with Dora. Willy B has been noticeably more playful with caregivers, engaging in more games of chase and his newfound love of being tickled with a long-handled spoon (Caregiver Krissy even got a play face from him while tickling him recently! Somewhat blurry proof included below)!

The other morning, as we were preparing for our team huddle to discuss the day, we heard chimp laughter. We all looked to the cameras and saw Willy B and Dora playing! We saw with our own eyes the magic of Dora. Willy B can play a little rough at times, and some of his playful slaps were getting to be too much. With some chimps, this would have easily escalated into a fight, but Dora kept giving him opportunities to alter his play style and be more gentle, then eventually screamed at him to let him know that was enough. The scream was brief, Willy B stopped what he had been doing, and just a few minutes later they were back to playing again. Dora seems to often bring out the best in those around her with her playful spirit and tolerance of weirdness. I’m glad to report that she is doing well in this current subgroup, and am grateful for her silly side and the patience she extends our oftentimes awkward friend, Willy B.

Spring Rocks!

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Today we celebrated spring with the chimpanzees by having a party filled with novel items and foods they love. One of these novel items was a cardboard cutout of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which we hoped Cy would enjoy as he is a fan of bald men (remember his love of Stanley Tucci?!). Well, there were mixed reviews. Today’s blog video is all about the ups and downs of “meeting” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson! We will share more about the rest of the party later, as there is simply too much good stuff to cover all in one day!

Beautiful Morning

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As I went to let Jamie’s group outside this morning, I noticed Negra was waiting by the door in anticipation of being the first one out. I always know its going to be a good day if Negra wants to be the first chimp out onto Young’s Hill. It’s cheesy, but the song, A Beautiful Morning by The Rascals, popped into my head. It seemed pretty fitting for such a lovely morning to be watching all the chimps go out and enjoy this beautiful spring morning. On the other side of the building, Honey B and Dora were up to their normal antics of laughing, playing, and relishing in each others company! Click here for the video.

Honey B and Dora with a Side of Gordo

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Honey B and Dora have the most fun together!  My personal favorite is when Honey B is standing on her head, and Dora is playing with her feet (keep your eyes peeled and you may see this a couple of times in today’s video!).

Today, Gordo happened to be sitting close by and wanted badly to get in on the fun!  While often times, two’s a party and three’s a crowd, Gordo managed to sneak in a few play moments with the girls!

Enjoy!

Consulting with Honey B

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I thought I would share a crazy story with you all. This is something I had not seen before, however it’s never a dull day here and something is always happening! One morning near the end of February, caregiver Sabrina calls me on the radio to come up the ladder in Greenhouse 2. I was curious why she was so insistent that she needed me to come up there with her. When I stood up there with her, she asked me if the window that is shared with Playroom 2 had looked “like that” since the last time we had worked on that side of the building, perhaps we had missed a message in the work group chat but we had not, this was new! The window was shattered from the inside, luckily not the entire window (see below and in video). The windows we have are bullet proof, they are very sturdy and secure, to quote J.B. in our group chat “It’s a mix of poly-carbonate and glass so the poly is still good and the window should be perfectly safe, but obviously we’ll replace it”. Later, we scoured the security camera footage to find out what happen. Some theories thrown out, but my favorite and by far the most logical was from caregiver Sabrina. Her theory was that Willy B did it with his mind. As you will see in the video, it happens in the middle of the night with a loud popping sound. The chimps weren’t displaying or hitting it, “everyone” was sound asleep.

However, these windows are extremely expensive. So in the meantime JB had Gary and his crew come out to replace a lower window for the broken on and swap in mesh caging for the other. The best part about having Gary and his crew come out is that Honey B got to see her old pals. Honey B enjoyed being apart of the consulting crew and I don’t think anyone would find it surprising that she might have a differing opinion or too. She is a tough boss, but one of the best in her field!

Click here for the video!

Playroom 2 window:

Lower playroom window replaced with mesh, Cy approves:

Honey B managing her crew on-site:

Bonus of Dora!