Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

troll

Senior Portrait Day

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This morning, Mave was showing off some luxurious locks and a yearbook photo worthy pose. She is the coolest.

Those are the only photos I managed to get this morning, so I guess today is my day to clear out some photos from the old phone. Here’s Missy chomping on some sweet potato in the Greenhouse.

As you may have seen on yesterday’s blog, Anna has returned from her maternity leave and Chad has agreed to stay on as a permanent staff member. Here we are celebrating – it’s a sign of the times when you need to use panoramic mode to get all five people at a party in the same shot (Katelyn was working remotely).

People often refer to hay as either “cow hay” or “horse hay”. While these names can mean different things to different people, it’s usually the case that cow hay is of a lesser quality. Perhaps it got rained on before being baled or sat around for far too long. Cattle, it seems, are less sensitive than horses to molds and other impurities, but don’t let that make you think they aren’t picky. These four have very refined palates and they will boycott any hay that is not up to their standards. Conversely, when you bring the good stuff they will eat it right out of the Gator with such enthusiasm that you can’t even get it to their feeder.

When we built the foot box we had a hunch it would work but we needed to be sure before relying on it to diagnose an injury. So we threw a troll in the box. For science.

 

Dining Out

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It’s almost like summer officially arrived today. The sun felt stronger this morning, and the grass on the hill looked considerably more golden than it did they day before. On this side of the Cascades, the Northwest is drying out. Although we have blue skies and warm weather ahead, we also have to contend with an arid and dusty landscape until the snows arrive later this year. It will be a sad day when the last raspberry is picked and the chimps will have to wait until next summer for more.

The chimpanzees are dealing with the annual desiccation of Young’s Hill in their own way. Today’s lunch of nuts and veggies was spread across the habitat, motivating them to spill out of the Greenhouse and forage. The prairie grass was extra crispy underfoot, causing the chimps to tread carefully while wading through in search of food.

Negra:

Burrito:

Jody:

Jamie:

After collecting handfuls of produce, the chimps all climbed onto the habitat’s various wooden structures. From there, they could eat their meal in the warm sunshine while sitting far above the prickly grass below.

Foxie:

Negra:

The meal ended the way that all great meals end; the chimps put their feet up and took a well-deserved siesta.

Burrito:

Even this dismembered troll doll dozed off.

Only one chimpanzee returned to the outdoors to enjoy some alone time in the shade…

…and I soon identified her as Foxie, enjoying a moment of solitude in the warm summer breeze.

Nice Day

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The chimps had a very nice day! Most of the day was spent out on the Hill or in the Green House. Everyone went straight out to Young’s Hill once it was opened, even Neggie ran out right away. Negra also lead the group out for the lunch forage today! However, it must be snake season because before anyone went outside some surveillance had to be done. Annie, who is terrified of snakes, looked out towards the Hill from in the race way, making sure her toes never touched the ground. Foxie, brave little Foxie, lead everyone out giving everyone the okay, but all the chimps made sure to keep their eye out.

Foxie:

Annie:

Negra wadging pineapple:

Miss eating chow:

Jody with a loose lip giving level 3 caregiver Jake some reassurance:

Annie bipedally walking and inspecting for snakes:

Missy, the good friend that she is, giving Annie some back up:

Foxie, Annie, & Missy going out to venture on the secure Hill:

Jody watching over everyone:

And enjoying the tall green grass:

Negra:

Missy (top), Annie (middle), Foxie (below) hanging out on the new structure:

Jamie doing her perimeter check:

Jamie and I also saw Jody and Negra along the way. They were foraging on some of the natural plants that grow on the Hill.

Jody:

Negra:

Foxie enjoying the sunshine:

Later, while cleaning was going on, we caught Jamie using a toothbrush to brush this dolls hair (It was a very sweet moment):

Days like today make my heart feel so full of joy, these chimps are simply amazing. Nothing makes you feel better than seeing happy chimps grooming and playing together all day.

 

Do You Know?

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Can you tell who is who? Today at CSNW we have a challenge for you! There are four pictures and we want you all to try and guess which chimps are in the photos.

A freckled face:

Two mystery girls lounging together:

And who could be under this blanket:

Someone holding a troll doll:

 

Additional photos just because!

 

Foxie:

Jamie nestled with a boot:

Jamie finally off duty:

And last one because who wouldn’t want to see one more:

 

 

 

 

Never Assume

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When training new volunteers and staff, learning to identify the chimps is very important. The chimps all have distinguishing features about them. Staff will try to give helpful pointers to help figure out who is who. For example, Foxie has what looks like a bow tie on her swelling, some chimps have defined brow ridges like Jody, and Missy is petite and has a short neck. Some have freckles, permanently crazy bed hair, different body types, and others have scars or pieces of ears or toes missing. There is also the way that they carry themselves. Jamie often walks with confidence and always looks like she is 3 steps ahead of you. You can often find certain chimps in a particular area that they like or holding specific enrichment they are fond of. For example, Negra loves to make a nest on the second floor in the corner of the playroom. However, this is where it gets tricky and why we tell staff and volunteers to judge only by physical characteristics and not by what we know they like or where “their spot” is. I have also seen little Miss nesting in the same spot as Negra! Jamie loves boots and Foxie always has a doll with her, but they like to throw us curve balls! I often find someone else holding a doll like Jamie or even today I spotted Negra holding a troll doll and putting it in her pelvic pocket. We train our staff and volunteers to take their time identifying the chimps, get to know the chimps, and especially their physical characteristics!

Negra: Holding a troll doll