Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for August 2013

The Rainy Day

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The weather has been volatile today as you can see by the clouds menacing the sanctuary with the promise of rain.

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What better way to spend a rainy, blustery Sunday than curled up in a nest with some of your favorite things? I certainly can’t argue with that!

Annie nesting in the greenhouse:
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Missy in a nest on the catwalk in the playroom:
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Jamie inside with her boots:
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Jody peeking out from a nest on the catwalk:
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Negra from underneath the blankets:
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And while I personally would prefer the nap, I have it on good authority that although rain is threatening, that’s no reason to cancel a perfectly good walk around Young’s Hill!

Negra and Annie play

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Volunteers Connie, Annie, Lynn and myself finished cleaning the playroom and I was about to let them go enjoy a pumpkin seed forage appetizer before their lunch on Young’s Hill, but had to pause for a minute to watch these two unusual play partners wrestle and laugh. At 40, Negra is the eldest of the Cle Elum Seven but Annie isn’t far behind her. She will be turning 39 in a couple of weeks! As J.B. mentioned on yesterday’s blog about Missy’s 38th birthday, it’s definitely as if the chimps are aging backwards since they arrived at CSNW. I never tire of seeing these old ladies play like kids 🙂

Annie:
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Negra:
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Happy Birthday, Missy!

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Missy turned 38 today, and to celebrate we made the day all about her. Volunteers Patti and Annie brought some of Missy’s favorite foods and toys, and we did forages in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill for breakfast. We also harvested cattails from the pond. Tonight, we’ll put out Kongs after dinner, which are her favorite food puzzles.

The Cle Elum Seven really have aged backwards since coming to the sanctuary – it’s hard to believe that playful, active Missy is 38 years old. Let’s hope she never acts her age.

The Chimps Take Manhattan!

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As most of us have mentioned this week, providing the chimpanzees (especially Jamie!) with an enriching and stimulating environment can be challenging. Thanks to Donna and Doreen’s sponsorship of today, we decided to use the theme of the “Big Apple.” It’s always fun to see how each of the chimpanzees choose to engage with new enrichment. Debbie and volunteer Deb spent a lot of time constructing a cardboard box version of the New York City skyline and we even made a Dora of Liberty statue on “Ellis Island” (aka the turtle wading pool). After scattering dried apples still warm from the dehydrator (courtesy of volunteer, Patty) about like confetti for the chimps’ forage in Times Square, the scene was set. Mind you, it’s sometimes difficult to say whether the chimpanzees or the humans are more enriched by these endeavors.

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Foxie “hearts” NY:

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Jody and Annie checking out the Dora of Liberty statue:

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As you can imagine, the chimps not only took Manhattan, but quickly toppled it. Here’s Jamie inspecting the ruins:

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And Jody found “Ellis Island” to be the perfect nesting spot (after getting that pesky Dora of Liberty out of the way):

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Donna and Doreen, thanks again for sponsoring the day in honor of Foxie’s birthday month and your anniversary in the Big Apple!

And tomorrow is the last day to vote for your favorite chimpanzee artist! Get your votes in now and help make a real difference for the winning chimpanzee and their sanctuary family and home!

 

Thank you, Donna and Doreen!

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Today was sponsored by Donna and Doreen Hughes in celebration of two of their greatest loves, Foxie Chimpanzee and the Big Apple! (Well, maybe three loves if we include troll dolls!) Donna and Doreen feel (rightly so) that Foxie, being Foxie, should celebrate her birthday and her troll doll lovin’ self all month long! Today is also the anniversary of Donna and Doreen’s move to New York City which they celebrate every year because of how much they love living there.

Donna and Doreen are two fabulous ladies who have been long time supporters of the sanctuary and all Great Apes. As much as they adore the “Big Apple” they feel it is important to have nature in our lives and to care for all the amazing beings we co-exist with here on planet Earth. Thanks for keeping Foxie’s party going, Donna and Doreen, and Happy Anniversary! It’s so kind of you to include Foxie and her family in your special day.

Here are Foxie and Dora hanging out on Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s version of a skyscraper.

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And Foxie and her troll taking a stroll in her own “Central Park.”

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A blog retrospective of Jamie

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People often ask me who my favorite chimpanzee is. I don’t really like trying to pick one—and to be honest, I can’t. Each of the Cle Elum Seven are unique and awesome in their own way and I love them all. But I would say that I have the best relationship with Jamie. Sometimes, there are just different people that you “click” with a little more than others.

So, I wouldn’t want to say that Jamie is my favorite, but I definitely find that we spend more time together. Perhaps this is because Jamie is more human-oriented than the other chimps, and so we end up liking the same things. We also happen to share a birthday, which I think is pretty cool.

She likes to check out all of the caregivers’ shoes and boots, and we are more than happy to oblige. She loves to write and draw and use tools. I was thinking today about all the interesting and awesome things Jamie does on a day-to-day basis and what we have featured on our blog over the years, so I decided to compile a “best of” list.

As Katelyn described yesterday, Jamie occasionally likes to wear scarves or other clothing accessories. I love this blog post from awhile ago called “How to ruin a perfectly good scarf.” Fashion is important to Jamie, but sometimes playing can take precedence.

Speaking of playing, Foxie and Jamie are pretty great friends. Foxie is a total goof! Here’s a video from awhile ago of the two of them wrestling in a giant box:

I like this post from just a few months after the chimps arrived. We were still learning about all their personalities, and this captures Jamie’s fairly well.

Jamie also really likes to help us clean up. She will sometimes sit and watch us clean, as if she’s evaluating our work. As the Boss of the sanctuary, I suppose that is her job!

She’s also really good about testing out new things and making sure we’ve done things up to her standards. You could say she’s in charge of the quality control department at CSNW. She loves to also take new things apart using tools!

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Probably one of the highlights of our day is when Jamie asks to go on a walk around the hill. This is the post where J.B. explains how we came to realize this is also Jamie’s highlight of the day!

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I also really love remembering the day we gave a ukulele to Jamie. She was thrilled! She treated it just like any of her other projects—investigate every possible piece of it!

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It is sometimes hard to describe Jamie, and maybe that just speaks to her uniqueness. I love this blog where Diana explains that Jamie is, well, a complicated chimpanzee.

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jamie on the rock

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Finally, as we all know, Jamie is an artist. Here’s some retrospective posts on a few of her artistic endeavors:

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Jamie’s an artist! (June 21, 2008)

Jamie’s paintings (August 20, 2008)

Scribbling (September 9, 2008)

Jamie’s dexterity (April 1, 2009)

Jamie, the artiste (November 10, 2010)

Art (August 24, 2011)

Jamie’s letter to you (March 22, 2012)

Jamie’s artistic side (January 11, 2013)

Lend your vote to support Jamie’s wonderful mixed-media art in the HSUS Art Contest going on now until Thursday. You are permitted to vote once per day, so please keep voting for Jamie!

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