Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for January 2015

Close-ups

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It’s not often that I take non-blurry, close-up pictures of each of the chimps. There are number of reasons for this, one being operator error. Second, third and fourth reasons are that the chimps are often moving, just out of sight of the camera, or would rather not have their picture taken. So, when the close-up photos actually turn out, I cannot stop looking at them.

Sometimes pictures just convey so much more than words ever can about the beauty, serenity or nature of each of the chimpanzees. These are some of my favorite close-ups of each of the chimps from the past few weeks.

Jamie
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Burrito
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Jody
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Negra
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Foxie
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Missy
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Annie
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Today is for Luke Brock

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Yesterday, Barbara Anderson sponsored the day for five-year-old JP Brock. Today, Barbara sponsored a day of sanctuary for JP’s seven-year-old brother, Luke.

Barbara wanted us to be sure to show these big-hearted kids how much the chimpanzees benefit from generous donors. Donations truly allow the chimpanzees to be happy!

Rather than a photo, I decided this is best illustrated with a video. I had almost forgotten about this video when a comment showed up on it the other day. I laughed out loud (mainly at Jamie’s inventive use of troll dolls) when I watched it again.

I hope you enjoy it too, Luke!

Jamie’s precision enrichment project

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As many of you know, Jamie loves projects. She appreciates a challenge, and seeks out opportunities for doing things “the hard way.” It’s really the opposite of most people’s instincts, because laziness is almost a default—we ask ourselves to find the quickest way to do things which require the least amount of exertion. Conserving energy might be the ultimate cause for this instinct, but in any case, it’s how most animals (humans included) operate. Jamie, however, has other things in mind. She wants to challenge herself.

Lately, when I serve breakfast, I have a little routine with Jamie. I give her a cup which she pins against the fencing, and then I place her servings in the bowl. So as I hand fruit pieces to the mouths or hands of the other chimps, I put Jamie’s in her bowl and she spends time fishing the piece out of the bowl. Once she gets the slice, she sort of leans the bowl my direction so I can refill it. Doing things the hard way tend to just make her happy. It’s awful to imagine the trauma she must have experienced from boredom in her previous life in biomedical research.

We can’t ever make up for what she must have gone through, but we try to give her as many challenges and projects as we can to keep her happy. Sometimes her projects come from surprising places—like today, I caught her playing with this enrichment toy for quite awhile. The small poles could be pushed through the holes in the wood center, and she would do just that and then flip it over and start again. The thing I found interesting was her technique—rather than just using her fingers to push the poles, she used another pole as a tool. You can see in the video just how precise she was with each push.

After taking some video of this activity I showed it to Jamie, who was interested in watching herself for a brief moment before returning to her project (watch until the very end to see that bit).

This Day of Sanctuary Sponsored for JP Brock and Dennis Dougherty

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We have two sponsors for today’s day of sanctuary! Dennis Dougherty is celebrating his birthday by sponsoring today, and Barbara Anderson sponsored today for JP Brock.

JP is possibly our youngest sponsor-a-day honoree at just 5 years old. We hope he’s excited to see his name on the blog! It seems that JP and his brother Luke Brock (who will be honored tomorrow) are learning all about helping animals from Barbara, who understands that the chimps’ lives in sanctuary are only possible because generous people give donations.

It’s so heartwarming that Barbara is one of the special folks who are helping young children learn about the sad issues facing chimpanzees, and teaching them that these problems can be helped by people like them who decide to make a difference!

And what a difference donations make. Just look at the photos of Missy when she first arrived compared to today:

Missy day one
Missy when she arrived at CSNW in 2008
Missy sitting on treat rock
Missy last month

And here’s a photo of recent birthday-boy Burrito just for Dennis:

Burrito at a party

Thank you both for celebrating sanctuary by sponsoring today!

Go Hawks!

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Today is Blue Friday, which around the Seattle area means that fans shows their support for the Seahawks by wearing their favorite blue and green Seahawks gear. Since the team will be playing in their first playoff game tomorrow night, we thought we’d join in the spirit and throw a Blue Friday party for the chimps! We had broccoli and grapes for a forage, as well as tea in blue and green champagne flutes, and watered down blue gatorade in Seahawks cups.

The party set-up:

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The blue drinks were a bit hit! Everyone had a taste.

Jamie:
Jamie

Annie:
Annie

Burrito:
Burrito

Burrito

Jody:
Jody

Negra:
Negra

Missy:
Missy

Jamie loved the table we setup with the forage and the decorations:

Jamie drink tea

Jamie eat broccoli

Jamie Seahawks football

We’re glad we were able to throw a fun party for the chimps in the spirit of camaraderie of the pacific northwest fans. Running a sanctuary is all about teamwork, and we are lucky to have some really great fans of our own!

Jamie

Morning Play

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This morning, Foxie was clearly feeling playful – stomping around the playroom and doing somersaults. Jamie noticed this, approached Foxie, and swiped one of Foxie’s beloved dolls. (Jamie knows this is a surefire strategy for initiating play with Foxie.) Jamie’s move kicked off a long game of wrestling and doll keep-away.)