Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jody

Photos from Foxie’s birthday party!

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It’s Foxie’s 35th birthday today! And we decided to celebrate by creating a huge troll bonanza for the troll-loving lady. We literally put out at least a hundred new trolls, most of which participated in last week’s Troll Olympics.

Here’s a few pictures from the day, tomorrow I’ll post some video from the party!

Some of the trolls in the sandbox:

Foxie picked out a couple of her favorites:

Troll blanket, found and troll-adorned by volunteer Jeani:

Foxie checking out the troll blanket:

We hung some frozen watermelon from the ceiling in the outdoor area, which the chimps really loved. Foxie eating her watermelon:

Jody munching on some watermelon:

More to come tomorrow!

In anticipation?

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While all of the staff here at CSNW have a great deal of experience with chimpanzee behavior, we obviously can’t get inside the minds of the chimps and know what they are truly thinking. But, my non-scientific side of self sometimes really wishes I could!

One of the most frequent questions I’ve been asked since construction on Young’s Hill began is whether or not I think the chimps know that Young’s Hill is for them. Part of me wants to say “Of course! They must know that everything we do around here revolves around them, right?” I would have to guess that the installation of the climbing structures (which look very similar to the one in their current outdoor area) had to be a good sign for them, but again, we can’t get inside of their heads, so as smart as I know they are, I just cannot say for sure.

But I think we now have a pretty good reason to believe that at least some folks do, in fact, know.

During construction of the raceway (the tunnel that connects the current outdoor area to Young’s Hill), the chimps had to be locked out of the outdoor area. A couple of days later, J.B. was checking to make sure a key worked on one of the locks near the raceway (not the one that unlocked the raceway door, mind you). As soon as he pulled out the keys and walked towards the caging, Jamie, Jody, and Foxie all jumped up and started hugging and breathy panting in excitement! J.B. said that Jody and Foxie eventually walked away, but that Jamie sat at the raceway door gesturing towards him, banging on the cage, and tugging on the door for at least 10 minutes.

So, guess what, they know.

My heart sung when I heard about this! I’m sure part of me knew it all along, but it feels so validating and real now… and makes the wait for the day that they finally go out that much more agonizing!

So, when I took the following photos of Negra looking out towards the work happening on Young’s Hill today, I couldn’t help but wonder “Does she know, too?” I’d be willing to bet she does, and that they’ve all been “rolling their eyes”, so to speak (chimps don’t really roll their eyes), when they heard us discussing whether or not they “know” that Young’s Hill is for them.

No pressure, J.B. 😉

Thanks so much to J.B. and all of our hard working volunteers that have come out to help be a part of making “The Hill” a reality! You guys are going to make Negra’s day!

Chimps using tools

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Chimpanzees naturally use tools in free-living Africa. One common example of tool use is “ant fishing” or “termite fishing” — when a chimpanzee takes a stick and dips it into an ant or termite mound to gather up some tasty insects. At CSNW, we have a simulated termite board which we fill with things captive chimpanzees enjoy, such as fruit puree or peanut butter.

As part of our sanctuary philosophy, we strive to allow for “species specific” chimpanzee behavior. This can involve providing adequate space and climbing structures for a natural behavior like brachiation, and it can also include providing enrichment that allows them to use their instinctual chimp behaviors, such as nesting or tool use.

The other day, Jackie and I presented the chimpanzees with a puzzle: how to get drinks from buckets outside the caging. They quickly grabbed hoses to use for tools, as you’ll see in the video.

Raceway!

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Last night the chimps got the outdoor area back after being locked out for a couple of days while the raceway was under construction. Foxie was the most curious about the new door and door frame.

The raceway was actually constructed off-site using the caging that we removed when we replaced the caged windows with chimpanzee-proof glass. The welders had to make a hole in the current outdoor area and weld the raceway to it.

Slow Motion Play

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Of all the Cle Elum Seven, Jody and Negra are probably the least playful. Both are more solitary as compared to the others, and seem to prefer to spend much of their time either grooming or nesting. Negra has become more and more playful lately, but her typical play partners are either her caregivers, or Missy or Foxie, who are both super playful, so, you can imagine my surprise (and delight) when I looked outside and saw the following scene.