Watching the chimps tightrope walk seriously never gets old!
Jamie the Fearless:
Jamie
Gorgeous Day
Today was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and the barn doors were open! Words could not describe the day we had, but pictures can!
This photo was actually from last week but Jamie just looks so good I coudn’t resist:
Jamie and I sauntered around Young’s Hill mid morning and afternoon:
Annie made bird noises and relaxed all day in the Greenhouse:
Missy looking fierce:
Foxie enjoyed some carrots and chow:
Jamie had lunch with her boot and was skeptical about the broccoli… (However, she did like it):
Burrito:
Negra and Jody spent their day napping in the greenhouse and a little in the Playroom. While napping in the Playroom, I did preform a jig for Neggie while she laid in the sun. Too bad there is no video to show how much she enjoyed the show…
Jody napping:
Still new and fascinating
The chimps had their first experience with fresh jackfruit this week and have really been enjoying it! For those not so familiar with this fruit, it is quite large and odd looking. We’ve been cutting the (same!) giant fruit into pieces for the chimps to enjoy for several days now. Negra took her breakfast jackfruit to go this morning. Instead of taking it back to her nest, she opted to bring it with her out onto Young’s Hill where she could eat it with a side of fresh green grass.
A fistful of jackfruit:
Some spring grass:
In other news, Jamie has delegated herself in charge of quality control for the new structure. I caught her doing some in depth investigation to see if she could possibly break any part of it. She was also smelling all the fire hose suspiciously (this is a very Jamie-like thing to do). Good news! The structure is solidly built and can withstand the strength of a forceful and skeptical chimpanzee.
Jamie testing the cargo net:
Work Play Work
Well today was full of anticipation! By 9 am J.B. and our amazing volunteers were out building this SPECTACULAR climbing structure and yes that word does have to be in all caps because it is that stunning. The structure has a little bit of everything for every chimp and these chimps could not wait to get out on Young’s Hill and check it out! However, the chimps could not go out on the Hill until it was done. They waited so patiently and found ways to stay busy! Jamie monitored the volunteers cleaning and the volunteers helping with the structure, Neggie napped in the nice and toasty Greenhouse, Burrito played chase, and Missy, Jody, Annie, & Foxie played some wild games! Jody was half pilo all day just from all the excitement, she was so excited she was even playing like crazy with Missy today. For not being able to go on the Hill most of the day these chimps were in great moods!
Jody a little pilo:
Negra:
We really put our volunteers to work today:
Volunteer working hard:
The chimps loved the final product:
Happy day to Sharon and Matt!
We have two special sponsorships for this day of sanctuary which begins with Sharon Langone, who sponsored today with so much to celebrate! Sharon shared this message:
“I’d like to sponsor this day to celebrate both my husband Matt’s birthday and our ten year wedding anniversary! We love to read the blog and see what is going on at the sanctuary each day! We’re also looking forward to visiting the sanctuary in the summer and seeing more of the great work you all do!”
Sharon, how wonderful of you to include the chimpanzees in your day of celebration, love and family! Congratulations to you and Matt on your anniversary! And Matt, we hope this is the best birthday yet! Many thanks to you both for bringing that celebration and love to the chimps’ family and we’re looking forward to your visit this summer!
Love comes in many forms here at the sanctuary. Thank you for helping to ensure there’s a never ending stream coming into the chimps’ lives. All of us here wish you the happiest of days!
An oldie, but goodie of Foxie:
Jamie:
Missy:
Breakfast patrol
The past couple of mornings the chimpanzees have acted as if it’s the first time in the history of history that they’ve had breakfast. The second we arrive they constantly monitor our progress in the kitchen and while greeting them or playing they stop to listen to every sound as if to say, “Sshhh! Was that a food grunt?? Is it time?!” which would be indicative of us coming down the human hallway with their breakfast. (As a sidenote for those of you who may be new to the blog, although the chimpanzees understand most of what we say, we caregivers are trained to use chimp vocalizations and gestures with them as much as possible. So one example of this is when we are getting ready to serve meals, we food grunt along with them to let them know it’s time).
So a popular spot this morning was the front room bench which faces the kitchen and has a view of the driveway (aka, “the portrait studio”). Negra was there when I arrived, I’m pretty sure willing us to arrive and get a move on:
Foxie and her orange-haired friend diligently watched the kitchen doorway:
It’s also a popular spot to return to when breakfast is served in the greenhouse as they can step out to get their servings and bring them back inside if they feel like having a little privacy to eat, want to be a little warmer, or (especially if you’re the boss) feel the need to supervise continued happenings in the chimp house:
Day to Day
It’s really nice when the day to day routine can be broken up. Here at the sanctuary we have a fairly regular schedule, but there is often something going on to shake things up. Today, for example, J.B. had some work to do with the gator and the tractor. Jamie, naturally, took great interest in this. We took numerous walks to watch J.B. and make sure his work was up to par (no worries, it was). We also have several different volunteers onsite on any given day! Lizz, who is a level 3 volunteer, was here this weekend. Burrito was loving it!
Burrito:
Lizz and Burrito playing tug-of-war:
However, sometimes shaking up a “normal” day can be exhausting. The chimps were all in spots relaxing where the camera couldn’t reach (& Jamie also didn’t want anyone getting their photo taken), but I did get one of Neggie snacking on some spruce tree, wrapped up in a blanket:
And a bonus photo of Burrito:
Burrito later watched Lizz leave from Front Room 4:
