Posts by Ellen Brady-McGaughey
Meredith’s Healing Update
As J.B. covered in a previous blog, Meredith started slowing down this past summer which we discovered was due to osteoarthritis. She had a procedure at WSU to correct this in her right front foot, and she has been recovering and healing from this procedure. We were happy to welcome her back home to continue…
Read MoreHow to Entertain a Chimpanzee
First up, here is your Honey B update! Despite our best attempts to keep her attention away from her healing eyelid and occupy her time with other activities, she did open up her incision slightly yesterday. Dr. Erin assessed her and for now, we are waiting to see how it continues to heal and consulting…
Read MoreHoney B Takes a Trip to the Clinic
Yesterday was a very busy day at the sanctuary. There was a fight in Honey B’s group in the afternoon where she sustained a multilayered laceration to her lower right eyelid. Thankfully there was no damage to the eye itself, but the injury did require some stitches. Everyone quickly jumped into action to get Honey…
Read MoreSnow cones, Squeegees, and Smarty pants, oh my!
It is another cold day here at the sanctuary! The chimps spent their day with extra projects provided by caregivers to keep them occupied since outdoor activities were off the table for the day given the very cold temperatures. For the most part, this included things like adding seeds to their daily forage for them…
Read MoreBubba Bubba Burrito!!
Today is the one and only Burrito Chimpanzee’s 41st birthday!! We have been celebrating him all day (and have more celebrating to do with him this evening). We will share videos and photos from his birthday festivities tomorrow since we have some more fun to include from this evening. For now, I thought what better…
Read MoreLibrary Day
It’s no secret that Jamie Chimpanzee loves books, and after being on the nice list and getting lots of gifts at Christmas, she had amassed quite the book collection. Today we decided to give her lots of her books to look through all at once and called it Library Day. It was a blast! Sabrina…
Read MoreTouch, Trust, and New Friends
Touch is an integral part of being a chimpanzee. It builds relationships – through grooming, play, embraces, reassurance during a fight or time of stress. It also strains those same relationships – through contact aggression during fights (biting, hitting, kicking), or even the withholding of reassurance from another chimpanzee. Through it all, physical contact is…
Read MoreBecoming Friends with Jamie
Being friends with Jamie is a wonderful gift, but one that certainly must be earned! As one of the newest caregivers here, I have been enjoying getting the privilege to know Jamie, and wanted to share with you all about some of the joys of Jamie. Jamie can be a complicated friend to have. Much…
Read MoreRainy Day Activities
It’s been a very rainy day at the chimp house, but don’t worry, no day is boring when you are around chimpanzees! This morning, I heard chimp laughter and walked in to see Honey B and Dora playing with Mave supervising. The afternoon rolled around and it was still raining and chilly. This time when…
Read MoreMeet Our Newest Caregiver – Ellen
Hello everyone! My name is Ellen and I am one of the newest caregivers here at the sanctuary. I am excited for the opportunity to introduce myself to you all today, and look forward to many more shared conversations to come on the blog. I grew up in Georgia, and attended the University of Georgia…
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