Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

Opening the doors to spring

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It’s an incredibly lovely spring day at the sanctuary today. Every day for at least the last two weeks Missy has been asking us to open up the barn doors on the playroom. With minimal wind and temperatures close to 70 degrees, it’s finally warm enough to grant her request. The chimpanzees get so excited when we open those doors up for some reason. Whether it’s the fresh breeze suddenly wafting through the playroom or the chance to check out the garden side of the chimp house they don’t get a clear view of from their windows, it elicits spring fever in us all.

As soon as the doors swung open, the chimps started hooting, laughing and chasing one another. Missy had the biggest play face I’ve ever seen (and of course, I didn’t have the camera at that moment!). As the fresh spring air spilled in, it was as if pure joy leaped and tumbled through the chimp house with it.

After the excitement died down, Jamie decided to build a super cozy next in front of the doors and just take in the peaceful view and sunshine:
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Our bluebird neighbors have returned to their nesting spot on Young’s Hill (despite have three perfectly lovely bluebird houses set up for them elsewhere):

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Jamie meandering during a walk around the hill and taking in the views:

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In other news, Jody is lounging in the toasty greenhouse:

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Welcome, spring!

Easter, Chimp Style

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**Warning** This post contains a lot of photos!!

Easter, chimp style, involves good food…

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…enrichment with hidden food inside…
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…toys and dolls…
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…an Easter egg hunt in the greenhouse…
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and in the playroom…
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and, of course, the Cle Elum Seven!!

Missy found one of the eggs with peanuts inside.
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Burrito scored with the primate chow he gathered in his mouth and hands!
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Foxie took turns with each of her dolls, first with the brunette…
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then with the blonde,
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and later, with both of them.

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Annie held onto her egg as she ate peanuts and primate chow.
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Jody made sure to check every part of the Easter basket for hidden treats.
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Jamie searched high and low for treats, including under this blanket,
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…in these boots,
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…and in these boxes.
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Negra found her favorite treats (peanuts) inside some of the Easter eggs.

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Wishing everyone a happy and joyous Easter!

The Art of Grooming

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Grooming is a standard activity here at the sanctuary. Usually, the chimpanzees groom one another. Some of the chimps enjoy being groomed by their caregivers. Jamie, though, likes to be the one doing the grooming. For safety reasons, the chimps don’t have the same level of physical access to their caregivers as they do to one another, so when Jamie wants to groom a caregiver she grabs a tool.

Jamie is fascinated by humans and often uses her tool to explore as much of us as she can. She removes dirt from the bottom of our shoes, checks our fingernails, and tries to remove buttons from our clothes or undo zippers or velcro. She pays special attention to any wounds, scars, or tattoos.

Jamie’s Weakness

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Jamie does not exhibit vulnerability often. She is in complete command of herself and everyone else at all times, and what she sometimes lacks in confidence she makes up for in bluster. In her relationships with humans and other chimps, she rarely lets her guard down.

But Jamie has one weakness: men. Men make Jamie as close to googly-eyed as she ever gets. Our personnel at the sanctuary have always skewed heavily female. Out of our six staff members, one is male. Out of our 42 current chimp house volunteers, five are male (which is the most we’ve ever had at one time). Jamie’s behavior around these male volunteers would be recognizable to anyone who’s ever had a crush.

This morning volunteer Yuri was here and Jamie split her time between staring at him and trying to get his attention. Here she is trying to catch a glimpse of him working in the kitchen:

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