Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

northwest

Snake Patrol

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As you may have read on the blog, the chimps recently encountered a snake in one of the bamboo groves.  The snake was clearly still on their minds on they ventured out onto the hill this morning.

They had all night to think about how scary it was and to dwell on the fact that it had eluded capture. It could still be out there.

Jamie immediately led a patrol to the area where the snake was last seen.

Foxie, Missy, Annie, Burrito, and Jody all followed but began to peel off one by one as the approached the bamboo grove.

It would be up to Jamie. Alone but undeterred, she climbed onto a structure to scan the grass for any sign of the intruder.

She moved from one vantage point to the next without setting foot on the ground below.

She watched patiently from the safety of her fire hose perch.

She searched for any sign of movement in the grass.

For all she knew, it could be right underneath her.

At last, she gave the all clear. But that didn’t mean that she was going to push her luck. There are plenty of other places to hang out besides that particular bamboo grove.

Which may very well still be hiding a snake.

Celebration of 10 Years!

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Can you believe it, these chimps have been at the sanctuary for 10 years. Over the years whether it was by donation, volunteering, or following the blog we have seen tremendous change in their lives and well-being. In the beginning Foxie didn’t want to have anything to do with enrichment and now Foxie has found love in her dolls. Annie was reserved and had very little confidence and now she is more independent, bold, and confident. Negra was afraid of Young’s Hill and now she adventures to forage all by herself. And not to mention how they have been aging in reverse. It has been a privilege to watch the growth in these seven amazing chimpanzees. But really Negra says it best….

In addition, here are some photos to give you a sneak preview of what tomorrows blog might look like!

Burrito taking a breather from partying:

Foxie swinging with her new France Dora:

Negra searching for some mini bananas:

Negra enjoying some forage she found in a coconut:

Jody was the first to venture out to find what was hidden on the Hill:

Jody was very committed to foraging out there:

Jody got to take full advantage while everyone was preoccupied in the Greenhouse:

Foxie also went out on her own, well France Dora accompanied her of course:

This was just the start, there are more photos to come from our BIG celebration!

Rock Solid

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Foxie is funny when it comes to climbing structures. While the other chimps enjoy shaky bridges, rope nets, and fire hose hammocks, Foxie tries her best not to set foot on anything that isn’t completely solid and firmly attached. One time I watched her rescue a troll doll that was laying in a fire hose hammock by hanging on the ceiling above the hammock and stretching all the way out to grab it with the tips of her toes. She may love her dolls, but she wasn’t about to risk setting foot in a hammock to get to one.

Whenever she tries a new structure, she makes sure to give it a few taps with her doll first, and then she stomps her way across it to assess its integrity. The newest structure on Young’s Hill (built last month) seems to meet her specifications. It’s become one of her go-to spots during her post-breakfast walkabout. I think she may appreciate the view from Young’s Hill more than anyone, and now she has a new, very stable place to enjoy it from.

Wake up, Negra, it’s Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day!

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Negra simply wasn’t ready for this day to start. After a brief hello, she started drifting back to dreamland.

She tried her best to get out of bed, but it was just too comfortable.

What’s the point of getting up, anyway? It would be at least another ten minutes before breakfast would be ready.

Ten minutes is a lot of sleep.

Surely someone would let her know when it’s time to eat.

Negra may not have been able to muster up a lot of energy this morning, but we’re excited to wish everyone a Happy Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day! Anna told you the other day about all of our hardworking interns and volunteers; now it’s time to shine the spotlight on our hardworking staff.

Here’s Kelsi, who spends her weekends working as a Lead Caregiver at the sanctuary:

Anna, who coordinates the sanctuary’s educational events and chimpanzee enrichment program:

Elizabeth, who coordinates our internship and volunteer programs, and who has a preternatural talent for avoiding being photographed:

And Katelyn, who manages the office and keeps in touch with our hundreds of incredible donors and supporters:

As you can see, every staff member at CSNW works directly with the chimps in addition to their other duties – they clean, serve meals, give medications, train interns and volunteers, participate in positive reinforcement training with the chimps, and go on endless walks with Jamie. They get dirty, they stay late, and they put every bit of their hearts into their work.

Happy Animal Sanctuary Caregivers Day to the staff at CSNW and to our friends and colleagues at sanctuaries everywhere!

Still young at heart

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It’s easy to tell when Missy intends to engage her best friend Annie in a sudden game or wrestle & chase. It’s not quite a smile on her face. It’s more like, “hold my drink…”

This morning, she chased Annie up and down and all around the play structure.

They play-punched and play-kicked while they each swung by one arm.

At one point, Missy almost caught Annie’s toes – the ultimate objective of every chimp game.

But Annie and her toes escaped to play another day.

When she was finished, Missy performed one of her best-ever leaping uneven bar dismounts…

…and stuck the landing. Can you believe she’s 42 years old?

Intensity

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What! Are you guys seeing this… Strawberries! These were thoughts going through Missy’s head as staff Katelyn discovered these gems in our garden. First strawberry of the year went to garden enthusiast Missy of course!

Missy uniquely sitting on the tire while she looks for strawberries:

While, Missy observed Katelyn in the garden, Jamie had other business to attend to. After our morning perimeter walk, Jamie and I hung out by the Front Rooms, mostly so she could keep an eye on the interns. Jamie isn’t always in the mood to have a camera taking photos of her; however, I asked Jamie if it was okay and proceeded to take some pictures. I often show her the picture taken so she feels included. She was pretty intrigued today so I continued to snap some photos and show her. I always love the intensity in her eyes. Jamie can be known to be a bit intense, whatever she is doing is with all her effort. As you can tell in our photo shoot today she was giving it all she had.

Jamie staring intensely:

Jamie relaxing in the Front Room:

Jamie smooshing her face (she was being pretty silly):

Jamie laid on a chair so she could get more comfortable, but still be able to watch the interns and self groom:

After a while she let me groom her head with a toothbrush:

Burrito had been quietly napping behind Jamie, once Jamie moved Burrito was ready to play!

In this photo Burrito was playfully shaking his leg and breathy panting quietly:

Then Burrito started shaking his legs and play slapping his head, Burrito later got up and we played a bit before Jamie wanted me to come back and finish grooming her head:

Bonus photos:

Negra enjoying the warm Greenhouse:

Jamie stealing Burrito’s smoothie while she drinks her own (don’t worry Burrito had some smoothie earlier):

Keeping up with Jamie

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Join grad student interns Carly and Grace as they take a break from cleaning and preparing meals to walk and run around Young’s Hill with Jamie.

I was very excited to get to use our new gimbal (a fancy handle that steadies your videos – especially when running) that a wonderful supporter purchased from our Amazon wish list. We’re looking forward to using it to film some Facebook Live videos soon!