Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Missy

St. Patrick’s Day 2015

by

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As Katelyn mentioned in the sponsor-a-day post this morning, we love to find any reason to throw a party for the chimpanzees. So today we filled little shamrock cups with almond milk which was dyed green with food coloring, as well as their usual fruit smoothie which we also dyed green. We picked green apples and kiwis for the breakfast forage—and threw in some oranges because the chimps love them! Add some streamers and St. Patty’s day decor, and you have the perfect recipe for a great party!

Everyone loved the drinks. We added little straws to the cups, and some chimps used them while others tossed them aside while they licked the cups clean! Foxie was especially great at getting every last drop:

web_foxie_tongue_drink_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9809

web_foxie_tongue_drink_st_patrick's_day_gh_ek_IMG_9811

And Missy, too:

web_missy_get_last_drop_drink_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9756

web_missy_drink_use_straw_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9769

Negra delicately drank from the little shamrock glasses:

web_negra_sip_drink_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_dg_IMG_5673

Burrito had filled his hands with chow so he had no choice but to lean over and use the straw for sipping:

web_burrito_sip_drink_handful_of_chow_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9777

web_burrito_drink_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9790

Annie also enjoyed every last drop of the drinks:

web_annie_drink_smoothie_straw_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9719

web_annie_straw_in_mouth_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9720

Of course, the fruit was a big hit! Jody was so motivated to get some that she took on some unusual (for her) acrobatic moves to get to the high windows to get a snack.

web_jody_awkward_swing_window_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9746

web_jody_awkward_climb_window_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9747

web_jody_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9763

web_jody_forage_fruit_cup_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9727

web_jody_eat_orange_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9767

Negra:

web_negra_forage_fruit_cup_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_dg_IMG_9706

web_negra_eat_chow_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9711

Burrito:

web_burrito_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9779

web_burrito_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9734

web_burrito_eat_chow_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9798

Missy:

web_missy_carry_fruit_cup_in_mouth_climb_up_platform_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9709

We also hid some peanuts in little green boxes. Annie was the first to find them:

web_annie_eat_peanut_forage_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_ek_IMG_9783

Burrito:

web_burrito_open_forage_box_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_dg_IMG_5675

Missy:

web_missy_open_forage_box_st_patrick's_day_party_gh_dg_IMG_5658

Jamie, quite uncharacteristically, was not the center of everything during this party! She grabbed a stash of food and drinks and stationed herself in a corner where we couldn’t get any photos of her. But she certainly enjoyed the forage, and we saw her still searching around for leftovers hours later!

Thank you, Erin!

by

Today’s day of sanctuary for St. Patrick’s Day was sponsored by long time friend of the chimps, Erin McKenna! Such a fun day to sponsor!

If you’ve been a follower of the blog for very long you’ve probably noticed that we never pass up an opportunity to throw the chimpanzees a party. While this is fun for the chimpanzees and humans alike, it’s an important way to enrich the chimpanzees’ lives and provide them with variety and excitement to help alleviate the inevitable bouts of boredom that come with a life in captivity.

Party food forages help encourage the chimps’ natural foraging behaviors, something they would spend the majority of their day doing if they lived in the wild. Chimp safe decorations like paper streamers provide a fun wadging material for another common chimp practice. And who of us doesn’t just get excited when you see new and interesting things or favorite treats to eat?

Erin, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees and enriching their day and their lives with your compassion and generosity! Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

Missy enjoying a past St. Paddy’s day celebration:

web Missy (not real) playface cup juice party st. patrick's day PR IMG_4921

 

 

Time, Energy and Thought

by

A lot of time, energy and thought go into building and maintaining friendships. Usually, there is an undeniable connection when first meeting one another; a sort of intrigue about what the other is all about. As time goes on and more energy is put into the relationship, more and more details of each individual are realized and a deeper connection forms. And the bond grows stronger, as one another figures out what makes the other tick. These lasting friendships help shape our lives.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to build friendships with the Cle Elum 7. Some of the friendships are low key, like with Annie, Jody, and Negra. Usually a morning greeting (consisting mostly of some head nodding and an arm extended toward the chimps) will suffice. One friendship demands more play time than the others, including chase and tug-of-war. This is often the case with Burrito. Foxie expects me to take care of her troll and dora dolls when she passes them through the cage to me. There is also the expectation that I will pass them back to her too. Quiet grooming sessions with Missy help maintain our friendship. Without a doubt, there is one friendship that takes the most time, effort and thought. Jamie demands me to be her friend; demands me to put on that boot (or boots) and take countless walks around Young’s Hill with her. She also demands that I sit with her afterwards with the boot so she can groom it.

As a caregiver, I want what is best for each of these chimpanzees. I don’t mind the expectations, demands or work that these friendships take. I truly love to see them happy and I want what is best for them, as I would for any friend. Just a few days ago, I couldn’t help but notice the sweet smell of violets in the air as I was working in my yard. Instantly, the chimpanzees popped into my head; flowers are great enrichment for them. These chimpanzees like to eat lilacs, nasturtiums, grape leaves and violets to name a few. So, I picked what violet flowers we had and put them out as part of a forage this morning along with lettuce and today’s enrichment, which was enrichment-in-boxes day. Thinking that the flowers are the first flowers of the season, I thought the chimps would be excited.

I guess I was right, if you count them eating all of the lettuce first, followed by going through all of the boxes of enrichment, then going out into the greenhouse and then spending time on Young’s Hill before coming back in to snack on a few flowers. At least they liked two out of the three!

Here’s a photo of the lettuce and violet forage.

web_Violet_lettuce_forage_setup_PR_kh_IMG_9381

Negra was most interested in the lettuce, while Annie checked out the contents of the box.

web_Negra_Annie_enrichment_forage_PR_kh_IMG_9387

Missy was more interested in the contents of the boxes of enrichment than anything else.

web_Missy_climb_barrel_box_enrichment_PR_kh_IMG_9388

web_Missy_climb_barrel_box_enrichment_PR_kh_IMG_9389

web_Missy_climb_barrel_open_box_enrichment_PR_kh_IMG_9390

web_Missy_climb_open_barrel_box_enrichment_PR_kh_IMG_9391

Can you spot the flying sock?

web_Missy_sit_barrel_open_box_enrichment_throw_sock_PR_kh_IMG_9393

web_Missy_play_face_sit_barrel_open_box_enrichment_PR_kh_IMG_9394

And Jamie was most interested in the boxes themselves.

web_Jamie_lick_box_enrichment_sit_floor_PR_kh_IMG_9423

web_Jamie_lick_box_enrichment_sit_floor_PR_kh_IMG_9424

web_Jamie_lick_box_enrichment_sit_floor_PR_kh_IMG_9426

Annie was content to sit on the floor and drink from the fountain after checking out a few of the boxes.

web_Annie_sit_floor_look_at_violet_flowers_PR_kh_IMG_9404

web_Annie_drink_wall_mount_PR_kh_IMG_9408

web_Annie_check_out_box_enrichment_Negra_sit_floor_PR_kh_IMG_9399

I’m forever grateful to call these chimpanzees my friends.

Happy Birthday, Vicki!

by

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Vicki Hadley! Today happens to be Vicki’s birthday and as a gift to herself, she chose to make a difference in the chimpanzees’ lives.

We are profoundly grateful that the chimpanzees are surrounded by so much love. It is an immense gift for them to be happy, healthy, and safe in their sanctuary home. Vicki, thank you so much for celebrating your special day with so much compassion and generosity! From all of us at CSNW, we wish you the best birthday yet and hope it’s full of all the people and things you love most!

Missy getting to do one of the things she loves most:

web_Missy_run_right_YH_jb_IMG_4566

web_Missy_swing_fire_hose_YH_jb_IMG_4568

web_Missy_run_left_YH_jb_IMG_4564

web_Missy_look_at_camera_tall_grass_YH_jb_IMG_4167

Thinking inside the box

by

Last night, volunteers, interns, and primate behavior students from Central Washington University got together to make some enrichment for the chimps. Their club is Primate Awareness Network—if you’ve been following the blog for awhile, that might sound a little familiar to you—they’ve hosted talks by CSNW staff during their annual spring speaker series several times.

We are so appreciative that they spent some time putting together boxes for the chimps, with nuts hidden in paper inside. The chimps seemed to enjoy their fun forage!


Annie:

web_annie_forage_but_pr_dm_IMG_9135

web_annie_forage_tissue_paper_flower_pr_dm_IMG_9166


Jamie:

web_jamie_open_box_forage_nuts_pr_dm_IMG_9154

web_jamie_open_box_forage_nuts_pr_dm_IMG_9143

web_jamie_eat_nut_box_forage_pr_dm_IMG_9170


Jody:

web_jody_forage_nut_in_box_pr_dm_IMG_9117


Negra:

web_negra_forage_nut_in_tissue_paper_pr_dm_IMG_9131


After Missy went through a couple of boxes, she surveyed the situation to see if anything else was up for grabs:

web_missy_qp_stand_look_down_pr_dm_IMG_9178

web_missy_qp_stand_relaxed_face_pr_dm_IMG_9181

Snacking on Bamboo

by

Caregiver Katelyn walked around Young’s Hill with Jamie and Burrito this afternoon, when her and the chimpanzees stopped to look toward the loud cracking sound made further down the hill. Katelyn soon spotted Missy breaking off a branch of bamboo and running back toward the Greenhouse with it in her mouth. Once inside, she broke off a small piece, put it in her mouth and dropped the rest of the branch on the deck. Then she ran inside to the Front Room area. As she ran inside, her dear friend Annie quickly climbed down from the top platform and snatched the bamboo. She brought it back up to the top of the platform and quickly began munching on the leaves. Missy, in the meantime, came running out from the Front Room area without her bamboo. She was able to grab a few small pieces of the original branch that had fallen off and climbed to the top of the platform to join Annie in feasting on the treat.

The area of Young’s Hill where Missy harvested bamboo.
web_Youngs_Hill_bamboo_kh_IMG_9110

Annie with the bamboo that Missy brought in from Young’s Hill.
web_Annie_carry_bamboo_to_top_platform_GH_kh_IMG_9088

web_Annie_bamboo_in_hand_platform_GH_kh_IMG_9087

web_Annie_hold_bamboo_top_platform_GH_kh_IMG_9076

web_Annie_eat_bamboo_platform_GH_kh_IMG_9104

Missy with her pieces of bamboo after she ran back out to the Greenhouse from the Front Rooms.
web_Missy_bamboo_in_mouth_GH_kh_IMG_9082

web_Missy_bamboo_in_mouth_walk_platform_GH_kh_IMG_9086

web_Missy_eat_bamboo_platform_GH_kh_IMG_9091

What is the best way to eat bamboo? With your best friend, of course!

To Each Her Own

by

Missy and Negra are good friends, but they are opposites in a lot of ways. Missy is petite and athletic; Negra is large and round. Missy is always on the move; Negra is usually napping under a blanket. Missy is social and outgoing; Negra likes her alone time.

Today after lunch Missy headed outside to Young’s Hill for some sprints (Jamie in the background):

web_Missy_run_Jamie_walk_in_background_YH_ek_IMG_8961

and some time with best friend Annie:

web_Missy_Annie_sit_on_log_bridge_YH_ek_IMG_8982

At the same time, Negra took advantage of the warm, quiet playroom for an afternoon siesta:

web_Negra_sleep_blanket_nest_poncho_catwalk_PR_ek_IMG_8998

web_Negra_sleep_blanket_nest_poncho_catwalk_PR_ek_IMG_9000

It brings us so much joy to be able to give these chimps the space and freedom to make their own choices, do what they like, and be who they are.