Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Honey B

Rainy Days and Poses

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As I drove up to the sanctuary this morning, grey clouds had already gathered overhead and begun drizzling rain. When I began opening up the Chimp House, I could hear the Bronx cheers of Burrito trying to get my attention from the front rooms. The rain was starting to wash away his snowy treats that had accumulated from the previous day and he NEEDED as many snowy treats, posthaste!

After delivering Burrito his snow, I walked around to say good morning to the other chimpanzees. Most of them were still in bed, including the Boss! This is how I knew today was going to be one of those quiet days.

When I opened up Young’s Hill to the Group of 7, only Jamie and Missy were brave enough to venture out in the rain. Burrito didn’t even want to go out into the Greenhouse to watch his friends embark on their adventure. (His feelings changed later on in the day and spent the most of his day in the Greenhouse.)

It was similar on the other side of the Chimp House. Even with access to the Chute, Mave and Willy B felt it better to watch the rain from inside instead of getting a closer look from the outside.

Honey B was the only one who wanted to go out in the Chute to watch the rainfall.

This didn’t last long, however, as she felt it was too cold to stay out long. She followed suite with most of the other chimpanzees, and decided to just rest in the warm building.

All-in-all, it was a really quiet day here.

Also, I just have to share this photo I snapped earlier today. I’ve been trying to think of titles for this shot, and asked caregiver Anthony and volunteer Krissy for help. “Mave the Thinker.” “Chimp-Person of the Year.” “Mave-azine Cover Shot.” “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Mave-belline.” “Dear Mave: An Advice Column.” “The Most Interesting Mave in the World.”

Any other suggestions?

Sanctuary and Enrichment

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As many of you all know, there are many different ways to enrich a chimp’s life. And here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest we have many different forms. We provide toys that the chimps like, blankets for nesting, food puzzles, and forages. We try really hard to find the chimps favorite items such as boots/books for Jamie, dolls for Foxie, wooden blocks for Burrito, Slinkies for Willy B, and etc. We also try to have their favorite produce, but also make sure they have a variety so they do not get bored of what they eat! Most importantly, we provide an outdoor area for the chimps to go outside. To see the chimps run freely and see no bars above their heads is Sanctuary to me and I hope them too.

As you will see in the video Anthony moved a giant mirror from the Greenhouse to the Mezzanine. We knew Willy B, Honey B, and Mave liked looking at themselves through our phones and cameras, not unlike us, it is natural for us to look at ourselves while we pass a mirror. Just as we thought the three loved it! It even makes a great displaying tool! Honey B spent a lot of time looking into it, climbing on it, and swinging it around. The other section in the video is of the seven chimps walking around the perimeter outside on Saturday. Jamie and Burrito lead the walk, Missy sprints to catch up, eventually Foxie joins at the last leg of the walk, and it ends with Jamie and Foxie chasing each other down the Hill. I quietly finish the walk with Burrito. I was reflecting on that walk and I am so thankful to see the chimps exploring their outdoor area and looking so carefree. Whenever I see Burrito walking around the Hill it warms my heart that he has healed so well and all the girls will walk around with him.

Snow in the winter is another great way to enrich the chimps! Last night it dumped snow, when I went to open Young’s Hill for the seven this morning the chimps ran out to grab snow.

Negra:

Burrito:

Little Foxie:

Annie:

The one with all the Noise

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It has finally settled down in the Chimp House. There was a lot of commotion today. Nothing bad, but a lot of talking between walls. Willy B spent a lot of time in the Chute. This always makes the 6 ladies excited. They will scream, hoot, watch the 3 chimps in the chute with extreme focus, and try to make sure Willy B sees them. We found Willy B and Burrito head nodding towards each other a lot too, which was nice to see. Eventually, everyone on both sides calmed down and the rest of the afternoon there have just been piles of chimps grooming with each other.

Sometimes I cannot get over how handsome Willy B is:

Honey B watching J.B. outside:

Foxie and Burrito grooming by the window so they don’t miss anything happening by the Chute:

Near and Dear

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I recently came across a quote I have seen many times and I am sure you all have too. It’s just a good reminder and always stays near and dear to my heart. Happy Wednesday everyone!

“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” – Jane Goodall

Honey B:

Jody:

Burrito:

Missy:

Flashes Of Fur

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It was a busy day in the Chimp House. We spent most of the morning cleaning up after Burrito’s super birthday bash yesterday, as well as training new interns enrolled in the Captive Care Certificate at Central Washington University.

When I found time to check in on the chimpanzees, it was almost difficult to find them. The Seven mostly kept close together the entire day, in nearly every hard to see spot in the nice, warm Playroom. It was almost like spotting glimpses of Sasquatch at the sanctuary. An arm here. A flash of fur there. A head poking out around the corner every so often.

Negra, on the other hand, is a tried and true type of person. She spent most of the day in her favorite spot in the Playroom soaking up as much sun as she could while waiting for caregivers to finish cleaning and preparing lunch.

Willy B also spent most of his day resting on one of his favorite benches in the Phase 1 area, waiting for the caregivers to finish cleaning and preparing lunch.

I did spot Honey B and Mave a couple of times out in the Chute area, but Honey B decided playing games of chase with me instead of allowing me to take photos (other than today’s main photo) was a better plan.

Snowy and Groomy Weather

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Our apologies again! We are still having trouble loading the video from the chimpanzee’s New Year celebration the other day due to an internet outage. (I’m currently posting this blog via my personal hotspot from my phone.) I personally blame the current snowy weather.

In the meantime, please enjoy these photos taken around the sanctuary.

Burrito had a playdate with both Jamie and Jody on this snowy day. He decided to spend most of his time inside grooming with Jody:

Of course, that was only when he wasn’t busy asking his caregivers for snowy treats:

Jamie, on the other hand, decided this snowy weather was the perfect weather to wrap herself up in blankets with her current favorite cowboy boot:

On the other side of the Chimp House, Honey B and Mave found today’s snowy conditions to also be perfect for grooming:

Thank you all for being so patient as we try to find a way to share the New Year Celebration video! We hope that tomorrow is the day the internet will be a top strength to share it with all of you.

Cheers to the New Year!

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Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had a fun New Year’s Eve, filled with people you love. We had an exciting forage to celebrate the new year. As tradition, the chimps had black-eyed peas, sparkling cider, baked squash, and pomegranates. Willy B seemed to really like the black-eyed peas. I prepared a small video, but typical, the internet is being funky. I hope that tomorrow will be better! In the meantime, please enjoy these photos.

The sun came out and I think everyone including Honey B enjoyed a little bit of Vitamin D:

Jamie:

I really like this one of Missy:

Foxie cleaning her plate: