Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

washington

Snowpocalypse 2019

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As the state of Washington braces for more snow, the chimpanzees spent the day thoroughly enjoying the first day of Snowpocalypse / Snowmageddon / Snowzilla WA 2019.

We really just got a few inches here, which is pretty normal this time of year. Anna did do a pretty good job of hyping the drama of the storm with her snow and ice sculpture for the chimps:

Missy did her best to carefully remove an icicle so she could abscond with it to the loft:

Jody decided to eat hers in situ:

Foxie kept a close eye on the snow as she consumed it (as is her way):

Jamie received a bonus treat today! After reading Anna’s post from the other day, donors must have immediately started gathering things to send, because we have already received some special Jamie enrichment.

We thought Snowmaggedon was a good time to give Jamie a donated folio full of interesting things.

She carefully pulled out and sorted through each item. When she came across a piece of paper that had photos of boots, she put it aside. After closely examining each card and envelope, she picked up the paper with the boot photos and went upstairs with some leftover lunch for some private Jamie-time. This chimpanzee knows what she likes:

Morning Exploration

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On these summer mornings, when there’s still a slight coolness to the air and the sun is low in the sky, the chimpanzees often explore the outdoor habitat. They head out on their own, in pairs, or sometimes as a group, generally splitting off to do some private exploration. They go to the top of the towers to see if the landscape has changed, and they pick edible plants for an after-breakfast snack.

We don’t often get photos of this morning exploration because the humans are busy starting the cleaning for the day.

Today, however, we have a full house of volunteers! I took advantage of the help and went to the top of the observation tower to take a few photos while Deb, Lynn, Rachel, and Dusty scrubbed and disinfected the playroom.

I had to use the telephoto lens to identify the tiny specs of chimps in the distance and even that lens wasn’t able to zoom in very close with the chimps at the very top of the two-acre enclosure. They would sometimes disappear completely, hidden by the tall summer grass. I love watching them out on their own with no concern for the human activity in the building, just soaking in the day.

 

Missy and Annie:

missy and annie on tower

missy and annie on bridge

 

Missy:

missy holding structure

missy on mound

 

Missy and Annie heading back to the greenhouse:

missy and annie coming back to greenhouse

 

Jody foraging for prickly lettuce:

jody foraging

jody with weeds

 

Jamie doing her own thing:

jamie tightrope walking

 

Love on a Windy Day

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Three members of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest family had weddings today – the brides are new staff member Anna and dedicated volunteer Becca, who is marrying Lars, also a volunteer. I wanted to wish them a special congratulations using photos of the chimpanzees taken on this windy day, so here goes:

Anna & Andy and Becca & Lars, may your love be…

As sweet as Annie:

Sweet Annie

 

As endearing as Burrito:

Burrito with amazing shoulder hair

 

As playful as Foxie:

Foxie carrying Dora

 

As strong as Jamie:

Jamie standing on structure

 

As unique as Jody:

Jody with hands full

 

As loyal as Missy:

Missy with sunflowers

 

And as inspiring as Negra:

Negra with green onions

 

A little backstory on the photo of Missy above – in honor of the couples, I put out two sunflowers from the garden as part of the chimps’ lunch forage. I expected Jody to be the one to get them, but it was Missy!

Here are a few more photos:

Missy retrieving sunflowers

Missy leaving the treat rock

Missy carry her stash Missy carrying her stash 2

 

Happy wedding day to all four of you!

 

Don’t fight winter – embrace it like Jamie

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Free-living chimpanzees inhabit countries spanning equatorial Africa, but the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are becoming more and more acclimated to central Washington weather. Perhaps these photos of Jamie will inspire you to embrace winter too.

Jamie sit shaky bridge

Jamie look aside shaky bridge

jamie chimpanzee eating snow

Jamie eating snow

jamie chimpanzee thinking about eating snow

Jamie eating snow

Jamie snow face

Roslyn Troll and Doggie Olympics

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The weather was great. The competition was fierce. The times were good.

Supporter Monica B. found the BEST EVER mascot for the Roslyn Olympics. Meet Stanley the Troll Dog:

stanley

Check out some more of the photos from the Roslyn Olympics that J.B. took:

3 legged race

troll guess

troll toss 1

troll toss 2

trollphies

troll toss winners

3 legged race winners

troll relay

champions

Who’s coming next year? We’re going to try to get the park on the 2nd week in July on a Saturday. Big thanks to ARRF Animal Rescue and the sponsors of the 2012 games!