Today is Annie’s honorary 38th birthday and we celebrated in style. Since we don’t have actual birth dates for Annie and some of the other chimpanzees, we asked some supporters to select meaningful days to celebrate the chimps. September 10th was selected by Margaret and Karen (two of the Cle Elum Seven’s most devoted and lovely friends) in honor of their anniversary. Additionally, Marcia Douthwaite, a longtime friend of Annie’s, sponsored today in honor of Annie’s birthday. We’re so touched that Annie has the love and support of so many special people on her big day.
We set up Annie’s party in the greenhouse this morning with gift bags full of new toys from Robbi and Dick and amazing homemade papier mache balls from supporters Kim and Lee, which we filled with shredded paper, peanuts, and crabapples from Executive Director Sarah’s backyard tree. The chimps also foraged for tangerines, kiwis, and chow (Burrito’s favorite).
The birthday girl enjoyed handfuls of chow:
Negra liked the crabapples:
Missy checked out a gift bag:
Burrito and Jody:
Jamie loved the papier mache balls:
Jody likes to inspect new toys intimately:
This red cloth block seemed to interest several folks.
Jody:
Negra:
Jamie (also with a new boot):
We also “planted” some veggies on Young’s Hill for the chimps to harvest. The carrots are courtesy of Keith, Felicity, and friends and the onions are straight from the chimps’ garden. We’re having some strong, cool winds in Cle Elum today, so the chimps all ran out to gather the veggies as soon as the door to Young’s Hill was opened, and then quickly returned with their haul to the warmth of the greenhouse.
Annie:
Jamie:
Jody:
Negra:
Sincere thanks to everyone who made today special for Annie and the rest of the gang!
Happy Birthday Annie, Your caregivers did a great job of it—thanks all for our girl Annie and the other Six–such fun for them.
Happy Birthday Annie! Looks like you had a great day with so many people who love you dearly! Wish I could visit!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Annie!! I crack up every time I see you bipedal walking. My cats can’t stand the feel of grass on their feet either and hop around like bunny rabbits to avoid the grass. 🙂
I hope Jody spoiled you on your birthday, Annie, and shared all those onions with you!
A beautiful party for a beautiful girl. Happy birthday Annie!
wow great pics but how come none of Foxie? did she not enjoy the forage? I laugh every time I see a pic or video of Annie walking bipedally, she is so cute and always looks like she is tiptoeing 🙂
Foxie most certainly enjoyed the party. But it’s not everyday that we’re lucky enough to get blog-worthy photos of each of the chimps. 🙂
Miss Elizabeth!!! You took some excellent pics today. Another great pictorial of yet another amazing b-day!!
Thanks a million times to everyone who helped make it a great day for Annie and her 6 very lucky friends!! 🙂
Thanks, Linda! I have to share credit with Jackie, though. These photos are the result of our combined photographic efforts for the day. 😉
Love….Love….Love….all these pics!!! So many onions…lolololololol and Annie walking around bipedally cracks me up! They are taken care of with alot of love and care. It shows how much ya’ll love these chimps and want the best for them!
They all look like they had a wonderful time celebrating Annie’s Birthday with her! I LOVE the idea of planting veggies for harvesting, brilliant! The one of the Birthday girl with carrots, hopping is my fav! Of course I love the ones with the paper mache toys (balls) Lee and I sent 🙂 Thank you to all of you who made this happen and everything else you do for the Chimps. The caregivers and supporters who “sponsor” the days, with funds and gifts! Bravo to all!
The balls were a big hit. Thanks, Kim!
Happy birthday, sweet Annie. I hope you had a wonderful day. I like the picture of you running with a carrot in your mouth. You weren’t even touching the ground! Hugs and smooches. 🙂
HaPpY BiRtHdAy Annie, your are soooo cute and enjoy your day and all the goodies you got. Cant wait to stop by and meet you, we will be on vacation in that area on the 16th <3
Hi, Nancy. The sanctuary isn’t open to the public at this time, though we hope to have a visitor program in the future, so stay tuned!