Posts Tagged ‘Foxie’

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!

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.

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.

 

Portraits of happy chimps under blue skies

Sunday, January 15th, 2012

I 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:

A different view

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Yesterday JB walked up to the top of Young’s Hill to get some shots of the chimps from that angle. The sky was blue and the sun was out, and it made for a really pretty backdrop.

 

 

Regular Morning Routine

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

As 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.

Happy Birthday, Kathy Cochran!

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

Bob, Willie, and Sue sponsored today in honor of Kathy Cochran’s birthday. Kathy recently used her vast video production skills to create an amazing video to honor Bob, Willie, and Sue’s mother, and knowing how devoted to CSNW and the Cle Elum Seven Kathy is, they wanted to sponsor her birthday as a thank you.  (Incidentally, Kathy has also put her enormous talents to work for the chimpanzees – she’s responsible for designing our gorgeous Year One and Year Two books, among other things.)

Happy birthday to Kathy from Bob, Willie, Sue, and all of us at CSNW.

(Humans are not the only species to appreciate a good video.)