Posts by Elizabeth
Jody the Harvester
One of the chimpanzees’ favorite activities this time of year is going out on Young’s Hill and harvesting an armful (or mouthful) of the wild plants that grow out there, and bringing them back into the greenhouse to eat or wadge. Jody, especially, is a plant harvesting fiend.
Read MorePlay as Distraction
Being the perpetually hungry guy that he is, Burrito always knows when meal time is approaching. For instance, he knows that when we’re finished cleaning the front rooms, lunch time is near. Occasionally, for whatever reason, his internal clock is off, and it’s not quite time to eat when he thinks it should be. This…
Read MoreNegra, Routine, and Compromise
We’ve written before on the blog about our daily routine here at the sanctuary, and why routine is important to the chimpanzees. At mealtimes, we ask the chimps to shift to a separate area of the chimp house so that we can close off and clean the area they’ve just evacuated. If one of the…
Read MoreThe Truth About Burrito
Burrito is a handsome guy. When you see a face like this: you might think it belongs to a suave and dignified gentleman. But Burrito has a silly side. In fact, he’s all silly side. And he, like the rest of us, loves a good slinky.
Read MoreGifts From Friends
We’ve written on the blog before about supporters Diane and Syd Marcus’s amazingly creative and thoughtful care packages for the chimpanzees. They always choose personalized gifts for each of the chimps, tailored to their individual interests. In one of these packages last year, Diane and Syd included a French Dora the Explorer doll for Foxie,…
Read MoreGrooming up close
I was playing tug of war with Burrito in the greenhouse the other day when Negra approached and sat herself down in front of Burrito, waiting to be groomed. Burrito took the hint. Be sure to turn your volume up to hear Burrito’s tooth clacking, lip smacking, and Bronx cheers.
Read MoreAnnie and Missy: Now and Then
While staff and volunteers were cleaning the greenhouse before breakfast this morning, Annie and Missy bided their time with a little wrestling. And just because, here’s one of my favorite classic Annie and Missy play sessions from about five years ago. Here’s to another five years of play faces and breathy laughter.
Read MoreJody and the Bamboo
Jody loves to harvest her own plants from Young’s Hill. In addition to a variety of wild plants that grow out there, we have planted several groves of bamboo generously donated by Provitro Biosciences. While Missy appreciates the bamboo for its climbing potential, Jody prefers to break off shoots and eat the leaves. I snapped…
Read MoreChoice
The chimpanzees spend a lot of time in the doorway that leads from the greenhouse to Young’s Hill, deciding whether they want to go outside. Sometimes they decide against it and opt to stay in the sunny greenhouse or hang out in the indoor playroom. But I think these moments of choice are just as…
Read MoreView from the top
Almost three years after we opened Young’s Hill, the chimpanzees are still exploring new facets of it all the time. This afternoon volunteer caregiver Denice called me outside to take a look at Jamie, who had scaled a 25 foot tall post to the very top, and was clinging to it and taking in her…
Read MoreGreen Grass
Each year around this time, the grass on Young’s Hill turns from brown and brittle to soft and green seemingly overnight. The chimpanzees love it, and I love how at home they look out there. Annie: Jody: Foxie and Dora… …and Ellie the elk spying: Negra: Burrito, enjoying the spring grass for the delicacy it…
Read MoreThe Day After
Aside from working directly with and for the chimpanzees every day, the thing I love most about working for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is seeing how deeply people near and far care about the chimps – not just in the abstract, but as individuals. After decades of being treated as little more than faceless numbers, it’s…
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