Jody

Thank you, Leanne!

March 27, 2015 by Katelyn

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Leanne Preble! Leanne shared the simple, but beautiful message that she wishes for this day to be in honor of “Hope. Love. Home…Sanctuary.” These simple words hold profound meaning for each of us. And we are privileged to witness on a daily basis what can happen for individuals when these things are provided. But we can only imagine what they truly mean for each of the chimpanzees after all they have endured.

Leanne, thank you so much for sponsoring this day to celebrate the chimpanzees and their lives in their sanctuary home. And may all those still awaiting their sanctuary be held in our thoughts as well.

The hope in Jamie’s eyes:

The love of best friends, Annie and Missy:

and Burrito and Foxie:

Jody, at rest in her home:

Negra, at peace in sanctuary:

Photos of the Day

March 26, 2015 by Elizabeth

Annie (with a mouthful of alfalfa) watching BFF Missy explore Young’s Hill:

Foxie:

Jamie admiring caregiver Debbie’s boots:

Jody:

Burrito grooming Foxie:

Missy in her element:

Negra in hers:

St. Patrick’s Day 2015

March 17, 2015 by Debbie

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As Katelyn mentioned in the sponsor-a-day post this morning, we love to find any reason to throw a party for the chimpanzees. So today we filled little shamrock cups with almond milk which was dyed green with food coloring, as well as their usual fruit smoothie which we also dyed green. We picked green apples and kiwis for the breakfast forage—and threw in some oranges because the chimps love them! Add some streamers and St. Patty’s day decor, and you have the perfect recipe for a great party!

Everyone loved the drinks. We added little straws to the cups, and some chimps used them while others tossed them aside while they licked the cups clean! Foxie was especially great at getting every last drop:

And Missy, too:

Negra delicately drank from the little shamrock glasses:

Burrito had filled his hands with chow so he had no choice but to lean over and use the straw for sipping:

Annie also enjoyed every last drop of the drinks:

Of course, the fruit was a big hit! Jody was so motivated to get some that she took on some unusual (for her) acrobatic moves to get to the high windows to get a snack.

Negra:

Burrito:

Missy:

We also hid some peanuts in little green boxes. Annie was the first to find them:

Burrito:

Missy:

Jamie, quite uncharacteristically, was not the center of everything during this party! She grabbed a stash of food and drinks and stationed herself in a corner where we couldn’t get any photos of her. But she certainly enjoyed the forage, and we saw her still searching around for leftovers hours later!

A Morning of Play

March 15, 2015 by Keri

All of the chimpanzees have been in a playful mood today despite the rain. Shortly after arriving this morning, I spotted Missy and Annie playing chase in the loft and along the catwalk areas of the playroom. I could hear the echos of them foot stomping on the floor and their breathy pants (laughter) as they chased each other back and forth. Then I caught a glimpse of Burrito and Foxie playing chase between the playroom and front room areas. I watched for a bit, while still listening to the echos of foot stomps coming from the loft area. I thought Missy and Annie were still playing chase, but these stomps and laughter weren’t coming from the two of them. Instead, they were coming from Negra and Jody who were also busy playing on the catwalk.

It’s always nice to see Negra in a playful mood. She was also very excited for the kale forage we put in the playroom after cleaning.

A Well-Earned Rest

March 9, 2015 by Elizabeth

For the first time in their lives, the Cle Elum Seven live in a place where the humans do all the work, while they spend their days however they please. Nothing is expected of them other than to be chimps. Occasionally the chimps enjoy watching us while we work, but the majority of the time they’re off doing their own thing, and are supremely unconcerned with our aching muscles and tired minds. Exactly as it should be.

Today volunteer caregiver Becca delivered about a dozen boxes of donated produce (courtesy of the generous folks at Darwin’s Natural Pet Products) from Seattle. Becca and staff caregiver Keri went to work processing the produce right away.

Meanwhile, the chimpanzees were doing what they do best.

Negra:

Annie:

Jody:

Foxie:

Winter’s morning light

March 4, 2015 by Katelyn

Our days here at the sanctuary couldn’t be sunnier or brighter. But Lady Winter is still reminding us she’s around for a little while longer with some extra cold temperatures during the night this week. If the temperature is predicted to drop below 20 degrees, we close off the greenhouse before we leave at night just to help conserve heat in the chimp house. With the mild winter we’ve been experiencing we haven’t had to close it very often this year, but this week has been in the teens at night. The chimpanzees wouldn’t be out there in such temperatures anyway, but this morning when we opened it up again during breakfast they were particularly excited.

The door to Young’s Hill was already open for them and the chimps decided to take their chow bags to go after breakfast and raced outside into the chilly morning. Well, Negra wasn’t about to race outside, but she did run up and peek out the door with a hopeful look on her face so it was a bit like our version of Groundhog’s Day, Negra style. Everyone else quickly came back and chose to sit in the raceway to Young’s Hill together where they could enjoy their chow with the sun on their faces.

This is often a favorite spot of Negra’s where she can luxuriate in the morning sun streaming into the greenhouse and this morning she seemed particularly happy:

Annie looked so serene as she enjoyed the sun coming up over Young’s Hill and spilling into the raceway:

Foxie:

And Jody:

Jody was one of the first onto the hill and enjoyed the sun on her shoulders and the view of the valley as she ate her chow:

Thinking inside the box

March 3, 2015 by Debbie

Last night, volunteers, interns, and primate behavior students from Central Washington University got together to make some enrichment for the chimps. Their club is Primate Awareness Network—if you’ve been following the blog for awhile, that might sound a little familiar to you—they’ve hosted talks by CSNW staff during their annual spring speaker series several times.

We are so appreciative that they spent some time putting together boxes for the chimps, with nuts hidden in paper inside. The chimps seemed to enjoy their fun forage!

Annie: