How does Annie stay looking so young?
northwest
The Waning Days of Summer
We’ve reached the time of year where the days are still warm but the mornings are cold enough to remind you that summer’s days are numbered. When I arrived at the chimp house this morning I had trouble finding Negra. After calling her name a few times, she poked her head out of this mountain of blankets in the Greenhouse just long enough to greet me with a few soft grunts.
Before long, a breeze had cleared out the wildfire smoke that had settled overnight and things began to warm up. Jody and the gang took to the hill to enjoy some sunshine.
The chimps had a surprise treat at lunchtime. Volunteer Patti brought watermelon and Field Roast veggie dogs so that the chimps and their caregivers could have an End of Summer party.
Foxie was still on the hill with Jody when lunch was brought out. When she came back and saw what was on the tray, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Without context, the behaviors and body language of fear and excitement can be difficult to distinguish in chimpanzees. Foxie grimaced, baring all of her teeth, and sought reassurance from the other chimps and her caregivers. When chimpanzees are overwhelmed with emotion, good or bad, they seek comfort in their friends.
It was also Patti’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Patti!). We wholeheartedly endorse this idea of bring food to us on your birthday, Patti, and hope that it is the beginning of a new trend wherein anyone who has a birthday brings us lunch.
Even party lunches have to end with bags of primate chow, lest we upset The Queen. By lunch, Negra had shed all of her blankets except for the bare minimum needed to maintain a sense of comfort and security.
Chimps nibble on certain foods, while other foods are almost always stuffed into their mouths as though they are trying to set a Guinness record. Primate chow makes excellent wadge material and the chimps often chew it into a thick paste and spit it back into their hand periodically to admire their handiwork. Missy has additional reasons for stuffing her face with chow – it’s much harder for Negra to steal pieces out of her mouth than it would be if they were still in the bag…
Normally the humans around here lament the end of summer but this year feels different. It’s been hot and dry and smokey for too long. We’re looking forward to some gray, rainy days and the opportunity to throw on an extra blanket or two.
Secret Hideaway
First, I want to express our good wishes for all of our primate friends in Florida right now. We have been thinking about Save the Chimps, Center for Great Apes, and Jungle Friends since coverage of Hurricane Irma began. We know the humans at those sanctuaries have been working hard to prepare for the storm and rolling out their emergency preparedness plans in order to keep the non-human primates in their care safe. We’re so grateful for all that you do and know that you will update everyone when you can, just know you are in our thoughts.
Second, this is pretty difficult to believe, but we will be celebrating Annie’s 43rd birthday tomorrow!
We don’t know Annie’s actual date of birth, and, in fact, even the year could be wrong, but it’s important for us to celebrate the chimpanzees’ individual birthdays, even if the dates were chosen by us when they arrived. Be sure to check in tomorrow for the party recap!
And now, for the news of Jamie’s new hideout on the hill. It’s actually not new at all – it was one of the first features that we included on Young’s Hill.
We called it Missy’s Tunnel because we had a plastic culvert in the playroom that Missy liked to run through when she was playing chase with Annie, so we imagined that she would do the same with a culvert partially buried and covered over with dirt on the hill.
We haven’t seen much play in the tunnel, though I have seen Missy run through it a time or two.
This summer, Jamie decided to adopt the tunnel and has been using it quite regularly as a resting stop when she’s doing her perimeter walks around the hill.
First, she coaxes one of her caregivers to put on a pair of boots and “join” her on the walk, then, when she gets to the tunnel, she proceeds to just hang out in there for several minutes while her human subject is left standing and waiting on the other side of the fence.
When she’s good and ready, she emerges and resumes the walk.
Despite not having a tunnel on the human side of the fence, I’m finding this ritual rather relaxing myself just watching her.
And it has brought back memories. At my elementary school, we had concrete tunnels on the playground. They were great places to cool down away from the sun for a bit, gossip with a friend, or just have a voluntary timeout from whatever else was going on. Even though they were out in the open and everyone knew about them, being in one felt like I was in a secret hideaway.
I like to think that Jamie feels the same way about her newfound private place.
A Breath of Fresh Air
Last night a new weather pattern rolled in and we were all able to breathe a sigh of relief. The thick smoke that we have been living under for over a week has finally lifted, at least temporarily. The cooler temperatures and higher humidity should help the firefighters continue their containment efforts on the nearby Jolly Mountain Fire.
I can’t tell you how great it felt to be outside today.
While Foxie, Annie, and Burrito took to different levels of the Lookout after breakfast, Jody went out to collect some bamboo to snack on.
Negra set up camp in the greenhouse, where she could enjoy the breeze from underneath her protective shield of blankets. Each time we walked by, she would stick foot up to the caging as an invitation to play. While tickling her foot I could hear a brief and very faint laugh. That’s the best you can hope for from this old grump.
Annie seemed to relish the cooler air. She must have made five or six different nests in the greenhouse today but in the end she chose to forego the blankets and relax au naturel.
Missy pulled her barrel up to the playroom doors so that she could keep a watchful eye on the goings-on in the kitchen. Volunteer Patti brought a car full of donated fruits and veggies from Darwin’s Natural Pet Products and Charlie’s Produce, so our official tomato inspector had to evaluate the haul.
Foxie was in a devilish mood. Anytime I would walk into the playroom area, she would climb to the top of the caging and throw her Dora the Explorer doll down to me. When I would try to give it back to her, she would spit water at me, spin in circles, and then run away laughing. I don’t know why every game has to result in me getting wet.
Burrito has been a but of jerk to his family members lately but today he was mostly back to his goofy and charming self.
Jamie greeted Patti with uncharacteristic excitement this afternoon. Before Patti could finish unloading all that produce, Jamie had roped her into an enthusiastic game of chase.
Later Jamie led Anna on multiple walks around the hill. It really felt good to be outside.
The Chimps are Fine
You may have heard that the Jolly Mountain Fire is not far from Cle Elum. Before I explain any further, know that the sanctuary is outside of the danger area.
So, if you are worried about the chimps, don’t be, but if you’d like to help them today anyway, please do check out the online auction that ends tonight at 8:00 p.m. PT – there’s some really great items, and you can donate directly towards our driveway funds via that auction.
There’s more on the fire below, but here are a few photos of Jody from today to show you how relaxed she is. This morning she found a plant-treasure on the hill and brought it in for some leisurely snacking:
So, that fire…
There are three “evacuation” levels – I (Ready), II (Set), and III (Go). Level I is a notice to be aware that there is a fire in your area, and the sanctuary is about a mile from even the Level I area.
All three levels expanded overnight, and several friends, donors, and volunteers of the sanctuary are in the Level II and III areas now. You can see a map here if you’re super curious. Level II does not necessarily lead to Level III and Level III does not necessarily mean the fire is in the immediate area. Still, it’s scary, and a lot of people are affected by this fire already, waiting to see what happens.
The good news is that the state of Washington has sent in reinforcements and here is the long list of agencies that were added this morning to protect the populated areas in the potential path of the fire: Kittitas County Fire District #7 (this is our local fire district who we love so much!), Kittitas County Fire Protection District #6, U.S. Forest Service crews, Washington State Department of Natural Resources crews, and engines from Spokane, Spokane Valley, Stevens County, Entiat, Grand Co., Snohomish, Everett, Shoreline, Duvall, Orcas Island, Gray’s Harbor, Vashon Island, Seattle, S. King County, King County, North High Line, Skykomish, Valley Regional, High Prairie, Benton, W. Benton, Mason Co., Kennewick, College Place, Walla Walla, Fife, Franklin, Mason Co., and more. There are planes and helicopters dropping water, and obviously they are mobilizing to fight the fire on the ground now that it coming out of the deep forest, which is inaccessible due to the potential danger.
There is an incident management team overseeing the big picture management of the fire, and, as you can see from that list, there are many agencies and individuals working together. They’ve been great at keeping the community up to date via social media and in person meetings, and the Kittitas County Sheriff’s office is working very closely with the team to notify people of evacuations and answer questions.
As this video from last week described, we have a fire defense plan at the sanctuary. It would be very, very difficult to evacuate the chimpanzees, so we have a plan to shelter them in place, which we have successfully implemented twice now. We are hopeful that we will not have to do that again with the Jolly Mountain Fire.
We are thinking about the entire community that is facing the threat of fire and other natural disasters, and we know that community includes supporters in other states as well. We are extremely thankful for all who are working to keep others safe.
Siesta
Foxie and one of her many beloved trolls enjoy a break from the summer heat:
