Negra Rejoins the Group

Negra continues her recovery today after a recent surgery on her toe. She’s perfected the art of rest and relaxation… …which has really helped with her recovery. So, today, after careful consideration, she was able to rejoin the rest of her chimpanzee family. She made sure to check out her favorite spots in the Playroom…

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The Essentials

Jamie gathered a “few” essentials to add to her nest this morning. And by a few, I mean, a bucket (filled with snow), a few cups, a Dora doll, a scrub brush, a large LEGO piece, a few wooden toys, and two black boots. Other pieces of enrichment were added throughout the day including a…

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Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!! Many of you avid blog readers know that we like to celebrate the holidays here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and since it’s New Year’s Day, we decided to throw another party! Parties are a great way to celebrate holidays, birthdays, the changing of the seasons, and just-because days. What gets the…

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Another Christmas Celebration

With so much love and support (and toys and decorations) from all over the world, we decided to celebrate Christmas again today! Party setup in the Greenhouse, complete with grapes, LEGOs, and little hats for ornaments on the Christmas tree… …and more boxes, toys, piñatas, food and presents in the Playroom. Jamie headed straight for…

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Photo Highlights From Today

It can be a challenge to get photos of the chimps this time of the year. When it’s as cold as it has been, the chimps tend to hunker down and make themselves comfortable throughout the indoor enclosures. Often times, that means they are out of our sight, other than a foot or hand, or…

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Fun With Paper

Each day, we give the chimpanzees fresh, clean blankets for them to use for building nests (70+ to be more precise). Today, Jamie bypassed the blankets and went straight for the long piece of paper instead.

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That Time Of The Year, Again

It’s here, it’s here! The snow has arrived! And the chimps know what to do when it starts getting cold and the snow has fallen. Last Monday, I watched both Missy and Annie (and took the following photos), make the rounds on Young’s Hill, with a very specific goal in mind; to find ice chunks…

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Evening Enrichment

Each evening, before leaving for the day, we prepare some sort of puzzle or activity for the chimps to work on. There are a variety of ideas that we rotate throughout the month, including KONGs, Boomer balls, drink buckets and pine cones, to name a few. So, I thought I’d share a few of these…

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The Best Enrichment, From Burrito’s Point of View

Each and every day, the chimpanzees are given various enrichment objects, including dolls, boots, hard plastic and wooden toys, blankets, paper and a slew of other items for them to use at their own will. Each of the chimps prefer different items, say for instance, Foxie loves her dolls, Jamie loves her boots and Negra…

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When She’s Not Constantly Moving….

When one’s mission in life is to stay in motion, to go from point A to point B, running as fast as one can, climbing everything in sight, exploring new structures and tightrope walking (well, in this case it’s fire hose walking), it can be hard to get good closeup pictures. Do you know which…

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True Altruism

“True altruism is caring for places you will never visit, people you will never meet and a future you will never see.” – Author unknown – I was looking at Jane Goodall’s Facebook page the other day and came across the above quote. As I read the words, I couldn’t help thinking of all of…

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