Today was an exciting day! Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest had the honor of hosting some amazing passionate humans of the primate sanctuary community! This past week, the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) held their 2 day conference (this year in Tacoma, Washington). Sanctuary founders, directors, coordinators, caregivers and allies discussed a diverse number of topics such as the founding of primate sanctuaries, visitor policies and their effects, and compassion fatigue.
This morning, many of the conference attendees loaded onto a bus and made the drive to our sanctuary for a visit to the chimpanzees. We aren’t normally set up for larger group tours,so there were a few things that needed to be rearranged first..
We also set up a lunch tent for the humans to relax in.
Upon arrival, visitors split into smaller groups so they could eat lunch, get a look at some behind the scenes spaces, walk around Young’s Hill, and view the chimps enjoying multiple lunch forages.
Here, part of the group watches the chimps forage on Young’s Hill.
Negra and Annie during the forage:
Foxie and Dora:
After our visitors left, JB returned an important item to its rightful place next to the barn, and the chimpanzees continued to leisurely forage on this beautiful early fall day.
Thanks to all our visitors, volunteers, and staff for making today possible! Thanks also to NAPSA for arranging this fantastic 2016 workshop!
Annie:
Did the chimps realize there were more visitors than usual?
I think so! They seemed pretty low key about the whole thing though.
It’s good they had a chance to see your sanctuary and the wonderful work you do. You are a template for other primate sanctuaries. So grateful to you and all the members of NAPSA for the wonderful work you do. Thank you thank you to you all.
Ahhhh, Compassion Fatigue! As someone who is involved in animal welfare (think shelters/rescues) this is one of my favorite topics and one that can be overlooked but is of the utmost importance. I know because it certainly effects me. To everyone in NAPSA, thank you for setting standards that ensure primates receive the best care in their sanctuary lives. And thank you for caring for the caregivers. You make the promise of freedom a reality. (How much fun did you have observing Missy, Annie, Jamie, Foxie, Jody, Burrito and Negra?!?)