Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Night Walk

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Last Friday, we held a small, intimate memorial for our dear friend, Jody. While we had the service, it only felt right that Jody’s family have access to Young’s Hill. However, very unlike Jamie, she was no where to be found and slept through the entire thing. Apparently, all the chimps went to sleep after we left the Chimp House and left door Y (Jamie’s group access door to their outdoor space) open. Jamie must have thought, we, her humans, were so stupid and made a mistake. Eventually, around dusk, the event was winding down and caregivers tried to close the Hill off, Jamie finally noticed the service and came sprinting out. A few of us tried to catch up with her to join in on the walk, but she was going so fast! She was amped! Once it was fully dark and the service had come to an end, I had the pleasure of going on one last night-walk with Jamie. Thank goodness I brought a head lamp to light the way for both of us! It was so dark that I was starting to scare myself, so I apologize if the video looks a little like the “Blair Witch Project”.

Jamie on her nighttime stroll:

Rayne is so cool:

Rayne grooming Mave:

Teeny Tiny Terry:

Teeny tiny troll dolls for a teeny tiny Foxie:

Annie:

Missy:

A Gordo photo series:

 

Mave’s 34th Birthday Party

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Mave and her family celebrated her 34th birthday today with a forage that included young coconuts. Initially, Mave did not get her own coconut but after some time foraging her best friend Dora placed an extra one by Mave’s side. Did she mean to offer it to Mave or did she simply not object when Mave picked it up? Either way, Dora is a good friend and it was the perfect gift.

Portraits & Pop Quizzes

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Today is the epitome of PNW moody, cloudy, drizzly, & brisk weather. I know there are quite a few of us that are bummed about being at the tail end of summer, but I cannot express how excited I am for cooler weather, hot apple cider, snow, and all the other fun things that come with fall and winter. And after a day like today, I don’t think I’m the only one!

One of the first things that we do in the morning after we arrive is safety checks for both Young’s Hill and The Bray, so that we can give both groups access to their respective outdoor enclosures. When I gave Jamie’s group access, everyone immediately left the greenhouse to explore the hill. Even Negra went out to her cabin right away and they all enjoyed the bit of sunshine that was coming through the clouds. And as soon as Chad gave Cy’s group access to the Bray, I heard him call out that Cy and a few others were going on a patrol! It seemed that everyone was enjoying the brisk morning.

A little bit later I went out to serve Jamie’s group breakfast and found Negra and Annie out by Negra’s cabin, foraging for what looked like prickly lettuce. They chose to stay out on the hill during most of breakfast, but eventually made their way inside. As soon as they came in, Missy and Foxie went out. Then Missy came in, only for Burrito to go out. Then Foxie came in, only for Jamie to venture back out. It was a test for my memory as I tried to remember who had their carrot, who got their pears, and if someone had already turned down peanuts or not.

After we wrapped up breakfast, which took a good deal longer than normal, Katelyn and I started to do safety checks to enter and clean the playroom for Jamie’s group. Most everyone was easy to find, but we couldn’t find Missy. After searching and searching, we finally located her in Carlene’s Tower at the *very* top of Young’s Hill. By herself. With her chow bags. Happily munching away.

The theme for today seemed to be perfect weather + tricky ID tests, since everyone was exploring so far from the chimp house. So, keeping with theme, I have two ‘pop-quiz’ photos for you! 🙂 A bit of background: before staff members unlock and enter any enclosure, we have two trained caregivers complete safety checks. This includes identifying each of the chimps in that group, without relying on the process of elimination. Sometimes this is easy and sometimes (like today) it’s tricky.

Let’s start with The Bray, which Cy’s group has access to. I walked outside the greenhouse to see this which I caught on one of our cameras (with some zoom). Can you identify who is in this photo, from left to right?

Next, let’s go over to Jamie’s side! This was taken as everyone was hurrying to enjoy the lunch forage on Young’s Hill. From left to right, who do you see?

How’d it go? 🙂 If you want to see how you did, scroll down to the very bottom for the answers (but no cheating!).

It also seemed to be a good day to get some portrait photos. I hope you enjoy these snip-bits from throughout the day!

Annie, nested in the Greenhouse:

Cy, watching his caregivers down the hall:

Foxie, being her beautiful self:

Gordo, enjoying an apple (or two) from today’s lunch forage:

Jamie, on a mission during the lunch forage:

Missy, with a coveted cherry tomato during today’s lunch forage:

Terry, also enjoying an apple (or two, maybe three, or perhaps four?) during the lunch forage:

 

Photo A, Cy’s Group on the Bray, from left to right:

            Rayne, Lucky, Terry (on the log), Gordo.

2. Photo B, Jamie’s Group on the Hill, from left to right:

Burrito (running away), Missy, Foxie (back center), Jamie, Annie (closest to the camera on the right).

 

Rainy Days With Neggie

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Personally, I am in deep denial about summer being over. Negra, on the other hand, seems to be enjoying the weather change. Today was a cool, overcast day that turned into a light misty rain from time to time. Negra has perfected rainy day comfort. She finds a cozy nest in the green house, finds a blanket to cover over her whole body including her head, and if she needs to get up- say, for breakfast- she grabs what she needs and goes back up to enjoy breakfast in bed. However, blanket must come back up over head.

Please enjoy this photo series of Negra on a rainy day, as much as she did :).

Snoozy Negra:

Breakfast in bed:

Photos from the Summer Vault

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As summer draws to a close I thought it would be a good day to dig through my phone for some unseen moments that I captured throughout these warmer months. Enjoy!

Lunchtime Annie:

Missy Magnified!

The Sunflowers that volunteered on Young’s Hill are still going strong. As the blooms start to go to seed, I imagine their days out there are numbered…

We were all admiring this photo of Negra as it really highlights her illustrious nose hairs.

“September was a thirty-days long goodbye to summer”

-Lea Malot

 

A Good Distraction

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For caregivers, there are many different types of distractions in the chimp house! Often when cleaning, Foxie will ask you to play troll toss, or Willy B would like you to stop cleaning so he can look at videos on your phone, or Cy wants to play chase, and of course there is the possibility of perimeter walks of  Young’s Hill with Jamie. Often the best distraction is when the chimps are playing with one another. We always stop cleaning for a moment to observe. For example, Burrito is often the best at getting his group members to play with him, even if they didn’t think they were in the mood. Burrito is so good at distracting, he can even get Jamie to be off-duty!

Of course there are other types of distraction that aren’t as fun, like when a caregiver is trying to write a blog and there is endless displaying on Willy B’s side of the building which turns into a fight that required us caregivers to respond to. For Burrito’s group, that same fight on the other side of the building, turned into watching their favorite reality TV show: Mave on the Bray. That is right, MAVE was on the Bray today! Although, the reason Mave was on the Bray may have been because all nine chimps went outside screaming and gave caregiver Kelsi and Jenna a bit of a scare, but Mave, Dora, and Honey B looked good out there! When Mave returned, Honey B gave her a big hug and Dora also fully embraced her. However, terrifying as it was, it was spectacular to see everyone out there. It was the first time the entire group were on The Bray. I am not sure when Mave or Dora will go back out, hopefully soon but maybe under different circumstances. Miss Honey B, on the other hand, may only go out when she is screaming at people (that seems to be her personal pattern so far). More updates to come if Mave, Dora, and Honey B continue to go out on The Bray!

I had more content I wanted to add to this blog, but naturally I got distracted ;).

Mave on the Bray:

Jamie:

Jamie and her book:

Burrito:

Negra and Burrito foraging in Neggie’s Cabin:

Negra :):