Burrito is a completely charming combination of man and boy. At times he is a typical male chimpanzee: blustery, macho, a whirling dervish. And at others he’s all little boy: sweet and playful and full of laughter.
Man:
Boy:
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
by Elizabeth
by Katelyn
Negra spent the day hanging out with a new friend. And if you’ve been following the blog recently, you may be able to guess who that might be. Diana got some great photos of the Queen enjoying a leisurely morning in the greenhouse and it didn’t take long to spot her new companion.
You can just see a tuft of white hair sticking out from under Negra’s hip pocket:
Negra heard the train coming and one of her favorite things to do is watch it go past in the valley below. She also loves to bang on the window at it as it passes by and today she seemed to be telling her little friend all about it.
Similar hairstyles…
For reasons unclear to the humans, trolls are the “it” item du jour in the chimp house again. Jody has been wearing a scarf with several trolls tied onto it for two days! She even ran back in before breakfast to retrieve it and put it on during her meal. But no worries about Foxie, she’s been spending her time with Dora today.
by Katelyn
Today was sponsored by Joan O’Flaherty in memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty, and their wedding anniversary. Ned and Noreen were great advocates for animals and conservation and we are honored to have them remembered here at the sanctuary.
Joan, we are so touched that you choose to honor your parents’ memory by helping to ensure the chimpanzees lives are all that they deserve. In remembering Ned and Noreen today we hope that the knowledge of the difference you, as well as they, have made to the chimpanzees brings you the comfort and joy that it does the chimps. We are very thankful and will hold you all in our thoughts today.
Burrito and Negra:
by Katelyn
Annie’s inner light is shining through. It’s taken a long time for all those layers of anxiety and fear to fade, let go of the hold they had on her when she first arrived. After three decades in biomedical research, any of us would have difficulty seeing the world through a different lens.
When Annie first arrived, she often had anxiety attacks during which she would throw herself on the ground, flail about and scream. Sometimes it was seemingly an over-stimulated response to a high arousal situation, or a misunderstanding with one of the other chimps. Sometimes it was often difficult to tell what, if anything outside of her own mind, precipitated her distress. These events still occur from time to time, but much less frequently.
And until the last year or so, Annie never left her best friend, Missy’s, side. She became extremely anxious if Missy happened to go off to explore the hill, or decided to engage in a play session with any of the other chimps. The first year that the chimps had access to Young’s Hill, Missy would bound outside to explore while Annie watched anxiously from the greenhouse, rocking back and forth in the doorway until Missy returned. Heartbreaking doesn’t adequately describe what it felt like to watch her in distress in these moments. To be unable to reassure her, knowing she had to find her peace and calm in her own way and time, was difficult to say the least. But as the chimpanzees continually show us, provided with a caring, respectful and loving environment in which to heal, they are capable of finding their way back to themselves. One step at a time, one day at a time, sometimes one minute at a time.
It was around this time last year that our hearts swelled with joy over finding Annie peacefully sleeping in the greenhouse on her own. Now it’s an increasingly regular occurrence. Just a few days ago Annie was alarmed by something she saw outside and led the way out onto Young’s Hill, her hair standing on end and swaggering bi-pedally. She rushed out without hesitation or thought of who might serve as back-up as she courageously went to protect her home. And the others followed her lead! And just today during lunch when Jody, who holds a more dominant position in the group than Annie, attempted to take some of Annie’s lunch (as is normal chimpanzee hierarchical behavior) Annie turned her back to Jody and held fast to what she wanted, despite Jody’s displeasure.
Yep, Annie is shining through all that darkness of the past, brighter, steadier and stronger with each passing day. And what a beautiful gift it is to witness.
by Elizabeth
It is nearly impossible to satisfy Jamie. She has a mind that never sleeps; it needs constant stimulation. She demands a lot of her caregivers. When she’s bored – and captive chimpanzees are always in danger of boredom – she turns to us to entertain her. Most of the time, we are able to figure out what she wants, or to come up with an enrichment idea that keeps her busy for awhile. But sometimes we just don’t seem to be able to please her no matter what we do.
So it’s always a relief and a pleasure when we catch Jamie in a peaceful moment – relaxed, satisfied, and in need of nothing.
by Katelyn
This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Alison Chapot in honor of Harry Hmura’s birthday! Alison has been a long time supporter and friend of the chimpanzees and in celebrating today she shared, “Harry is a dear friend and advocate for apes around the world.”
Harry Hmura is a musician and volunteers his performances to bring awareness to great apes and the sanctuaries that many of these individuals call home and assist with fundraising. Gaining inspiration from Dr. Jane Goodall and all of the great apes, Harry created a unique project called, I AM, I AM, in which he composed and produced an album using great ape vocalizations. “The entire collection of great ape vocal recordings, beginning in 2007, of chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons including background environment sounds were recorded at sanctuaries or in natural indigenous habitats around the world.”
“I AM, I AM Project’s mission is sharing half the proceeds for much needed funding with sanctuaries around the world. Sanctuaries are amazing places, innocent beautiful lives, the spirit between humans and great apes. They are home to individuals, each unique from the next with different names and faces rescued from laboratory research, the entertainment and pet industry, the bushmeat trade and loss of habitat. They provide life time care, rehabilitation, companionship, shelter, protection, even sometimes reuniting family members, bringing new meaning and desires to life.”
Alison, thank you so very much for thinking of the chimpanzees and giving them a special day as you honor your friend, Harry, and celebrate his life!
Harry, we are so grateful to you for the work you do to advocate for great apes and sanctuaries worldwide. Thank you for sharing your talent and compassion by bringing awareness of these incredibly special beings to so many others and helping to make a real difference in their lives.
Jamie, always living her life to the fullest:
by Keri
The day after a big party can sometimes be pretty mellow as the chimpanzees “recover” from all the excitement that comes with celebrating a birthday or holiday. But, thanks to Jeani Goodrich (who sponsored today in honor of her family) and her friend Tora, today was filled with more excitement as the chimps celebrated “Christmas in July.”
Celebrating Christmas in July is similar to celebrating Christmas in December. Stockings were hung, presents were wrapped and a lot of red and green streamers, decorations and blankets were spread throughout the enclosures. We also made sure to include foods that kept with the red and green holiday colors. Green onions, tomatoes, red peppers, brussel sprouts, kale and radishes were spread out in the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill for the chimps to forage at lunch.
The party setup in the Greenhouse just before the chimps entered.
Annie went straight for the presents before taking her cup of ice out to Young’s Hill to forage for more food.
Burrito doing what he does best…eating.
Foxie enjoyed her cup of ice (a good substitute for egg nog when it’s 90 degrees outside).
Jamie took her cup of ice to the windowsill.
Jody, wearing her festive sock, searched through the various Christmas enrichment items.
Missy searched through most of the Christmas stockings.
Negra dined on peppers, tomatoes and green onions before grabbing her cup of ice.
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