Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for June 2016

Happy Birthday, Julie!

by

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Karen Olson in honor of her sister, Julie Olson, on her birthday! You may recall that Julie recently sponsored Karen’s birthday for the chimpanzees! Karen shared this special message about today:

“Happy Birthday to the best big sister anyone could ever have. Julie is kind to everyone, humans and animals alike. She will be happy to share her special day with the Cle Elum Seven!”

Karen and Julie, what a wonderful idea to trade the gifts of sponsoring a day of sanctuary for one another and the chimpanzees! Thank you so much! And Julie we hope that your birthday is the best one yet, full of all the good things that you bring to the lives of others.

Missy (left) and her best friend, Annie (right), being their usual joyful and goofy selves:

web_missy_background_annie_photo_bomb_II_kd_IMG_1416

web_missy_annie_photo_bomb_III_kd_IMG_1417

web_Annie_close_up_Missy_background_Door_Y_jb_IMG_0251

Year Three

by

Counting up the years to the present day, today is a brief look at the Cle Elum Seven’s third year of sanctuary.

Year Three was a time of both settling in and preparing for further adventures as we worked on the construction of the chimps’ two-acre outdoor enclosure that we now call Young’s Hill.

The chimps continued to spend lots of time in the greenhouse year-round as staff and volunteers prepped the hill for future excitement.

Andy Jim Lucas Keith JB fence post construction

web Annie lay on back upside down outdoor area IMG_1397

Jody’s Birthday Spa Day

 

missy eating snow

 

They also reaped the seeds sown by the staff’s and volunteer Denice’s labor in the sanctuary’s garden:

 

And we all got to see more of the chimps’ personalities come to light, sometimes in amusing ways. This is one of my favorite videos of that period that illustrates Jamie’s reign:

 

Jamie’s love of cowboy/girl boots continued, with her occasionally getting a boot that she would wear:

Cowgirl Jamie

 

These boots were made for walkin’

 

And Foxie’s love of troll dolls did not wane in the least:

Foxie admiring new troll

 

Historically, it was also the year that we, along with other groups, urged supporters to put pressure on the National Institutes of Health to reverse a decision to move chimpanzees into active research from the Alamogordo Primate Facility. Looking back, this public pressure was part of a turning point for chimpanzees, and likely helped in the NIH decision to stop using chimpanzees in federally-sponsored research. Today, these same chimpanzees are now slated to go to Chimp Haven in Louisiana! At the time, however, it was uncertain what their fate would be.

At lot has changed for the better in the last few years, both for the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and the outlook for other chimpanzees in captivity. Looking back can be a really good thing.

Next up for tomorrow: the year of Young’s Hill!!

 

Year Two

by

To celebrate the Eighth Anniversary of the chimps’ arrival to the sanctuary, we’re taking a quick trip down memory lane. Click here to read about Year One. 

As the chimps entered their second year in sanctuary, their physical and emotional transformations were becoming ever more apparent. When they first arrived, their hair was sparse, their skin was pale, and their muscles were atrophied. These early photos of Jamie speak volumes.

web_Jamie before 2 IMG_1451 copy

web-Jamie-before-bare-belly

Some bore not just the scars of experimentation, but also indelible, haunting reminders of their traumatic pasts in the form of prominent identification tattoos.  Jamie was CH-522.

web Jamie chest tattoo

To our great relief, the tattoos became harder and harder to see as their bodies recovered from years in that windowless basement. By Year Two, their hair had begun to grow in, their skin had darkened, and their faces – once frozen and nearly expressionless – were overflowing with personality.

web_Jamie crack coconut playroom food enrichment_MG_7000 copy

web_Jamie boot enrichment outside stand cowboy_MG_6299 copy

web_Jamie_MG_9853 copy

As Diana mentioned in her Year One post, our resources were extremely limited in those early days. With our goal of freeing the chimps from that laboratory basement accomplished, we set our sights on improving their sanctuary home as best we could. Thanks to support from our amazing donors and volunteers, we were able to convert the chimps’ modest outdoor area into a four-season, convertible greenhouse so that they could bask in warm sunlight even on the coldest winter days:

web Negra sleep nest outside greenhouse hold feet_MG_5931

Greenhouse Fun!

With their bodies healed and their sanctuary home upgraded, the chimps did what happy chimps do best – play! It was amazing to watch them throw off the weight of all those decades in the lab.

web_MG_3449 copy

Foxie and Jamie’s epic play session

“Oh, Neggie…”

Missy and the Kong toy

A Big, Joyful Day

by

We have a lot to celebrate today! Negra is turning 43, and it has been eight years to the day since the Cle Elum Seven stepped off the transport trailer and into their new home at the sanctuary. (If you haven’t already, check out Diana’s thoughts in this morning’s blog post here.) I think these photos from today’s celebration paint a pretty good picture.

web_party_food_GH_ek_IMG_3250

web_party_food_GH_ek_IMG_3251

web_party_food_GH_ek_IMG_3249

web_party_plates_food_GH_ek_IMG_3256

web_party_set-up_GH_ek_IMG_3257

Burrito:

web_Burrito_treat_box_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_ek_IMG_3262

web_Burrito_treat_box_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_ek_IMG_3259

Missy:

web_Missy_pinata_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_ek_IMG_3299

web_Missy_hold_treat_boxes_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3600

Foxie:

web_Foxie_drink_martini_smoothie_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3529

web_Foxie_hold_chow_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3594

Jody:

web_Jody_treat_box_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3534

web_Jody_eat_rose_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3577

web_Jody_eat_rose_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3578

Annie:

web_Annie_handful_of_chow_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_ek_IMG_3294

web_Annie_drink_martini_smoothie_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3525

Jamie:

web_Jamie_pinata_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3620

web_Jamie_hold_rainbow_plate_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_ek_IMG_3287

Jamie had an especially good day. At this year’s Hoot! gala, we auctioned off two pairs of fabulous white cowboy boots, procured and donated by auctioneer and friend of the sanctuary Laura Michalek. Maryam Salt, the winning bidder, is now the proud owner of one of the pairs, while the other is for Jamie, our resident boot enthusiast. Jamie was beyond thrilled when we presented her with this gift today. Thanks so much to Laura and Maryam!

web_Jamie_new_white_boots_Laura_Michalek_PR_dg_IMG_3685

web_Jamie_nest_with_new_white_boots_PR_ek_IMG_3687

As for the birthday girl, she has had a pretty perfect day. She partied hard:

web_Negra_drink_smoothie_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3605

web_Negra_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_kh_IMG_3657

Then rested up afterwards:

web_Negra_lie_on_blanket_rest_after_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_ek_IMG_3679

web_Negra_lie_on_blanket_nest_look_at_camera_rest_after_party_anniversary_birthday_GH_ek_IMG_3680

And later explored her wilderness:

web_Negra_green_grass_anniversary_birthday_YH_jb_IMG_3365

web_Negra_green_grass_anniversary_birthday_YH_ek_IMG_3323

Thank you, Kathleen!

by

It’s a big day at the sanctuary today as we celebrate both Negra’s honorary 43rd birthday AND the chimpanzees’ 8th anniversary in their sanctuary home! And we’re so touched that our good friend, Kathleen Corby, chose to sponsor this very special day! Kathleen shared this beautiful message about today:

“I have to quote J.B. from his blog post (06/10/16) on Negra’s special day : “It’s often said that healing is not a matter of forgetting, but of accumulating new memories that, over time, crowd out the bad ones. Eventually, memories of courage and adventure push aside memories of fear and anxiety. Those memories will never be forgotten. But every time I see Negra absorbing the view from the top of Young’s Hill, I think of how far she’s come in these last eight years, and I hope that moment becomes yet another healing memory that pushes an old one further out of reach.” Dear Negra, I love you so. Eight years is such a short time to have come so very far. I am astounded and deeply touched each year by your brave awakenings. I could not do the same. The word “resilience” does not even come close to expressing the amazing capacity of love, strength, and forgiveness that lies within your heart. Today I celebrate all the positive, loving memories that have accumulated in your heart over your 8 years in sanctuary. Happy 43rd Birthday Queen Negra! XOXOXO (And Happy 8 Years CSNW!)”

Kathleen, thank you so much for welcoming the chimpanzees into your big, beautiful heart and for truly being part of their lives each day. What a gift to have you in the world. We truly appreciate all that you do for the chimpanzees and your sponsorship of this amazing day full of celebration, love, and home!

Happy Birthday, Queen Negra! And Happy Anniversary to Annie, Missy, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, Jamie and Negra, the seven people who are the heart and soul of CSNW!
web_Negra_look_at_camera_YH_ek_IMG_1235

web_Negra_eat_lettuce_YH_IMG_0848

web_Negra_lookout_top_mound_yh_aw_IMG_2333

Year One

by

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the arrival of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees–Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra–to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and a celebration of Negra’s 43rd birthday.

It’s so hard for me to believe that eight years have already passed since the chimps’ arrival, and it’s even harder for me to believe that Negra is eight years older than she was when the truck full of chimpanzees pulled up the sanctuary driveway on June 13, 2008.

truck pulling up driveway with chimps

Negra in transport cage

Because this is such a nostalgic time for everyone who has been following the story of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary, and because so many people are relatively new followers, I thought it would be fun and informative to take this week to briefly chronicle some of the events of the last eight years, one year per day.

Of course I know you won’t want to miss the news of today’s big celebration, so we will be sharing that later today on the blog too. If you are subscribed to the e-newsletter, you will also be receiving an email today that celebrates Negra’s journey over the last eight years.

For now, here’s a glimpse of the first year of sanctuary for the Cle Elum Seven.

 

EVERYTHING was new to the chimpanzees.

 

From enrichment:

 

 

To the views out the windows:

 

To the changes in weather:

 

Rainstorm bravery

Missy standing in doorway

 

Let it snow!

Annie eating snow, Jamie and Negra in doorway

 

And the chimpanzees were new to us humans, too. Though we had met them at Buckshire before they came to the sanctuary, we didn’t have the chance to really get to know them until we spent time with them in their new home. We started to learn about their personalities and their likes and dislikes pretty quickly.

Here is one observation about Jamie and her intelligence a few days after the chimps arrived:

Learning about Jamie

 

And of course the humans, and Foxie herself, discovered her lasting love of troll dolls during her first year of sanctuary, leading us to ask supporters for more troll dolls. None of us knew then how big her collection would become!

Foxie with Troll and night time package

 

Foxie’s first troll doll:

Foxie and Trixie

 

Foxie demonstrating that troll dolls suit her fun-loving personality:

foxie-troll-on-head

 

We were delighted to discover Burrito’s out-of-this-world food-squeaking:

 

Touched by Annie’s love of Missy:

Annie grooming Missy

Missy and Annie with big playfaces
Missy and Annie with big playfaces

 

And thrilled with Jody’s ability to relax:

Jody on Valentine's Day, just holding her feet

5-10-09-jody-with-roses

 

Every day of the chimps’ first year in sanctuary was an incredible gift.

I’m not going to lie–we had some tough times as an organization as we were just getting our footing. There were stressful moments, to be sure, but it was so inspiring to have the opportunity to watch the chimpanzees learn more about their new home and themselves. And it was incredible to connect with other people who wanted to be a part of giving them that chance. This blog has played a big role in that process, and I’m grateful to everyone who has read it in the past and is reading it right now. Thank you!

It’s pretty thrilling to think that if you stick around you will also be a part of providing so many “firsts” for more chimpanzees who will be coming to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in the future.

 

Jody

by

Now that the temperatures have warmed up, JB has taken many of the plexiglass panels off the sides of the Greenhouse. This allows for the breeze to flow through the Greenhouse, helping to keep it at a comfortable temperature for the chimps. It also allows for us to take photos of the chimps from different angles.

We try to represent each of the chimps on the blog equally, but the reality is, some of the chimps would rather stay out of the spotlight. Jody is one of those chimps. So, with that in mind, I tried to focus on capturing photos of her to share on today’s blog.

Here she is in the Greenhouse, eating alfalfa cubes before dozing off for a quick afternoon nap.
web_Jody_lie_down_blanket_platform_alfalfa_cubes_lined_up_GH_kh_IMG_3228

web_Jody_lie_down_blanket_platform_alfalfa_cubes_mouth_look_at_camera_GH_kh_IMG_3222

web_Jody_lie_down_blanket_platform_alfalfa_cubes_lined_up_in_mouth_GH_kh_IMG_3229

web_Jody_lie_down_blanket_platform_alfalfa_cubes_lined_up_in_hand_GH_kh_IMG_3219

web_Jody_lie_down_sleep_blanket_platform_alfalfa_cubes_lined_up__GH_kh_IMG_3230

And, this is one of my new favorites of her, sitting in Negra’s cabin on Young’s Hill, eating some of the lunch we had set out for a forage.
web_Jody_sit_cabin_green_grass_eat_food_YH_kh_IMG_2702

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Negra’s birthday and the 8th anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to CSNW!!