Yesterday, Keri shared some photos from the chimpanzees’ Easter party. We didn’t get a ton of video footage of the party, but I thought I’d share a few clips. Enjoy!
Jody
Easter, Chimp Style
**Warning** This post contains a lot of photos!!
Easter, chimp style, involves good food…
…enrichment with hidden food inside…
…toys and dolls…
…an Easter egg hunt in the greenhouse…
and in the playroom…
and, of course, the Cle Elum Seven!!
Missy found one of the eggs with peanuts inside.
Burrito scored with the primate chow he gathered in his mouth and hands!
Foxie took turns with each of her dolls, first with the brunette…
then with the blonde,
and later, with both of them.
Annie held onto her egg as she ate peanuts and primate chow.
Jody made sure to check every part of the Easter basket for hidden treats.
Jamie searched high and low for treats, including under this blanket,
…in these boots,
…and in these boxes.
Negra found her favorite treats (peanuts) inside some of the Easter eggs.
Wishing everyone a happy and joyous Easter!
A place in the sun
It’s a beautiful bright blue sky kind of day at the sanctuary, but the wind is biting and cold. In between quick ventures onto Young’s Hill, the chimpanzees have each spent their day finding a variety of warm places in the sun to enjoy.
Annie running up the hill to check the tire swing for ice which she happily found and ran back to the greenhouse to enjoy – and that’s Foxie and Dora on the side:
Jody has been making daily trips up the hill to check for the wild greens which haven’t started to come up yet. She did come back with what looked suspiciusly like a young bamboo shoot though.
Here’s Foxie sporting a grimace in response to the cold wind as she quickly heads back inside with her Dora dolls:
Back in the south facing window of the greenhouse, Foxie warms up with the sun on her face:
Missy joins Foxie in the sunny spot:
Burrito having an after lunch rest in the greenhouse:
There are three levels in the greenhouse and with each one the heat increases significantly. The chimps often like to pile together at the very top where they can bake in the sun. Foxie and Dora are kicked back in the heat:
Beautiful Missy decided to make a nest on the catwalk in the playroom in the south-facing windows:
The chimpanzees weren’t the only ones looking for a warm spot in the sun today:
I wasn’t able to capture any photos of the Queen and the Boss, but Negra has spent most of the day in “happy baby” pose in her nest, holding her feet and luxuriating in the glaring sun. And in between brisk walks, Jamie has also spent most of the day in a warm nest out of view. 🙂
Serving
I’ve been wanting to write a blog post about serving food for a while now in response to a question I am frequently asked. How do we give food to the chimpanzees if we never enter the enclosures with them or stick our fingers into the enclosures? There are a few different options, including serving the food through the openings in the caging to each of the chimps and setting up forages for the chimps to gather the food themselves.
Serving entails serving food to the chimps’ hand or mouth (or sometimes foot). We make sure to cut foods to a size that will easily fit through the squares in the caging or we can drop food into food chutes (located in the Front Rooms). Things like celery, carrots and cucumbers are easy to hand to the chimps through the openings. Roasted vegetables are softer and we use small paper plates or serving trays that can be rolled up and passed through the openings. Liquids, such as fruit smoothies, (which are served at breakfast) are poured into cups and caregivers hold the cups up to the chimps’ outstretched lips. Serving allows us to know exactly how much each chimp is getting of each food. Check out this link to see examples of meals we serve throughout the day.
The following photos were all taken during the chimps’ dinner from the top of the Greenhouse when the panels were off this past summer. As you can see in the photos, some of the chimps prefer to hang, while others prefer to sit on the ground or utilize the plastic chairs or barrels.
Foxie usually brings a friend with her to meals (hint, look at what is in her foot).
Burrito eating his night bag.
Annie
Some of the chimps prefer to stay and eat all of their food where it is served, while others tend to gather their portions and go to a different area to eat them.
Jamie prefers to open her night bag, pour out its contents and pick through the nuts, seeds, popcorn and dried fruit.
Here’s a closeup of Jody eating her celery.
Foraging allows the chimps to move around and gather the food themselves, which is what they would be doing in the wild. For forages, we cut the food into smaller pieces and scatter them throughout the various enclosures after we have cleaned (the chimps are locked out of the enclosure humans are in). Once we have locked up and done our safety checks, we give the chimps access to the enclosure and they gather the food themselves. Foraging gets the chimps moving (important for chimps in captivity) and gives the chimps choices over which foods they prefer to collect and eat first. Click on the link at the beginning of the paragraph for a great video of the chimps foraging on Young’s Hill.
The return of Ellie the elk
Ellie (as we call her), our local neighborhood wild elk, spends her days roaming up and down the valley where she grew up after losing her mother. During the winter she tends to stay more frequently at the neighboring ranch, but she always makes her way back to the sanctuary in the springtime to hang out.
On one of her first days back after the snow melted she decided to accompany the chimpanzees (everyone except Negra!) and I on a walk around Young’s Hill. The chimpanzees, however, (specifically Jamie and Foxie) weren’t so welcoming of her return and wanted to remind her whose territory she was in. (Be sure to watch until the end when Jody and Missy offer Foxie and her Dora doll reassuring hugs for their bravery).
Today is in memory of Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Joan O’Flaherty in memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty, on their shared birthday. Joan has been honoring her parents by making the chimpanzees’ lives better for many years now and we are so touched by her kindness. She shared this message about today:
“In memory of my late parents’ birthday, both of whom were great animal lovers and supporters of conservation.”
Joan, thank you so much for all that you do for the chimpanzees in your parents’ memory, they must have been very special people. We are so happy to honor Ned and Noreen here at the sanctuary and celebrate their lives along with the chimpanzees. All of us here hope your day is filled with comfort, love and memories held dear.
Burrito and Jody:
Jody Chimpanzee
Age: 40ish. Her records indicate she was born in 1975, possibly in the wild. We celebrate her birthday on Mother’s Day each year to honor the nine children she brought into this world, all of whom were taken from her in the labs.
Nicknames: Jo, Jo-jo, Farmer Jo, Jody the Harvester
Favorite things to do: Foraging for wild plants and bamboo on Young’s Hill, making elaborate nests with blankets, sheets, clothes, straw, bamboo and other plants she’s harvested from Young’s Hill. She’s also an expert lounger!
What she is known for: Caregivers know her for her bouncy greeting mostly in the morning. Her foraging strategy includes gathering food in her hands, arms and mouth and bipedal walking with all of it. She also likes to lie on her belly while eating and is known for rounding everyone up for meal times. She’s also known for spitting out tomato seeds.
Distinguishing physical characteristics: Droopy bottom lip, knobby swelling, missing parts of some of her toes from old injuries, endearing face with expressive eyes, which are a little closer together than those of the other chimps.
Personality: serious, independent, kind, confident, earnest, self assured
Other: She makes what we refer to as “dinosaur sounds” (after she completes her nest, she often dives face first into it and lets out a loud “ahhhh” sound). Also, we’ve noticed that she seems to be quite fascinated with bearded men!
Jody was one of the first chimps to go out onto Young’s Hill this morning.
Here’s a good example of her droopy bottom lip.
Read more about Jody before arriving at CSNW here.
