Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
We all had an adventure on this walk the other day!
It was fun to join the chimpanzees getting caught in the rain.
It reminded me of the very first heavy rain that the Cle Elum Seven experienced. Thanks to this blog, you can learn more about that experience here: Rainstorm Bravery
The photo of Missy in the doorway, watching the rain is still one of my favorites:
There’s so much left to experience – for all of us!
Thanks for those who have already given towards days like these via GiveBIG, either on our main page or my and Monica’s birthday page!
Today has been a busy, busy day in the chimp house! I managed to get some photos today and hope you enjoy them!
Cy:
Foxie was out on Young’s Hill this afternoon when it started raining. Her and her Blueberry doll hurried in.
I tried to be artistic here taking a photo of Honey B behind the leaves that frame the chute.
Lucky:
Mave (let’s ignore the troll mask in the background nearly ruining the photo):
I’ve gotten used to the fact that Burrito now goes on more walks (or runs, actually) than Jamie, but I still can’t get over how comfortable he’s become in inclement weather. Earlier this week we had snow off and on throughout the morning, and when Burrito told me to meet him outside for a run around the hill I was sure he would be disappointed when he got out there. But he was undeterred.
When you’re not moving fast enough, Burrito will stand bipedally and clap to goad you on.
Eventually we just sat near the top of the hill, watching the snow drift down across the valley as it slowly accumulated atop the hair on his head and shoulders.
We took several walks in the mist this morning, along with Missy and Jamie. But when the mist turned to a light, steady rain I was sure they would all want to curl up in a nest indoors. Not Burrito. We hiked back up the hill together in the rain, and every once and a while he would turn backward as though he was ready to head home, only turn turn again and race further up the hill.
He thought it was hilarious.
You have probably heard about, or maybe you are experiencing, the dramatic storm that is hitting the Pacific Northwest today.
The majestic Cascade Mountain Range protects Cle Elum from a lot of the wetter weather that our friends to the west in the Seattle area receive, and we are certainly not getting the extreme rain and wind that is expected closer to the coast. Nevertheless, it rained ALL day today, and it’s still coming down.
This is what the chimpanzees were up to today (similar to many of you, I suspect):
Jamie watching the rain from the greenhouse:
Don’t worry – Jamie managed to get a walk in before it really started to come down.
Annie nesting in the front rooms:
Yesterday, Margaret, a friend and supporter who has known the chimpanzees since their arrival, reminded me of the first time the chimpanzees experienced a real rainstorm at the sanctuary. Margaret was volunteering that day. It was almost exactly eight years ago.
I wrote about the chimpanzees’ experience and posted photos in the blog post Rainstorm Bravery. This was three years before Young’s Hill was complete and before the greenhouse panels were on, so the rain came down right into what is now the greenhouse.
Imagine your very first experience being able to go out into a rainstorm (or just watch from the safety and comfort of your bed). Though they were in their 20s and 30s, everything in their sanctuary life was just so new to the chimpanzees.
Today, the rain doesn’t faze them too much, but when we get thunderstorms or other out-of-the-ordinary weather, they do still react. One of my favorite experiences at the chimp house was watching Burrito do a “rain dance” in 2013.
In honor of the power of weather, the connection that we have to our environment, and the inner chimpanzee in all of us, I’ve reposted the video below.
The Tortoise and the Hare is a helpful allegory, but who wins in real life? The tortoise (Jamie) or the hare (Missy)?
It’s hard to remember, but the space that we now call the greenhouse used to be the chimpanzees’ only outdoor area.
Karen and Don Young visited in 2009, and we conceived the idea of encasing the caging in removable polycarbonate panels so that the chimpanzees could enjoy this space year round! The Youngs kicked off donations for this project and we raised the rest of the greenhouse funds at our 2009 auction.
Construction began in late 2009 and early 2010 (because what better time to embark on a construction project than winter?!). Those were some cold construction days, as Jim Spencer I’m sure still remembers.
The result for the chimpanzees was so worth it! The greenhouse is their favorite area year round.
When the weather starts to warm up in the spring, J.B. removes some of the panels, leaving the roof, so the chimpanzees enjoy their summer lounging in an indoor-outdoor space.
Then, around this time of year (today, for example), J.B. buttons up the greenhouse for the winter, so the chimpanzees can enjoy the cooler months in the protected area that heats up with the rays of the sun, or, in the case of today, keeps out the rain.
Today, Jamie enjoyed nesting and napping up high on the platform today, where it’s warmest, as it poured and blew outside:
And, of course, she also ventured onto Young’s Hill during breaks in the rain.
