Long, lazy walks around Young’s Hill.
Endless amounts of fresh, sweet grass and dandelions.
Drifting off to sleep to a chorus of songbirds.
wild plants
The Chimps are Fine
You may have heard that the Jolly Mountain Fire is not far from Cle Elum. Before I explain any further, know that the sanctuary is outside of the danger area.
So, if you are worried about the chimps, don’t be, but if you’d like to help them today anyway, please do check out the online auction that ends tonight at 8:00 p.m. PT – there’s some really great items, and you can donate directly towards our driveway funds via that auction.
There’s more on the fire below, but here are a few photos of Jody from today to show you how relaxed she is. This morning she found a plant-treasure on the hill and brought it in for some leisurely snacking:
So, that fire…
There are three “evacuation” levels – I (Ready), II (Set), and III (Go). Level I is a notice to be aware that there is a fire in your area, and the sanctuary is about a mile from even the Level I area.
All three levels expanded overnight, and several friends, donors, and volunteers of the sanctuary are in the Level II and III areas now. You can see a map here if you’re super curious. Level II does not necessarily lead to Level III and Level III does not necessarily mean the fire is in the immediate area. Still, it’s scary, and a lot of people are affected by this fire already, waiting to see what happens.
The good news is that the state of Washington has sent in reinforcements and here is the long list of agencies that were added this morning to protect the populated areas in the potential path of the fire: Kittitas County Fire District #7 (this is our local fire district who we love so much!), Kittitas County Fire Protection District #6, U.S. Forest Service crews, Washington State Department of Natural Resources crews, and engines from Spokane, Spokane Valley, Stevens County, Entiat, Grand Co., Snohomish, Everett, Shoreline, Duvall, Orcas Island, Gray’s Harbor, Vashon Island, Seattle, S. King County, King County, North High Line, Skykomish, Valley Regional, High Prairie, Benton, W. Benton, Mason Co., Kennewick, College Place, Walla Walla, Fife, Franklin, Mason Co., and more. There are planes and helicopters dropping water, and obviously they are mobilizing to fight the fire on the ground now that it coming out of the deep forest, which is inaccessible due to the potential danger.
There is an incident management team overseeing the big picture management of the fire, and, as you can see from that list, there are many agencies and individuals working together. They’ve been great at keeping the community up to date via social media and in person meetings, and the Kittitas County Sheriff’s office is working very closely with the team to notify people of evacuations and answer questions.
As this video from last week described, we have a fire defense plan at the sanctuary. It would be very, very difficult to evacuate the chimpanzees, so we have a plan to shelter them in place, which we have successfully implemented twice now. We are hopeful that we will not have to do that again with the Jolly Mountain Fire.
We are thinking about the entire community that is facing the threat of fire and other natural disasters, and we know that community includes supporters in other states as well. We are extremely thankful for all who are working to keep others safe.
Jody’s mission this morning
Following a routine each day allows for the chimps to know what to expect next. We start by serving a snack in the morning shortly after arriving. Then we clean the Greenhouse portion of their enclosure and once that is done, we finish serving breakfast. Sometimes, instead of serving meals, we mix it up by spreading the food around the various enclosures for the chimps to forage. Either way, the chimps know that when we are finished cleaning, locking up and going through all of our safety checks, they will get access to the newly cleaned area. Shortly after breakfast, they are given access to Young’s Hill (their outdoor enclosure). Following this routine helps the chimps make their own decisions about participating in meals and how they would like to spend their time (staying indoors or exploring Young’s Hill, for instance).
This morning, Jody seemed to be on a mission after breakfast was done. Knowing that I would open door Y (the door leading from the Greenhouse to Young’s Hill) after breakfast, she sat right by the door waiting. As soon as I did, she went straight for a mound at the top of the hill and I followed her (from the other side of the electric fences, of course) to see where she was headed.
Turns out, the mound at the top of Young’s Hill is still full of tasty wild plants, despite the yellowing foliage. I watched her pick some of the plants and eat them individually and then witnessed her “stripping” some of the other plants. She placed her hand at the base of the plant stem and drew upwards, stripping the plants of their leaves and then stuffing them in her mouth. Watching this reminded me of the videos I’ve seen of wild chimpanzees stripping termites off of the blades of grass they used to dip into holes in termite mounds. (The termites pinch the blades of grass and hold on as the chimpanzees pull the grass from the mound. Then the chimps eat the termites using their hands or mouths).
I love that this lady seeks out wild “snacks” on Young’s Hill.
Intermission
This brief intermission in your day is brought to you by Jamie Chimpanzee.
The roses grow wild on the sanctuary property. Normally, it is Jody who is the first to go for them, but Jamie was quite delighted by a bounty of roses spread out in the front rooms last weekend.
