Posts by Anna
Fourth of July picnic
Today we threw the chimps a Fourth of July picnic party on Young’s Hill! No picnic is complete without veggie hotdogs, corn on the cob, onion rings, gift bags of primate chow crumbs, shots of sparkling apple cider and fresh watermelon. We laid down a few patriotic picnic blankets and the lunch was thoroughly enjoyed…
Read MoreSlooow day
Something is in the air that’s making us all sleepy and lazy today. Jamie took it easy on a slow walk this morning before she curled up in a nest to examine a book about mammals: We set out a lunch forage today, but almost everyone had other plans indoors. Negra was the first (and…
Read MoreGetting prepped!
Exciting things are happening at the sanctuary! We are preparing to break ground on Phase 1 of our expansion plans! Today JB moved our temporary clinic/break room (AKA the Desert Fox travel trailer) just outside the perimeter fence to make way for the construction that is imminent! We also have a special groundbreaking ceremony scheduled…
Read MoreEvening adventure
Last night, like so many other summer evenings, Jamie and friends decided to keep the day going past dinner time, when staff might ordinarily close up and say good night. This is a pretty common practice for Jamie during the summer months, to want to keep the door open to Young’s Hill for more perimeter…
Read MoreDrifting into summer
Today is the last day of spring, but it definitely feels like we are already deep into the summer months. We aren’t sure just what to do with ourselves in all this heat! The only sure sign that spring hasn’t quite left, is that the grass still has its lovely green pigment, and Negra keeps…
Read MoreMissy the champion food puzzler
Last week Jamie decided to keep walking laps around Young’s Hill with Diana, rather than investigate (and hoard) the evening’s enrichment food puzzle. In Jamie’s absence, some of the other chimps saw their opportunity to take on multiple frozen water bottle puzzles, most notably Missy. As you might notice, Missy is secretly an enrichment puzzle…
Read MoreHappy 45th birthday Negra!
Happiest of honorary birthdays to Negra Chimpanzee! We are throwing a big party this weekend for Negra’s birthday and the 10th year of the chimpanzees arriving at the sanctuary, so stay tuned for that! Today we are doing some special things just for Queen Negra, namely giving her some of her favorite things to eat.…
Read MoreA new evening food puzzle
Jamie is the food puzzle star of the sanctuary, and she is also the most dominant of the group, so you might notice a lot of blog posts about her working on different puzzles that we give the chimps as evening enrichment. She has a tendency to want to keep all the puzzles to herself,…
Read MoreThose hardworking humans
The chimpanzees are so lucky to have such amazing volunteers and interns working for them. The sanctuary is fortunate to have a core group of volunteers from the surrounding community, as well as a fleet of Primate Behavior student interns because of our collaborative learning agreement with Central Washington University. Our volunteers and interns help…
Read MoreCasual friend
Foxie started the troll doll trend years ago, and no one has ever matched her passion for the odd little toys. Occasionally, we do find some of the other chimps with a secret friend hanging out around them. This afternoon, Negra lounged in the greenhouse with a brightly colored fellow tucked in her pelvic pocket:
Read MoreMr. B
Burrito in all his Wednesday glory!
Read MoreComforting Negra
Looking back at our past snake videos, there is a reason you don’t see Negra involved in any of the action of eradication. She wants nothing to do with it. This morning I think she spotted something in the grass on Young’s Hill that resembled a snake, because she started alarm calling and retreating back…
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