Archive for the ‘Foxie’ Category

Something to Lighten Your Day

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

This post is for Tamela and Julie, supporters who are separately going through very similar tough times right now. We want them to know that everyone at the sanctuary is thinking about them. I decided to put this video together in the hopes that it will lighten and brighten their day today, even if just a bit.

A little background on the video and the doll you’ll see: Sometime around 2003, J.B. received a package in the mail from Sarah that contained a custom-made doll. The doll’s face was an image taken from a photo of J.B. himself. The “J” in J.B. stands for John, so the doll became known as Baby John. Personally, I thought the doll was funny, but also more than a little creepy.

This past summer I decided it was time to get Baby John out of our house. I thought a sure-fire way to have him permanently destroyed was to give the doll to the chimps (I’m not sure what I would have done if I had a different job!)

Jackie and Debbie were the first caregivers to present Baby John. Below is the video that was taken that first day.

 

Kickin’ and Clickin’ Country-Western Dance

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Yesterday, Jackie and I put out a party with “Texas in a box” sent from Candy C. She also sent a DVD with line dancing for us to show the chimps. We thought Negra would like to see the dancing, so Jackie went to set up the TV so they could watch from the front rooms. We had come technical difficulties so instead decided to just do a video search on my iPad and show the videos to the chimps that way! Negra, Jamie, Foxie, and Burrito all showed interest. Jamie especially liked the boots the dancers were wearing. Thanks again Candy for sending us fun enrichment!

Chimps “messin’ with Texas”

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

We have the greatest supporters! Thanks, Candy!!

Meet the humans

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Around here we all rightfully view the chimpanzees as the stars of the show. But behind the scenes there are some amazing and wonderful humans who make every day go smoothly and safely. I’m so proud of our team and all they do for the chimps. You can see by the human faces in these pictures that we love our jobs! But you can also see how we safely interact with the chimpanzees without putting them (or ourselves) at risk. The chimpanzees can reach out and groom our elbows or wrists (as you’ll see with Seana all the way at the end) and they can put their bodies up against the fencing so we can tickle or groom them, but we never cross the barrier of the fence. Their space is their space, period.

Elizabeth and Foxie:

Jackie and Jody:

Diana and Foxie:

JB and Missy:

Me (Sarah) with Burrito:

Ooops… we apparently need more pictures of our newest staff member, Debbie:

And here are just a few of our dedicated volunteer caregivers!

Deb W and Burrito:

Steph P and Jamie:

Seana B and Jamie:

Find us all on Facebook so we can get to know you too!

Slurp, slurp, slurp

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Yesterday Jackie and I set up a great enrichment project for the chimps. We filled buckets with some snow and added a little juice for flavor, and then we put the buckets outside the caging and gave the chimps straws to use as tools. Everyone had their own way of trying to get the most out of the buckets. Eventually all the snow completely melted and the buckets were dry, but we certainly found a way for this project to last longer than just juice in buckets.

Happy Birthday to Doreen and Donna Hughes!

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

Donna Hughes sponsored today in celebration of her and her twin sister Doreen’s birthday.  Doreen and Donna have been enthusiastic supporters of the chimpanzees since early on, and while they love all of the Cle Elum Seven, they have a special fondness for Foxie.  They currently sponsor her through our Chimpanzee Pal program, and they even have their own troll doll collection!

Here’s Foxie with part of her collection:

We hope you have a joyous birthday, Doreen and Donna!

A cold snack

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

I know we’ve had a lot of posts about the snow lately, but I just couldn’t resist posting this adorable video from yesterday.

the snow days continue

Saturday, January 21st, 2012

If you’re in Washington State or have heard the national weather news, you know that there’s been no shortage of snow this week! We probably have about 16-18 inches on the ground now with more expected. The snow accumulation has caused the electric fence voltage on Young’s Hill to reduce (this is normal and expected). That, combined with the chimpanzees generally not enjoying walking in snow, they haven’t been on the hill this week. But that doesn’t mean they haven’t been able to take part in the weather!

J.B. shared a video on Thursday of the chimps snacking on troll doll snow cones – snow combined with a bit of orange juice, then frozen overnight outside.

Today, we filled up the big tub in the greenhouse with snow, so the chimpanzees have been free-snacking on it all day. Below are a few photos.

Burrito (Jamie in the background):

Burrito going in for snow in the big tub

 

A series of Foxie:

Foxie eating snow from the tub

Foxie eating snow from tub 2

Foxie eating snow from tub 3

Forget milk mustaches, 2012 is all about snow beards:

Foxie eating snow from tub 4 snow beard

If you’re wondering if Foxie went to the tub empty-handed, the answer is no – she brought a troll doll and a brush:

Foxie eating snow from tub 5 troll doll brush

 

Negra opted to bring her snow inside for snacking:

Negra holding snow

Negra eating snow

Negra eating snow looking out window

Troll head snow cones

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

These were a big hit this morning.

Chimp Love

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and we’ll be launching a new holiday store with fun Valentine’s Day presents for the chimps soon! To get you in the mood, here are a few sweet photos of chimp-lovin from over the years.