Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Sometimes I curse the invention of smartphones, but there’s something to be said about having a camera in your pocket at all times – especially when you spend your days with chimpanzees. So here’s a random collection of clips I recorded today.
While we’re at it, here’s a smartphone photo of Mave from last week.
Turn up your volume and take a sensory journey with Jody as she guzzles her prized fresh coconut (video from last week’s party).
Last week I mentioned in my blog about Burrito playing on top of the barrel while Foxie was below him. Burrito spends a lot of time on that barrel in the playroom. Having Burrito’s kind of energy can be a blessing and a curse because not all of his chimp friends want to go go go all the time. We can often find him on the barrel playing by himself or peeking over at the neighbors waiting for a chimp or human to play. From time to time Jamie and Burrito share the barrel, which is probably the best thing I have ever seen! And the other day I found him dragging the giant wolf blanket onto the barrel with him. Please enjoy this video of the different stages of Burrito on the barrel.
*Important Note* Queen’s Brunch is around the corner so don’t forget to mark your calendars and put a reminder in your phone, June 13th! I have to share with you all that the Royal-Tea Box this year is amazing! Not only do you get a chance to win a virtual visit to the sanctuary, but there is a special tea blend, delicious vegan tea cakes, and so much more! Please do not miss out on Negra’s Royal-Tea box!
Bonus Foxie photos!
As Katelyn mentioned yesterday, Summer is making a quick visit the next couple of days. With 90ºF temperatures today, the chimpanzees have remained relatively low key. Each in a spot in the indoor enclosures in the shadiest of spots, or in front of the fans to escape the heat. We did offer them some icy treats throughout the day since it seemed like today called for it. Some of these spots are very tricky to get photos of, and the only photo I was able to get of any of them was of Negra climbing down from the platform in the Greenhouse to head indoors.
The cattle have been spending most of their day lounging around in the shade at the top of the pasture, just like the chimpanzees. However, it’s far easier to take photos of them on days like today. They did spend an hour or two grazing in the mid-day sun.
And taking turns licking the mineral block.
And don’t worry, Meredith was there, just waaaay in the back.
With summer creeping up on us, the sights, sounds, and smells of summer are starting to come in. Here are some of those things found around the sanctuary.
The strawberry plants are starting to fruit.
The grape vines are starting to bunch.
Squirrel moms are calling for their kits.
Racer snakes are seeking shelter in the raspberry bushes.
Barn swallows are beginning to nest.
And white-crowned sparrows are collecting food for their babies.
Though the temperatures are foretasted to go down by the end of the week, these sensations of summer (minus the heat) are sure to stay until it’s official arrival.
Today, I decided to share some “leftover” photographs of Mave’s birthday celebration that didn’t make it into earlier posts!
On Thursday, we threw a bash to commemorate Mave’s 32nd trip around the sun. The party- planned to perfection by Chad, the sanctuary’s Enrichment Coordinator- featured whole coconuts, giant banana leaves, pineapple bowls, and massive heads of iceberg lettuce. Anna posted and amazing video from the event on Thursday, and Diana shared another fun clip on Saturday of Honey B enjoying the sandbox well after the party!
Now, here are some still images to complement their media coverage of the festivities. Enjoy!
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Mave immediately grabbed a coconut and ran away to devour it in peace.
Then, Mave also annihilated an entire pineapple stuffed with iceberg lettuce.
Honey B preferred to drink her coconut by the pool.
(Sadly, I didn’t get any good photos of Willy B because he was running around scarfing down all the lettuce and stomping on coconuts.)
On the other side of the building, the neighboring group of chimps had an equally amazing birthday bash in honor of Mave. Since they can hear and see each other, it would be unfair to leave them out of the fun, and they seemed to appreciate all the same appetizers, entrées, and desserts.
Jody, forager extraordinaire, swiftly grabbed a coconut and then went back out for peppers afterward.
Annie found a coconut and loudly slurped all the liquid from inside. The sound was kind of gross, to be honest, but it was funny that we could hear it from 100 feet away.
Missy went after the lettuce, but had to acknowledge Jamie before she could run away and eat it all in privacy.
Negra’s strategy was to chase everyone else and beg them for food. It works sometimes.
Foxie “flew under the radar” during this forage. She was barely visible as she ate iceberg lettuce atop a distant platform.
After displacing Missy from her perch on the Treat Rock, Jamie harvested a bunch of coconuts, iceberg and peppers. Even though she paused to sip on a coconut, she had a hard time carrying it all back into the Greenhouse.
Burrito’s manner of transporting lettuce and coconuts made us all chuckle. At one point, he gave up trying to hold it all and just kicked his coconut downhill towards the Greenhouse.
Thank you to everyone who sponsors chimps, donates items, follows and engages with our online media and supports the sanctuary! Once again, you facilitated another memorable birthday party for Mave and her companions.
As you can see, I “caught” Honey B in the sandbaox when I turned the corner. I love how many different things she tries with the sand.
For you blog readers, who are invested in the sanctuary on a deeper level than those who might just see a video we post on social media once in a while, I’m curious to hear your reaction to the statement I included within the video.
We are always discussing how to put sanctuary life into context and attempting to avoid inadvertently sending the wrong message about “cute” chimpanzees that might elicit the desire to own primates as pets. I refer you to this post by Anthony from over a year ago.
We’re really glad this issue is coming up more and more in our field, and I’m sure we will be reconsidering things we’ve posted in the past and doing more of these explanations within our posts, like we do on Instagram now too. Let us know your thoughts!
I hope you all were able to take the time to dig into something new today too, like Honey B.
If you haven’t already, check out the beginning of our online auction and don’t forget to tune in to the virtual Queen’s Brunch event in just a couple of weeks on June 13th!
Nicolas Santos, an 8th grade student at St. Luke School, recently collected fire hose for the chimpanzees. Nicolas’ parents, Erica (a former CSNW board member) and Enjay (a former CSNW volunteer), gathered up the family to help deliver it to the sanctuary.
The response to his project was so overwhelming that they had to rent a U-Haul trailer.
Already, Chad and I have began to hang some of it up in the new greenhouses, which are just weeks away from completion.
By the way – we’re very grateful to the donors who purchased the safety harness and lifeline from our wish list. Look at the view from up top! Just don’t look down.
As Nicolas mentioned in his flyer, chimpanzees use fire hose in a number of different ways.
They walk across it:
They climb across it:
They sit on it:
They swing on it:
They lounge on it:
They…do whatever this is:
Occasionally, they even wear it:
Thanks, Nicolas, for helping us enrich the chimps’ home! Honey B, Mave, Willy B, and the “Lucky Six” are going to love it.
