Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Archives for April 2011

Happy Bunny Day

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The chimps are having a great day thanks to their extended human family. The always stellar Robbi made wonderful Easter goodie bags filled with new toys and volunteers Stephanie and Katelyn arrived this morning with all sorts of edible treats. We stuffed plastic eggs with nuts and berries and scattered them around the greenhouse instead of serving breakfast, so the chimps spent all morning foraging and snacking. Supporters Lisa and Crystal Grillo have a tradition of making great food on this day and wanted to share that tradition with the chimps, so dinner is on them! Food grunts to Lisa and Crystal!

Chimps in Labs report

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We are lucky that we are able to see and share “the other side of the story” of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees. But we never forget where they came from and we never forget about the over 1,000 chimpanzees still in biomedical research facilities.

Today, an excellent set of articles came out about the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research and the issue of the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees whose fate is still uncertain after receiving a temporary reprieve from their transfer to what is now called the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. Please read the series of articles in McClatchy by Chris Adams here: www.mcclatchydc.com/chimps

If you’ve been following this story on our blog and e-newsletters (just search for “Alamogordo” in the search box to the right), you know that Jody’s son Levi was already transferred to the biomedical facility. Among the 186 chimpanzees whose fate is depending on the decision of the NIH officials examining the issue is Negra’s daughter Heidi (pictured below), Foxie’s son David, and Jody’s daughter April.

Heidi

This is a crucial time for not just the Alamogordo chimpanzees, but all laboratory chimpanzees. The bill to outlaw the use of chimpanzees in invasive biomedical research in the United States was recently reintroduced as the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act.

Learn more about this bill and how to help: Project R&R

For more on the Alamogordo Primate Facility chimpanzees: Retire the Chimps

Party for Love a Chimpanzee Day

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We put the emphasis on delicious fresh food for Love a Chimpanzee Day 2011, brought to the chimps by Monica, who sponsored a day and sent some extra cash and goodies for us to throw a party. (Find out how you can sponsor a day by visiting our donate page or contacting us).

Here is the forage before spreading it out (and a few non-food treats for the chimps):

fresh produce

Here’s Negra traveling with a perfectly ripe avocado – a favorite among all of the chimpanzees:

negra avocado

Here’s Foxie picking peas out of the “garden” that volunteer Connie created in the sandbox

foxie pea picking

Negra even opened a present!

negra opening gift

Annie seemed fond of this new doll:

Annie with doll

Foxie did not seem fond of the same doll, though she did seem to enjoy taking it apart – it’s all part of the fun:

foxie with doll head

It was a beautiful sunny day in Cle Elum and all of the chimps really enjoyed the goodies today. Dinner ended with lots of nuts for Negra and figs. Little do they know they’ll be having another party tomorrow!

 

Posing for Monica on Love a Chimpanzee Day

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I happen to know that Monica, who sponsored today in honor of the chimpanzees and her cat Ozzie, is a big Duran Duran fan. So, in addition to the party we threw for the chimps full of gorgeous and delicious food, we printed out a few photos that we thought Monica might appreciate. I didn’t expect Burrito to pose so perfectly and had to share this one right away. Happy Love a Chimpanzee Day, Monica!

Burrito loves Duran Duran

Love a Chimpanzee Day II

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Today’s sponsor-a-day is from Monica Best. Monica has named this day “Love a Chimpanzee Day” in memory of her cat, Ozzie. You may remember last years’ Love a Chimpanzee Day celebration. Monica sent so much good stuff for the chimps- it was so much fun! Well, she’s done it again and we have an exciting day ahead of us! Thanks so much, Monica!

Here’s a photo of Burrito in his Valentine’s Day love nest:

Caregiver Jackie Buckner is up for adoption

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OK, Jackie’s not literally up for adoption, but she could use your support to make her job a whole lot easier. Both Jackie and Elizabeth started as volunteers – in Jackie’s case, years before the chimps even arrived at the sanctuary! When we were able to bump up Jackie’s hours to full-time several months ago, we incorporated an office day into her schedule. This has been a huge benefit to the organization, and I’m personally thrilled, relieved and thankful that she’s able to help out with the auction this year!

Jackie really needs two pieces of equipment to be able to help with all of the auction donation record-keeping: a scanner plus copier and an external hard drive. I spent a good deal of time searching for the best of both of these that will fit her needs and just added them to our amazon wishlist this morning.

So, who’s able to adopt Jackie by purchasing these needed items? I can guarantee she will send you a very special thank you note!

Don’t you think her desk would look much better with some electronic equipment on it?

jackie's desk