Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jody

iPad project is underway

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If you can’t tell by now, I’m pretty excited about the iPad we got from Orangutan Outreach! Thanks to Jody for the case and mount, and Shelly for the iTunes giftcard, I’ve been able to load up the iPad with tons of apps that I’m excited to see the chimps interact with. Yay!

web ipad with case jamie background

This morning, Jackie, myself, and volunteer caregivers Steph and Erin all spent awhile seeing how the chimps liked the iPad in its new case. Jody, Burrito, Foxie, and Jamie all came over to touch it and check it out (see this photo from our Facebook page).

Chimps naturally have super curious minds. When they see something new, usually their first reaction is what I sometimes call “quality control“—testing out how it works and if it’s sturdy. So, everyone who came over first tried to pick at the case (which is exactly why we wanted it in the first place!) but eventually they all showed some interest in the different apps, especially Jamie. Her favorites right now are a xylophone app, and one called “Catch the mouse” which is a game for cats! But she seems to get some enjoyment out of squishing the little mouse 🙂 Stay tuned for more updates on this really exciting project.

Happy St. Patty’s!

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Top o’ the afternoon to ya’, laddy! Happy St. Patty’s Day! We set up a big party forage in the Playroom this morning. Last week, volunteer Stephanie brought us some non-toxic window paint, and since she couldn’t be here today, I thought I would try to get creative and decorate the windows instead (that would normally be a Stephanie-type job). Okay- so I’m no artist like Stephanie, but at least I gave it a try!!

And so what if there is something terribly wrong with my troll doll’s belly, head, hands, eyes, nose and feet! His hair looks good and the rest just adds character!
web Window decorations troll doll st patrick's day party PR IMG_4847

web Window decorations clover st patrick's day party PR IMG_4848

But, thankfully, to make up for my pitiful excuse for art, volunteer Patti brought lots of decorations, making it a true party. She made these cute little boxes with clovers on them and we stuffed them with chow and grapes. The chimps loved them!

Foxie was particularly happy with them!
web Foxie forage boxes made by Patti st patrick's day party PR IMG_4908

Annie:
web Annie cube made by Patti forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4867

Jamie:
web Jamie cube made by Patti forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4858

Burrito:
web Burrito cube made by patti forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4897

We also made “salad plates” consisting of cabbage that Patti brought and a variety of lettuce that volunteer Jennifer brought over yesterday from Seattle’s Metropolitan Market, topped with a few raspberries.

Jamie:
web Jamie forage lettuce cabbage salad plate party st patrick's day PR IMG_4849

I love the look of adoration on Burrito’s face in this one:
web Burrito loves lettuce and cabbage forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4877

Jody:
web Jody mouthful of lettuce party st patrick's day forage PR IMG_4850

Negra with some cabbage:
web Negra profile eat cabbage forage st patrick's day party PR IMG_4911

Burrito:

web Burrito lettuce forage party sweet face st patrick's day PR IMG_4902

Missy with a mouthful:

web Missy munch on lettuce forage party st patrick's day PR IMG_4898

…and another mouthful…
web Missy munch of lettuce mouthful st patrick's day party PR IMG_4899

…and another mouthful…
web Missy shove lettuce in mouth party st patrick's day party forage PR IMG_4885

Patti also brought some St. Patrick’s Day theme cups that we filled with Gatorade and coconut water.

Missy:
web Missy drink juice look at cup party decorations st. patrick's day hat PR IMG_4922

You regular blog readers may have noticed an odd theme here – lots of photos of Missy!? That’s rare for a party, since Missy usually goes upstairs and is out of sight for much of the party. But today, she stayed right in the middle of it and enjoyed tons of goodies. I was able to get some good photos, but I have to be honest about this next one: Missy wasn’t actually smiling, she was actually just using her tongue to pick some cabbage out of her teeth and this is how I caught her, but it’s so funny, I had to share! It was a happy day!
web Missy (not real) playface cup juice party st. patrick's day PR IMG_4921

Thanks so much to Patti, Stephanie, and Jennifer and the Metropolitan Market for their generous donations! It was an awesome party!

Breakfast in the rain

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Negra was enjoying this morning’s breakfast forage on the hill:

web negra forage YH IMG_4717

But she soon found herself caught in a spring rain shower, so she headed for the greenhouse and grabbed as much food as she could along the way:

web Negra in rain YH IMG_4730

Jody and Annie took their sweet time, since they were already hanging out in the cabin:

web Jody Annie in Negra's Cabin YH rain IMG_4731

Even though the rain didn’t last very long, most of the chimps spent the day in the greenhouse, where they knew they would remain warm and dry. Burrito was kind enough to let me take some close up photos:

web Burrito reflection in eyes GH IMG_4758

web Burrito foot GH IMG_4783

web Burrito laying down GH IMG_4779

web Burrito upside down finger in mouth GH IMG_4794

Jamie can’t sit still all day so she ventured out and made Diana walk a few laps around the perimeter of Young’s Hill with her. Every time Diana got back down to the building and thought she was done, there was Jamie waiting for her to go again. How could you say no to Jamie?

web Jamie look at camera YH IMG_4773

Negra hangin’ out at the cabin

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If you saw the blog the a couple weeks ago, we got pretty excited because Negra finally went into her cabin! Yesterday Jackie captured a short video of Negra sitting in her cabin. After hanging out in there for a while, she walked around it, stopped to look at Jody through the clear lexan panel, and then sat down next to it with a really sweet and content face.

web Negra sweet sit next to cabin arms crossed YH IMG_4596

Chimps’ Choice- “Once Again” Peanut Butter

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The Cle Elum Seven absolutely love peanut butter. We have traditionally purchased large containers of Adam’s Peanut Butter at Costco, however we are trying to steer clear of salt, especially with Burrito’s heart condition. So, we found a new (to me) brand that comes in 9lb tubs on Amazon called “Once Again”. I’ve added it to our wishlist. Even though we use peanut butter for all sorts of things, I think 9lbs will last us a pretty long time so we only need one tub for now but I thought I would make it a challenge for you! The first person to purchase it will receive a special package from me, which will include a photo of the chimp of your choice. Check out our wishlist (http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/ref=wish_list) and be sure to email me ([email protected]) to let me know your chimp preference!

Annie licking peanut butter out of a kong, one of the Cle Elum Seven’s favorite activities:
Annie

Jamie licking the peanut butter off of a celery stick:
Jamie

Missy using a tool to fish peanut butter out of the tubes in the treat rock:
Missy

Jody cleaning the last bit out of a plastic peanut butter jar:
Jody

Happenings on the hill

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We’ve had a fun day on Young’s Hill today. JB installed the sign on Negra’s Cabin, and of course Jamie had to inspect JB’s handiwork:web jamie testing negra's cabin sign burrito inside blankets nests yh.

web jamie climbing yh cabin sign jody burrito

Finding no problems, Jamie went on to have a great time with good friend Foxie. First they played chase all over the Hill, then they played chase through the cabin panels:

web jamie foxie play through negra's cabin panels yh

Then Jamie ushered Foxie along a stroll around the Hill:

web jamie arm on foxie walking together yh enrichment in mouth eye contact with camera

And when it was time to come in to the greenhouse for lunch, Jamie shared her excitement with a kiss:

web jamie kiss foxie yh bedhead walking skateboard troll enrichment eye contact with camera

Getting Cozy in the Cabin

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Today, Jody was caught lounging in the cabin on the hill. It’s great to see her so comfortable in there! We may have built it with Negra in mind (and nothing made me happier than seeing her in it a couple weeks ago!), but I suspect that with some more warmth, extra sunshine, straw, and a few extra blankets (or maybe a few 100 extra blankets), we’ll be seeing a lot more of Jody nesting in the cabin over the next few months!

Jody in the cabin

Jody in the cabin

Jody in the cabin