Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for October 2015

A Chilly Fall Morning

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It is a beautiful, chilly fall day here at the sanctuary, and the chimpanzees spent some time on Young’s Hill enjoying the crisp air. We have a lot of help with cleaning this morning, which means Jamie has many walking companions to choose from!

Here is Jamie on her second walk of the morning:

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Jody also ventured out:

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Missy and Annie spent a lot of time climbing on the hill, and then settled in the greenhouse to groom. Missy:

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Annie (with Missy behind her):

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I wonder if this view may be part of the reason why Jamie goes on so many walks:

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Ah, fall!

Startling Adventures

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If you’ve been following along for a while, you know that Jamie loves her walks around Young’s Hill. She’s definitely not the only one, though.

The other night I was walking around the hill with Jamie (me on the outside of the electric fence, of course) for what was probably the fifth or sixth time after dinner, and I heard something rapidly approaching us from behind. I will admit to being a bit startled. The evenings are usually very quiet and serene around here, and I was sure all of the other chimpanzees had gone to bed.

My temporary flight or fight reaction quickly turned to pure happiness when I whipped around to see who or what was rushing at us from behind. Apparently, from her nest in the loft of the playroom, Missy noticed that Jamie was on another walk, and she must have jumped out of bed and ran at full speed to catch up to us.

 

Missy is behind Jamie in the following two photos:

Missy and Jamie on the hill

Missy behind Jamie on the hill

How fun to be able to jump out of bed to go on an adventure! I could genuinely feel Missy’s joy in surprising us.

Sometimes I forget the stark contrast between the lives the chimpanzees have now compared to where they came from. How many times would Missy have longed to get out of bed to run around when she was living in the few square feet of a laboratory cage?

Freedom is relative, and the chimps’ freedom at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is definitely not absolute, but their existence is worlds apart from what it was the first few decades of their lives. You can read about Missy’s past here.

And we have you – those who support the sanctuary – to thank for that. So, on behalf of Missy and her sense of adventure –  Thank You!

 

Today is for Deb Wagman!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Charlie Neath in honor of Deb Wagman! As some of you may know, Deb is one of our volunteer caregivers and she and her husband, Bruce (a dedicated member of our Board of Directors) are two amazing humans who do so much to make a difference in the lives of so many animals. Charlie has been a supporter of the chimpanzees and the humans and animals endearingly known as “the Wagmanagerie” for a long time and shared this simple and lovely message about today:

“Deborah Wagman is my hero.” 

Charlie, thank you so much for giving both Deb and the chimpanzees a special day! We truly appreciate you thinking of all of them today.

And Deb, you are a special soul who brings a lot of light to a lot of lives, both human and non. May all of that come back to you tenfold. Human hugs, chimp kisses and much love to you!

Jamie, from one amazing woman to another:

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Learning Curves

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In some ways, Burrito has had to learn to be a chimpanzee. Lab chimps don’t get many chances to act like chimps – they often don’t have access to other chimps to groom or play with, they don’t get to forage for their food, and they don’t have room to move like chimps should move. Those of them who are lucky enough to move to a sanctuary usually exhibit a learning curve; they have fears to face and skills to acquire.

One natural chimp behavior that Burrito never exhibited during his first year or two at the sanctuary was brachiating (BREAK-ee-ate-ing). This is the arm-over-arm swinging that chimps do from branch to branch in the trees. Despite never having the space to move in that way before, the other chimps all brachiated across the ceiling of the greenhouse from day 1. But not Burrito. It just didn’t seem to occur to him as an option.

And then one day, he did. We’re not sure what changed, but it was one of many steps Burrito has made on his way to chimpanzee-ness.

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Happy Birthday, Helton!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Don and Karen Young in honor of their grandson, Helton Young’s, birthday! Don and Karen have played an integral role in helping to create a sanctuary where the chimpanzees can heal and thrive. They shared this message about today:

“Helton will be 10 years old. He is our only grandson. He loves all animals and misses Emma, our yellow lab. He is an amazing boy with lots of interests, love sports, is on the traveling soccer team, fences, plays baseball, swims, is a voracious reader and is interested in magic. He would love to see CSNW one day.”

Don and Karen, thank you so much for holding the chimpanzees in your heart and including them in your family celebrations. We are thrilled to be celebrating Helton’s special day with you all, he sounds like a special boy.

And Helton, all of us here at the sanctuary wish you the happiest of birthdays filled with adventure and magic! Thanks for sharing your day with the chimpanzees and for seeing how special the animals we share the world with are.

Foxie loves a good adventure:

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Jamie’s plan

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I cannot emphasize enough how intelligent Jamie is, and how interested she is in human activities. Yesterday near the end of the day, I heard an unusual tapping sound coming from the playroom. It’s always important to investigate any different noises one might hear from the chimpanzee’s area because you never know what kind of mischief they might be getting into. As it turned out, I found a tube we give to the chimps for enrichment sticking through the playroom door into the basket of cleaning tools we keep nearby.

Exhibit A:
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Jamie was sitting at the door casually. I left the room to get the camera to take a picture and try and catch her in the act of attempted tool nabbing. From the other room I heard the tapping start up again, but when I went back with camera in hand, she was again sitting nearby with a nonchalant look on her face.

The boss is an impressive forward thinker and I’m sure she will get back to her project another day.
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