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.
Posts Tagged ‘chimp sanctuary’
A cold snack
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012Jamie as chimpanzee
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012Jamie has always been the most human-like of the Cle Elum Seven. She often does human-like things (files her nails, ties shoelaces, sews); she’s always very interested in any cleaning, maintenance, or construction the humans around her might be doing; and sometimes she even seems to prefer the company of her human caregivers to that of the other chimpanzees. None of this is unusual for a chimpanzee who has grown up in a captive situation.
But on Young’s Hill, Jamie is all chimpanzee. Something about the wide open spaces or the natural surroundings seems to bring out a different side of her.
Chasing deer:
Hunting squirrels:
.
Fishing for treats on the treat rock:
Leading her friends on a walk:
Portraits of happy chimps under blue skies
Sunday, January 15th, 2012I still get goose-bumpy when I see the chimps out on the hill, especially with the sun on their backs and blue skies overhead. I just can’t imagine how amazing it must feel for them. What a difference a few years can make!
Foxie:
Annie:
Jody:
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
Burrito loves Adrienne, Marcia, and Ginna!
Friday, January 6th, 2012Today is Burrito’s big day! Burrito is a charming guy and has a lot of admirers – in fact, he’s so loved that three separate people have sponsored today in honor of his 29th birthday. On Burrito’s behalf, we want to offer a BIG thank you to Adrienne Armstrong, Marcia Douthwaite, and Ginna Keulen for their generosity. This is going to be one heck of a party!
Burrito is happiest when he’s eating (and he’ll be doing a lot of that today):
Stealth Mode
Monday, January 2nd, 2012As many of our readers know, Jamie is the most dominant chimp of the Cle Elum Seven. That means that if food is nearby, whether she is interested in it at that moment or not, the other chimps respect it as hers and avoid grabbing anything that she might consider her own. You’ll see a couple interesting politics in the following video. Burrito knows that Jamie has left some chow on the floor and abandoned them to start wrestling with Foxie. He’s waiting for a point where he can take advantage of that distraction and get the chow pieces for himself. Once he eventually gets his opportunity, Foxie catches him in the act, and wants some for herself. Although Jamie still appears uninterested, Foxie asks for her permission to take some chow… but Jamie decides that she wants to keep the few pieces remaining for herself.
Jamie helps clean up
Thursday, December 29th, 2011As we’ve mentioned before, Jamie is particularly human-oriented. (Read this post from the first week Jamie was in sanctuary). She definitely watches us do things and will do them in her own style later. Jamie also likes to check up on any kind of work that’s been done and once she’s given access to a room that was previously closed off for maintenance, she will rush in to give her quality control tests.
In the first part of this video, you’ll see her cleaning up a recent paint job in one of the front rooms. We are replacing the benches, so you’ll see some primer on the wall in the spot where the bench used to be. In the second part of the video, Jamie is scrubbing a notably hard-to-reach spot. Clearly I did not do a good enough cleaning job! But I’m so glad to have Jamie’s help.
The case of the droopy lip
Friday, December 23rd, 2011Jody almost always has a drooped lip when she’s out on the hill. We’ve been referring to it as her “Young’s Hill Face”
Today, her droopy lip seemed to be mixed in with a bit of a sneer. Sometimes I sneer when I’m cold!
She sure does have a beautiful face though…
Cleaning up
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011The chimps spent a little bit of time on the hill today, but it was really cold, so they were all warming up either in the greenhouse or inside. I was sitting in the greenhouse watching a nice peaceful grooming session between Annie and Missy…
…when all the sudden, I heard water spilling- a lot of water spilling. I looked over to find Jamie sitting at the water spigot in one of the front rooms, only she wasn’t getting a drink. Her feet were muddy from being on the hill, so she was pouring the water on her feet and wiping them off on the wall
I wasn’t able to get a very good photo, partly because of the angle, and partly because as soon as Jamie noticed I was taking pictures of her, she went back to just “getting a drink”
Cold toes!
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011It’s been an unusually mild winter so far. It’s been pretty cold, but we just haven’t had much snow. It’s been great in a way, because the chimps have been able to spend more time out on the hill (we can’t give them the hill if the snow gets too deep because it will drain the fence voltage). But we did get a little bit of snow last night, and since the chimps love to eat snow so much, I was eager to give them Young’s Hill as soon as possible today before it all melted.
Before we let the chimps out on the hill each day, the lead caregiver does a perimeter check by walking or driving the Gator all the way around to check for any issues with the electric fence. The chimps are very aware of this routine and usually get a little excited when we turn on the walkie-talkies and head out for our hike around the hill. Each morning, as I pass the east side of the building, I look into the picture windows to see what’s happening in the playroom. Usually I’ll see Negra curled up in her spot with a blanket over her head and maybe Missy and Foxie grooming and such, but today, I saw bouncy feet and an enthusiastic head nod. Annie (bouncy feet) and Missy (head nodding) were so excited to get out there! I looked at Missy and pointed towards the hill (assuming she wouldn’t be able to hear me if I spoke) and she started running towards the door to Young’s Hill.
But when I opened the door, no one went out. There was a long, long pause before finally, Missy, Annie, Foxie, Jody, and then Jamie went out. The sun was out but the wind had picked up and it was COLD! Even still, once they got themselves out there, they hung out there for 45 minutes or so. I was all bundled up in a sweatshirt, jacket, gloves, warm boots, and still freezing, so I can’t even imagine how cold their toes were!
Bipedal Foxie:
Jamie headed up the climbing structure (with Annie behind her)
when she got to the top, she wiped off her feet
and sat down for some snow
Most of Missy’s time on the hill today was above ground:
but she did manage to find a pretty nice ice chunk that she brought in to enjoy in the warm greenhouse
