Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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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:

A Hill of Beans

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And just like that, Honey B (aka Beans, to some of us) became an outdoor chimp. This particular clip actually took place over a week ago and she has been out on her hill several times since! For now she is staying close to home (as is Mave) but I bet they’ll be exploring more soon. Your turn, Dora!

Here are a few photos of today’s lunch forage on the Bray.

Rayne:

Cy:

Cy discovering a whole apple:

Pant-hooting with delight!

Terry:

Cy finding an orange on the second tower:

Cy and Terry:

Terry:

Lucky:

Lucky, Rayne, and Cy:

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:

The Sunrise Committee

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Early mornings in Cy’s group can be pretty rowdy. Some of the boys (usually Willy B, but occasionally Gordo, Terry, or Cy) will begin displaying at some ungodly hour—5 or 6am if we’re lucky, or 2am if they know we have to work in the chimp house the next day—and the whole group will take turns screaming, pant hooting, or even chasing each other around. The chimps don’t usually bed down for the night, per se, but instead engage in first sleep, second sleep, and so on, sometimes moving to a new nest each time. But as the sun begins to rise over the Bray, things start to change.

One by one, they make their way to Greenhouse 2 (the Oakwood Greenhouse), compelled by the sun. As the greenhouse heats up and becomes bathed in a warm glow, the chimps groom, nap, and engage in their favorite activities together. This is the one time each day when the group reliably comes together as a whole (with one typical exception, of course!). I think of them as the Sunrise Committee, and when the Committee convenes, I know I can drink my coffee in peace.

If you know Honey B, you know she’s not one for committees. So this is usually her personal time, when she gets to enjoy the freedom of being alone. Sometimes she’ll pull one of the committee members for a game of chase or mall walking, but it’s rare to see her in the middle of the grooming session.

 

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!

 

 

A Day on the Bray: Lucky Climbs a Tower!

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Mave has been showing off her newfound confidence on the Bray, though at this point she prefers to stay somewhat close to home. Lucky, on the other hand, has been pushing herself to explore the very top of the enclosure. The other day she climbed one of the towers under construction at the top of the Bray for the first time (I think!) and took a moment to enjoy the view with her brother Cy and pal Gordo.

Rayne with one of her favorite books:

Cy, as I found him while closing up the chimp house one evening:

Here’s a photo of the sanctuary taken several weeks back from the driveway on the southern edge of our property which the Bonneville Power Administration built to access their transmission towers for us to walk our dogs along. In the background you can see one of the many cuts along Old Highway 10 where university students and geology buffs go to examine the various strata of ancient riverbeds, as well as the infamous Taylor Bridge, forever linked to the 2012 wildfire which bears its name.

And one from yesterday, after a wind gust blew a plastic bag up this impossibly steep hill while Jake and I were working on cattle fencing. I figured I’d stop a take a photo to hide how tired I was from the climb and buy myself a little time before trying to make my way back down. I was reminded of one of those quirky British competitions where people chase after a wheel of cheese down a steep slope (I’m not kidding) except at the bottom of this hill is simply an old barbed wire fence. This view of the slope might give you a sense of why we couldn’t extend the chimp enclosures any further to the east than we did – bear in mind, the chimp enclosure is itself a pretty steep hill. I really thought about it, though.

 

Good Morning!

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Mornings in the chimp house are busy- there’s breakfast to make, smoothies to blend, lists to check, and chimps to greet. Some days, there’s only time to give the chimps a quick hello while you do other tasks (like safety checks to give them access to the outdoor enclosures). Other days, things take on a slower pace and you find yourself spending quality time with the chimps before breakfast. Today was one of those mornings.

As I was opening up both sides of the chimp house today, I noticed something- Jamie’s side, with Burrito immediately getting me into a game of chase and tug-of-war, felt like greeting a morning person with all the energy to do all the things right away! Cy’s side was like greeting people who need more quiet time in the morning- with lots of grooming and watching of the humans getting their tasks done. It’s not always this way- sometimes Burrito is off doing his own thing and sometimes Cy immediately snags you to play a game of chase, but this morning I felt two very different morning-vibes from each group of chimps. Personally, I categorize myself as a 10am to 2pm kind of person. This morning, though, it was really nice to spend time with morning-chimps and also some not-so-morning chimps. 🙂

P.S: There’s only one more day left of Early Giving for GiveBIG!! The event culminates in a 48-hour giving period on May 7th and May 8th, but you can help us get closer to our fundraising goal by donating early. Help us make BIG things happen here at CSNW! Click here to support us today.

Bonus Photos

Handsome Cy resting this afternoon

Sweet Gordo enjoying his groups’ lunch forage in the Greenhouse today

Boss lady Jamie, enjoying a lilac this morning