Jamie and Foxie love to play. Today I caught them in an intense game of tug-o-war with a troll in their mouths.
Sanctuary
Watermelon Bowls
We have some pretty creative folks around here at the sanctuary, but volunteers Stephanie and Katelyn are definitely two of the most creative people I know. Yesterday, the two westsiders (what we Washingtonians call folks from Seattle, or west of the mountains) stayed all day and spent part of the afternoon making watermelon bowls. They cut out the center of the watermelon and filled it with all types of fruits and veggies. I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that Burrito, who literally could not stop food squeaking the whole time, slept good last night.
And from the photos, I think it’s also safe to say that Annie was pretty pleased with the watermelon bowls, too:
Raceway!
Last night the chimps got the outdoor area back after being locked out for a couple of days while the raceway was under construction. Foxie was the most curious about the new door and door frame.
The raceway was actually constructed off-site using the caging that we removed when we replaced the caged windows with chimpanzee-proof glass. The welders had to make a hole in the current outdoor area and weld the raceway to it.
Slow Motion Play
Of all the Cle Elum Seven, Jody and Negra are probably the least playful. Both are more solitary as compared to the others, and seem to prefer to spend much of their time either grooming or nesting. Negra has become more and more playful lately, but her typical play partners are either her caregivers, or Missy or Foxie, who are both super playful, so, you can imagine my surprise (and delight) when I looked outside and saw the following scene.
4th of July Forage (finally)
If you “like” us on Facebook, you probably know, yesterday we had some technical difficulties with our website, so I was unable to get the video of yesterday’s lunch forage out to you– until now! The chimps had such an exciting day with lots of yummy treats. The weather was perfect and the food matched the holiday to the T. For lunch, they had corn on the cob (a favorite among everyone), whole raw onions (another favorite, believe it or not), cherries, and (of course) watermelon! The outdoor area was decorated in red, white, and blue, and the afternoon was spent lounging, grooming, and sleeping. Then, that evening, we gave the chimps Field Roast vegan dogs from volunteer Jeani (which resulted in squeaks, squeaks, and more squeaks) and more corn on the cob! Debbie set up a rose and tea forage in the playroom while I served dinner. When we left, they were back to lounging and seemed very content with the day.
Happy Birthday to Jessica Martinson!
Today’s sponsor-a-day is from Alexis Takasumi in celebration of Jessica Martinson’s Birthday! Jessica does a ton for CSNW! She is not only a chimp house volunteer and serves on the auction committee, but she is also our Board President. She is a very inspirational person with a ton of experience working with animals, including chimpanzees, in a variety of different settings. In her professional life, she is the manager of the Continuing Medical Education department of Swedish, a non-profit health care organization in Seattle. Alexis is one of Jessica’s former employees at Swedish. This is what she had to say:
“I am transitioning into a new position at Swedish and will no longer be working for Jessica in the CME Department. Before I left, I wanted to do something to thank her for being the best boss that I have ever worked for. She has been like a mentor to me and I am really going to miss being a part of her team.”
So not only is she inspirational in the chimp world, but she’s an inspirational boss, too! Happy Birthday, Jessica! Thank you so much for all you do for the Cle Elum Seven!
Hail to the Queen
None of the following photos are by any stretch of the means “award winning”, but they represent a very special moment I just had with Negra. I was sitting outside on the new concrete footings for the soon-to-be tunnel to Young’s Hill (!!) and hanging out with Burrito. We were alternating between grooming, tickling, kissing my hand, and playing this game we often play where he leans to one side and bites the cage and I reach towards him like I’m going to touch him and he moves to the other side, laughing hysterically. Although for Burrito, it was a very mellow moment. Negra was laying beside us in her typical corner of the outdoor area with a bright pink blanket completely over her. She heard us starting to get louder with our “fake out” game and sat up, threw the blanket off of her and walked over towards Burrito to greet him. She sat next to him for a little while, but since our playful games had fizzled, Mr. B eventually walked away. Negra then walked back over to her pink blanket and put it over her head. I said “Oh Neg, you look so beautiful!” and asked her if I could take her picture. She gave me a slight headnod of reassurance, so I took the following photos. She seemed pretty content that the focus was now on her. Unfortunately I was too close to get a photo without bars, but I think with a face like Negra’s, they are pretty easy to forget about.
