Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for March 2016

Burrito Chimpanzee

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Age: 33. His actual birthday is January 6, 1983. Click on the link to find out more about Burrito’s history prior to arriving at CSNW.

Nicknames: B, Mr. B, Bub, Bubs, Bubba

Best friend: Foxie

Favorite food: FOOD!!!!!

Best known for: His love of food, playing chase with caregivers, getting massaged while playing tug-of-war, playing with Foxie, his impressive displays, banging on the doors and spitting water (especially geared toward the lead caregiver while he/she is operating doors)

Distinguishing physical characteristics: Well, he’s a boy, so that part is pretty obvious. He has a lot of white freckles on his face and is missing the top part of his right ear. He’s pretty excited a lot of the time, so his hair stands on end (pilo erect) making him appear “fluffy”.

Personality: Fun, sweet, playful, cute, goofy, silly, charming, handsome and energetic. He can also be a very boisterous troublemaker!!

Other: Sometimes while walking around Young’s Hill, he does a little “goat-like kick” and although he is the only male of the group, he is not the most dominant.

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One of my favorite videos is of Burrito playing with his new friend.

Guest Photographers

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Today is GORGEOUS at the sanctuary! I went up to take a few photos from on top of the visitor observation deck while the chimpanzees were traveling to the top of the hill, and I remembered that I had not yet shared photos taken by last year’s Photograph the Chimps winners from the HOOT! gala!

Before I share some of those photos, I have two questions for all potential HOOT!-goers this year:

1st – do you have your tickets yet?!

2nd – would you like a chance to bid on a photograph the chimps experience again this year? We’ve had it for two years in a row, and I’d hate for things to get old, so let me know! Maybe there’s another kind of experience at the sanctuary that you would like to bid on instead?

Professional photographers / photojournalists Karen Ducey of Animal News Northwest and Dean Rutz of the Seattle Times generously donate their expertise and equipment for these experiences.

The first winners last year were Jim Keller and CeeCee McCray:

CeeCee and Jim

It was difficult to choose among the many great photos that they took, but here are a few. The three below were taken by CeeCee.

Annie:

Annie close-up by CeeCee

 

Foxie:

Foxie by CeeCee

 

Missy (this is probably my favorite, because it’s just so Missy):

Missy by CeeCee

 

And the three below were taken by Jim.

 

Annie:

Annie by Jim Keller

 

Jamie:

Jamie by Jim Keller

 

Jody (just checking to see if there was any food up there – you never know!):

Jody by Jim Keller

 

Big, big thanks to Karen & Dean, Jim & CeeCee for giving generously and being all around great people! Kathy & Alice Rose were the two other winners of this experience, and I will share some of their photos soon too.

 

The elk that stole my job

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Many of you know that Jamie likes to be accompanied by a caregiver when she patrols Young’s Hill, her 2-acre enclosure. It’s the best part of the job, in my opinion – fresh air, exercise, and some quality bonding time between chimps and the humans that care for them. And if I’m being honest, it’s just nice to feel needed once and a while.

But it looks like us humans won’t be needed much longer.

This morning, Jamie and Burrito took a walk around the hill with our neighborhood elk, Ellie. This wasn’t the type of patrol we typically see in response to an intruder – Jamie wasn’t aggressive or even particularly vigilant. In fact, it looked to me like the same leisurely stroll that we take with Jamie every day…I mean, used to take every day. Before Ellie took over.

At least Jamie still needs us to clean her enclosures. For now.

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10 Minutes of Missy’s Day

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We woke up to a dusting of snow at the sanctuary but the rest of the day has remained cloudy, cool and dry. Perfect walking weather for chimps and humans – or if you’re Missy – perfect running weather. The following photos all took place within about a 10 minute span of Missy’s day.

First she chased after Jamie, Burrito and I around the perimeter.

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And then she spotted her best friend, Annie further down the hill and took off to join her:

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And they ended up chasing each other all the way back to the playroom which ended up in a game of wrestle. Naturally.

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Jamie’s choice

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Jamie spent her childhood living with a trainer. Her records are scarce, but she was most likely used in some form of entertainment before being purchased for use in biomedical research at around the age of nine. It’s heartbreaking and infuriating to see chimpanzees (or any wild animal) robbed of their natural lives, their childhood, and their family and social structures in order to provide so-called “entertainment” for humans. While we cannot change the histories the chimpanzees have experienced, or the fact that they will be in captivity for the rest of their lives, we do our best to provide them the space to be themselves, exactly as they choose in every minute of the day. A safe, dignified and loving home in which their “chimpanzee-ness” can come out.

We give the chimpanzees a variety of enrichment each day to keep their curious and intelligent minds engaged as much as possible, but whether they play with it, nest with it, tear it up or ignore it, it’s their choice. Jamie is highly intelligent and most likely as a result of her unnatural history, she is also very human oriented in her interests. She will often choose to use enrichment in ways that the other chimps don’t. But that’s the key – she gets to choose. When Jamie first arrived here she periodically chose to wear clothing that was included in enrichment, but over time her desire to do this has faded away and thankfully been replaced by chimp like activities such as walking the perimeter, playing with her friends, and being the boss of us all. But given her unnatural history, it’s only, well, natural that she would still incorporate things that are familiar to her in her play from time to time.

So while supervising the cleaning of her home from atop her barrel, this was one of Jamie’s choices:

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An upside-down-Jamie-on-a-barrel is always a happy Jamie.

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If you’d like to learn more about how you can help end the exploitation and abuse of great apes, please check out our advocacy program, Eyes on Apes, and sign up for our Take Action Alerts. Just as Jamie once did, there are others who need your voice.

Today is in memory of Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Joan O’Flaherty in memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty, on their shared birthday. Joan has been honoring her parents by making the chimpanzees’ lives better for many years now and we are so touched by her kindness. She shared this message about today:

“In memory of my late parents’ birthday, both of whom were great animal lovers and supporters of conservation.”

Joan, thank you so much for all that you do for the chimpanzees in your parents’ memory, they must have been very special people. We are so happy to honor Ned and Noreen here at the sanctuary and celebrate their lives along with the chimpanzees. All of us here hope your day is filled with comfort, love and memories held dear.

Burrito and Jody:

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