Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jody

Natural enrichment

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We’re always trying to come up with ways to can keep the Cle Elum Seven enriched throughout the day. We offer toys, blankets, boots, dolls, clothing, containers (to name a few) each day. But, sometimes nature provides the best forms of enrichment, including grass and plants to forage, birds to watch (and chase) and snakes to inspect.

So, it’s always nice to incorporate parts of nature into the chimps’ enrichment. Pine cones are a great way to do just that. Add a little peanut butter to the outside, hide a few raisins in the middle and viola, chimpanzee evening enrichment.

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Missy

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Annie

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Jody

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Negra

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Extras

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It’s pretty easy to rack up 100 plus pictures of the chimpanzees throughout the course of a day. What’s not always easy is going through all of them, figuring out which ones to save and which ones to delete. Deleting the ones that are blurry or not quite in focus is pretty much a no-brainer. But, there are often times though, when I look through multiple pictures of the same chimp, doing the same exact thing and I just can’t decide which ones to keep. Each of those pictures has a slightly different angle or the lighting is just a little bit different or a different part of the face is in focus. And then, sometimes I just end up with great photos of the chimps, but they do not go along with the blog that I am writing.

So, today, I wanted to share with you some of my favorites of each of the chimps from the past few weeks that we haven’t shared on the blog yet.

Annie

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Burrito

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Foxie

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Jamie

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Jody

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Missy

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Negra

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A perfect morning

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When the chimpanzees gained access to their 2 acre outdoor enclosure this morning, you could really feel their joy and excitement. The sun and light breeze together were a complimentary pair!

Annie chased Missy bipedally (trying to avoid touching the wet grass as much as possible).
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She finally climbed onto a log to escape the morning dew.
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Missy performed a few aerial stunts.
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And then settled down to snack on the fresh green grass.
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Foxie explored with two of her dolls.
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And Jody and Burrito decided to relax and take in the view.
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Jamie recruited J.B. into going for a perimeter walk.
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The walk eventually evolved into a perimeter jog.
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I must admit, I searched a while for a quote or poem about the loveliness of Spring to accompany this post, but I couldn’t quite find the right one. I suppose springtime at the sanctuary is best described in photos.

Jody’s rough day

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Jody is the master, or shall we say mistress, of leading a blissful life. She spends the better part of any given day doing exactly what pleases her most in each moment. And today those moments were composed of foraging and lounging in the hot greenhouse. On repeat. Just as it should be.
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Green makes everything more vibrant

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Spring, a season symbolic of renewal, growth and new beginnings. Now that spring has “officially” begun, the chimps’ daily routine revolves more on finding fresh green grass and new plants to eat, watching birds and inspecting any movement in the grass.

Plus, it’s the season when pictures of the chimps out on the hill look so much more vibrant!

Burrito took time to sit and eat the new grass.
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Annie (left) took in her surroundings, while Burrito (right) continued eating grass.
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Annie
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Missy (left) stopped by her friend Annie (right) before sprinting off again.
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Here’s a couple of photos of Missy dismounting from one of the structures on the hill, with the help of the fire hose.
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Jody
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Jamie (in front) led the way around Young’s Hill, as she usually does. Burrito (middle) and Foxie (last) backed her up.
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Plus, Foxie brought a friend for support.
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Unfortunately, I did not have the camera when Negra was out this morning. But, you can see plenty of pictures of her enjoying her time on the hill these past few days by clicking here.

And, have you heard the great news?? There is so much excitement in the air!

Opening the doors to spring

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It’s an incredibly lovely spring day at the sanctuary today. Every day for at least the last two weeks Missy has been asking us to open up the barn doors on the playroom. With minimal wind and temperatures close to 70 degrees, it’s finally warm enough to grant her request. The chimpanzees get so excited when we open those doors up for some reason. Whether it’s the fresh breeze suddenly wafting through the playroom or the chance to check out the garden side of the chimp house they don’t get a clear view of from their windows, it elicits spring fever in us all.

As soon as the doors swung open, the chimps started hooting, laughing and chasing one another. Missy had the biggest play face I’ve ever seen (and of course, I didn’t have the camera at that moment!). As the fresh spring air spilled in, it was as if pure joy leaped and tumbled through the chimp house with it.

After the excitement died down, Jamie decided to build a super cozy next in front of the doors and just take in the peaceful view and sunshine:
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Our bluebird neighbors have returned to their nesting spot on Young’s Hill (despite have three perfectly lovely bluebird houses set up for them elsewhere):

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Jamie meandering during a walk around the hill and taking in the views:

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In other news, Jody is lounging in the toasty greenhouse:

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Welcome, spring!