Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

relaxing

Burrito in Low

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If we know anything about Burrito chimpanzee, we know that this guy is busy!  So busy running, playing, grooming, chasing, leaping, scooting, bouncing, skipping, hollering, foraging…you get the picture!  This guy never sits still!

So here is your opportunity to enjoy a few low key moments with our favorite energizer bunny!  A little lounging, a little nesting, and a very little bit of play.

How much do we love this guy?

Shout out to Jerrol’s for providing huge bags of recycled paper for all the papery fun these chimps are having these days!

And DON’T FORGET!  We want you to help us choose the cover photo for our 2025 CSNW Calendar! You can vote once every 24-hours through the end of October, with the poll closing at 11:59pm PT on Jamie-ween!

All Quiet on the Northwestern Front

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The battle between Winter and Spring has seemingly begun. With Spring right around the corner, the weather has been bouncing around cold, gloomy, and snowy, and sunny and warm (like today). When caregivers arrived in the morning, it was a brisk 25º, but an hour or so later is was nearing 40º. With the winter paneling still up on all the greenhouses, the sun and the rising temperature helped create a nice, warm atmosphere where the chimpanzees spent much of their day relaxing. This all made for a nice and quiet day.

Negra spent the morning portion of the day covered in blankets. Later on she was seen relaxing without the blankets.

Lucky was seen lounging about in several different spots in her greenhouses.

Gordo enjoyed his entire lunch service in the greenhouses.

Willy B looking for any leftovers someone may have left behind.

Honey B calculating her next move after lunch.

Rayne especially was seemed relaxed all day!

She even took a quick nap on one of the leaf benches on the artificial tree structure in the Marmot Mountain Playroom.

Even Barn Kitty thought today was the day to take it easy!

Here’s to hoping Spring breaks through this winter spell and brings warmer weather soon!

Bonus photo of Foxie waiting for dinner to be brought out!

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!

A Study in Contrasts

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Ya’ll, even though it’s only May, it is summer weather out here today at the sanctuary.

Foxie was getting the most out of the airy greenhouse and lazy summer vibes by literally putting her feet up.

With a doll, of course.

Jody was doing the same, right next to Foxie.

But this is my favorite photo of the bunch. It shows Foxie, the picture of carefree relaxation, in stark contrast to Jamie, who broke herself away from a perfectly calm grooming session to take the opportunity to try the scare the living daylights out of the caregivers cleaning on the other side of the door.

To each her own, I say.