Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.
Here is the link to the King 5 story that just aired: http://bit.ly/PyfMes
and here’s a photo of that sad relic from the fire:
We are so grateful to the firefighters for all they did making sure everyone was safe and for all of our volunteers and supporters who have gotten us through the last few weeks in so many ways. I think the burned but still smiling troll doll will be a reminder of the fire for years to come.
We opened the door to let the chimps back onto Young’s Hill for the first time since the Taylor Bridge Fire hit the sanctuary property on August 13th. Gary Chittim and Ken Jones from King 5 were here to do a story today. You can see footage of the chimps’ excitement and steps out on the hill on King 5 News at 6:30pm in Seattle and online after the story airs (we’ll be sure to share the link once it’s on the web).
The chimpanzees haven’t been asking to go out much since the fire, which is a surprise, since they generally “remind us” in the mornings to open the door by standing by it and getting our attention or luring us over and sticking their fingers through the caging where the door opens.
J.B. and volunteers Brian and John have worked to clean up the hill by removing burned logs, reinforcing a damaged fence post, and dragging (tilling, in effect) the charred ground that covered half of the enclosure. J.B. found a sad relic on the hill that Gary Chittim will show on the King 5 broadcast tonight.
All of the staff joined in a final check of the hill yesterday afternoon so we were ready and anxious to give the chimps access after setting up a breakfast forage.
The chimps mostly stuck to the unburned areas.
Below is a photo of Jamie bringing a wrench out with her on to the hill. Maybe J.B. forgot to fix something?
And here she is with the burned ground in the background:
Annie did inspect the burned grass a bit:
And Missy ventured into the starkness of the top of the hill that was charred in the fire. You can see a ring of green grass coming up – that’s where the underground irrigation lines run to water the bamboo. We lost about half of the smaller bamboo in the fire:
Negra and Jody are two out of our seven residents that are more relaxers and not as much rough-and-tumble players, like Foxie or Missy. So, it’s a nice treat getting to see them playing with anyone—and even more so with each other!
Burrito definitely loves playing with his human friends (and we love playing with him!) but I really like seeing Burrito play with other chimps. He and Foxie play pretty frequently– I would suspect that of the chimps, Foxie is his best friend. But he and Missy play sometimes too. I caught them in a rambunctiously goofy play session this morning in the greenhouse. They were so caught up in their silliness that neither of them even noticed me taking photos through the glass window in the playroom.
Perhaps our catchy title was a bit optimistic. But here’s your quick take action tip of the week. On September 5th, a week from today, the working group addressing the issue of government funded research on chimpanzees will meet to prepare its recommendations (due out in the early part of 2013). Visit this link to send a quick note to the members of the working group encouraging them to recommend permanent retirement for all government owned and supported chimpanzees. There are many like Negra, Jamie, Foxie and the rest of our bunch sitting in labs waiting for you to speak up for them.
To steal a phrase from our friend Allison, it’s getting back to boring around here. A good kind of boring. So, while there’s a lull, here’s some nice catch-up news I’ve been collecting for a few weeks. First, I’m pleased to share that we have been formally accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). People are sometimes surprised to learn that there are very few formal regulations on sanctuaries. It varies state by state, but here in Washington there is almost nothing in the state code specific to a facility like ours. CSNW is regulated on the federal level by the Animal Welfare Act (under the USDA), but not all sanctuaries fall under these regulations either (depending both on state requirements and on activities the facility undertakes). The lack of uniform governmental regulation makes organizations like GFAS even more important, because they set standards we all agree to follow. Not only is this important in ensuring that chimpanzee sanctuaries are providing top-notch care, but it also provides an additional layer of transparency to donors and supporters looking to make sure that their support goes to true sanctuaries.
We also got news that CSNW is part of a group selected by the Secretary of Agriculture to receive the 64th annual Secretary’s Honors award (the highest honor bestowed by the Secretary) for our work to help resolve the situation at Wild Animal Orphanage (WAO) last year. WAO went bankrupt and was forced to close after many years in operation. A professional working group formed and quickly moved to place hundreds of animals, including 17 chimpanzees. Thankfully, fellow North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) members Save the Chimps and Chimp Haven were able to take these chimpanzees in.
CSNW is the smallest of the NAPSA sanctuaries, so we aren’t generally in the position to be able to directly rescue chimpanzees in need. But we work hard with our colleagues in the professional sanctuary community to support and facilitate rescues whenever we can. So in one final bit of news, I’m thrilled to say that my friend CJ chimpanzee, who I met years ago in Las Vegas, has landed herself a permanent home at Chimps Inc in Bend, Oregon. Read the full story here. I had hoped to be there when she arrived, because our annual NAPSA meeting was occurring at the same time. But the fire got in the way of my plans. I will go see her just as soon as I can, and look forward to seeing my other chimpanzee friends there as well, like Emma and Jackson, who I first met in Texas in 2006.
Volunteer caregiver-in-training Katelyn brought Jamie a new pair of boots today. Jamie continues to be completely in love with any and all cowboy boots.
First, she brachiated around the ceiling of the greenhouse for awhile with the boots safely in her pelvic pocket:
Then she looked for a place to settle down and inspect her treasure.
Thanks, Katelyn!
