Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for October 2015

Snoozin’

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On this quintessential autumn afternoon most of the chimpanzees are baking in sunny spots while Jamie is walking her caregivers ragged. It’s the most gorgeous day. As I walked up the stairs to the greenhouse it was so quiet and appeared empty so I didn’t expect to find anyone. But just as I rounded the corner I spotted someone on the top platform, where it’s warmest. It’s rare to come upon the chimps when they are sound asleep as they always seem to hear us coming so I was pleasantly surprised to find sweet Annie, fast asleep and hopefully dreaming of all good things. It didn’t take long for her chimp senses to kick in and wake up, but she took her time, enjoying the warm sun and afternoon breeze.

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In other news, we are nearing the end of Great Apes Giving Day with a little less than 3 hours and 15 minutes to go!! As of this posting, thanks to our amazing supporters we have nearly reached our goal of $15,000 with an amazing $13,830!! For all of you who have contributed, thank you SO much!! As one of the smaller sanctuaries participating in this event, this will mean so much for our chimpanzee family. And if you’d still like to participate in support of Annie, Missy, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody and Negra, we’d so appreciate it. Every donation really does make a difference in their lives.

7.5 Nail-Biting Hours Left

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Today is a big day for eight sanctuaries across North America who are participating in Great Apes Giving Day, including Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Negra Great Apes Giving Day

There’s a bit of cash riding on how well the sanctuaries do with our fundraising efforts, so the next seven and a half hours could induce some nail biting.

The good news is that, whichever sanctuaries end up with the cash prizes, everyone wins because people are giving to all of the sanctuaries and more people are learning about the good work we all do! Plus, in the small sanctuaries category (that’s us), each sanctuary will win at least $1,000!

If you haven’t been closely following today, you may have missed some exciting moments on our page, like when we reached third place in both the most individual donations raised and the most dollars raised so far (BIG NOTE ON THIS: this could all change in a second, but, as it stands, we’re right now in place to win up to $10,000 in money given by sponsors on top of the individual donations we raise).

You may have also missed the $1,000 matching grant that was made by Karen and Don Young and was quickly matched. We have already almost doubled our goal of raising $5,000. This is exciting stuff! If anyone else wants to make a matching donation, get in touch ([email protected]).

Please do follow along, maybe bite some nails, and definitely donate and share our page so we can make the most of this unique day for Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra – and for the future of the sanctuary!

Burrito Great Apes Giving Day

Big thanks to everyone who has donated, and for those who have set up their own pages to fundraise for the seven!

Serious business

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As you may already know, the sanctuary has an enrichment calendar that we follow in order to enhance the lives of the chimpanzees on a daily basis. In the morning when we clean each area, we may put out lots of paper for them to nest in, or maybe we will put out all the small toys from the enrichment bins in the kitchen. Some days we might put out the ever popular troll scarves! Yesterday was a troll scarf day and first thing this morning we caught Jamie looking quite serious in a knitted blue troll scarf. Upon further cleaning inspection, we found 3 or 4 more troll scarves in an intricate nest she had assembled in the front rooms.
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A quick reminder that Great Apes Giving Day starts tonight at 9:00 p.m. PST (midnight eastern time). Check out Diana’s blog post from last week to learn more!

Burrito’s Calling

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There’s something kind of magical about watching someone engage in whatever they’re passionate about. Burrito’s one true passion is food. When Burrito is eating, he is in the zone, he is blissed out, he is one with the world.

Intrepid Explorers

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Hi everyone! My name is Whitney and I am filling in for Keri as a temporary staff caregiver for the chimpanzees while she is on maternity leave. I began volunteering at CSNW about two years ago, and one of my favorite things about coming here is witnessing the chimpanzees’ confidence grow.

Today was no exception. As background to this story, any time we enter part of the chimpanzees’ enclosure to clean, every staff member, intern, and volunteer present in the building must perform a series of safety checks before the room in question can be unlocked. Part of the checks involve visually identifying all seven chimpanzees in rooms other than the one we want to enter.

This morning I went to identify the chimpanzees so we could enter the playroom for cleaning, and after extensive searching I could only find two of them in the building. Lo and behold, five of the seven were way out on the hill! It took some time, but I eventually saw Burrito, Jody, Missy, Foxie, and Annie as they explored the hill, occasionally appearing between bamboo and climbing up their magnificent climbing structures. I remember that just two years ago it was a delightful surprise to see any of the Seven out exploring the hill, even close to the greenhouse, and now it seems to be a daily occurrence that they are not only on the hill but are now confident enough to explore their home far and wide.

I couldn’t get any pictures while they were out on the hill this morning, but here are a few of my favorites from this afternoon. Some grooming, some lunch, some play time with friends.

Annie (right) grooming her best friend Missy (left):

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Burrito, caught in a rare playful mood (just kidding, he’s almost always in a playful mood):

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Foxie grooming her foot:

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Jamie, ever inventive, enjoyed her lunch at a makeshift table:

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The neighborhood hot spot

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Most neighborhoods have that spot where all the locals like to gather, right? Well, our current neighborhood hot spot is the small orchard on the property, specifically the pear trees. The leaves are glowing orange and yellow with branches hanging heavy with fruit and a carpet of pears below.

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From top to bottom, all of our wild neighbors are stopping by to try and get them while they can, like these robins.

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A quail pair:

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Mr. Coyote diligently stood guard while the Mrs. did her best to retrieve some from under the fence:

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One of our doe neighbors with her growing fawn are frequent visitors:

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And with most neighborhood hot spots, you might know there is going to be some drama at some point. While Jamie might be boss of the chimp house, it seems Ellie fancies herself the boss of the orchard:

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Chimpanzees living in the wild remember the location of favored food as well, particularly fruit trees. With food sources often being unpredictable and dispersed throughout a large area finding the most productive food resources with the most efficient use of energy and time is essential for any species so there is often a lot of competition for high value food. Thankfully, the chimpanzees here have us humans to deliver the goods so they get to avoid the drama at the local hot spot. Or at least keep it between the family.

Jody savoring the ripe pears:

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Negra:

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Missy:

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“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”

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“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”
-William Cullen

Yesterday was an exciting day at the sanctuary as we had some of our first fall quarter interns from Central Washington University come for part of the day. The chimpanzees were interested in all this activity and staff were busy training the new recruits. Today is a more typical quiet day with grey skies and lots of napping. Here are just a few scenes from this peaceful afternoon.

Missy
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Burrito
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Missy (foreground) Burrito (background)
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Foxie
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