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Happy Birthday, Arlene!

August 19, 2015 by Katelyn

If you missed it earlier in the week, the chimpanzees received the beautiful gift of a week of sanctuary, sponsored by Michael for Arlene in celebration of her birthday! Arlene, as today is your actual birthday, we want to send lots of birthday pant hoots, squeaks, and grunts your way. We hope your day is filled with all that you most love and if you need any ideas of how to spend your time, here are some suggestions from the chimpanzees:

Enjoy a peaceful walk, like Annie:

Burrito might suggest doing anything as long as it involves food:

Enjoying the company of good friends like Foxie (right), Jamie (left), Doras and trolls:

Jamie likes to spend quality time admiring her beautiful boots:

A relaxing day of yoga, Jody-style:

Missy might choose anything involving an adventure:

And Negra…well, it’s pretty safe to say Negra thinks every day should be celebrated with relaxing in a cozy nest in a sunny spot:

Arlene, however you choose to spend your special day, we hope it’s filled with the hope, love, home and sanctuary that you and Michael so graciously help ensure for the chimpanzees. Happy Birthday!!

Never too old to have fun

August 14, 2015 by J.B.

Annie and Missy are a couple of old ladies. They don’t seem to know this, however, so let’s not tell them and we’ll just hope they never find out.

Grab bag Tuesday

July 28, 2015 by Katelyn

The chimpanzees are ultra low-key today. They have all spent the day relaxing this warm summer day and most everyone has been tucked away in their nests or out exploring Young’s Hill. On these kind of days it can be tough work for the paparazzi to get any photos, so one has to loiter in the hopes of getting anything. But eventually a few of the ladies were willing to oblige.

Jody, enjoying a relaxing moment in the greenhouse.

Foxie was having fun running back and forth from the spigot to me with mouthfuls of water and getting pretty excited about me anticipating being spat upon (as is evidenced by her hair being pilo-erect). This is a favorite game of hers and though she didn’t spit any at me she does a pretty good job making you think she might. Which is, I’m sure, half the fun.

And the beautiful Missy.

Making Friends

July 20, 2015 by Elizabeth

New staff caregiver Anna is busy making friends with the chimpanzees. Some of the chimps warm up to new people right away, and others take their time. It’s a piece of cake to win over Burrito; he just wants someone who will play with him 24/7.

Burrito and his slinky

July 17, 2015 by J.B.

Burrito’s stuffed gorilla playmate may be damaged beyond repair, but at least he’s got his slinky.

Negra and friend

July 8, 2015 by Katelyn

Negra spent the day hanging out with a new friend. And if you’ve been following the blog recently, you may be able to guess who that might be. Diana got some great photos of the Queen enjoying a leisurely morning in the greenhouse and it didn’t take long to spot her new companion.

You can just see a tuft of white hair sticking out from under Negra’s hip pocket:

Negra heard the train coming and one of her favorite things to do is watch it go past in the valley below. She also loves to bang on the window at it as it passes by and today she seemed to be telling her little friend all about it.

Similar hairstyles…

For reasons unclear to the humans, trolls are the “it” item du jour in the chimp house again. Jody has been wearing a scarf with several trolls tied onto it for two days! She even ran back in before breakfast to retrieve it and put it on during her meal. But no worries about Foxie, she’s been spending her time with Dora today.

There’s nothing to see here

June 17, 2015 by Katelyn

Burrito and Foxie are great friends and spend much of their time together, usually grooming, playing, and engaging in general chimpanzee shenanigans. Although Burrito is the big, blustery male of the group, he relies heavily on his tiny cohort for comfort, reassurance, and even protection when the going gets tough with the other ladies (i.e., Burrito’s blustery drive-bys and outbursts get them riled up). But that’s what good friends do.

We spotted the two of them in the front rooms this morning just as Burrito was play-biting Foxie’s toes and naturally, had to try for some photos. In typical Burrito and Foxie (and well, chimp) fashion, they immediately stopped what they were doing, and merely offered the paparazzi blank expressions, as if to say “Keep moving, there’s nothing to see here.” I have to say I like the synchronized avoidance of the camera though.