Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Mave

Two Years with the Amazing Three!

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Today is Honey B, Willy B, and Mave’s two year anniversary at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest! It has been an honor to get to know each one of them. I can’t imagine life without Honey B’s spunk, Willy B’s dashing good looks, or life without a laid back Mave would just be disappointing. The day was full of their favorite foods and enrichment. There were mangoes, avocados, eggplant to name a few! We put out a LOT of paper, raffle tickets, and buckets of soapy water!

While it’s their anniversary we were still doing one on one introductions. Today was actually the last day of one on one’s before we take a little break. As Sofia stated yesterday, Honey B with no surprise is a wild card and so is Gordo. Honey B still had to meet Gordo and Cy. We also knew these might be some of our hardest introductions. I just need to state how proud we are of Honey B! She did really well overall! It shows us that Honey B can form relationships with new chimps and gives us hope for the future. But she still makes us hold our breath when we open up that door.

First up was Cy. They did great! Cy was playing with her so rough, we were all really for Honey B to freak out, but she didn’t. She loved playing with Cy! As you will see in the video they are laughing and wrestling. That was them playing gently too, we didn’t capture the true wrestling because we thought it might escalate, but to our pleasant surprise it didn’t! Next up was Gordo. Honey B and Gordo met at the mesh yesterday and seemed pretty playful. However, today they both seemed to have taken a slower approach. Eventually we opened the door and they seemed a bit indifferent. Indifference was totally fine, we just wanted them to get comfortable. They warmed up to each other and started to play. It was really fun to watch, but it was short lived. We think there was a little miscommunication on both ends and we quickly ended up having to separate them. Gordo is fine and has a small wound on his foot. We brought Honey B back so her and Gordo had a chance to make up at the mesh, but Gordo wasn’t too interested in coming down. Honey B did give him some good positive behaviors at the mesh. We are hopeful that they can move past this and with a few more meetings understand each other a little bit better. Miscommunications with chimps happens a lot. Foxie and Annie had a lot in the beginning too and even some times to this day!

As an update we are taking a small break because everyone has met everyone for our one on one introductions. We will be doing one on ones occasionally and we will be working on two on two soon as well. For now, us humans and chimps are going to get a few good nights of sleep! Overall, the intros so far have gone as well as we could have asked. I just want to say this again because I think Honey B deserves this. She exceeded our expectations and to watch Honey B play with Cy, Dora, Rayne, and Lucky is exactly why we are doing this. Honey B was so expressive, so happy, and she is a chimp that deserves to have more socialization with other chimps! This proved that, but that doesn’t mean this road is easy or even guarantees this will work out.

Let us all cheers to one on one introductions being over and two incredible years with Honey B, Willy B, and Mave!

Gordo and Honey B. This was right before Honey B came over to Gordo and tried to give him a reassuring kiss!

Cy and Honey B wrestling!

Mave enjoying her whole mango! Mave was so excited, her food squeaks were unreal!

Wildcards…plus a medical update

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We have a had a lot of things going on for the past weeks so here is a brief update from your friendly veterinary assistant regarding Bubba’s encounter with a rattlesnake. After Burrito’s sedation to infuse the antivenin, we had him apart from the group for almost a week to ensure he was recovering correctly. During this time he was getting medications to help with overall itchiness and discomfort after exposure, and we were also collecting fecal samples. The importance of these samples was to monitor his coagulation factors after being exposed to rattlesnake venom. Such bleeding abnormalities can show up days after the exposure, which made it crucial to monitor him for at least a week.  All of our caregivers were on poop duty and thankfully all of the samples came back negative for occult blood which meant that his clotting factors were not affected. This guy was the best patient, he took all his medications in food and wanted to engage in play at all times. Right now, he is doing awesome and has been keeping us all caught up with our daily cardio.

Caregiver Anthony took these photos of Bubba today and if they don’t reflect this guys goofiness and constant happiness, I don’t know what does

On the other side of the Sanctuary, one-on-one introductions continue. One of our wildcards is Gordo, he tends to be a little unpredictable when it comes to neighbors although he has been showing a lot of interest in Mave since their arrival. He first met Willy B, nothing super exciting, they had a brief positive interaction and parted ways. Next up was Gordito’s crush, Mave. This introduction was very lighthearted as both engaged in some very amusing grooming sessions. Because we had some extra time, we had Honey B meet Gordo through the mesh. She was a little amped up about the situation and we decided it was best to keep a barrier between the two individuals. Through all of this, Gordo seemed unfazed and behaved great. Next up was Cy meeting Honey B through the mesh. At this point, both Cy and Honey B had so much energy going on that after a few interactions through the mesh, both individuals returned to their groups for dinner.

Here is Mave and Gordo in one of their grooming sessions today

BONUS: Negra nesting this morning in the green house

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.

Shut Up and Blog

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Today was pretty busy day for the humans, but the chimps made sure to fit in some fun. Of course, Burrito played with everyone! Jamie had a lovely day napping in a extravagant nest full of book pages and boots. I loved watching her sort through her big bag of enrichment too.  Honey B and Mave had a blast unrolling around in the raffle tickets! Cy flipped through magazines. I wasn’t able to capture much from Lucky’s group, but they were busy inspecting one of the security camera JB just set-up.

Today’s blog was going to be my favorite type of blog, a smorgasbord of photos! But, throughout the day I was able to get some fun video clips of some of the chimps. So why not do it all! It made me start thinking. What are all of our blog followers’ favorite kinds of blogs? Do you like blogs that are interactive like games or educational? Do you like blogs with lots of content or are you like, enough already I want to see the photos. Maybe you’re more into the videos where you can see the chimps and get more familiar with the building. Personally, I love photos with descriptions! Whatever you are into, I will stop talking so you can enjoy these photos!

Annie and Jody:

Honey B with her raffle tickets:

Jamie looking through her giant enrichment bag:

And a series of photos of Jamie nesting:

Mave unrolling her raffle tickets:

Queen Negra and Missy:

  

 

Theme Scheme

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There is no real theme for today’s blog. Who needs a theme anyways! I just have these great photos I wanted to share with you all.

The beautiful, sophisticated, and distinguished Rayne.

Terry, Terry, Terry. He is too much!

Dora! Dora is so sweet. I posted this photo recently on our Instagram, but I thought it needed to be shared here too.

Mave with her legs crossed, giving that laid back feeling.

Yesterday was pretty warm. Honey B looked as though she was melting into her nest.

And of course Honey B shredding on her skateboard.

This morning as I let the seven onto Young’s Hill they all immediately race out to get a glimpse of the new neighbors.

Jamie spying.

Burrito standing bipedal so he could get a better look.

This guy Cy is the whole package! He is sweet, playful, a big goof, well read, and quite handsome.

Tiny a.k.a Foxie.

Negra was pretty silly today. She even let me snap of few close ups of her!

We are truly lucky to be able to spend some time with Lucky.

Don’t forget to check out the Amazon wish list. We have added a lot of books. The Lucky 6 seem to enjoy reading books and magazine just as much as Jamie!

Corn in the USA

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Happy Fourth of July everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your day. I know we did here at the chimp house. The first part of the celebration involved all of the chimps receiving a mid afternoon treat of dixie cups scattered around their enclosures. These were filled with blue Gatorade, strawberries, and blueberries to follow the theme of the day. This was a big hit and Rayne was sooooo excited! She was the fist one over to get as many Gatorade cups as she could.

All of the chimpanzees enjoyed a celebration lunch of corn, tomatoes, and heads of Romaine lettuce. The corn was a huge hit all around! A few of the Lucky Six were a little weary of the corn at first until they got a taste of it. Then it was pure excitement. There was a nice breeze today and it was “cooler” than last week, so the seven got to enjoy their lunch as a forage on Young’s Hill. During forages I like to see what each chimp searches for first. Today it was everything! They were gathering as much corn and romaine as they could carry in their arms and mouth! The tomatoes went very quickly and Missy was quite happy. A lot of the chimps take their findings back to the Greenhouse and eat in the shade.

Cooler weather and celebrations make some pretty happy chimps and that makes us caregivers happy as well.

 

Blue Gatorade with strawberries and blueberries in each one.

Jamie enjoying the Gatorade and fruit.

In the excitment before their forage on the hill I caught Burrito and Negra in a play session.

Burrito enjoying the first head of Romaine he found.

Negra went straight to this spot.

Jody usually wins the award for most food she can carry.

Foxie climbing to grab more corn on the platform above.

Annie enjoying her corn back in the Greenhouse.

Look at Missy’s pile!

Jamie found lots of corn to keep her occupied for awhile.

Diana helped get photos of the three while serving lunch. They were also super excited about the corn!

Mave

Willy B

Bonus photo of Rayne that JB was able to capture yesterday.

Hot as tater tots!

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Summer is here! We are definitely feeling the heat today. We have been trying to help keep the chimps cool and passed out some shaved ice in the afternoon. They love ice! Even if its just a regular old ice cube they are excited for the snack. We have also been giving out extra hose drinks to the chimps who have been requesting it while we are cleaning. Even though they always have access to a water source, drinks from the hose always taste better! Katelyn was fanning/misting Jamie and Annie today. In the photo below you can see them enjoying this. Annie kept putting her head up to let Katelyn mist her forehead.

Jamie needs all that extra water and fanning today from her adventures last night. Since the heat was starting to rise during the day yesterday she didn’t go on as many walks as normal. She wanted to save that for when the sun started to go down. Jamie didn’t want to let go of Youngs Hill for the night after dinner and we went on multiple walks around the hill with her, in a variety of ways. It was fun to see how many different ways she wanted to walk around! First, I went around the hill driving the gator. Then she was ready for Anthony to drive the gator while I rode along. After that, Jamie wanted Chad to follow in the gator behind us. After a couple more variations of walks throughout the evening Jamie decided on one last final walk. This included Anthony, Chad, the gator and I. Missy also came out to join us and Annie was resting on a platform watching. After this final walk Jamie was inside ready for her book and boot bundle. We usually pick out a couple different books and boots to give her before we leave to make sure she has what needs for the night.

Jamie enjoying a walk around the hill, while I drove the gator.

 

Here are some photos from around the chimp house today!

Mave relaxing in the Chute.

Honey B sitting in the doorway of one of the new Greenhouses.

Willy B being groomed by Mave.

Annie being her sweet Annie self.

The cattle were even avoiding the heat today. Chad found them relaxing in the shade by the creek.

Meredith and Honey hanging out by the creek.

Nutmeg and Betsy cooling off in the mud.