Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

young's hill

Happy Jamie-ween!

by

It is no accident that the boss’s birthday is our biggest party of the year! Jamie’s (honorary) 35th birthday party has been pretty epic! In addition to caregivers being decked out in goofy Halloween get-ups, we had tons of mini pumpkins, pomegranates (a favorite), pinatas, several new pairs of boots from friends (1 from Linda Gere, 1 from Dick and Robbi Brown, and 1 from Tamela Burgess), and a giant pumpkin carved by the super artistic volunteer Stephanie.

It may have been the boss’s day, but that doesn’t mean she’s the only one that gets presents! Foxie’s new friend Bailey Ford sent her a brand new Dora the Explorer doll, which she wrapped in a cute box covered in stickers. Jamie opened it first:

but everyone knew it was for Foxie! She quickly took her Dora out to the hill for some exploring:

Stephanie is amazing at finding pinatas and decorations, and given that it’s her (and my) favorite holiday, Jamie-ween is always over the top!

Annie with the skull pinata:

and Jamie’s birthday decor would not be complete without a boot pinata!

Juice seems to be an all-time favorite party treat around here. Burrito was a squeaking machine!

Jamie with one of her new pairs of boots

For some reason Missy didn’t end up in a lot of our photos, but we did manage to get this one close up of her munching on a pomegranate.

We put out several mini pumpkins on Young’s Hill. They were filled with a mixture of pears and blackberries. Negra was the first to rush out the door when I opened it this morning. She was so excited about the mini pumpkins!

She would grab as many as she could in her hands and mouth and carry them inside to enjoy in the greenhouse. But as soon as she was done, she was back out for more! This went on all morning long (even hours later). She may not spend a lot of time on the hill, but I think it’s safe to say that she is feeling more and more comfortable, especially with the right kind of motivator!

Jody enjoyed them too

Once their palates were set on pumpkins, there was no stopping Jody and Negra from diving into the big one! Jody munched on it for a while but once Negra was finished collecting mini pumpkins from the hill, she happily took over.

The large pumpkin has been passed around to everyone today, though. Burrito had his head in it earlier and then shared a little with Annie. I think we all know who is going to be sleeping good tonight!

Thanks so much to Robbi, Dick, Tamela, Linda, Bailey, Wanda and Stephanie for making today such an awesome celebration! Here’s to the boss!

Negra approaches her cabin

by

As J.B. mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Jackie and I caught Negra approaching her new cabin. Unfortunately I didn’t have our camera on me and didn’t want to miss the shot—so this was taken on my phone. I apologize that it is not the best quality and the chimps are pretty small. But, it is super awesome to see Negra sizing up her cabin and getting reassurance from Foxie and Jody. At one point all seven chimps were in the shot. I thought that was also super awesome so I took a screen shot and labeled all the chimps so you can see them all at once.

I can’t wait until Negra makes it all the way inside the cabin!

 

Busy hill

by

Annie may have had Young’s Hill all to herself yesterday, but this morning JB managed to snap 5 of the 7 out there in one frame. Counterclockwise from the top, here’s Jody, Foxie, Missy (on the move, of course), Burrito, and Jamie. Negra was snuggled up in the greenhouse and Annie must have been just out of sight.

 

The Lone Ranger

by

It seems like just yesterday that Young’s Hill was only weeks old and many of the chimpanzees were still finding their own comfort level with the wide open spaces. Missy and Jamie took to the hill right away, but everyone else took their time getting adjusted. In the beginning, Annie would sit in the greenhouse and anxiously bounce her feet while waiting for her best friend Missy to return from her adventures outside. After awhile, Annie would venture out with Missy (and only with Missy) but wouldn’t leave Missy’s side. I remember one day early on when Annie and Missy had walked about a third of the way up the hill and were foraging in a patch of grass near a climbing structure. After awhile Missy started to head down the hill toward the greenhouse, but Annie was so immersed in her foraging that she didn’t notice. When she finally looked up and realized she had been left behind, she hightailed it down the hill toward the building, running faster than I had ever seen her move.

But it seems all she needed was a little time, because these days we spot Annie spending a considerable amount of solo time on the hill. In fact, she looks like she belongs out there.

A leader and a follower

by

Today was rainy so it was the perfect time to check out the new cabin! Missy and Annie both climbed around on it for a while, and Jody went inside to take a closer look:

A few moments later, Burrito was inside checking it out:

Later, he followed Jody all the way up to the top of Young’s Hill- a first as far as we know of! Apparently Jody was his inspiration on the hill today.

But then Burrito seemed to gain a little bit more independence and climbed up the treat rock.

Negra’s Condo?

by

We have been calling the structure that J.B. is building on Young’s Hill “Negra’s Cabin,” but volunteer Denice decided the more appropriate name is “Negra’s Condo.” Take a look at the photos and tell us what you think.

 

J.B. has been working on the cabin/condo for a few days straight now. Today, volunteer Seana was serving as J.B.’s construction apprentice.

 

These two photos scream condo, don’t they?

jb seana construct negra's condo

jb seana construct negra's cabin

 

Do the addition of the logs make it more cabin-like?

negra's cabin under construction

 

Negra's cabin under construction, greenhouse in background

 

Negra checking on the construction progress:

negra watching cabin construction

Negra close up watching cabin construction

negra arms crossed after watching cabin construction

Not much longer, Negra!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to our 4th Anniversary Fundraising drive, which made Negra’s cabin/condo possible!

 

More progress on Negra’s cabin

by

Today, volunteer Ken brought out his backhoe to dig holes for the footings of Negra’s cabin on Young’s Hill. He and J.B. have been out there all day working hard, and we’re hopeful construction will be complete in the next day or so. As you can see from the photos below, it’s going to be fairly close to the raceway/entrance to the hill from the Greenhouse. That is being done with Negra in mind since she doesn’t usually venture out too far from the door, but I’m getting the feeling that everyone is going to love the cabin. I’m envisioning 7 cozy chimps grooming each other in their mini greenhouse on the hill. Ahhhh….