I was in the kitchen yesterday preparing the chimps’ lunch when I heard lots of laughter echoing throughout the playroom. When I went in to check it out, I was bombarded by simultaneous silliness, but not with your usual cast of characters…
Archive for the ‘Negra’ Category
Simultaneous silliness
Thursday, February 9th, 2012Last chance for sharin’ the love
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012I KNOW you have a secret crush on someone, and you want to confess to them via an inscription on a fence post at the sanctuary. Or maybe you reject traditional gender roles and think that boys like Burrito should have jewelry on Valentine’s Day too. Or perhaps you just really love the chimps and want to share your enthusiasm? We can help you with all these things. Place your order by tomorrow at 6pm so we can mail your sweetie a special chimp photo and Valentine’s Day card.
In all sincerity, your love for the chimps can go a long way. Check out the video below, of Negra on her first day in the playroom in June 2008. If you’ve known her for a while, I think you’ll be touched. If you’re just getting to know her, watch the video and then check out her new self here. I think you’ll fall in love too.
Flowers, Strawberries and Piñatas, Oh My
Saturday, February 4th, 2012Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so you must be thinking about flowers, strawberries and… piñatas, right?
If these aren’t the things that come to your mind, you’d better check out our special Valentine’s Gift Store. You can give your human loved ones the unique gift of having these gifts given to the chimps in their honor (plus personalized fence posts, beads for Burrito or a Chimpanzee Pal subscription). It’s the gift that gives twice! Just do it soon so we have time to give your Valentine a handwritten card about the donation in their honor.
As inspiration, here’s some photos of the chimps with flowers, strawberries and piñatas.
Kickin’ and Clickin’ Country-Western Dance
Monday, January 30th, 2012Yesterday, 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, 2012We have the greatest supporters! Thanks, Candy!!
Enriching Negra
Thursday, January 26th, 2012Negra doesn’t hang out with her human friends all too often, so when she’s in the mood to play (or to even just sit next to you), it’s a real treat. Lately, however I think she has been more interactive than usual, both with her human caregivers and with the other chimps. This morning while we were cleaning the playroom, I caught her casually spying on me through a mirror. At first I just greeted her with a head nod and she enthusiastically head nodded back, so I started dancing for her (Negra loves it when her caregivers dance and often bobs her head and moves with us a bit when we do). I think she was definitely enriched.
the snow days continue
Saturday, January 21st, 2012If 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):
A series of Foxie:
Forget milk mustaches, 2012 is all about snow beards:
If you’re wondering if Foxie went to the tub empty-handed, the answer is no – she brought a troll doll and a brush:
Negra opted to bring her snow inside for snacking:
Another Burrito day!
Thursday, January 12th, 2012Burrito received an abundance of new toys, sponsors, and lots of love on his birthday. His new friend, Adrienne Armstrong, who sponsored the party and sent Burrito a lovely (and GIANT!) fruit basket, tried to get some new toys to us but unfortunately they didn’t get here in time. So in honor of new friends (and as an excuse to keep on partying!), we threw him another little party today. The chimps have been loving all the new stuff, especially Negra, who has been curled up with her new, super soft blankets all day.
Thanks so much Adrienne!
Your friend, Burrito
Regular Morning Routine
Sunday, January 8th, 2012As we mentioned on the Facebook page yesterday, sometimes the daily routine fluctuates, and as caregivers we have to be pretty flexible depending on the choices the chimps make. Typically though, we do have a regular schedule. First we invite the chimpanzees in for breakfast—and as long as everybody comes in, one person (the Care staff or Level III volunteer) will serve breakfast while the other person (the Lead Caregiver) will start cleaning the playroom. We never enter an enclosure at the same time as the chimpanzees, so we have to ensure that all the chimps are out of the room we want to clean, and that every chimp door is secure. We do this for cleaning the playroom, front rooms, and the greenhouse. (To see what cleaning is like, watch this video from a couple years ago). Today things followed the regular routine, which you’ll see in the video below.
Thank YOU for an amazing year
Saturday, December 31st, 2011Find out what the chimpanzees are wishing for in 2012:
