I found some gems when going through videos today. The rungs in this room (what we call around here Front Room One) normally lead to a bench. The bench was taken out and will be replaced soon, but that doesn’t mean the rungs aren’t still used by acrobatic Foxie.
Archive for the ‘Trolls’ Category
Vertical Play
Saturday, January 14th, 2012Mama Foxie
Thursday, December 1st, 2011It’s really hard to say if Foxie would have made a good mother, but one thing is for sure, her babies would be getting lots of fresh air and sunshine these days!
Brandon Wood Rocks!
Thursday, November 17th, 2011In case you haven’t heard, in the world of chimps, Brandon Wood rocks!
Brandon is 11 and has been working hard on behalf of chimpanzees. He’s been very busy sending letters to congress and to the president, telling them about the importance of the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act, and has even been fundraising for the Cle Elum Seven! His dedication, passion and diligence is something to really look up to. I know I do!!
So, as a way to honor him and all that he has done, and is doing, we had a surprise party for the chimps today. Volunteer Connie initiated the plan and brought a few “rock star-style” party decorations and then, volunteers Stephanie and Katelyn went on the hunt in Seattle and found all kinds of rockin’ decor, including a guitar pinata- because we think Brandon “rocks”! In addition, I secretly contacted Brandon’s mom, Deanna, to find out some of Brandon’s favorite foods and snacks so we could have them for the party and make the day as special as possible.
To get the chimps geared up for a party, we started things out by having a snow cone/cup forage in the greenhouse.
Annie:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Deanna told me that one of Brandon’s favorite things is pumpkin pie. We don’t give the chimps dairy or sugar, so we were presented with a challenge, but it didn’t stop us! We pureed pumpkin, soy milk, tofu, and cinnamon and baked it inside mini pumpkins. I think it worked out pretty well!
Burrito loved it!
Some of the decor, pre-party:
Annie with the guitar pinata:
Jamie:
Deanna told me that another favorite of Brandon’s is ants-on-a-log, and that he also really enjoys tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. Can you guess what we served the chimps for lunch?
Thank you so much for all you do, Brandon! In our eyes, you really are a rock star!
Security
Thursday, November 10th, 2011Foxie seems to be getting more and more comfortable on the hill each day. Today, I saw her climb up each of the climbing structures, including one that is fairly far away, and she even played a little bit of chase with Missy. She always has her trolls out there with her, though, which I think of as a security thing. She often lets them ride on her back while she walks around to explore, but as you’ll see below, sometimes there just isn’t enough room for all those “babies” on her back.
Time on the hill and relatives
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011We have had pretty sunny weather lately, but it’s getting colder and colder these days (we even have snow in the forecast!) so the chimps have been spending less and less time on Young’s Hill, but that does not mean that they don’t want the option! As I type, Jody is blocking the door in the raceway, even though no one, including her, has had any interest in going out there for at least the last hour. It’s all about choices around here, so I’ll give her as much time as she needs.
Here are a few photos from the last couple of days of folks enjoying the hill. I’m pretty much addicted to taking photos of people out there. I still can’t get over it.
Missy:
Annie:
Foxie has been getting more comfortable and ambitious on the hill these days:
as is Burrito:
Speaking of Burrito, I recently learned that Burrito has a half brother, Clay, who lives at Save the Chimps in Florida. Clay and Burrito have the same father, Mack, who passed away at Save the Chimps a little over a year ago, and Clay’s mother is none other than our Jody! One of our former volunteers, Janie, is working at Save the Chimps now and reported that Clay has many of the same mannerisms as Jody and Burrito, including Mr. B’s signature always-pilo erect hair (pilo erect is the technical term for when your hair stands on end). Check out Clay’s profile on the Save the Chimps website. To me, he looks almost exactly like Burrito with Jody’s almond eyes. The last photo on Clay’s page is a photo of his profile. I found the following older photo of Burrito for comparison.
More party pics
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011It’s official- Jamie-ween is my favorite CSNW holiday. We all had such a good day yesterday! Here are a few more pictures of the party in the playroom (and I promise, there is even MORE to come!)
Missy with the raisin-filled pinata:
There was some intense love for the pumpkin. It was 35lbs of deliciousness that lasted allll day long.
Negra:
Jody:
Burrito
Foxie:
Negra & Jody:
Jamie checking inside containers for goodies:
The juice was a big hit, as always.
Jamie:
Annie:
Burrito:
Foxie’s Day Out
Saturday, October 29th, 2011Do not adjust your screens, these are photos of Foxie all over the hill today!
Here she is on top of a climbing structure on the hill – a first for Foxie! It’s the climbing structure closest to the raceway. She went up there to retrieve a troll doll initially but went back several times during the day.
Foxie carefully bringing her trolls back down from the structure:
The crew that put the concrete on the treat rock had a bit leftover, so they made a replica of Mt St. Helens. Foxie’s touring by the site here:
Missy (left) was pretty excited to have Foxie on the hill.
Foxie put one of her troll dolls on her back as she walked around a bit:
Foxie’s troll pet
Thursday, October 27th, 2011Chimpanzees definitely don’t make good pets, but troll dolls do!
Motivation
Saturday, October 15th, 2011I have no idea what was going through Foxie’s mind as she walked around the entire perimeter of Young’s Hill on that first day out, but since then, she has been extremely reluctant to go back out. Everyday she tries, but as soon as she gets about 20 feet from the doorway she freezes in her tracks. Obviously the whole experience of being outdoors is overwhelming to her.
Her friends have been encouraging her to go out and to remain out once she is there. But they know that she is scared and they don’t try to push her beyond her comfort zone.
The other day I saw something amazing. Missy came out of the tunnel with a troll in her mouth, and Foxie was trailing behind her. Missy doesn’t care for trolls, so I thought that perhaps Missy was using the troll as a lure to try to help Foxie get outside. And in a way, she was..but it was Foxie that initiated it! Since then, I’ve seen Foxie go through this routine three times with Missy. Foxie begins by stomping around the greenhouse, which is an invitation for someone to go out to the hill with her. When Missy joins her, they both pause and Foxie delicately hands over her troll. She then waits for Missy and the troll to lead the way up the hill.
Online Auction Ends Tonight
Sunday, October 9th, 2011We would love to follow the success of the Seattle Out of the Box 2011 event by reaching our $20,000 goal for the online auction. We have $3,826 to go in just six hours and 30 minutes. So far we have $1,192 toward the on-site medical clinic through the online auction. This is the best way to give back to the chimps – you can donate in any amount. Do it for Negra!
Although several were snatched up fast, there are still plenty of items available to bid, including a five-night stay at the Ihilani Resort in O’ahu, a private tour of the sanctuary that includes dinner with the staff and an overnight stay, limited edition signed prints of the Philip Herman illustration The Chimps on Young’s Hill (only four left in the auction), a week-long stay on Grand Cayman Island, an opportunity to be a virtual caregiver to the Cle Elum Seven for a whole day, a two-day pass to the Northwest Yoga Conference, and copies of Troll Mania, A Comfy Home and Present Moment, Perfect Moment with photos of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary. On the auction site are the last remaining copies of these books in hardback – no more hardback versions will be printed, so get them now!
Relax at this private pool on the Cayman Islands:
Get the very last available hardback copy of Troll Mania:
