Posts by Anna
And then there were 9
This morning Kelsi opened the last door and officially fully merged Willy B with Cy’s groups into a single group of 9. While we can’t say for sure that this is the final product of all of our intro efforts, we remain cautiously optimistic. There is plenty of socialization work left to be done. For…
Read MoreAppreciation during still uncertain times
This week is National Volunteer Appreciation week and I’m finding that there are not enough words to express how much our volunteers mean to us. As the pandemic hit in March of 2020, we made the extremely tough decision to limit the numbers of humans that we had coming to the sanctuary in order to…
Read MoreGoodbyes and Hellos
Last week, staff member and longtime friend to all at the sanctuary, Sam wrote her last blog post. Sadly, that means she is moving away from Washington for her next adventure. I will miss Sam for her easy going yet mischievous personality, welcoming nature and huge heart. Everyone who knows Sam naturally loves her and…
Read MoreTerry and Willy B
Today we did a re-intro involving Terry, Rayne, Honey B and Willy B and it went really well! It’s always been a question of how the chimpanzee males will react to each other in a group setting and where they will fall within the dominance hierarchy. Today, Terry exhibited a lot of submissive behaviors (pant-grunts…
Read MoreBurrito’s Bear
Burrito loves a good giant stuffed toy!
Read MoreSaint Patrick’s Day in the Chimp House
We love a good excuse to throw the chimpanzees a forage party. Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Dora: Mave: Burrito: Lucky:
Read MoreFirst Look
One of my favorite parts of every morning is the “first look” the chimpanzees take before they journey into the wide expanse of Young’s Hill. It’s that special quiet moment where they determine which direction they want to head out and which quadrant of their outdoor space they want to explore first. Bonus! Willy B…
Read MoreA different combination
Lately we have made efforts to refocus our energy on our introduction program in hopes that the chimpanzees can continue to work towards a cohesive unit. Part of this process is trying different combinations of chimps than we have done in the past, particularly ones that we might be more concerned about fitting together. Today…
Read MoreMeetings galore!
We’ve still got a busy day ahead of us- full of multiple staff meetings, so that means a quick blog before lunchtime! Here are a couple moments I captured from this morning’s events. Old friends, Negra and Jody eating breakfast together in the portrait studio: Cy and his reading material:
Read MoreDay Bags
Recently, due to a presumed supply chain issue, we ran out of primate chow and have been unable to order more (for the time being). Primate chow is a fortified biscuit that the chimps enjoy at the end of their breakfast and lunch meal services. It is a treasured final course for most of the…
Read MoreFalse Spring
These last few days much of the Northwest has been experiencing a “false spring” in February. The remnants of snow from our massive January snowstorm have been rapidly trickling away in this 52 degree “heatwave.” Perhaps it might be too early to be planting seeds in gardens, but it’s never too early to explore Young’s…
Read MoreSounds of Sanctuary
The sanctuary can be silent one moment and thunderous the next, with many interesting sounds woven in between.
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