Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

slinky

Front Rooms of Fun

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If you’ve been following us for long, you may know that the front rooms are a beloved spot for both lounging and activities for the chimps living on Cy’s side of the building. There’s FR 7, which is the perfect spot for spying on the humans doing work in the foyer. FR 6 with a food chute to perch on and keep eyes on happenings in the clinic (if you’re Honey B, it’s also a fun activity to have your caregivers open the door to the clinic for you on command!), and FR 5 which connects to the chute and is slightly larger – meaning more room for activities! When George first arrived and into the initial steps of his introduction to Cy’s group, he was living in the front rooms with access to other areas on different days. Because George was occupying the front rooms, the rest of the chimps not being introduced to him weren’t able to visit the front rooms, until just recently! As the introduction group got larger, George and friends moved into a larger space (the playrooms and greenhouses), giving the rest of the chimps the opportunity to rotate through being in the front rooms. I don’t think anyone is more thrilled about this than Honey B!

In today’s blog video, see how Willy B, Honey B, and Mave are making the most of their time in their beloved front rooms!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

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On the seventh day of Christmas, the chimpanzees received giant slinkies. There are some in the groups who love slinkies to play with. We all know that Burrito and Willy B loved slinkies. We are now finding out some of the newer residents also seem to enjoy them. We have seen Rayne and Dora play with them as well as Gordo, though we currently don’t have any footage of Gordo because of his somewhat elusive nature.

Special thank you to:

Marya B. for donating the slinkies!

Rayne

The VIP Lounge

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The chimpanzees spend more time resting and socializing in the heated indoor areas as the weather gets wetter and colder.

We’ve recently been focusing much of our content on the chimps’ outdoor enclosures, especially Young’s Hill and The Bray. Large outdoor habitats are irreplaceable because they provide chimpanzees with unique opportunities to engage in “natural” behaviors such as climbing, foraging, and patrolling as a group. The greenhouse-type enclosures, including the new Riverview and Oakwood Greenhouses, also have certain characteristics that the chimps can take full advantage of at their leisure.

Even so, chimpanzees living in sanctuary also need clean, climate-controlled, enriched indoor spaces. These are locations where they can be cozy, entertained and secure, regardless of the conditions outside. It would be easy to look at the artificial interiors and think that these enclosures are inferior to the outdoor ones, but the chimpanzees don’t seem to think so. Instead, the residents seem to utilize the various spaces differently so that together they provide one expansive, complex, multi-functional home.

Sofia highlighted the indoor front rooms in her September post “Back to Front Room 7” and Anna wrote about them again in last week’s post “Small space, big fun“. I thought it might be fun to share some additional video clips of the chimpanzees enjoying that same space today!