Willy B
Lucky
Hot Commodity
For once there wasn’t a lot going on today for the chimps or the humans. That happens very rarely in this chimp house now a days! The chimps spent most of their day napping, grooming, lazily playing, or working on some enrichment.
Jody grooming a pile of blankets… oops I mean Negra!
Jamie and Missy spent most of the day coaxing their caregivers over to the small garden where the tomatoes and grape vines were ready to be picked! Of course, we had to oblige!
Terry was a hot commodity today! As I walked by with the camera, Lucky and Terry began grooming.
I took a series of photos of Terry Bronx Cheering (or blowing raspberries) when he and Lucky were grooming. Terry is always Bronx Cheering- whether he is grooming, trying to get our attention, and he even does it when he is working up into a display.
A few minutes later Rayne passed by to join the party. Terry began grooming her and then Rayne reciprocated the grooming.
I found Honey B relaxing on one of the tree leaves. She looked content, but also up to no good all at the same time.
Jamie also found sometime in the day to kick back and relax too.
Sweet sweet Lucky lounging in Oakwood.
Just a Little Stitious
Are you superstitions? New World Encyclopedia says: “The earliest superstitions were created as a way to deal with the ignorance and fear of the unknown. Chance misfortunes could be ascribed a cause, and the potential to avoid or control them was created. Superstitions are thus a way of attempting to regain control over events, particularly when one feels helpless.”
I wouldn’t say we are superstitious at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, but we are careful about saying how successful the integration is going. I guess you could say we don’t want to jinx anything. Anna pointed out a quote from Michael Scott on The Office that describes us best in our current situation: “I’m not super stitious, but I am a little stitious.” Recently, I find myself knocking on wood if I say the 9 are doing well, just in case something goes wrong. Which is why a recurring phrase you have/will hear from us for a long time is: We are cautiously optimistic! We don’t know what the future holds for these 9 chimpanzees, but for now things are looking up and we are just a little stitious.
I wanted to capture some photos of the 9 grooming and playing, but they were all doing those things in hard to reach places. However, I was able to capture a few individual photos today!
Dora peacefully napping:
Lucky:
And Willy B admiring his own reflecting:
Today is also Wish List Wednesday!! We recently just updated the wish list!
Busy Chimp House Day!
As Chad wrote on Sunday, this week has already proven to be busy for the entire chimp house. I think today’s blog is all about Burrito!
As an intro update, so far so good!
Mave and Terry grooming:
Cy and Willy B grooming:
Lucky:
Big Yawns
Plans? What Plans?!
I can’t speak for all the caregivers at CSNW, but for me lead days require mental preparation ahead of time. Some of it is getting on the shifting mentality, thinking of material for the daily blog, planning the individuals that will be involved during introductions, etc. Today was one of those days that from the moment I woke up, all of that preparation went out the window. It turns out that as caregivers there are two things we can’t control: the weather and a group of riled up chimps.
Kittitas County woke up to a significant ongoing snow shower with more than 3 inches of snow already on the ground by 7AM in Ellensburg. Cle Elum did not get the same amount of snow, but the inch or so is half melted by now. The gloominess remains. Being inside was definitely the popular choice for the chimpanzees. This meant plenty of napping in the green houses and a lot of grooming.
For introductions, my wish was to have Gordo and Terry involved with Willy B and Mave. But Gordo and his 5 friends had other plans. While trying to sort them out, a fight broke out and although everyone was OK, it derailed the sorting. The final combination ended up being Cy and Terry with Willy B and Honey B. After many displays between the guys, the introduction remained through the mesh. At the time of separating the groups, Willy B and Honey B refused to go back into the Mezzanine. It wasn’t until dinner was offered that they decided it was the right time to go back to their enclosure and reunite with Mave.
View of our Spring snowy day
Jamie in the process of drifting into a nap in the green house
Terry grooming my boots
Cy and Terry grooming each other
Rayne, Cy, Lucky and Terry grooming
Rayne, Dora, Cy and Lucky grooming
National Burrito Day!
Today is National Burrito day!!! I wanted to shower everyone today with Burrito photos but he had other ideas. I went on two walks around Youngs Hill with Burrito and Jamie before 11AM. Burrito was in from the get-go but Jamie had special requests. She required me to wear one size smaller boots, and also requested that I drive the Gator both times. During those walks Burrito took the opportunity to climb the Twister structure to try and get a better look at the construction happening outside the perimeter of the hill. Once he came back in, he spent most of the day asking caregivers to play chase with him and wanting to play through the mesh while actively running away from the camera. Totally understandable because it has been a beautiful day out, perfect to keep everyone very active and moving.
Burrito eating an avocado during lunch
Burrito climbing the Twister structure during one of our walks around the hill
A play and groom session between Burrito and Caregiver Chad
On the other side of the Chimp House, the chimps in both Honey B’s and Rayne’s group spent most of the day in their green houses enjoying the nice day.
Willy B
Honey B looking as flawless as always
Gordo
Lucky