Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

northwest

the snow days continue

by

If you’re in Washington State or have heard the national weather news, you know that there’s been no shortage of snow this week! We probably have about 16-18 inches on the ground now with more expected. The snow accumulation has caused the electric fence voltage on Young’s Hill to reduce (this is normal and expected). That, combined with the chimpanzees generally not enjoying walking in snow, they haven’t been on the hill this week. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t been able to take part in the weather!

J.B. shared a video on Thursday of the chimps snacking on troll doll snow cones – snow combined with a bit of orange juice, then frozen overnight outside.

Today, we filled up the big tub in the greenhouse with snow, so the chimpanzees have been free-snacking on it all day. Below are a few photos.

Burrito (Jamie in the background):

Burrito going in for snow in the big tub

 

A series of Foxie:

Foxie eating snow from the tub

Foxie eating snow from tub 2

Foxie eating snow from tub 3

Forget milk mustaches, 2012 is all about snow beards:

Foxie eating snow from tub 4 snow beard

If you’re wondering if Foxie went to the tub empty-handed, the answer is no – she brought a troll doll and a brush:

Foxie eating snow from tub 5 troll doll brush

 

Negra opted to bring her snow inside for snacking:

Negra holding snow

Negra eating snow

Negra eating snow looking out window

Help us go pro

by

UPDATE: We’ve reached our goal! Thanks so much – we look forward to trying out this new camera soon.

Supporters Candy and Kathy have started a mini-fundraising drive to help us purchase the GoPro camera that is on our Amazon wishlist. A GoPro is a small high definition video camera that is rugged and waterproof. We’re hoping that once the snow melts, we can mount it on a fence post and capture some interesting video of the chimps on Young’s Hill.

Thanks to Candy and Kathy, we’re already halfway to our goal of $200. If you like to help us reach our goal, you can donate and let us know that you’d like your donation to go towards the new camera.

Portraits of happy chimps under blue skies

by

I still get goose-bumpy when I see the chimps out on the hill, especially with the sun on their backs and blue skies overhead. I just can’t imagine how amazing it must feel for them. What a difference a few years can make!

Foxie:

Annie:

Jody:

Regular Morning Routine

by

As we mentioned on the Facebook page yesterday, sometimes the daily routine fluctuates, and as caregivers we have to be pretty flexible depending on the choices the chimps make. Typically though, we do have a regular schedule. First we invite the chimpanzees in for breakfast—and as long as everybody comes in, one person (the Care staff or Level III volunteer) will serve breakfast while the other person (the Lead Caregiver) will start cleaning the playroom. We never enter an enclosure at the same time as the chimpanzees, so we have to ensure that all the chimps are out of the room we want to clean, and that every chimp door is secure. We do this for cleaning the playroom, front rooms, and the greenhouse. (To see what cleaning is like, watch this video from a couple years ago). Today things followed the regular routine, which you’ll see in the video below.