Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Boots and Grooming

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As J.B. explained a few weeks ago, Jamie has a particular need from her caregivers lately – that we put on cowboy boots and run or walk around the hill while she walks or runs on the other side of the fencing. She goes back inside the greenhouse once she is satisfied with this activity. Sometimes this is after just one lap around the hill, and sometimes it takes two, or three, or four. Once she’s back in the building, she often wants the boot that she’s been “chasing.”

Lately, though, she doesn’t want the boot immediately. Rather, she wants to sit in the greenhouse and groom the boot while the caregiver is still wearing it. This is precisely what we did this morning.

web jamie groom diana caregiver boot gh 2

 

jamie groom caregiver boot

 

And she groomed my knee for a little while too:

web Jamie groom diana caregiver knee iphone gh

I’m sure all of Jamie’s caregivers would agree that there is very little in life more gratifying than satisfying Jamie.

Getting green

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Last summer, over half of Young’s Hill was burned in the Taylor Bridge Fire. We knew that the grass and bamboo would recover, but it was hard to imagine it ever looking the same again.

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But with a little spring rain and some warm weather, the grass has come back as good as ever and we should be seeing some new bamboo shoots in the next month or two.

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The chimps used to run for cover at the first drop of rain, but lately they’ve been staying outside through some of the lighter showers. This morning, Missy, Foxie, Burrito, and Annie all ate their breakfast together in the rain. Jody, however, took her bag back to the greenhouse and dried herself off.

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The chimps love to eat spring grass. Most eat it a blade or two at a time, but Burrito stuffs handfuls in his mouth and eats it until his teeth turn green. For a guy that thinks about food nonstop, it must feel good to be completely surrounded by it.

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web Burrito eat grass green teeth YH IMG_5373

Green Day Tickets and Resident Rock Stars

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I just sent out an e-newsletter with the exciting announcement of an early Out of the Box auction item available for bidding right now – four exclusive tickets to the April 16th Green Day show in Berkeley, CA plus VIP after-show passes with a meet and greet with band members!

Big, big thanks to Adrienne and Billie Joe Armstrong for this awesome donation to kick off the auction, which is just a month away! AND for the awesome donation of a guitar signed by Green Day band members, which is featured in our online auction. Bidding for that and all other online items opens May 4th- mark your calendars! And buy your tickets for the Seattle gala today.

In honor of Green Day, here’s a photo of rock star Jamie with her purple ukulele:

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And in honor of Billie Joe specifically, who is a Burrito fan, here is Burrito in one of my favorite photos of all time – personally, I think Burrito should be on the cover Rolling Stone:

small ed Burrito arms crossed outdoor area IMG_1880

 

Young at Heart

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Missy does everything with a little extra flair. This morning, instead of walking across the bridge, she walked the tightrope.

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And while Jamie and I took a stroll around the hill, Missy spun herself in circles on the rope swing.

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When she finally decided to catch up to us, she launched herself forward on the swing. Because walking is boring.

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Later, she tried to act her age, but she wasn’t fooling anyone.

web Missy sit on shaky bridge YH IMG_1440

Taking it in

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Certain things about chimps are beyond our ability to measure, but I have no doubt that they share with us a sense of awe and wonder. Primatologists in the field have written about chimps going out of their way to stop and enjoy a sunset. We see the same thing when the chimps climb to the top of Young’s Hill and stare out at the valley below.

Jamie:

web Jamie YH view of valley below_MG_4302

Missy:

web Missy sit on log mound vast field in background look over valley YH IMG_4621

Other times we see them stop and stare up at the sky. It could be something as simple as a bird flying by or the clouds passing overhead, but it often seems like something more profound, like an effort to take in the vastness of their new world.

Burrito:

web Burrito look up sun in face clear sky YH IMG_1043

Missy:

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It’s in these moments that I have to remind myself where they came from, and to try to imagine what it must be like to still be discovering the most basic things about the world at nearly 40 years old.

 

Breakfast in the rain

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Negra was enjoying this morning’s breakfast forage on the hill:

web negra forage YH IMG_4717

But she soon found herself caught in a spring rain shower, so she headed for the greenhouse and grabbed as much food as she could along the way:

web Negra in rain YH IMG_4730

Jody and Annie took their sweet time, since they were already hanging out in the cabin:

web Jody Annie in Negra's Cabin YH rain IMG_4731

Even though the rain didn’t last very long, most of the chimps spent the day in the greenhouse, where they knew they would remain warm and dry. Burrito was kind enough to let me take some close up photos:

web Burrito reflection in eyes GH IMG_4758

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Jamie can’t sit still all day so she ventured out and made Diana walk a few laps around the perimeter of Young’s Hill with her. Every time Diana got back down to the building and thought she was done, there was Jamie waiting for her to go again. How could you say no to Jamie?

web Jamie look at camera YH IMG_4773