Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Primate chow always tastes best after a long walk.
The chimps in Jamie’s group often take a stroll around Young’s Hill just after lunch. Many will take their chow bags—paper lunch bags filled with primate biscuits that are given out after their fruits, veggies, and nuts—and eat them outside. But Jamie saves hers until she returns to the chimp house. Getting to enjoy your food at the time of your choosing without fear of someone stealing it from you is one of the perks of being the boss.
This week one of our newest volunteers Rylie came out to the Sanctuary to bring our garden beds back to life! During her orientation, Rylie noticed the beds were growing weeds so she reached out to us to ask if she could clean them up and plant some veggies for the chimps. Needless to say, we were thrilled she wanted to take this on!
Rylie worked with Diana to figure out what to plant. They wanted to come up with veggies that the chimps love to eat but also knew it was getting late in the season to start planting so had to pick items that were quick to mature. She took some impressive before and after photos for today’s blog.
In Bed 1, Rylie decided to put in 4 tomato plants (Missy’s favorite!). The bed already had lavender, lemon balm, catnip, and oregano growing in it – all of which are tomato companion plants. These herbs help to repel all sorts of pests that damage tomato plants. For example, catnip repels rodents and oregano deters aphids. Pollinators, such as bees, are attracted to both lemon balm and lavender. Pollinators help to promote healthy growth of tomato plants. Lemon balm is also known to enhance the flavor of the actual tomatoes! Pretty cool, right?
Before:
After:
In Bed 2, marigolds, potatoes, red onions, beets, and carrots were planted. This bed in particular had very dense soil. Root vegetables can help loosen up dense soil with their deep tap roots. Some veggies, like carrots and beets, are better at this than others. Marigolds were chosen for this bed because they serve as a companion plant to all 4 of these veggies, helping to repel pests, attract beneficial insects, and fight disease.
Before:
After:
In Bed 3, baby watermelons, sunflowers and sweet peppers were planted. Sunflowers are companion plants for both watermelon and peppers, helping to protect and enhance the crops. The soil in this bed was also quite compact so Rylie is hoping the deep roots of the sunflowers will help break it up. Peppers and watermelon inherently do well together because one grows up and one sprawls out. They are both sun lovers so these growth habits give each a chance to soak up all the sun they need to thrive.
Before:
After:
For all the beds, Rylie amended the existing soil with a pH balanced garden soil. For each plant or seed or set, she added earth worm castings to the hole before placing the plant/seed/set in. Earth worm castings are the end product of a worm’s digestion and they are extremely beneficial to the soil. Castings are rich in nutrients in a form that plants can easily digest. They also help soil retain water and can improve soil tilth over time. A whole lot of magic in such tiny granules.
A HUGE thank you to Rylie for tackling all the gardening! We can’t wait to see these fruits and veggies grow throughout the summer and of course, it will such an awesome day when we can feed our chimps some home grown produce!
Bonus! Jamie had intern Ilmi put on a pair of her white studded fashion boots for a walk around Young’s Hill today:
If you’re living locally and wish to volunteer at the sanctuary, just like Rylie and Ilmi, check out our website to learn more about our volunteer program!
Followers who have been reading the blog for a little while may remember the Comfort & Joy Auction from last fall. The items bidders made for the chimpanzees were then highlighted throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas series. Though we covered some, we did not cover all of the items. Mostly because some items took a little longer to get. Well, today were were *finally* able to give the California chimpanzees another one of the items from that auction. Today, Honey B was able to finally get her chair! But before we get to the photos of Honey B using the chair:
Sending a special thank you to
Diane Mattis
Thank you so much for bidding on this item. Honey B wasted no time utilizing it. Every time I went back to their side of the building to get photos her using it, the chimpanzees would stop what they were doing. I was able to get some not so great photos though. It’s the context that counts, right?
Honey B was the first to claim her new seat
When I first found her, she was surrounded by others grooming her on her new throne
As you can see, in one photo, Lucky left when I was trying to get a photo, and Terry left when I tried from a different angle. Hopefully you get the idea though. All three of them (Rayne is also included) were grooming Honey B as she sat atop her throne.
As Honey B was taking in the ambience the new chair brought to Marmot Mountain Playroom, their neighbors were busy enjoying Spring.
One of my favorite things about Spring, and my indication that it is spring, is when the Pacific Bleeding Heart flowers begin to bloom.
This plant lives right outside the door that leads to their front rooms. But there was no time to admire the flowers, or so I was told.
It was time to go around Young’s Hill.
Luckily for me, about half way through our walk/run, Burrito got distracted by some morning Spring grass. Unluckily for me (but actually luckily for me), Missy picked up where he left off.
Missy is a chimp’s chimp. She will choose her family 99.9999999999999% of the time over dealing with the humans. In my case, she usually gives me one or two good acknowledgments a year. But unlike some of my colleagues, my interactions have never been grooming with her or playing tug-o-war. It has always been running around the hill. As you may have guessed, I lose every single time.
When we reached the very top of Young’s Hill, Missy took a break and sat in the shade to lookout upon her home.
When the break was over, it was time for a quick snack of fresh Spring grass.
Not far behind Missy was her best friend, Annie.
And Burrito came around shortly after.
A little later on, they all enjoyed a nice breezy lunch forage. Though she spent some time in her cabin eating the goods she found in it, Negra ultimately decided to grab some last minute picks and take it back to the Greenhouse.
This nice sustained Spring weather has been amazing so far. We hope you are all enjoying the weather wherever you may be as well.
Bonus Photos
Rayne in relaxation mode
Jamie doing her first patrol of the morning
Missy with a lilac bounty she collected from Young’s Hill the other day in honor of Jody
Mave, Dora, and Honey B having a nice lunch together in the outdoor chute during their watermelon bowl forage yesterday
Diana thought she was going right back to the office after cattle feeding but as she was backing the Gator into the barn, Jamie flagged her down. It was time to race.
Diana put the machine back into gear and drove up the hill.
Burrito ran to catch up and they both tried to stay ahead of Diana.
Missy came storming up from behind to join in the fun.
After a long, tough winter, it was good to see the gang out racing again.
I think Jamie let Diana win this one…
We haven’t had the drone out in a while so this morning I thought I’d take the opportunity to film the chimps on their post-breakfast patrol. Counterclockwise patrols are actually pretty rare for this group, but I think some early morning drama had Jamie and the gang itching to check on their neighbors.
Nearly ten years ago, we met these chimpanzees in the windowless basement of a laboratory where they had lived for decades, often alone. Each walk around Young’s Hill still feels like a small miracle.
For Jamie, patrolling Young’s Hill is serious business. Tell that to Jody, Foxie, Annie, and Missy, who all seem like they’re having a little too much fun.
