Posts by Chad de Bree
National Relaxation Day
Today is National Relaxation Day! According to the Economic Times, National Relaxation Day is observed to “encourage individuals to slow down and unwind.” Though chimpanzee life can be very chaotic and dramatic, they all find some time throughout the day to let their hair down and relax. It’s all about balance, right? In homage to…
Read MoreAll Around the Raspberry Bush
When caregivers are assigned to be the lead caregiver on a certain day, one of our first tasks is to “open up” the Chimp House. For me, this is one of the best times of day because it’s still early in the morning and some residents are still not fully awake. Case in point: Negra…
Read MoreThe Cattle Apple Saddle
Please join Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg for lunch! During the colder months, we supplement the cattle’s diet with grass hay, oat hay, and alfalfa. During the warmer months, other than the cattle’s other supplements that we provide, caregivers generally allow the cattle to roam and graze on whatever their hearts desire. In this video,…
Read MoreCurrant Events
In today’s blog, we will do something a little different. Sprinkled within the blog will be some exciting announcements we have! Be sure to find out what they are as you read along! This morning as I was driving in, there was a mother deer and her fawns in the sanctuary driveway. Just a sign…
Read MoreCelebrating Freedom
The Fourth of July holiday is a time when Americans celebrate their independence from Great Britain. For us here, we celebrate the freedom our residents have from the terrors of biomedical testing and harm from humans. For decades, many of the residents have spent their time in small cages and stripped of their freedom of…
Read MoreThe Queen Has Spoken
Initially, I had today’s blog all planned out in my head. I was going to write about food peering, a behavior where a chimpanzee stares intensely at the food another is eating in hopes of that individual sending some their way. I was inspired to write about such topic based on this photo I got…
Read More2023 Day of Days: The Trifecta Jubilee
Today was such a busy day in the most of exciting ways! Today is the Trifecta Jubilee! Today we celebrated Terry’s 33rd birthday, Negra’s 50th birthday, and the 15 year anniversary of the arrival of the Cle Elum Seven! Today was a non-stop celebration with many happenings that came along with the undying support of…
Read MoreWorld Environment Day 2023
Today is World Environment Day! World Environment Day has been held annually on June 5th since 1972 to raise awareness on issues our environment is facing and how to combat them. The events are also hosted by a city or nation to lead the theme and festivities. This year is being hosted by Côte d’Ivoire…
Read MoreThe Complete Picture
Being a caregiver to chimpanzees is a great job, in my humble opinion. There are so many challenges that come with the job, but there are also the same if not more amount of rewards. You also see chimpanzees in a new light. Before moving up to Central Washington, I had studied chimpanzees for a…
Read MoreThis, That, and The Other
Throughout the day, I had several ideas for things I wanted to share on the blog. They were all just small things that happened. Everything doesn’t always go as planned, as you may know. Every single time the idea would pop into my head, by the time I got the camera out (either the DLSR…
Read MoreA New Throne
Followers who have been reading the blog for a little while may remember the Comfort & Joy Auction from last fall. The items bidders made for the chimpanzees were then highlighted throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas series. Though we covered some, we did not cover all of the items. Mostly because some items took…
Read MoreSack Lunch Review
Recently, Netflix released a brand new show available for streaming called Chimp Empire. The documentary follows the lives of the Ngogo chimpanzee community in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. The Ngogo group has always piqued my interest. They were, and still are, the largest community of wild chimpanzees to ever be documented with more than 160…
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