Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

New view

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The chimpanzees got to check out the new window today. The window replaced an extra door that went from the playroom to the outdoor area. J.B. still had some work to do on the outdoor area side, so we went out to say hello to the chimps through the window. In the meantime, the Poppoff crew was still hard at work in the mud (but no rain today) getting things ready for the foundation that will be part of the greenhouse structure going over the outdoor area. Workin workin again!

Jamie, of course, was the first to inspect the window

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Jody was also very curious

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It’s difficult to see, but Jamie and J.B. are “touching” hands through the glass in the photo below

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For context – here is a zoomed-out view. The new window is to the left, the chimp door that we use from the playroom to the outdoor area is to the right. The two windows on top are just above the catwalk in the playroom.

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Foxie likes the new window too

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Many of the chimps watched J.B. working all day. Below is Jamie making sure J.B. is doing a good job (or maybe seeing how things come apart!)

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Laughter

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The seven chimpanzees living at CSNW are the most playful group I’ve ever met. You would think they were kids the way they play and laugh. As all of you who follow the blog know, Foxie in particular has a kid-like disposition (at least she does now that she’s in sanctuary!) Jamie, on the other hand, can often be very serious. But Foxie is able to bring out the kid in Jamie too, as you’ll see in the video below.

One interesting thing that we’ve observed is that the chimpanzees seem to play wrestle more in the front rooms than any other location within the building. Perhaps it feels like a more private location for wrestling?

Bowls and straws

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For today’s afternoon enrichment, we filled bowls with tea, soy milk, soy yogurt, peanut butter, and ketchup, and placed the bowls on the outside of the chimps’ enclosure. Then we gave them tools to fish for the food.

Its fascinating to watch the different personalities in action. Burrito has no patience, and he’s not a very adept tool user either. Negra will use someone else’s straw once they’ve fished it into the bowl, but she won’t do it herself. Missy, Annie, Jody, and Foxie are all very patient and skillful. But Jamie is by far the best. I didn’t catch this on camera, but Jamie found a clever way to get the last bit out of her bowl. After she had gotten all of the yogurt that she could, she went to the water fountain to get a mouthful of water. She spit the water through the caging and into the bowl, diluting the remaining yogurt. Then she fished her straw through and drank the liquid.

Jamie sleeping outside

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J.B. and I were just outside and we spied a chimpanzee -form on top of the climbing structure in the outdoor area after all of the caregivers left for the evening. Normally the chimps tend to bed down right after dinner and are pretty well settled by the time the caregivers leave at night, and we’ve rarely seen anyone settling  outside. I figured that the indoors might just feel safer, but I’ve been hoping that, after time, the outdoor area might also feel like a safe place to sleep.

When we got closer, we could tell that it was Jamie. She was lying down on her stomach and had a sheet completely covering everything but her head. She looked at us casually, but with no interest in getting up. Next to her on the platform was the boat bumper that she had apparently pulled up there earlier today. Maybe Jamie decided it was a good night for a camp out in her own personal tree house.

Laughter

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The chimps were in such playful moods yesterday! I could hear laughter coming from the playroom, so I grabbed the camera and caught Foxie and Jamie in a 10-minute long game of “steal the troll”. Thankfully, Foxie won in the end and the troll was returned to its rightful owner.

What a difference a day makes…when we came in this morning, the group had clearly been fighting and they had that look that says We can’t wait to take our frustration out on you, J.B., when you serve us breakfast!. Needless to say, I got drenched. But that’s what I’m here for!