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…
Posts Tagged ‘Cle Elum Seven’
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.
Foxie in the window
Monday, February 6th, 2012Boot love
Sunday, February 5th, 2012Jamie has an intense love for boots, especially new ones. She’s been carrying around the boots Candy sent since the minute she got them (a week ago today). I think she enjoys having lots of boots, but to her, there is nothing quite like a new pair of boots. Her other boots, even her favorites, get pushed aside when a new pair comes along. I guess that’s probably true for me too.
In the following photo, Jamie’s actually just yawning, but I love how it looks like she’s wearing a huge playface!
Burrito in the greenhouse
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012There’s still lots of snow on the ground here in Cle Elum, but the sun is shining today and it is beautiful. The greenhouse is the nicest it’s been in quite awhile, and the chimpanzees are doing some serious lounging out there. Here are a few photos of Burrito enjoying the sun after lunch today.
Happy Birthday, Meg Lunnum!
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012Today is Meg Lunnum’s birthday, and she has chosen to celebrate it by sponsoring today for the chimpanzees. This isn’t Meg’s only act of generosity – she’s been supporting the sanctuary since shortly after the chimps arrived, and she’s currently sponsoring Negra’s care monthly through our Chimpanzee Pal program. Thanks so much to Meg and to all of you who give so generously so we can give the chimps the life they deserve.
Have a spectacular birthday, Meg (from Negra and all of us)!
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!
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 Many Nests of Jamie Chimpanzee
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012I was watching Jamie gather blankets and enrichment to make a nest in the playroom this morning and thinking about some of the unique and impressive nests she makes. She has some nesting habits that distinguish her from the other chimpanzees.
She often forms a circle with her blankets and leaves bare floor underneath:
When she’s making a nest near some caging, she likes to weave blankets or sheets in and out of the fencing:
But her favorite spot to nest seems to be at the base of the stairs in the playroom (maybe because it’s a good vantage point for keeping an eye on all of her chimpanzee and human friends). The nests she makes there always include an interesting combination of blankets, sheets, paper, toys, and any other suitable material she can find. She’ll generally walk around gathering her materials, arrange everything in a pleasing fashion, then settle down in the nest and inspect all the enrichment she’s collected.
Slurp, slurp, slurp
Monday, January 23rd, 2012Yesterday 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.
