Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Lucky

Snippets

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Here are a few moments that I captured on my phone throughout the past week.

People often ask if it’s difficult to care for chimpanzees without being able to touch them outside of the very limited contact we have through the mesh. Perhaps it’s a function of the institutional cultures in which we were trained, but it’s not something I really think about. Nor do I care much about it when it does cross my mind. They have their world, we have ours, and there are clearly-defined, logical rules for the areas where those two worlds meet for the sake of everyone’s safety. The way we interact with the chimps in our care becomes natural and comfortable for both them and us, and pushing those boundaries does nothing but put our own desires above their best interests.

That being said, there’s not a person on earth that’s seen Mave in action and not wanted to be enveloped in her soft, fuzzy embrace.

So sue me.

Everybody Loves Dora

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Humans and chimps all really do love Dora, who wouldn’t! As I walked by the front rooms I found Rayne and Dora playing. Eventually, Lucky wanted to join the fun. Dora may be teeny tiny, but she can hold her own if she needs to! Dora may be small, but she sure is mighty!

After the play session Lucky needed to rest.

Cy guy <3. I think Cy has stolen everyone’s heart in this chimp house. I truly have never met a chimp sweeter than Cy.

Missy spying on the neighbors, while wearing a stylish grape sock.

Burrito being his perfect self!

And Jamie! She built this incredibly cozy, comfy, HUGE nest and then tucked herself in.

 

 

Take two: Lucky and Willy B

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Introductions continue at the Chimp House! Lucky and Willy B met each other for the first time on August 21st with nothing but positive interactions and a good old grooming session. With the plan of continuing introductions to better solidify their future relationships, they got to interact one on one today as well. We can’t force outcomes when it comes to introductions, and sometimes one on ones are uneventful. Today, Willy B and Lucky had a short but sweet interaction. Willy B displayed multiple times during the beginning of the introduction while Lucky just stared at him like “dude, are you ok?” from the comfort of the blanket covered platform. When Sir William stopped displaying, Lucky came down, giving Willy B a chance to get closer and initiate some grooming. Willy B groomed Lucky in such an intense way that his loud lip smacking had him drooling for a quick second. Even though Lucky was completely on board to get groomed by Willy B for what seemed like a very long 5min, she went back up to the platform and the two did not engage further. While it might seem like not much happened during this re-intro, every positive interaction gets us closer to uniting the two groups and having them form their own interpersonal relationships within the new group.

Willy B grooming Lucky during their intro today

Bonus 1: The cattle watching me during this mornings perimeter walk

Bonus 2: Annie laying down in the green house

Chimp ID: Lucky

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Since Lucky’s group is still new to all of us I thought it would be fun to do another chimp ID. Who better than Lucky to do it with! Lucky is really special. As we get to know her, she is super fun and really silly. There is something in Lucky’s eyes too, they are warm and inviting. She really is just awesome!

Lucky seems to like these scarves we put out as enrichment.

Lucky has no white marks or freckles on her face, but she does have a distinguished white beard.

Lucky isn’t a small chimp, she has a little belly that moves around when she breathy pants, it’s the best!

Lucky has very kind eyes and loves to make deep eye contact with you.

From certain angles Lucky reminds us of Washoe, sometimes Lucky looks just like her!

But Lucky really looks like her full sibling Cy! Lucky has a large browridge, which is why she looks like her brother.

But looks aside there is no one in the world like Lucky, as I said before she is a really special individual!

Play is good for the soul

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Make sure your volume is up for this video! There’s lots of chimp laughter and breathy pants to go around. Nothing like watching chimps in a good play session! Today there was lots of play happening among The Lucky Six. Any time I would walk by their group this morning there would be different chimps playing. This video highlights Cy and Dora playing, but I also saw Dora playing with Lucky then Rayne, and Gordo playing with Rayne! This warms my heart because recently we have been finding The Lucky Six playing with each other a lot more. Happy chimps = happy caregivers.

 

Enjoy some bonus photos from today!

Annie waiting for Missy so they can explore Young’s Hill.

Sweet Lucky.

The handsome Cy.

Dora and Rayne playing.

Rayne’s play face!

 

 

Exhilarating Day

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Today was a pretty exhilarating day. Burrito is doing really well, so well he got to go back with this group! Burrito is truly inspiring, he never gives up and through his struggles he somehow finds a way to be more positive and goofy through it all.

Foxie greeted Burrito by giving him a hug.

Dr. Missy checking Burrito out.

This other amazing thing happened today! Willy B got to hang out with Terry and then later Willy B met Lucky! Terry and Willy B did so well! Willy B was having so much fun he almost didn’t want to leave. There was a moment when they were grooming so intensely I felt a little emotional watching because they seemed so happy and were breathy panting so loudly! Willy B and Lucky had great interactions too! They had a really nice grooming session. I mean who wouldn’t have a good time with Lucky!

Willy B and Terry!

Lucky and Willy B!

Bonus photos!

Negra looking out the window in the portrait studio.

Lucky in her new favorite spot.

Willy B looking at himself through the camera.

I love this picture. Jamie is playing keep away with Foxie’s France Dora. Foxie just peaking out behind Jamie.

New Chimps New Routine

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New chimps also means a new routine. We are definitely trying to work out some kinks. Shifting can be hard when chimps don’t want to leave a room. Sometimes it means the humans clean until later in the day or if the chimps decide not to leave we can’t clean. Eventually, Dora’s group and Mave’s group will get into a new routine of shifting, but that probably won’t be this week ;). Today was no different, but we did get to clean Playroom 3, which feels like a win. So you might hear us say it was a busy day or today was crazy. What it really means is us humans are a little tired, but we got most of their areas clean. Also, have we mentioned how great our sixteen chimps are! I still can’t believe there are sixteen chimpanzees that get to call this place home! I couldn’t get photos of everyone today, but I was fortunate to get a few and have some kind caregivers share some of their photos with me.

Annie this morning looking over at the neighbors. I mean you have to keep an eye on the new guys, right?

This photo I captured last week and just wanted to share because it’s Burrito! How lucky are we to have this guy in our lives.

Little Miss Foxie exploring through the tall grass.

The ever so mischievous Honey B!

Jody also had to go spy on the neighbors this morning.

While cleaning Playroom 3 we found a grooming train! The Green House has so much vertical space, it really is amazing. In this photo you can see Gordo grooming Lucky and Lucky grooming Terry. Dora has a nice little nest on the other platform and if you look below, Rayne foraging for cherry tomatoes.

Look at this Mave!

After Rayne was done foraging in the Green House, she came up to say hi.

I can not get over how handsome Willy B is. No wonder Dora gets excited to see him.