Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for December 2016

Hanukkah and Christmas Eve

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Anna and I decided to give the chimps some treats today to celebrate both the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve. You may have noticed that we are pretty strict with the chimpanzees’ diet – nothing with added sugar, very little salt, and rarely any processed foods. Most of their diet consists of raw (sometimes cooked) fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, and a bit of commercially made primate chow, which is like a protein biscuit.

Even when we treat the chimps to something they don’t get very often, we try to stick to our dietary goals. It keeps them healthy, and they still love the food they get everyday!

In celebration of Christmas Eve, we set out “milk and cookies” (watered down warm almond milk + primate chow). I’d say it was a hit:

 

Burrito:

 

Jamie:

 

Foxie:

 

Missy:

 

Negra:

 

Jody looking pretty happy:

 

For the Hanukkah part of the celebration, Anna made some delicious looking (and delicious tasting – we had to try them for ourselves) salt-free potato latkes and  I made some sugar-free chunky applesauce to go on top.

 

The chimps ate the latkes so fast, we weren’t able to get many photos.

 

Foxie brought France Dora to the meal, because she’s cosmopolitan like that:

 

Jamie being served by Anna with Burrito on the right:

 

Missy  being served with Burrito looking on (I promise Burrito got at least his fair share too):

 

Annie took her latkes to the doorway to savor:

 

Definitely a win for fun food today!

 

In between the treats we humans came up with, they found some of their own…

 

And made some time to rest too:

 

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and holiday wishes to everyone! There will be even more treats for the chimps tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who supports the sanctuary – you make EVERY day a celebration.

 

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In honor of the Cle Elum 7!

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This Christmas Eve was sponsored for the Cle Elum 7 by friends and advocates of not only the chimps, but all our fellow animals, Kery Shaw and Terran Baylor! Kery and Terran give so much of their time and hearts to advocating for the well-being of animals and creating a compassionate world community. We are thrilled to start off almost a full week of sponsorships and celebration with their generous gift for the chimpanzees.

Kery and Terran, thank you so much for all you do to make the world a kinder, gentler, safer sanctuary for us all, especially for those who are most in need of it. Thank you for always holding the chimpanzees in your hearts:

Annie (bottom) and Missy (top):

Annie and Missy top of Twister

Burrito:

Burrito lookout

Foxie and Dora:

Master Forager, Jody:

Negra picking wild lettuce:

And Jamie, Queen of her world:

Staff and volunteers have been like elves in the chimps’ workshop these last weeks processing all the incredibly generous and compassionate gifts pouring in for the chimpanzees, not only for the holidays, but for an even brighter future. From our hearts, thank you. Thank you. You have all given the gift of sanctuary and we are profoundly grateful to you.

However, you choose or don’t choose to celebrate this time of year, all of us here at CSNW wish you holidays and a season full of joy, hope, comfort, kindness, beauty and gratitude. Be sure to check in for the chimpanzees’ Christmas extravaganza tomorrow and have a magical Christmas Eve!

Lunch with Missy

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Meals at the sanctuary, as you might expect, are pretty exciting events. There is usually a fair amount of jostling, and banging going on (especially by the boisterous Burrito chimpanzee), and of course, boss Jamie is always on hand to make sure caregivers (and sometimes the other chimpanzees) remember their place at the bottom of the hierarchy. Missy in particular, seems to prefer to escape the commotion of meals. While many of the other chimps will wait and eat expectantly in front of their server, Missy often whisks her portions away to a quiet nest so she can enjoy them in privacy.

Happy Solstice!

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With an entire day of sunshine and at least “warmer” temps in the forecast on this first day of our winter solstice, we started the day with the plan to get the chimps onto Young’s Hill! J.B. fired up the plow and made pathways all around the chimps’ outdoor enclosure and Anna shoveled her heart out in this wet, heavy snow to create connecting pathways:

Jody was the first to venture out and you can see by sneer on her face, it was still pretty chilly. But she was content to spend quite a bit of time just sitting in the bright sun, taking in the winter wonderland her home has become:

Foxie ventured out next and grabbed a snow snack before heading back inside the greenhouse to enjoy it:

Beautiful Annie just sat serenely in the sunny raceway (the tunnel that connects the greenhouse to Young’s Hill) seemingly taking in this beautiful first day of winter in awe:

Later in the morning after it warmed up a bit, several of the chimps decided to venture out and head up the hill on their snowy paths. They made it all the way to Twister before heading back down! Jody, Missy, Annie and Jamie (at base of Twister):

Missy, Annie, Jamie, Jody:

Annie follows bipedally behind Missy and Jody:

Jody foraging for snow on the way back inside:

Jamie, looking so happy to be back in her element, patrolling her beloved hill:

The other girls headed back inside, but Jamie wasn’t done checking out her territory. She ventured down every path that J.B. plowed, eventually climbing up Negra’s cabin to take in the view:

Once at the top, she had the smart plan to avoid the snow and check out the neighboring structure by attempting to walk the tightrope across:

She quickly reassessed her plans and decided to brachiate (swing arm over arm) across the snow instead!:

The chimps spent the rest of the day peaceful and seemingly content, luxuriating in the warm sun, napping and grooming. I didn’t see Negra go outside, but I did see her come in with a mouthful of snow. She spent hours gazing out across the valley at the bright landscape from the windows, her hand held against the warmth of the sun, silhouetted by the bright blue sky.

Happy Solstice everyone, be it your winter or summer!

Grooming the Queen

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Chimp to chimp grooming is so much more than just a way to clean up. Sure, there are hygienic reasons to groom, but perhaps more importantly, grooming is a way of strengthening social bonds between group members. As Negra and Jody demonstrate, it takes a fair amount of trust to let someone get so up close and personal with your eyes.

Digging Out

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Our cold snap seems to be over for the time being. Today’s high of 30° is a marked improvement over the highs in the teens that we’ve been experiencing for the last several days. This combined with some welcome sunshine means that Jamie is very eager to get outside. Unfortunately, the chimps’ outdoor habitat is still covered with a thick blanket of snow (including several inches of fresh powder from last night). Jamie briefly considered shoveling herself a path out, but ultimately thought better of it.