Nesting

Small Moments

May 26, 2021 by Kelsi

Throughout the day I catch small moments of the chimps interacting with each other, with humans, or just by themselves that just make me smile. Sometimes the moments are just a split second, but they always make my heart burst with joy. I thought I would share a few from yesterday and today.

This morning as we cleaned the front rooms, Foxie tossed her strawberry shortcake doll to me by the Playroom. We played chase from front room 1 to the playroom. When Foxie was running she was doing a bunny hop with her back feet. That one always gets me :).

Yesterday, I found Willy B laying on a big comfy blanket. I sat down and we scrolled through some photos on my phone.

Jamie this afternoon was being groomed by Missy and Jody. Because Jamie seeks out humans so often I love seeing her with chimp friends.

Yesterday, Missy came down from the loft in the playroom and began gesturing to something. I looked over and all I saw were some magazines. I offered one to her not thinking she really wanted it, but to my surprise she took the magazine and gestured for the one next to it. Once she had both magazines she climbed back up to the loft to make a nest.

We put out a pre-lunch lettuce forage on Young’s Hill today. I found Negra and Burrito playing right before I let the chimps back on the Hill. They even had a stuffed animal in their mouth playing tug-a-war.

While I was doing a chimp count for some checks ealier. I found Jamie in a nest fast asleep.

While Jamie napped in the loft, I also spotted Jody grooming a very sleepy Negra.

Burrito is often found on this barrel playing by himself, spying on the neighbors, or occasionally getting someone to play with him. This morning he started off playing by himself, but Foxie joined him a little later. Foxie would knock on the barrel while Burrito spun around on top. They were grabbing each others toes and laughing.

I hope you enjoyed these small moments. Please enjoy some bonus photos!

Jody collecting foliage this morning.

Annie walking in the tall green grass.

Negra enjoying some lettuce.

Jamie with handfuls of lettuce.

Foxie

Get up and Play!

March 3, 2021 by Kelsi

Most mornings are notorious for some sweet greetings, kisses, sleepy chimps not quite ready to get out of bed, and goofy play sessions. It’s often you will find Negra nestled in her nest with blankets still over her. While you can hear Missy and Annie lightly thumping around upstairs grabbing each other’s toes and laughing. Burrito if he is not already playing with Jody or someone, will insist on playing right away! Jody gives you a gentle kiss or asks for a knuckle rub. Foxie tosses you her doll. I tend to find the three as morning people. By the time we unlock their side of the building they are already out of their nests and ready to go, waiting for us to greet them. Honey B, Willy B, and yes Mave too are eager to play most mornings. Though I don’t want to give you the wrong idea, there are a lot of mornings that are not calm and sweet like what I just described above. However, there are many quiet moments you can catch in the morning before all the hustle and bustle starts. This morning had many of those moments I described, including Mave and Willy B having a great morning play session. They actually started upstairs before I had even unlocked the phase one side. I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch it on camera in time, but I also expected Willy B would get distracted and stop playing all together. I couldn’t ruin a good time, so I decided to not disturb them. When they came, downstairs and kept playing, I slyly tried to film them. Chimp laughter might be one of my favorite sounds in the world. If you haven’t watched the video yet, make sure your volume is on!

I wasn’t able to snap a lot of photos today. I was able to capture Mave eating her night bag and a glamour shot of Honey B!

Personality Anecdotes

December 12, 2020 by Diana

As you may well know, this sanctuary is chock full of personalities, and the more you get to know the chimpanzees and cattle, the more you appreciate each individual’s many sides.

First, I want to say how incredibly thankful we are for the donations that have been coming in for our year-end fundraising. At this moment we are 35% towards our goal!

Each and every donation is even more meaningful to us this year, and we are so appreciative of all of your support as we work towards the day when we will be telling you all about the personalities of the new six chimpanzees who we hope will be coming from Wildlife Waystation in 2021!

On with the show—

Personality exhibit #1: Betsy

Every once in a while when we go to hang out with the cattle, we discover Betsy has mud caked on all over her face. Our best guess is she dips her head into the soft banks of the creek on purpose. She’s the only one of the four who does this. She seems quite content with the mud, so maybe she’s on to some sort of mountain mud facial.

Personality exhibit #2: Jamie

Today Jamie decided to use the “foot box” as her own personal boot box.

She stored her boots in there for about a half hour, until she was ready to move to another part of the building, boots in hand.

Personality exhibit #3: Negra

Negra is continuing to construct over-the-top, really quite outrageous blanket nests. The photo below is the last view I had of her this evening before turning the lights out.

Looking at that photo above, and learning that Negra often pouts her lips through the caging to kiss her caregivers’ hands generally elicits the impression that Negra is a very sweet chimpanzee.

I’m not going to say that she’s not sweet; she certainly can be, but her personality really is more sharp than saccharine.

As we’ve mentioned before, she has a bit of a mafia boss relationship with Missy in particular. I witnessed this aspect of their relationship yesterday.

The chimpanzees were finishing up their breakfast and I was lucky enough to walk by the front rooms just at the right moment to see Missy attempting to pass Negra while carrying several pieces of primate chow. Negra whimpered and held out her hand. Missy paused just for a second and then proceeded to put all of the chow into Negra’s outstretched hand.

Now, if you didn’t know their individual personalities and just witnessed this moment, you might understandably surmise that Missy was being nice to Negra and her hand off was a moment of altruism. But, Missy also wouldn’t generally be described as “sweet” by those who know her well. Don’t get me wrong, she and Negra have very sweet moments together:

but Missy is a very politically shrewd chimpanzee.

Missy likes primate chow, but she doesn’t love it. So it’s not a bad deal for her to give up something that she may consider low value as a “pay off” to keep in good standing with Queen Negra. I would probably do the same thing myself.

Fort Honey B

October 3, 2020 by Kelsi

Honey B likes to build nests with blankets, toys, paper and boxes. We discovered yesterday that Honey B builds forts. Earlier this week, caregiver Anna and I found a broken down box that we put out for enrichment. As we cleaned the Mezzanine, we noticed the box wasn’t just in the nest as nesting material, but setup almost like a barricade (no photo was taken). Fast forward to yesterday, when we set out more boxes, not really thinking they would actually build a fort. Anna and I were almost done with the day, just finishing up our last checks, when Anna called me on the radio to come look.

It was magnificent! A perfectly circled box fort, with a built in green bench to complete the fort! It looked almost too perfect. We actually had to text our volunteer Lisa to ask if she had set it up. With her confirmation that she did not make the fort, Anna and I could say with confidence that this was Honey B.

I mean, just look at the craftsmanship!

While Honey B built her walls, there were walls being built outside her window this week. The expansion is really coming along!

For Honey B, boxes can be used for other things. This morning, as Anna served the three breakfast, Honey B really wanted to drink some juice that was meant for Mave. In an effort to get the cup off the table, she slyly pushed her flattened box out to its full extent. We couldn’t say no to such a clever attempt, so of course Honey B got to drink some juice as well.

We just absolutely love Honey B. Life is never boring with her by your side 🙂

The blanket shredder strikes again!

October 2, 2020 by Anna

As we welcome Autumn to the sanctuary, we also welcome the days of cozy nests. Negra in particular is usually found on top of a mountain of fabric, with a nice big blanket pulled all the way up to her chin.

And then there’s Jody… Jody loves a big nest… but she also loves to alter hers in a certain way.

You might notice how Jody’s “shred until comfortable” nesting technique interferes a bit with Negra’s “big blankets are best” nesting technique. This shredding behavior really came to a head last year and Kelsi had to put out a call for blankets to refresh our supply. Well that time has come again, we need more blankets!

This time around, we are on the hunt for some heavier duty blankets that are still easy to wash/dry but are less easy to tear in half (in addition to our usual polar fleece blankets). We think some thicker faux minky type blankets might be what we’re looking for. We need thick blankets with a solid strong edge seam! Check out our Amazon Wishlist for some of the blankets we’ve added so we can keep all the chimps as cozy as can be this year.

Jamie:

Burrito:

Annie:

Willy B:

Mave:

Honey B:

Missy:

The Perfect Nest

July 10, 2020 by J.B.

Each chimpanzee makes a nest in their own unique way. In fact, I bet most chimpanzee caregivers could name the chimp if someone simply described how they make a nest at night. Here at CSNW, we’ve got Jody, who gathers up as many blankets as possible, throws them over her shoulder and drops half of them in a doorway as she searches for the right bench to sleep on. And Burrito, who throws a single blanket over his shoulder on his way to bed like he is carrying a towel to the swimming pool. And Honey B, who wraps herself up like a to-go burrito. All ten of of the chimps here have a particular style and a ritual when it comes to nest-making. As do most humans, I would assume.

Here are a few bonus photos of Foxie from this morning.

To Know Honey B

July 1, 2020 by Kelsi

Be loud. Be proud. Be different. Honey B might be a great example of this. Every chimp is unique. They have different preferences, needs, and wants.

Honey B is unlike anyone I have ever met. She is a goof, but she also needs you to take her seriously. She knows what she likes, but is curious to try most new things. She is curious but questions everything. She is always up to something which keeps us on our toes. She is funny and knows it. She seems comfortable with who she is. Honey B has a certain level of intensity that pulls you in or better yet draws you in. I am constantly mesmerized by her. Sometimes it’s because she creatively used enrichment, often it’s because we just played a crazy game of chase that turned into her making up new moves, I actually have a very hard time not laughing out loud when she does something crazy awesome, and other times it’s the intensity of her grooming you. When she grooms you, you are the only one in the room. Honey B is a loyal friend to have, however, Honey B also knows how to stir the pot and then watch the chaos unfold. Also, we can’t forget her incredible fashion sense! Everyday with Honey B is an adventure and life with her is never dull day.

Honey B playing upside down.