Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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young's hill

Besties on the hill

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I have been completely amazed at how much time the chimps have been spending on the hill these days! The other day it was cold, cold, cold. But Annie, Missy, Jody, Foxie, and Jamie (or the “Young’s Hill superstar five”) spent almost 2 hours out there! Missy and Annie ran around playing chase and wrestling with one another the whole time. Jody, Jamie, and Foxie jumped in the games at various times, but Annie and Missy didn’t stop… maybe because they are best friends, or maybe it was just a great way to stay warm! Either way, they seemed to be having a blast!

The games rapidly alternated between Annie chasing Missy, and Missy chasing Annie

As the chaser, Missy’s technique to slow Annie down was to grab at her feet

Missy chased and wrestled with Annie on this climbing structure for a long time. They went ’round and ’round and ’round until Annie was able to escape onto the nearby rope bridge

Winter Break

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It was gorgeous this afternoon! No wind (a rarity around these parts), clear skies and that welcoming yellow orb in the sky. Everyone except Burrito and Negra spent quite a bit of time on Young’s Hill enjoying this little break from winter. Burrito was very happy to grab snow from the raceway and Negra peaked out but went back to the warmth of her nest.

These two don’t spend much time with each other, but today Annie and Jody went on a little hike together:

Jody and Annie in the bamboo

Jody hid herself above the bamboo:

jody behind bamboo

Annie found a perch:

Annie perched on log

 

Meanwhile, Missy was busy with a large piece of ice she found in a tire:

Missy hold ice

Missy eat ice

Missy carry ice in mouth

 

Jamie was busy trying to stuff a tie (with a troll doll tied to it) into one of the holes in the treat rock:

Jamie stuffing tie into treat rock

 

and Foxie wandered all around with her dolls:

Foxie walking with troll dolls

Foxie walking with troll dolls 2

Jody and Foxie on the hill

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Jody sampled the snow from many different areas of Young’s Hill today. Her favorite seemed to be the snow from the crater in our miniature Mt. St. Helens replica.

Foxie also went all the way outside today, but she tried to keep her feet off of the snow as much as possible.

Everyone else seemed content to grab some snow from the end of the raceway and watch Jody and Foxie brave the cold from the warmth of the greenhouse.

Two months since Young’s Hill

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Today marks the two month anniversary of the opening of Young’s Hill. Coincidentally it was also volunteer Katelyn’s birthday, so we did have a small party for the chimps. It was only later that I realized we could have also considered it the anniversary party! Here’s some (hopefully) never before seen pictures of the first day on Young’s Hill. I can’t believe it has already been two months! In just that short amount of time we’ve seen the chimps grow more and more comfortable on the hill, and I expect that when next summer rolls around (and all the snow is gone!) they will stay for hours and hours basking in the sun and looking up at the open sky. I watched the KOMO news story again today, and it still warms my heart. It was such an amazing, emotional, and remarkable day.

Annie giving Missy a reassuring kiss
Missy playing chase with Negra
Annie
Burrito
Foxie
Jamie
Jody
Missy
Negra

Run, Missy, Run!

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One of my favorite things so far about Young’s Hill is watching Missy run at full speed. She is like a spring that was coiled up for decades, just waiting to be released. Every time she goes outside, she runs up and down the hill, for no apparent reason other than for the joy of it.

I was surprised by how moved I was when I first noticed that I could actually hear her running…the sound of her hands and feet pounding the ground and her heavy, rhythmic breathing with each stride.

We were talking today about how it seems like Missy is eager for the other chimps to become as comfortable as she is on the hill so that she will have someone to play with out there. Many of the other chimps are still in the cautious exploration stage, but not Missy. She waited 36 years for a chance to run, and now she’s ready for the most epic game of chase ever.