Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Every good game begins with a standoff..
Annie
vs.
Missy
Then someone starts running…
The chase is on! Missy runs after Annie!
Don’t forget the aerial acrobatics!
Check out Missy’s play face!
A little bit of hand holding during intermission…
And then chase again! This time Missy leads the way!
Mondays are never a drag here at CSNW! We had a pretty exciting menu today.
Breakfast: Started with a fruit smoothie (volunteers’/staff’s choice), two fruit options (pears & cantaloupe today), chow, and some vitamins
Lunch: We served some fresh kale, orange peppers (because why not), tomatoes, a little bit of corn, and chow
Now get ready for the main course because this is going to get interesting!
Dinner: We had a forage tonight and the chimps had roasted onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes (among a few other veggies as well)
The chimps enjoy fresh and cooked vegetables, but this forage combination really got their attention!
Today’s lunch:
Level 3 Volunteer Jake serving Jody:
Negra eating corn:
Annie:
Missy food peering for some tomatoes:
Annie (Left) & Foxie (Right) holding peppers
Jake serving Foxie tomatoes:
Burrito:
It was all fun and games today at CSNW! This morning I was greeted with breathy pants, grooming (Burrito & Neggie grooming one another), and chimps playing games of chase with each other (Annie, Missy, & Foxie). Jamie made a few of the staff and level 3 volunteers try on boots and after finding the right pair she couldn’t contain her excitement and took off for a game of chase!
Annie: Grooming her leg and secretly watching Burrito play chase
Annie: Later in the day enjoying kale from the garden
Missy: Hanging out in the greenhouse
Jody: Taking it easy and soaking in the warm sun
Foxie: Carrying her dora doll around
Burrito found a sweatband and put it on to play chase. Burrito put it on his head as captured in the photos, but he also put it around his wrists and ran around like crazy!
Burrito: Thinking about wearing the sweatband
Burrito: Putting the sweatband on, but still holding his wooden toys
Burrito: Playing chase
Burrito: Playing chase with volunteer Erin and the sweatband over his face
Cooler temperatures at the sanctuary mean more frequent (and fast paced) walks on Young’s Hill!
Yesterday during breakfast, volunteer Jake and I watched Missy build an elaborate nest out of blankets and a hanging fire hose which she wove around her blankets in a tight circle. Just as Missy was putting the final touches to her bed, Negra approached with her chow bags in hand and promptly took over Missy’s nest to enjoy the last bit of her breakfast. Missy didn’t bat an eye and quickly moved out of the way for Negra. While to us humans this would seem like an incredibly rude thing to do, this sort of displacement is common in relationships between dominant and subordinate chimpanzees. Missy and Negra have an agreement that when Negra wants something that Missy has, she is going to get it. Missy is very relationship savvy and she very rarely complains when Negra takes things from her (most commonly her primate chow bags). I think there are also some constraints to their agreement, as Missy willingly gives up things that don’t mean that much to her, and Negra knows she can easily take things that Missy isn’t too attached to. This relationship seems to suit them both just fine.
Missy (on a different day, building a similar nest)
Negra (on a different day, napping in a similar nest)
Today is Annie’s 43rd Birthday! We are so fortunate to know Annie – she is a sweet, playful, and loyal friend to humans and non-humans. We celebrated her today with a fun forage full of veggies, chow, roasted onions, and smoothie in the greenhouse and Young’s Hill. Annie also really LOVES kale especially from our garden. It was quite the party!
Annie standing bipedally while foraging on the hill:
Annie found some delicious kale from our garden:
Burrito scored a few presents:
Burrito (wonder what he found inside):
Annie enjoying a plate of corn and broccoli with a side of socks:
Jamie drinking smoothie:
Jamie unwrapping a present:
Jamie holding some boots in her pelvic pocket:
Negra basking in the sun and foraging:
Birthday girl (Annie):
Missy:
Jody eating some leeks from our garden:
Annie enjoying her kale:
Foxie eating chow:
Annie found one last plate:
Thought I’d share a few photos from the last few weeks at the sanctuary.
Jody relaxing in the playroom:
Jamie surveying Young’s Hill from the top platform in the greenhouse:
Firefighters from the Jolly Mountain Fire presenting Jamie with her own pair of firefighting boots:
Missy discovering a tomato stash during a lunch forage on Young’s Hill:
Burrito:
Annie:
Annie’s hand holding some bell peppers:
Negra eating an onion on Young’s Hill:
Foxie with Dora:
