Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
What a beautiful morning!
However, even with all this beauty Jamie had some supervision to do early this morning! Construction on our new driveway is in full motion and Jamie wanted to make sure it was going smoothly. After, she made sure to get her other morning patrols in, such as, perimeter walk and laying on her barrel to supervise the volunteers cleaning.
Jamie:
Jody kept Jamie company:
And Burrito surveyed Jamie and Jody:
Jody’s face is permanent wonder. It’s hope and expectation and awe, and it’s a reminder to us all to always be on the lookout for good things right around the bend.
The day after Jamieween I happened upon everyone but Jamie surrounding the remains of the great Jamieween pumpkin. (If you’re new to the blog, Jamieween is what we call Halloween here at the sanctuary as it’s also the day we celebrate boss lady, Jamie’s, honorary birthday). It’s amazing how far one ginormous pumpkin can go. And even more amazing that the chimpanzees crowded around said ginormous pumpkin giving each other turns at sticking their heads in for ginormous bites of it with relatively few kerfuffles. Though as you will see, a certain rather small chimpanzee woman seemed to be pulling every trick in the chimpanzee communication book to wind up with the pumpkin a lot more often than everyone else. Maybe the most amazing thing is “How much pumpkin can one tiny chimpanzee hold?”
And if you’re wondering where the boss was in all of this, she was actually sitting calmly and watching from afar. See, the ironic (and now much anticipated) thing about Jamieween is that Jamie isn’t always super interested in her Jamieween pumpkin because she seems to have deemed other treats a higher priority. But that makes Jody (who for the last three (?) years running has made it her mission to heist the pumpkin as fast as she can, and eventually six other chimpanzees, extremely happy.
Foxie wound up with it first and as you can see from her smile (note bottom teeth only!) she is over the moon about it:
Foxie did a lot of whimpering and asking permission from her good friend, Jody, to keep the pumpkin for awhile which seemed to pay off as Jody was extra patient waiting her turn:
as Foxie ate…
and ate…
and ate…
But Jody eventually could wait no longer and dove right in:
Notice Annie in the background waiting to make her move. She was getting pretty impatient, but finally saw her chance.
Once Annie got ahold of the pumpkin she climbed to the top of the greenhouse with it which Jody wasn’t entirely pleased about. Missy swung up to check things out and with much pleading from Annie (as Missy is more dominant than she is) she kindly allowed Annie to keep it. In the end, everyone got to share in the prize and Queen Negra wound up claiming the last chunk for herself.
Bonus photos of the day!
Negra enjoying breakfast in bed this morning:
Watching all those other foolish chimpanzees racing off onto the hill where it’s cold and there’s no breakfast:
Jamie supervising one of the gentleman painting her home and giving her nod of approval:
And dearest Foxie napping this afternoon:
Foxie decided this morning she wanted some photos taken. I asked her if I could snap a few photos and Foxie didn’t seem to mind. Once I felt like I had gotten a few photos I thanked Foxie and was going to turn around to leave. I heard Foxie make her raspberry vocalization, which is usually used for catching someone’s attention. I turned around and asked if she wanted to look at the photos. Foxie came over to look and then sat back on the platform and stared at me. I asked Foxie if she wanted me to take some more and she looked at me with intent. Whether that meant yes or no, I am not sure, but I took a few more and she looked pleased!
Here is Foxie’s photo shoot:
Bonus!
Annie:
Jody food grunting at the sight of oranges and chow this morning:
If we were to do a poll of the caregivers, or you all reading this (if you’ve been following a long for a bit), I would be willing to put good money down that Negra would be chosen as the chimpanzee at CSNW most likely to be found nesting.
Who do you think would be the second runner up?
I’m going to go with Jody. Is that what you thought?
There is no question that Negra and Jody know how to truly relax. Here are two of my favorite photos of them demonstrating their lounging prowess.
Negra:
Jody:
This morning was another GORGEOUS fall day, and most of the chimpanzees headed right outside, literally disappearing into the hill:
You will probably be able to guess who remained under her blanket, though (thanks to Earth Rated for donating these green lovely blankets to the chimps!):
If you guessed Negra, you would be correct.
Jody, despite her love of leisure, does like a morning adventure, so she went out, then back to the greenhouse, then out again, until she finally came back with a procured bamboo snack:
She stopped at the raceway to keep an eye on the other adventurers:
By the time lunch rolled around, Negra too was ready to emerge from her cocoon and soak up the fall air:
The addition of baked pumpkin to the lunch forage may have played a motivating factor:
It’s so satisfying to be able to see the chimpanzees making choices about how they spend their time. I’m glad that everyone got outside and enjoyed this beautiful day and also fit in a little quiet time for napping too.
It’s pomegranate season at last! The chimpanzees love these ruby colored fruits so much, that many will eat them rinds and all!
Jody:
If you want to help keep the chimpanzees stocked with pomegranates and other delicious fresh produce options this season, the most convenient way to contribute is by sending us gift cards to our local Safeway grocery store. As an added time-saver, we can receive these gift cards straight from our Amazon Wish list, so you can skip that trip to the post office!
Annie:
While the mornings in October are beautiful, they sure are cold! However, its still warm in the sun and the chimps don’t seem to mind the brisk mornings. Look at all of them out on Young’s Hill (even Neggie)!
Negra was very eager to go outside with everyone this morning:
And then promptly came back inside to snooze a little bit more, can you tell that lump of blankets is Negra:
Missy was having a blast rippin and chasing her friends onto Young’s Hill:
Jody, Jamie, Foxie, and Annie all scattered onto the Hill:
Foxie:
Annie:
Burrito:
Burrito eventually decided to go inside:
Later in the morning while we were cleaning I saw Jody basking in the sun:
While Jody was relaxing I found Burrito watching Foxie and Missy out on the Hill:
It warms my heart to see everyone enjoying their day and spending quality time together!
