Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Three More Sleeps

by

This month has flown by! Can you believe there are only three days left until the chimps celebrate Christmas? The caregiver elves are working really hard to get everything ready for the highly anticipated day! Today Anna and Chad built Jamie and Honey B’s workbenches! Lucky’s group has not yet experienced a CSNW Christmas and we look forward to them opening the amazing presents everyone has donated! Every year we express our gratitude to you all for your generous donations and kind words and this year is no different! As the presents roll in, I am always in awe of how much support you all give to us! So thank you!

And as a thank you I thought I would share a little photo shoot with the ever so kind and beautiful Lucky!

And because it is the season of giving we have a few bonus photos ;).

Jamie savoring her icicle!

Gordo playing with one of his favorite enrichment items (a box!) and eating one of his favorite foods!

A Window to New Friendships

by

Introductions between Cy and Willy B’s groups have been progressing along. Today we decided to do something new and different. There are panels between the two greenhouses that provide a visual barrier between the two groups. We removed one of the panels so the two groups can now see and safely interact with each through this portal.

When the groups were given access their greenhouses, Lucky and Rayne were the first ones to notice. Rayne waited around the portal for some time, but nobody showed up. It took a while for Willy B and Mave to realize there was a panel missing. As with new things, a lot of excitement can happen. Usually a lot of screaming and displaying. Surprisingly, there wasn’t as much as we expected. There was mostly positive interactions.

The paneling is located on the second story of the greenhouses, so getting photos up there is almost impossible especially in the winter when the outside paneling is up to keep the chimpanzees warm. I was able to catch a couple of photos from the ground floor of Willy B during one of his displays.

Willy B looks at his neighbors looking at him.
He begins to work up his display with hooting.
He stands bipedally and become piloerect.
Just a blur.

Here are some bonus photos of Gordo and Cy enjoying some snow snacks!

Gordo
Cy

 

It Flakes One to Snow One

by

The Pacific Northwest is projected to experience a snowy La Niña winter, but I personally wasn’t expecting to have this much snowfall so early. Today’s local forecast predicted only a couple inches of precipitation yet we just shoveled at least triple that amount from the same sidewalks we just cleared yesterday evening.

The chimps are warm, cozy and entertained (hanging out in their heated indoor areas by choice), the cattle are fed and dry in their winter paddock and barn, and the other caregivers are busy finishing up the daily tasks. There’s also a formidable amount of shoveling and plowing to do outside so today’s blog is unapologetically brief!

As much as I love plowing the driveway with the new tractor, the brightest moment of my week actually occurred yesterday afternoon while doing farm chores. As I drove out to muck the cattle barn, I spotted a distinct trail of animal footprints crossing the pasture. The tracks had the telltale shape and gait of a coyote’s, registering four clawed digits from each paw. Of all the region’s native carnivores, coyotes are perhaps the best suited for living in proximity to humans; their adaptability makes them one of my favorite animals to observe and learn from. I followed the creature’s path across the driveway and stopped where its trail plunged into the brush, eventually crossing the nearby highway and descending towards the wooded riverbank below. As I tend to do, I took a photograph to share with you all.

A close-up of a coyote print

Here are a couple more shots from yesterday:

Meredith
Nearby mountains as seen from the winter barn

Icicle season

by

Negra, with Jamie behind her, was the first one by the door today when I gave her group access to Young’s Hill. She spent a good amount of time enjoying handfuls of snow!

Jamie, Annie, and Foxie getting their turn for some snow.

After we cleaned the seven’s playroom we filled up one of their tubs with snow and put some icicles in it. We had to to tell volunteer Lisa to save some for the chimps, since she wanted to eat it all.

After the chimpanzees got access back to the playroom Jamie was the first one to the tub of goodies.

The chimps on the other side of the building also got to enjoy some icicles and snow.

Gordo was first to investigate.

He picked up some icicles, but then went straight for the snow.

Rayne also came over to grab some icicles.

Snow was slowly melting and sliding down the roof of the Greenhouse and Cy was keeping an eye on it.

In the other Greenhouse Honey B was ready for a game of chase.

Bonus photos from after breakfast this morning.

Negra with her oranges.

Burrito with a mouth full of chow.

We have lots of fun things on our Amazon wish list for the Holidays! If you are interested you can check it out here!

Christmas in sight

by

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just a little over a week away! This morning, Caregiver Kelsi moved one of the fresh Christmas trees into the mechanical room for the chimps’ viewing pleasure. Each chimpanzee group will get a decorated tree complete with presents underneath for their holiday party next week. If you are interested in contributing to the chimps’ seasonal joy, check out our Amazon Wish List!

Cy and caregiver Sam

 

Cy peruses a magazine with Dora snuggled in next to him.
Gordo with his foot up on a box.
Lucky with background lights
Rayne

Bonus! Negra and her breakfast pomegranate.

 

 

 

Snow Diggity

by

With just over a week to go before the winter solstice, our valley is already in the midst of this year’s first big snowstorm.

The accumulating slush doesn’t seem to be bothering the chimps too much, though. On one side of the building, Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra have been scarfing down handfuls of delicious wet snow. (It must be nice to have one of your favorite foods literally falling from the sky).

On the other side, Cy, Dora, Gordo, Honey B, Lucky, Mave, Rayne, Terry and Willy B are also enjoying cozy naps, working on food puzzles, and spending quality time with their respective group members, but they’re still “warming up” to the concept of eating snow. Fortunately, their taste for this Pacific Northwest delicacy is slowly developing; Gordo and Rayne already seem to relish the frozen treat!

Chad took this photo of Gordo inhaling a snowball this morning:

Of all the chimps who live in the new wing, only Honey B has bravely utilized the newly-enclosed greenhouses today. When I unlocked the Chimp House this morning, she was out there to meet me for a game of chase. There’s nothing like a bout of “the zoomies” to keep your caregivers sharp on slushy winter mornings!