Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Yawning

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It’s been a very quiet day here at the sanctuary. Lots of napping and grooming, with the occasional break to go outside and get snow.

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Negra is a pro at napping. She tried to groom with Missy for a while but it apparently wasn’t exciting enough to keep her awake, and she started yawning.

web Negra yawn PR IMG_2264

I’m sure you’ve experienced contagious yawning before. Chimpanzees experience the same thing. In fact, the humans and chimps at CSNW “catch” yawns from each other all the time. I have been yawning nonstop for the last ten minutes as I’ve been working on this blog post.

The jury is still out on the function of yawning, but some scientists believe that yawning is contagious in some animals because it facilitates the synchronization of activities, particularly the transition between activity to rest.  One study showed that chimpanzees “catch” yawns more often from males than from females. Why would this be the case? According to the authors, we should expect the group to synchronize with male behavior more than females because males are the dominant sex.

web Negra yawn PR IMG_2265

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In any case, I hope you all feel better now that you’ve had a good yawn.

Deep snow

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You may have noticed a lack of Young’s Hill photos and videos over the last month or so. That’s because when the snow gets so deep, it reduces the voltage of the electric fence, making it unsafe to allow the chimpanzees out there. Well, yesterday, J.B., Sarah and I (mostly J.B.) all went out and shoveled around the entire perimeter of the fence (who needs a gym membership?), freeing up those bottom wires covered in snow so that the voltage was sufficient to let the chimps back out! It was very hard work, but the chimps were so excited that it was well worth it! There were lots of hugs and kisses in the chimp house (between the chimps 😉 ) and breathy pants echoed in the greenhouse. Sometimes our job isn’t glamorous but it is certainly rewarding, especially when you see a face like the one below (Jody’s).

Jody was the first one to go back out. She was food grunting (we had lettuce out there, plus look at all that snow!) and had a huge playface!
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow IMG_2195

Annie used Jody’s head for support as she passed her on the log bridge. Jody didn’t seem to mind.
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow Annie arm on head pass on log bridge IMG_2196

Look at the joy in her eyes!
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow IMG_2197

The snow was really deep, so J.B. and Diana shoveled paths along the log bridge to the first climbing structure and to Negra’s cabin. Most folks just walked along the paths, but Missy chose to walk on the fire hose.
web Missy walk on fire hose log bridge snow YH IMG_2204

web Missy walk on fire hose look back snow log bridge YH IMG_2203

From left to right, Jamie, Missy, Annie and Jody, enjoying the lettuce forage on top of the first climbing structure.
web Jamie Missy Annie Jody sit on climbing structure eat lettuce forage snow YH IMG_2211

Did I mention the snow was (is) deep? Foxie walked along the paths but she looked so tiny from our vantage point (tinier than she already is, even!).
web Foxie walk through deep snow shoveled path YH IMG_2212

Annie figured walking bipedally made more sense. Gotta say, I agree!
web Annie walk through deep snow bipedal mouthful snow YH IMG_2213

While everyone else foraged for lettuce, Annie climbed up to the top of Negra’s cabin a couple of times.
web Annie sit on top of negra's cabin snow YH IMG_2217

And Missy discovered a TON of lettuce Sarah put in the cabin!
web Missy handful lettuce forage negra's cabin follow annie deep snow YH IMG_2223

I think she was pretty pleased!
web Missy handful of lettuce almost smile walk through deep snow forage YH IMG_2224

web Missy handful lettuce walk on log snow YH IMG_2226

All of the chimps went out at some point, though Negra didn’t leave the comfort of the raceway (and only so she could grab some lettuce and snow) and Burrito was only out for a couple of minutes (also just to grab a little bit of lettuce and snow) and didn’t venture out very far, but everyone seemed very happy to have the option of the hill back! And that’s what sanctuary is all about.

Annie following Missy back to the greenhouse:
web Annie walk along log bridge snow YH IMG_2231

Some good news + cute Foxie

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If you aren’t subscribed to the Take Action newsletter through Eyes on Apes, you may not have seen yet that we’ve had a victory! Two days ago I sent out an action alert regarding a Great Clips commercial with a chimpanzee, and just a day later Great Clips made a statement to pledge not to use apes in future advertising, and said they were working on pulling the ad. This is all thanks to letters from you guys, so congrats! Please forward this victory on to friends and get them to join you in speaking up for apes in need.

As if that good news wasn’t enough happiness for the day, I thought I’d share some pictures of Foxie eating some snow with juice added to it. She’s pretty cute. I think she can put a smile on anyone’s face.

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Team Burrito Wins

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Burrito is sending a great big thank you to everyone who donated towards Team Burrito! He is now officially the Team Chimp winner, and aptly so with his 30th birthday happening tomorrow. We received 17 donations or pledges yesterday, totaling $1,200. One generous donation was “from” a dog named after a chimpanzee! I know I’ve said this before, but the Cle Elum Seven have the very best supporters. Burrito has quite a few admirers, and if you’re not yet one of them, below are some photos from over the years which will surely win you over. A big thank you to all who participated in the Team Chimp fundraising, making every one of the chimpanzees winners.

web burrito popper toy cute funny playroom PR _MG_5864 web burrito missy playface close up cute greenhouse gh IMG_6951 Burrito with peas web burrito popper toy cute funny poke playroom PR _MG_5881 web Burrito sit arms crossed cute framed by ladder gh IMG_8975 web Burrito cute face hold coconut birthday party playroom IMG_0022 burrito biting log Burrito eating snow web Burrito cute toy outdoor area greenhouse DSC_0804 burrito-cute-with-chow burrito hugging coconut web Burrito cute face greenhouse outdoor area IMG_0839

burrtio end of plank web Burrito Annie hug Negra foreground youngs hill release day first time yh DSC_0740 Burrito in the distance young's hill web Burrito eat snow Young's Hill YH IMG_0125 web Burrito sit in Negra's cabin blanket hold chow look at camera Young's Hill YH IMG_9701web Burrito platform on back Foxie Jamie YH IMG_0868 web Burrito sit on beam YH IMG_8894 burrito eating grass web Burrito sun in face YH IMG_1042 web Burrito stand on log YH IMG_8414

Burrito in box close-up web Burrito close-up greenhouse GH IMG_3639

Team Burrito

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Although the Team Chimp fundraising was set to end on December 31st, we’re still getting donations (thank you, everyone!) so I wanted to set one last goal and see if we can reach it by Burrito’s 30th birthday this Sunday.

Team Burrito is just $355 away from winning the contest – let’s get him there! A donation of $65 will pay for his heart medication for one month. So, the initial goal is to raise $355 so Team Burrito can win the contest by his birthday, and the stretch goal is to have enough donations to pay for his medication for one year – $780 total. I’m going to start by pledging $30 in honor of his 30th birthday. Will you consider making a $30 or a $65 donation for Mr. B? I will update this page in the comments section as donations come in; feel free to leave your birthday message for Burrito there too!

How can you resist when you  look at the photo below? This is the photo for January in the 2013 calendar, so many of you have it hanging by you right now:

Burrito - January calendar photo

Happy Birthday, Tracy Headley!

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Today was sponsored by Elizabeth Porter as a gift to her daughter, Tracy Headley. Tracy is a fan of Foxie, so I found a few photos of Foxie to go with the blog post.

Tracy will be happy to know that Foxie had a really great day today. I put a big bucket of snow in one of the front rooms and Foxie snacked from the bucket all afternoon (troll dolls in hand, of course). At one point, Foxie noticed that the cover of the television was partially removed. When I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie and moved toward the t.v., Foxie became really excited. So I put in a dvd that included some Dora the Explorer episodes. She was so immersed in the cartoons, that she barely noticed lunch being served by volunteer caregiver Connie. Foxie also played chase with Jamie and Missy.

All in all, I’d say Foxie had a great day. We hope you did too, Tracy! Thank you and your mom for being such great supporters of Foxie and her friends. Happy Birthday!
foxie with new trolls

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web Foxie throw blue troll doll in air about to catch playroom IMG_0100

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