Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Missy

Grab bag Tuesday

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The chimpanzees are ultra low-key today. They have all spent the day relaxing this warm summer day and most everyone has been tucked away in their nests or out exploring Young’s Hill. On these kind of days it can be tough work for the paparazzi to get any photos, so one has to loiter in the hopes of getting anything. But eventually a few of the ladies were willing to oblige.

Jody, enjoying a relaxing moment in the greenhouse.

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Foxie was having fun running back and forth from the spigot to me with mouthfuls of water and getting pretty excited about me anticipating being spat upon (as is evidenced by her hair being pilo-erect). This is a favorite game of hers and though she didn’t spit any at me she does a pretty good job making you think she might. Which is, I’m sure, half the fun.

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And the beautiful Missy.

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Happy Birthday, Rachel!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Rachel Ruggeri! Rachel recently sponsored a day of sanctuary in memory of her father, Robert. And today she generously chose to celebrate her own special day with the chimps and sends this message: “It is my birthday and since the chimps sent me a card, I want to send something to them!”

Rachel, it means so much to us that you have chosen to mark these special days in your life by making the chimpanzees’ lives better. And it means the world to them. All of the primates here at CSNW wish you the happiest of birthdays and hope your day is filled with all the love, compassion and joy you share with others!

Missy:

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An afternoon in the greenhouse

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Grooming is an important part of chimpanzee culture and whether in the wild or captivity, chimpanzees spend a lot of their time engaged in this behavior. If you think about it, so do we humans! Chimpanzees will groom each other or themselves to remove dirt and debris, attend to wounds, during times of relaxation, and most importantly to build and maintain bonds with one another. Grooming is key to social interactions and is often used by chimpanzees to gain support and remain in good standing not only in the community, but with higher ranking chimps.

The chimp house was very quiet this afternoon before lunch so I went to check on everyone and found several people grooming Jamie, as she basked in her role as the boss lady. (Clockwise: Jamie, Burrito, Foxie and Jody):

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Jamie being groomed by Burrito in background:

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Jody appointed herself the paparazzi police and immediately positioned herself next to me, at the ready to poke the camera should I continue to take photos of the boss. Though she eventually decided it was more fun to play a game of tickle (a rare Jody happening!):

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Lunch service arrived and after a lot of excitement everyone headed up to the top of the greenhouse. (L to R) Foxie, Annie, Jamie, Negra (barely visible in between the blue chairs) and Jody:

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Each of the chimpanzees has their way of attempting to gain the server’s attention, especially when they see something they really want (or want more of). Because Jamie is the most dominant in the hierarchy we typically offer things to her first. And she has no problem gesturing if she wants us to serve something other than what’s being offered at the moment for something she prefers on the tray. She will also let us know if there is a particular piece, or color, of fruit or vegetable she wants. For example, she will ask for red peppers over green if she sees them in the bowl and she refuses carrots that aren’t peeled. She will even gesture for us to return any offending carrots to the kitchen for peeling.

Foxie blows incessantly loud raspberries, Negra claps and sometimes clacks her teeth on the caging, Annie blows raspberries and stomps her feet, Missy shakes her head vigorously, and Jody just positions herself in front of the server. If someone is being served something she wants more of, she will just move in front of them or reach across to take it from the less dominant chimps. (This is all part of a normal chimp hierarchical society.) And then there’s Burrito who shakes, rattles and rolls, with a soundtrack of raspberries for pretty much everything on the menu. Just so we don’t forget he’s there…

Annie above and Burrito below (hair standing on end with excitement):

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Missy pulls up a chair for her lunch:

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On the other side of the caging was their server today, Whitney, one of our volunteer caregivers extraordinaire, getting a workout. Chimpanzees make for a rowdy lunch crowd.

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Burrito:

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Foxie decided to eat her lunch with me and made her way back to me with each serving to sit in the sun as I took photos next to her.

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First course: tomatoes!

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Back again with the second course: green peppers!

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And finishing up the meal with primate chow in to-go bags:

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Burrito, very pilo (hair on end), is often high arousal during mealtimes. Food is just very exciting if you’re Mr. B:

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Jamie headed back inside with her chow to make an lunch nest:

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You are the tomato of my eye

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To say that Missy loves tomatoes is an understatement. When she sees them offered at a meal she shakes her head vigorously, hold out her hand and follows the server relentlessly. She has no problem inserting herself in front of anyone lower in the hierarchy to make sure she receives the maximum amount possible.

Missy, and all the chimpanzees, have been watching their garden grow with increasingly impatience. Missy is very focused on the cherry tomatoes planted right outside one of the playroom windows and they are just starting to ripen. And I know this because Missy wasted no time in letting me know. When she saw me today she immediately ran to the window by the tomatoes, swung back and forth from the caging in excitement, and occasionally looked over her shoulder at me and gestured toward the tomatoes.

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Then when it seemed I was a little slow to catch her drift (humans!), she threw herself onto the caging and shook it with all her might:

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Here she throws me an outstretched arm to further plead her case:

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The chimpanzees’ garden helps supplement the wonderful food donations we receive, but it also provides visual and edible enrichment for the chimpanzees. It’s a wonderful thing for them to look forward to and to be able to request something they see, freshly ripened and still warm from the sun. Thanks largely to volunteer caregiver, Denice, the chimps’ garden is really taking off. This year it’s full of onions, scallions, beets, cherry tomatoes, and carrots to name a few.

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But for Missy, her eye is on these little guys:

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Of course, it didn’t take long for boss lady, Jamie, and everyone else to catch on so staff caregiver, Anna, served up a mid-afternoon garden snack. Here Anna serves Burrito a cherry tomato as Jamie looks on:

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Burrito was very anxious for a green onion, but with Jamie lurking next to him, he was reluctant to take it before receiving the green light from her. So he sat very, very still, hair standing on end (pilo-erect) and waited patiently for her to pass by before taking it from Anna:

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Eventually, the boss gave her OK, but let him know she was watching. Here you can see her hovering over him as he munches his onion:

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Annie loves, loves, loves green onions:

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Missy:

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Jamie keeping a very close eye on Anna, making sure she is serving things correctly during her training:

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I love that the chimpanzees have so many things to look forward to with each passing season.

Foraging Strategies

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There was quite a bit of excitement around today’s forage on Young’s Hill. I mean, who wouldn’t be excited about raw kale, tomatoes, lemon wedges, carrots and primate chow? Once they saw what was on the menu, all seven chimpanzees headed out to the Greenhouse and anxiously awaited for us to open the door to give them access to the hill. As soon as I opened the door, Jamie lead the way. But, it was Foxie who stayed out the longest.

There seems to be a variety of strategies these chimps use to forage, as you will see in the photos below. Some of the chimps will eat the food items as they find them, while others seem to prefer to gather as much as they can before heading back to the Greenhouse to feast. Take Jody, for instance. Today she gathered so much food in her mouth and both of her hands that she has to walk upright (bipedally) in order to hold onto everything as she made her way back to the Greenhouse. And Missy went for the food items that were up high (on top of the various structures). And then there is Foxie, who took her time eating each piece of food as she found it.

Annie
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Burrito
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Foxie
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Jamie’s strategy was to put all her lemon wedges in her mouth in order to keep her hands free.
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Jody
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Look at her cheeks; they are completely full!
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Missy
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Negra
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Christmas in July

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The day after a big party can sometimes be pretty mellow as the chimpanzees “recover” from all the excitement that comes with celebrating a birthday or holiday. But, thanks to Jeani Goodrich (who sponsored today in honor of her family) and her friend Tora, today was filled with more excitement as the chimps celebrated “Christmas in July.”

Celebrating Christmas in July is similar to celebrating Christmas in December. Stockings were hung, presents were wrapped and a lot of red and green streamers, decorations and blankets were spread throughout the enclosures. We also made sure to include foods that kept with the red and green holiday colors. Green onions, tomatoes, red peppers, brussel sprouts, kale and radishes were spread out in the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill for the chimps to forage at lunch.

The party setup in the Greenhouse just before the chimps entered.
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Annie went straight for the presents before taking her cup of ice out to Young’s Hill to forage for more food.
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Burrito doing what he does best…eating.
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Foxie enjoyed her cup of ice (a good substitute for egg nog when it’s 90 degrees outside).
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Jamie took her cup of ice to the windowsill.
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Jody, wearing her festive sock, searched through the various Christmas enrichment items.
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Missy searched through most of the Christmas stockings.
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Negra dined on peppers, tomatoes and green onions before grabbing her cup of ice.
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Negra braves the heat

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It’s difficult to catch Missy in an action shot because she moves so fast.

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It’s even harder to catch Negra in an action shot because…well, she’s just not very active. But even temperatures in the high 90’s couldn’t stop Negra from parkouring her way through Young’s Hill, troll in hand, to grab some broccoli and cauliflower during today’s lunch forage.

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Foxie has been holding on to a new troll with its purple hair still intact. She treasures these while they last (Jamie and Jody usually rip the hair out).

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Speaking of hair, a lot of people have trouble telling Annie and Foxie apart, so here’s a good side-by-side shot to help you out. Annie looks like someone just rubbed a balloon on her head. Not unlike a troll doll, come to think of it.

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And Burrito has been showing off a bit more of his physique, thanks to his recent exam. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t build muscle on a diet of fruits and vegetables. Your results may vary, however, unless you also stick to Burrito’s daily workout routine that includes leaping, swinging, and banging on everything in sight as you terrify everyone around you in a formidable dominance display and then running for your life as six angry girls chase after you.

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