Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
This is what greeted me when I arrived at the chimp house this morning:
For at least ten minutes, her concentration was so acute that she couldn’t be distracted. Jamie is so busy these days that it’s almost impossible to imagine how she occupied her time during her decades in laboratories with nothing to play with or explore. What a different world this must be for her!
If you’re a Primate Patrol member or follow the Primate Patrol page on Facebook, you know that Dodge recently altered their advertisement campaign which had included a chimpanzee named Suzie (Suzy).
Dodge took it a step further and released a powerful statement, which included these sentences:
“Dodge is firmly committed to never using great apes in our advertisements again.”
“We are not a company that hides behind issues or brushes them under the rug. We are a company that meets issues head on and moves forward. And we promise to keep doing everything in our power to be one of the most honest and forward-thinking companies out there.”
This morning, Dodge published the link to their statement on their Facebook page. They have received a bit of flack from Dodge enthusiasts who clearly do not appreciate PETA, who Dodge mentions in their statement.
If you’re a Facebook user, please counter these folks by liking the Dodge Facebook page and politely thanking Dodge for indeed being a forward-thinking company on the issue of great apes in entertainment. Corporations can never make everyone happy, but we should praise them when they make compassionate decisions.
My Dodge Neon was the vehicle that Keith and J.B. drove from Pennsylvania to Cle Elum, following the Cle Elum Seven’s journey to freedom over two years ago. So now I have two big reasons to appreciate Dodge.
Jody and Missy are master nest-builders. I managed to get some recent photos of them making midday nests.
Jody’s step one: stand in the middle of the nest and build it around you.
Jody’s step two: include both sheets and blue paper in the nest for full comfort
Jody’s step three: dive face first into the bed (this movement often accompanied by a “Jody happy noise”)
Jody’s step four: enjoy the comfort you’ve created
Missy’s step one: first see if someone will play with you if you put a blanket over your head
Missy’s step two: if no one takes the play bait, proceed with nest-making by placing blankets around you where you sit
Missy’s step three: unfold and place blankets carefully
Missy’s step four: do a headstand
Missy’s step four: roll into a comfortable position and enjoy
In case you haven’t heard through all of the chimps’ Facebook status updates (yes, each chimp has their own FB page, which can be found through this link), thanks to volunteer Stephanie Perciful, the chimps had a pirate-themed party yesterday. What an awesome idea! Stephanie did an awesome job (as usual) collecting pirate-themed enrichment for the chimps, so the playroom was covered in buried treasures (e.g. gold beaded necklaces) and skulls and crossbones. Thanks, Steph!
Tickets are selling fast for Out of the Box, the 2010 Auction Gala Event!
Below are a just a few of the incredible art items that will be up for auction, these pieces are of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees. There are a lot of other art items, as well as wine and just for fun certificates and getaways. Check out the Auction Items page for a list (and check back often for updates!)
Lucy Birkitt’s oil painting of Negra:
Margaret Parkinson‘s oil painting entitled “Jamie Undercover”:
Diane Frederick‘s wood burned portrait of Annie:
Sally-Anne Ryan’s painting, also of Annie
Join us for an Out of the Box evening. Get your tickets now!
Missy managed to get three of the seven onions that were just harvested from the garden:
When Missy was done with them, Jamie finished them off:
Annie enjoyed the carrots from Cloudview Ecofarm:
Burrito munched on lettuce:
Jody, as usual, laid down to eat:
Watch this recent interview with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who just might be my new favorite person: http://apnm.org/news_current_events/2010/govrichardson_koat.php
If you’re in New Mexico, watch KNME at 7:00pm tonight for “New Mexico in Focus.” For those not in New Mexico, the show will be made available online after the weekend.
The KNME show will include a panel discussion about the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees who are slated to move to a laboratory in San Antonio, Texas. The panel includes State Representative Nate Cote, University of New Mexico Professor Dr. John Gluck, and Animal Protection of New Mexico’s Laura Bonar.
Included in the group of 202 chimpanzees in Alamogordo are Jody, Foxie and Negra’s children. Jody’s son Levi has already been transferred to Texas.
Much of this information comes from the latest update from Animal Protection of New Mexico. Read the entire update here: http://apnm.org/mailbox/aug13_1_10.html We are so grateful to APNM for continuing to work on helping these chimpanzees and for keeping us all informed and letting us know how we can help.
