Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

Beautiful Jamie

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The seven chimpanzees are pretty busy these days trying to keep up with/spy on/display toward/get excited over the happenings of the new neighbors. And when nothing much seems to be happening with the new neighbors, the seven are quick to stir the pot, if you will, anxious for responses from Mave, Honey B and Willy B. They haven’t been as interested in spending their usual amount of time with the humans or other typical activities.

Lately, Jamie has even been forgetting to collect her boots from the chute at night! So when I saw her sitting in the front rooms in an as of late, rare, quiet moment I had to scurry down the hall with the camera. (I am laughing and shaking my head as I type this because while everyone else is in bed for the night, Jamie is at this very second, repeatedly kicking the “howdy door” and hooting and screaming at the top of her lungs attempting to elicit a sign of life from her neighbors who are all quietly tucked into their nests for the evening and choosing to ignore their loud and unruly neighbor).

They are who they are. And we love them all the more for it.

Happy autumn everyone!

Jamie Project Day!

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Everyday we have a different theme for enrichment. For example, yesterday was cover the floor day where we literally covered the floor with items such as blankets, toys, and forage! Today just so happened to be Jamie project day! There are so many different projects Jamie enjoys, most have to do with construction, power tools, the gator, and so on. So we settled on a few things, some reading material, a new tool set, and a new puzzle too! Our kind donors donated new toys off our Amazon wish-list!

Jamie seemed quite pleased with these new tools, but Jamie really had her eye on the tomato garden!

Jamie brachiated her way over:

And than sauntered by to tell me know it was time for tomatoes:

Meanwhile Annie, Jody, and Burrito groomed each other and stared off toward the chute:

Yesterday the chimps also got wood wool, which they made beautiful nests with. Each nest was different, some intertwined, some on top, and some not used at all (also very messy):

Jody enjoyed some morning sun:

Mave and Willy B spent a little bit of their day grooming each:

What to do on a Rainy Day?

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Well, I guess Fall is coming whether we like it or not. Today was a pleasant rainy day here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (that was a very Washington thing to say). It was the perfect day to nestle into a nice nest, eat some onions, and inspect the new neighbors. Or for the chimps at least. I for one love spending my Fall rainy day under a big heated blanket watching Harry Potter or something to that effect, I am sure Negra could relate!

Even Jamie at some point in the day had succumbed to the rainy day. We found her in the Green House under a batman sheet:

Negra in the Green House this morning:

Later, Neggie and I did a photo shoot in the portrait studio:

Mave got cozy with a big stuffed dog:

Willy B:

If you are worried that the chimps slept all day, do not fret! They spent the majority of the afternoon inspecting the neighbors and observing J.B. and Anthony working outside, lots of commotion was going on!

If you look closely you can see Honey B is wearing a headband around her thigh:

Honey B also decided to try on a glove today:

Oodles of Fun!

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Oodles: (Noun) a very great number or amount of something. For example, I have oodles of photos!

Guys, what a week! It has been a little crazy here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest or at least on the human side. It’s becoming cold and flu season and it took some of our team out this week. But, we made it to Friday and rest assure I have a oodles of extra photos from this week! Who wouldn’t want to look at chimp photos to ease into their weekend!

Also if you have ever wondered how can you could help these amazing & wonderful chimpanzees, a very simple way is to buy items off our amazon wish-list! An example could be: we have three more chimpanzees, which meaning we go through produce a lot faster. Donating Safeway gift cards is a great way to really helps us out!

Okay enough talking, let’s look at these chimps!

It is beginning to feel like fall. This morning I found Neggie wrapped up in blankets in the Green House:

Burrito at Annie’s party:

Jody catching the warm sun in the morning before Annie’s party:

Jody at Annie’s sunflower bash and foot full of celery:

and sunflowers:

Annie:

Foxie with a new tiny troll doll that she loves:

Mave in a hammock:

Honey B:

Willy B:

Fierce little Missy running off Young’s Hill:

Jamie eating her favorite, pears:

 

We’ve Got Ten!

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Today was a pretty busy day. We had an amazing group of volunteers from Suncadia come and help us with the new extension on the Hill which provided a lot of supervision opportunities for Jamie and the entire chimp house really! But guys… Honey B, Mave, and Willy B got to go out in their new tunnel yesterday afternoon!! The seven and the three got to see each other from afar, and to say they were excited would be an understatement. I mean, Burrito almost forgot to eat dinner! So there was a lot of hustle and bustle between the work on the new hill and getting a peak at the new guys! There will be a video soon, but I thought today I would show you a collection of photos of each one of the chimps!

And a big thank you to the volunteers who came out to help us!

Jamie supervising:


Foxie:

Jody:

Annie:

Missy:

Neggie:

Burrito:

Sweet Mave with beet lips:



Willy B:

Honey B cleaning the Mezzanine after we had cleaned, it was not up to her standards:

The One With Jamie & Foxie

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Let’s just ignore the fact that summer is almost over, because I am in pure denial and enjoy the weather. I mean take a look at Foxie and Jamie!

Foxie was enjoying the warm breezy morning lounging with a tiny troll doll:




Jamie had work to do before she could relax this morning. She beat the heat and did some patrolling on the Hill:



Bonus photos…

Willy B, he makes my heart feel so full:

Willy B also likes his photo taken!

Honey B, seriously she is so amazing:

Honey B (right) being groomed by Mave (left):

Structural Enrichment

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I have occasionally heard the word “enrichment” defined as items that are given to animals once their basic needs have been met.

In contrast, I think of enrichment as an entire philosophy, not just something extra that we do when our other work is done. For these chimpanzees and all other captive animals, enrichment is a basic need. Although survival would be possible without enrichment, thriving would not. Here at the sanctuary, every aspect of our daily routine, from meal preparation to cleaning, is done with the ultimate goal of keeping the chimpanzees happy and healthy. There is no easy way to group items or activities into “enrichment” or “not enrichment.” We just enrich everything.

In addition to distributing troll dolls, cowboy boots and slinkies, our team designs and builds new structures for the chimpanzees. The way in which we design and furnish the facility is considerate of the chimpanzee’s physical and emotional needs, and we often add or change components of the enclosures to keep the surroundings interesting and functional for the chimps. A great example is the network of firehose “vines” that transects the Playroom, Greenhouse, Hill, and new wing of enclosures. The video posted above shows how Jamie gets to use the firehose however she wants, giving her a greater degree of choice in addition to the obvious security and stability that such additions provide.

We’re also excited to share a photo of a new firehose hammock, modeled by Level III volunteer and CWU graduate student Chad. Several volunteers and interns helped staff and contractors to furnish the chimpanzee areas of the Phase 1 expansion with benches, firehose, hammocks, and ladders. The new hammock is hanging in the upstairs mezzanine enclosure, and will hopefully be enjoyed by the sanctuary’s newest residents once they arrive!