Negra continued her playful streak this morning, but I think her real intention was to steal Jody’s bed.
Posts Tagged ‘Negra’
Nest Envy
Friday, December 16th, 2011You’re never too old to play
Saturday, December 10th, 2011Negra apparently likes her playmates to hit her on the head.
Infinity Scarf
Sunday, December 4th, 2011Volunteer Connie was telling Jackie and myself about these neat things called “infinity scarves.” They are made out of t-shirts and look pretty fashionable in my opinion. We thought the chimps might enjoy one so we decided to make one out of an old style CSNW shirt. Jackie and Connie took it into the chimp area to stretch it out and see if anyone was interested in playing. To everyone’s shock, Negra was interested in playing a game of tug-o-war. She does not play very often with caregivers, and definitely not for long periods of time. This game went on for infinity! What’s even more interesting is that Negra woke up on the wrong side of the nest today—she was a little grumpy all morning. I’m glad we were able to cheer her up!
Peering in Silhouette
Friday, December 2nd, 2011Peering is one of my favorite chimpanzee behaviors. It is related to peering as we commonly understand it (looking intently at something), but it has a more narrow usage with chimpanzees. Chimpanzees often peer when they would like another chimpanzee to share some of their food. Rather than asking for some, they stare at the food as if it is some mysterious substance from outer space, sometimes getting as close as a few inches from the other chimp’s mouth. As a result, the peering chimp annoys the other chimp into either turning away or reluctantly giving up some of their food.
Today, Negra was enjoying a piece of ice from Young’s Hill while Jody peered at her. Peering can go on for an awfully long time, long enough to make me uncomfortable just watching it. I’m not sure whether Negra ever gave Jody a piece of the ice.
Giant box enrichment
Monday, November 28th, 2011The other day, Denice and I filled a giant refrigerator box with all of the chimps’ enrichment and blankets. Not surprisingly, Jamie was pretty interested. But Jody, Missy, Foxie, and Negra showed some interest as well!
Two months since Young’s Hill
Sunday, November 20th, 2011Today marks the two month anniversary of the opening of Young’s Hill. Coincidentally it was also volunteer Katelyn’s birthday, so we did have a small party for the chimps. It was only later that I realized we could have also considered it the anniversary party! Here’s some (hopefully) never before seen pictures of the first day on Young’s Hill. I can’t believe it has already been two months! In just that short amount of time we’ve seen the chimps grow more and more comfortable on the hill, and I expect that when next summer rolls around (and all the snow is gone!) they will stay for hours and hours basking in the sun and looking up at the open sky. I watched the KOMO news story again today, and it still warms my heart. It was such an amazing, emotional, and remarkable day.
Annie giving Missy a reassuring kiss
Missy playing chase with Negra
Annie
Burrito
Foxie
Jamie
Jody
Missy
Negra
A rarity
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011I’m pretty sure our camera was experiencing cuteness overload on Halloween. The following is a clip of some more of that cuteness I caught just before letting the chimps into the Playroom for their party. Jody and Negra rarely play, and certainly not with each other, so not only was it super cute, but it was a rare sight to see too!
The Great Pumpkin
Monday, October 31st, 2011As Diana mentioned in a blog post from earlier, Jamie and I share a birthday today! I can’t think of a better way to spend my Hallo-birthday than by throwing a party for Jamie and the rest of the Cle Elum Seven!
We have a lot of folks to thank for making today’s party a huge success. Robbi & Dick Brown and Tamela donated a lot of fun new toys and decorations, and volunteers Steph and Katelyn brought some new things with them today as well. We also want to thank Deborah G., Barbara B., Jessica K., Tamela, and Jeani G. for donating towards Jamie’s big celebration today! And of course we can’t forget all of Jamie’s Chimpanzee Pals: Cherie Breaux & Robert Bochnik; Kathy Carlson; Candy Crannell; GFWC Cascade Woman’s Club; Debbie Kray; Pam Lehnert & Marc Warner; KC McCarthy; Jackie Mulanax & Brad McNeice; Debra Redwine; Pam Reid; Kathleen Roan; Tony Silvia; Nicole Sturn; and Jackson Walkden-Brown.
Steph and Katelyn brought with them a giant pumpkin, with Jamie’s named carved in it (and the “J” was made into a boot!) The following photos are of the Great Pumpkin (as I’ve decided to call it).
Jamie with her pumpkin:
Jody was the first to dig in:
Negra joined in:
Missy asking Jody if she can share, Jody giving her a reassuring kiss:
Jody and Foxie (Missy in the background):
At one point Burrito was working on the pumpkin all by himself:
So much happened today that I’m pretty sure there will be more Hallo-birthday photos and videos posted tomorrow!
Today’s choices
Sunday, October 30th, 2011Today the day started out kinda rainy and so the chimps stayed in the front rooms while we cleaned the playroom. I caught an unusual duo wrestling—Negra and Annie! Annie does not always play with folks other than her best friend Missy, and Negra doesn’t play as often as the other chimps. So it was really awesome to see the two of them engaging in so much fun. I wasn’t able to get a lot of good video of it, but I did catch a brief snippet.
Later in the day the sun was out and Young’s Hill was the place to be. Everyone but Negra came out at one point, and even after Burrito went back inside the other girls hung out for a bit longer. It was great to see five chimps out on the hill all at once. In the last piece of this video, you’ll be able to see all five in the same shot.
Tomorrow we’re celebrating Jamie’s birthday on Halloween. It’s not too late to donate to make her party really great!
See you tonight!
Friday, October 7th, 2011Tonight is the Out of the Box gala auction! This is going to be a phenomenal event with so many different things to bid on. There’s going to be a multitude of items in the silent auction, including impressive and beautiful handmade art pieces, great deals on local restaurants and other businesses, and amazing wine packages. The live auction features tons of fun getaways and even a private tour of the sanctuary. Buy a raffle ticket to get a chance to win a live auction item of your choice! You can also contribute by adopting a caregiver, and help sustain the sanctuary’s operating costs at the Do it Now board. I’m really excited and hope you are too!
This year’s Fund-a-Need item is probably our most important item yet. We want to open an on-site medical clinic, so that in case the chimps need medical care, they will get to wake up next to family. Do it for Negra!
And don’t forget about the online auction, which opened up for bidding this morning! It will just go until Sunday, so hurry up and place your bids quick! This is a great way for long-distance supporters to take part in the Out of the Box auction. (And for local attendees, too—there’s items available online that won’t be available tonight!)
Negra on Young's Hill
