Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

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Grooming Party

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Grooming sessions like these often serve as a counterweight to growing tensions within the group.

One measure of how well the Cle Elum Seven are getting along is how well they shift between enclosures. For example, at times Negra might think it wiser to stay in the playroom and forego a portion of breakfast than to allow herself to be stuck in the greenhouse with a raging Burrito. Or Jody may decide that she doesn’t have the energy to deal with Jamie’s dinnertime harassment and refuse to enter the playroom for a forage. In both cases, it’s not where they’re moving to that’s the problem – it’s who their moving with.

Lately, shifting has been a little more difficult than usual. While the chimps aren’t the slightest bit concerned about rearranging our cleaning schedule (nor should they be), they do have an interest in maintaining a stable and cohesive group. So it’s not surprising to see them participating in large grooming parties like this.

We’ll see if it’s enough to get us into the greenhouse for morning cleaning tomorrow…

The spy and the acrobat

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Mornings on Young’s Hill are a flurry of activity.

The chimps leave the greenhouse after breakfast and race from structure to structure, motivated in part, I imagine, by the desire to see what changes may have occurred overnight while they slept.

The structures offer the best vantage points to spot everything from nearby wildlife to vehicles coming up the driveway.

This morning, Jody had only one thing on her mind: she immediately made a beeline to the Twister to search for the cows.

She found them resting beneath the shade of the Ponderosa pines, just beyond the fence. It looked to me like she thought back up was on its way, but she was going to have to perform her reconnaissance alone.

As the cows rose from their naps, Jody spied on them through the fire hose web.

Soon her cover was blown and she found herself facing down 6,000 pounds of curious bovines, so she retreated to the company of her chimpanzee family.

Meanwhile, Missy played the “ground is lava” game, oblivious to the drama at the top of the hill.

She followed Jamie around without setting foot on the ground…

…aided by her incredible balance, a pair of opposable big toes, and let’s just call it a low center of gravity.

While Jamie trudged through the tall grass, Missy leapt and swung above it all.

Chimps meet cows

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We finally got the summer pasture opened up yesterday and it was the first chance for a real face-to-face meeting between the chimps and the cows. Check out the video above and enjoy a few bonus photos of our beautiful cows enjoying their new digs:

Betsy:

Meredith:

Honey:

Nutmeg:

Another day in sanctuary

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Negra weighing the cost of getting out of bed versus the benefit of eating breakfast:

Foxie’s first stroll around the hill:

Negra got plenty of sun today:

Annie preferred the shade:

Jody bringing her lunch forage haul back to the greenhouse:

Annie blowin’ in the wind:

Jamie dissecting a cucumber. Why do the humans keep leaving the peels on?

Jody laying down to eat while watching the rest of her family forage on the hill:

Beyond Love

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Burrito loves food, but there are times when love doesn’t adequately describe their relationship.

With hands full and mouth stuffed, he retreats,

to a quiet, still place.

In these moments, he looks heavenward in a state of transcendence,

and with each bite slips further the surly bonds of earth and time.

Suffering and desire cease to exist. The boundaries of self begin to dissolve.

In these moments, there is only one thing. There is only food.

Unfortunately, every meal has to come to an end.