Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Rayne

Three Years with the Lucky Six

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Today we celebrate three years since the Lucky Six arrived! I truly can not imagine life without them. Each one of these chimps brings so much life to this sanctuary. When I think about the day that they arrived, the day was so full of excitement. We had done it, we had reached our goal of expanding the building to take in more chimps to provide another chance of security and a life of choice. The Lucky Six have grown so much in their 3 years here. We have watched chimps like Gordo grow confidence and comfortably with things that are unfamiliar. We have watched the group of six become a group of nine, which has provided them with more social opportunity. Watching chimps like Dora become a social butterfly and Rayne being able to use one of her best strengths, her social savvyness, to help her group navigate and build friendships! We watched all of J.B.’s hard work paid off to build the Bray, their 2 acre outdoor habitat. To be able to watch Rayne walk outside like she had done this everyday of her life was certainly one of the many highlights of my career! I could go on and on about how amazing they are, but I think that when it comes down to it we are just so lucky to have them and we are all the better for knowing them!

Cy:

Gordo:

Terry:

Dora:

Rayne:

Lucky:

Up, Down, All Around

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A lot of the joys of working with chimpanzees are found in the little moments. Very often, these moments come when we are least expecting them (for example, going back to the chimp spaces to grab more laundry to be washed when suddenly Willy B wants to play, or doing checks to enter a space to clean and being invited to groom with Missy). Sometimes this slows our work down, but then again, it IS our work! How lucky are we?!

Today’s video shows an extra special few minutes I got to spend with Rayne last week, which came as a complete surprise to me! I had been finishing up some early morning tasks, preparing to meet with the team to determine our plan for the day and then serve breakfast, when there was Rayne! You’ll have to watch the video to see why this interaction was so special.

Here are some bonus photos from the day!

Close up of the ever so handsome Burrito

Upside down, goofy Burrito (part of my inspiration for the title of today’s blog!)

Another close-up of Bubs, feeling silly

Honey B

A close up of Beans!

Fair-Weather Chimps

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As always, I apologize for today’s blog. All staff are arriving at the sanctuary to have our bi-weekly staff meeting. I think I was a little optimistic thinking powering through cleaning to have enough time to grab some photos or video before our meeting. Though we were able to get done with cleaning a little earlier than we usually do, it still wasn’t enough. Especially since it was during the part of day right before lunch, when they are all in the hard to reach spots napping or grooming. I readjusted my plan to get photos during lunch service today. This too was somewhat difficult. On one side, Honey B became a better door than window in my attempts to see/take photos of anyone. On the other side, Burrito just wanted to play, thus souring my attempts with a game of “Poke-the-Camera,” which he finds hilarious.

If you’re wondering why they chimps elected to stay inside instead of venturing out doors today, the answer is weather. There seems to be a little bit of everything in the forecast. It’s cloudy with some sun breakthroughs here and there. Strong gusts of winds are making the panels to the greenhouses rattle. On again and off again drizzles of cold rain are falling from the sky. To top it off, there is some snow that is currently in the forecast for later today. Though realistically (read hopefully) the snow part will change as the day goes on and just turn into rain.

Before the weather started to turn, Negra was demanding to be let onto Young’s Hill first thing in the morning.

Shortly after I opened the door to Young’s Hill, that’s when the weather decided to start. My tall tell sign? Just as fast as she went out, Negra came right back in.

Negra made a beeline straight back to her morning nest.

Negra and her family for the most part stayed in all day. The story next door wasn’t too much different.

Rayne resting next to her cabbage box

But even though outdoor weather wasn’t the most optimal, mealtimes are always exciting. I’m fairly certain I make the same face as Cy and Gordo when my food comes out from the kitchen at a restaurant.

Look how big Cy’s eyes got when the cart was being rolled out

And just as the day started, I will end with Negra in her nest at dinner

Plus Missy and Burrito!

Say Cheese!

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We have a lot in common with the chimps, so this will come as no surprise when I tell you all that some chimps do not not like to have their photos taken. That may sound familiar because I think we all know the people who shine in front of a camera, while so many others loath getting their picture taken. This may also explain why you all see more photos captured of some chimps than others. Cy is very photogenic and never minds a photo shoot. Whereas Missy always seems to disappear when the camera comes out. However, today Missy did not mind letting me take a few portraits while she ate her onions from her forage. Often, when Missy does let us take her picture, she will politely turn away to let us know the portrait session is over. I say this is polite because most chimps try to poke the camera once they have decided the photo session is over, which I can not blame them for!

Please enjoy the Missy and Negra series of portraits and some bonus photos!

Missy portrait series of her eating an onion:

Negra watching her group go out onto Young’s Hill:

Negra at the lunch forage:

And a well deserved nap:

Foxie foraging:

Annie and Foxie foraging together:

Burrito with a handful of forage, watching the neighbors also forage:

Rayne on top of a structure eating her apple out on The Bray:

Mr. Caterpillar

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Over the past few days, I have been gathering photos and thinking about a theme for today’s blog. At first, it was going to be about Rayne holding her new broccoli enrichment toy. However, this morning, Dora allowed me to take some amazing portraits of her. So then I ran with the idea of writing about the “Small, but Mighty Dora”. But then… Burrito started playing with Mr. Caterpillar! After that, Lucky and Willy let me take some awesome portraits too. So today I thought, why not have it all, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I hope you enjoy the video of Burrito playing as he is always making our day brighter. And of course, all the bonus photos!

Mr. Burrito Caterpillar:

When the weather gets nicer, we often find Cy like this 🙂

Yesterday was a beautiful day. So beautiful that Honey B decided to hold out in the Chute 🙂

Lucky portrait:

And a Lucky smooch:

Mave grooming herself in the chute next to Dora:

Rayne relaxing in a nest:

Rayne holding her broccoli toy and enjoying the warm greenhouse:

Rayne’s typical breakfast spot, however, yesterday she brought this brush with her and never let it go:

She has amazing balance:

Willy B checking himself out:

And the little mighty Dora enjoying the warm sunshine in the chute this morning:

Stay a While

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The chimp house can be a bit chaotic in the morning into the early afternoon, but in a good way, of course. The building is humming with energy in preparation of the day, as the humans prepare meals, enrichment, food puzzles, work on laundry, clean the building, and do more laundry. Meanwhile, the chimps are either laughing and playing or displaying and causing a ruckus. Most days are a combination of all these activities. However, by the afternoon, the chimp house seems to be calmer, at least for the humans. After lunch, is often when you will see the chimps in the position I like to call, come over and stay a while. This is when the caregivers can sit and spend some time with their friends. The chimps often sit in a comfortable position and when they see you, they may get up and invite you to groom or sit with them for a while. Sometimes though, as we walk by to grab laundry or clean toys, we just admire how cozy and laid back they look.

Willy B grooming himself, foot up on the mesh to show he is very relaxed:

Obviously, Willy B have to try to look at his teeth through the camera:

Honey B can somehow look relaxed in a nest while simultaneous looking up to no good 🙂

And Rayne, the laid back queen herself:

Bonus photo of Annie! We put out a lunch forage today with some whole oranges and a few whole veggies. Annie went all the way to the top before everyone and scored big time!

 

 

Effortless Rayne

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Lately we’ve been doing lots of lunch forages for Cy’s big group.  We often spread the food out between a playroom, greenhouse, the front rooms and the Bray so everyone can access it fairly. Rayne seems to reliably skip the more competitive hustle and bustle of the indoor areas and head out onto the Bray for her lunch. This afternoon she did just that, going out to the Bray, grabbing a head of radicchio and enjoying her simple lunch while she took in the views of the river valley below.

One final note before I go! Today is the LAST day of Give Big 2024. We are just over half way to our goal of raising $50,000 towards the direct care of the chimpanzees we all love so much. Thank you to all who have already contributed and be sure to donate before the fundraiser ends tonight!