Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Rayne

On the Sixth Day of Christmas…

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On the sixth day of Christmas

Donor Linda gave to me

New People magazines!

– Cy Chimpanzee, probably

We send our most heartfelt gratitude and warmest wishes to our supporters who have donated to the chimpanzees through the Comfort & Joy online auction! You can go directly to the event’s web page to see the numerous items that were purchased by our community on behalf of the chimpanzees who call the sanctuary home.

You’ve probably seen some of the earliest gifts unveiled on the blog recently, from Squishmallows On the First Day of Christmas to a Negra-themed blanket On the Fifth. Today’s surprise is another unconventional enrichment item, intended to excite one quirky individual in particular. Without further ado, we extend a special thank you to:

Linda M. for donating the subscription to People magazine (addressed to Cy Chimpanzee)

Indeed, the sanctuary’s biggest bookworm will now have a steady supply of celebrity gossip and pop culture trivia to entertain him when he needs a moment of peace apart from his companions. Today, Enrichment Coordinator Chad delivered the latest edition of People directly to Cy’s “mailbox” (a gap under the caging of the Marmot Mountain playroom). You can check out the included video to see how Cy reacted to the holiday surprise!

Secret Santa

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Boy howdy! What a busy day! Besides our daily Chimp House duties, we had our bi-weekly staff meeting, are deep in preparing for the resident’s Christmas party, sorting through gifts that arrived from the recent Comfort & Joy auction, and trying to keep up with Burrito!

We want to thank those who have purchased items off our Amazon Wish List! We just wanted to let you know if you have purchased something off the wishlist, or sent something directly to us, please be assured that we have or will receive it. It may just take a little bit for us to process things in order to send out the confirmation it has arrived.

If you would like to still purchase items off our wish list for their Christmas party, there’s still time! But time is starting to run out for it to be delivered on time. If you can, please peruse through our Amazon Wish List. We hope to make this Christmas a special one for them!

Now for some photos from today!

Terry taking his chow biscuits to go!

Missy trying to encourage Negra to get our of bed!

Honey B enjoying some persimmons at lunch!

Annie also enjoying her lunch persimmons!

Missy enjoying a forage of cabbage and snow!

Willy B eating his lunch chow biscuits with a view!

Beautiful Lucky!

And handsome Cy!

Mave taking in the sun coming through in the Oakwood Greenhouse!

Rayne taking a rest after lunch!

Sunday is for rest

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As Diana stated yesterday, we have been having conflicts the past couple days in the chimp house. While fights are perfectly normal in chimpanzee society, it is nonetheless quite stressful for these events to take place. So far, today has been mostly full of relaxation and currently I see many chimps napping. Let’s all knock on wood now to ensure I didn’t jinx it!

Here’s some photos of the day!

 Rayne:

Is this Rayne doing her ‘thinker pose’?

Jody:

Burrito:

Burrito looking past me to see if Chad is coming his way: 

Greenhouse 1 blocked by snow:

View from top of Young’s Hill:

As a reminder, we have loaded our Amazon Wishlist with items to prepare for our holiday celebration for the chimps! We appreciate every single purchase so much! Link to wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2L5WRNKBKB8B2?ref_=wl_share

Lil’ Bit of This, Lil’ Bit of That, Lil’ Bit of Terry

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For today’s blog, there really isn’t any theme or story. Just a random assortment of photos I was able to capture today before our monthly staff training.

Honey B, Rayne, and Lucky watch as staff prepare to start our monthly escape drill.
Willy B enjoying his lunch chow in front of the window looking into the Oakwood Greenhouse.
Burrito waiting for his neighbors to make an appearance in their Chute.
Mave comforting Dora after Willy B spooked her. If you are wondering, yes. Mave and Dora hug… A LOT! Scared? Hug. Happy? Hug. Unsure? Hug. Playful? Hug. Mad (at someone else)? Hug. Sad? Hug. Bored? Hug.
A missed opportunity? Yes. This photo is blurry, but had it been in focus it would have been amazing. However, either way it is too good not to share!

Rayne looking as beautiful as ever in the front rooms.

And then there is Terry…

Whenever I seem to be in a jam for photos or blog material, I can usually count on Terry to bail me out of it. I mean, come on. Look at this handsome face!
This year, Terry has also become accustomed to snow snacks!
Terry seems to have developed a taste for the wintery treat!

Don’t forget to check out our wish list! Christmas is fast approaching and things are being added almost daily to help us throw them a wonderful party this year! We are also in need some of the Shutterfly gift cards. We use these for multiple things, including purchasing Jamie’s custom made book of the caregivers’ XtraTuf boots.

The VIP Lounge

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The chimpanzees spend more time resting and socializing in the heated indoor areas as the weather gets wetter and colder.

We’ve recently been focusing much of our content on the chimps’ outdoor enclosures, especially Young’s Hill and The Bray. Large outdoor habitats are irreplaceable because they provide chimpanzees with unique opportunities to engage in “natural” behaviors such as climbing, foraging, and patrolling as a group. The greenhouse-type enclosures, including the new Riverview and Oakwood Greenhouses, also have certain characteristics that the chimps can take full advantage of at their leisure.

Even so, chimpanzees living in sanctuary also need clean, climate-controlled, enriched indoor spaces. These are locations where they can be cozy, entertained and secure, regardless of the conditions outside. It would be easy to look at the artificial interiors and think that these enclosures are inferior to the outdoor ones, but the chimpanzees don’t seem to think so. Instead, the residents seem to utilize the various spaces differently so that together they provide one expansive, complex, multi-functional home.

Sofia highlighted the indoor front rooms in her September post “Back to Front Room 7” and Anna wrote about them again in last week’s post “Small space, big fun“. I thought it might be fun to share some additional video clips of the chimpanzees enjoying that same space today!

Predictions

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During introductions it was hard tell who Honey B would become friends with. We knew Honey B enjoyed her alone time, but still appreciated the company of her chimp and human friends on her terms. When Honey B first re-met Dora they were both so excited to see each other! However, Terry and Honey B had to put the work into rebuilding a friendship. Recently, Honey B has been hot commodity with her new group. It seems like everyone wants to “mall walk,” groom, play, or just be around her. If we had to predict which chimps would bond with Honey B, Dora and Rayne would really be my only guesses. Lately, we find Honey B and Terry hanging out a lot. We have been seeing some play with her and Cy and even Gordo gets a little quick play session in from time to time.

Words can’t express the feelings I have when watching Honey B build connections with her group. It’s everything they worked so hard for and why a bigger social group is so important for chimps, especially one like Honey B.

Cy grooming Honey B:

Rayne grooming Honey B:

Honey B in the middle of a grooming train:

A series of different Honey B nests:

And one more picture for fun! Can you guess who was wearing this accessory as an anklet?

Look below for the answer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you said Burrito, you would be correct!