Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

Jam Packed Week!

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Wow, have we had a jam packed week and it’s only Wednesday! We had a procedure on Monday, a presentation on Tuesday, and Foxie’s birthday tomorrow!

Speaking of presentations, some of our favorite outreach events are the ones in our community! Yesterday Jenna, Grace, and I participated in the Summer Reading Program at the Carpenter Memorial Library in Cle Elum, hosted by the Cle Elum Fire Department. The Summer Reading Program has an array of different guest speakers that cover topics from learning about bee keeping, to exploring the fire station, to learning about wildlife tracking from Fish and Wildlife, and of course learning about the chimps!

Grace, Jenna, and I had different interactive stations for the kids to go to. For the first station, we showed the kids how to make enrichment for the chimps like raisin boards, paper braids, and fire hose knots! The second station was learning how to build a nest, which is always so fun to learn about, but obviously we had a nest building competition. For our third station we taught everyone about chimp vocalizations & behaviors, which obviously we taught everyone how to pant hoot!

Jenna teaching how to make raisin boards:

Here is Grace showing everyone an amazing nest she built:

Anna had to work yesterday, but Luna stopped by and built her own nest. I would say Anna has taught Luna well:

Here I am showing different vocalizations:

Thank you to the Carpenter Memorial Library and the Cle Elum Fire Department for having us! We had such a blast being apart of the community and teaching everyone about the chimps we love so dearly!

Bonus photo of Jamie:

Here is Willy B in recovery today! He is doing well and enjoying his stories on the TV:

Best of Both Worlds

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Today has been a busy day, well for the humans anyways, for the chimps it has been very pleasant! It has finally cooled off a little and I think we are all thankful for a break from the hundred degree heat! The chimps spent their day playing, grooming, foraging, and a little hooting and hollering. In the video, you will find Dora and Honey B playing in their regularly-scheduled hookie session from their group to have a solo play session while we clean around them. On the other side of the chimp house, Jamie, Missy, and Negra had a very sweet grooming session before their lunch forage!

It wouldn’t be Wednesday without some bonus photos!

It must be Christmas in July because our foyer is full:

Sweet Annie bird:

Gordo grooming himself:

The greatest honor you can have is to receive a kiss from Negra:

If you’d like to help supply the sanctuary with food, enrichment, medicines, supplies, and other necessities, please check out our Christmas in July drive and help empty our wish lists!

Good Vibes Only

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Summer has officially arrived at the sanctuary, with temperatures soaring close to 100 degrees daily. Keeping our chimpanzee residents and staff cool, calm, and collected is no small feat when the heat tries to bring out our grumpier sides! In today’s blog video, we’re sharing some of the ways we combat boredom, using play and enrichment, to keep everyone happy and comfortable despite the sweltering weather. Check it out!

 

Bonus photos of Cy, because he is always a good vibe:

 

Front Room Shenanigans

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A few weeks ago, Krissy posted a blog titled ‘Wrestle Mania!‘ about a morning here in the chimp house where we had three different pairs of chimps in Jamie’s group playing in three different front rooms. Today, I wanted to share some more footage with you from that fun morning- plus a few more clips I’ve snagged since then! Despite both groups of chimps having access to multiple enclosures, indoor / outdoor spaces, and their big outdoor spaces, there’s just something about the front rooms that they all seem to love. 🙂

Bonus Photo:

Rayne sitting in her tub (in the front rooms, naturally)

New Boot Groomin’

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During one of our donor visits, Jamie spotted a pair of cowboy boots she adored! The thing about wearing boots Jamie likes is that you might be walking out in your socks! Our very kind donor was gracious enough to part with her boots so Jamie could add them to her collection. To say Jamie was excited would be an understatement. When Jamie received her new boots, she wanted Diana to take a spin in them before we gave them to her officially. Obviously, if they did a walk around the Hill, they also needed to be groomed. At the end of the night, Jamie had her dinner on a barrel with her nighttime enrichment (peanut butter pine cones) and her new boots! She was a very happy lady 🙂

Jamie looking at her cowboy boots:

Jamie and Diana taking the boots around Young’s Hill:

 

A Walk with Friends

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Patrols around Young’s Hill with Jamie are pretty much a daily occurrence- even today, when the wind is winding, Jamie was off on a walk first thing this morning! She found me again later in the morning when I was rinsing some toys and gestured to a pair of boots that had been donated a few weeks ago that she loves. I gave her one, thinking that’s what she wanted, and when she took it out of the food chute I thought I had gotten it right on the first time. So, I was feeling pretty good about myself. 🙂 A few seconds later, though, I looked up to see Jamie squeezing the same boot out over the top of the playroom door before chucking it down at me. Feeling like I actually hadn’t gotten it right, I picked up the boot and put it on. Voila! Jamie took off and together we (and Missy!) went for a walk around Young’s Hill.

I recorded the whole walk to share with you today, because I find that I always feel re-centered after a walk with Jamie. Something about the calm pace she takes, the quiet, the view, and the moment that you’re sharing with her is grounding. I thought it might be for you, too, so please enjoy this ten-minute walk around Young’s Hill with Jamie (and Missy).