This is the closest that J.B. has ever come to getting a manicure…
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
by Diana
by J.B.
We’re nearing the end of the chimps’ ninth winter here at CSNW and while chimpanzees aren’t naturally cold weather animals, they have adapted quite well. When the first snowflakes fall each year, the chimps food grunt in anticipation of the endless snow and ice snacks that winter brings. As temperatures begin to plunge, they make cozy nests on the heated playroom catwalks and bask in the radiant warmth of the greenhouse.
This winter, however, is really testing the patience of the chimps and their caregivers alike. While most of the country is enjoying an early spring, our tiny little corner of the Pacific Northwest has been stuck with temperatures 15-20 degrees below average for months on end.
But that just makes each glimpse of spring that much more enjoyable.
As the snow melts, more trails are uncovered. The chimps launched out the door this morning knowing that more of Young’s Hill would be open to exploration. Burrito always knows how to make an entrance.
Females often greet male chimps with a submissive crouch, particularly when those males are exhibiting signs of physiological arousal like piloerection (hair standing on end). This, I believe, is not so much a sign of respect as it is self-preservation. You don’t want to get run over by a male chimp in full display.
For chimps, emotional moments are almost always shared through touch. As Robert Yerkes once said, “One chimpanzee is no chimpanzee.”
Missy and Jamie learned to navigate the hill using the fire hose vines years ago, but now others like Jody and Annie (pictured here) are joining in.
After touching nearly every fire hose and climbing almost every structure on the hill, Jamie seemed thoroughly satisfied.
Foxie and Burrito were not content to only freeze their butts off in the snow, so they made snowballs and ate them too.
One of Annie’s favorite places to sit is high up on the edge of a beam looking out over the Yakima River valley. Sometimes she closes her eyes and tilts her head up to the sun. I imagine that she, like us, enjoys feeling the warmth of the sun’s rays on her skin and seeing the patterns that the light plays on the back of her eyelids.
by Anna
by Katelyn
A day of sanctuary was sponsored for the chimpanzees and Sarah Sweeney today by Brynn Edwards! Brynn shared this message for Sarah:
“This is to celebrate Sarah’s birthday! She is one of the most generous people and all she wanted for her birthday is to help these chimps. Thank you Sarah!”
Sarah, thank you so much for wanting to celebrate the chimpanzees for your own birthday! We are so grateful to both you and Brynn for choosing to share your generosity with the chimps and for being part of filling their lives with love, comfort, joy and care. Have a beautiful day and we hope it’s the best birthday yet!
One of my favorite series of photos of these two friends, Burrito and Foxie:
by Katelyn
We all know the eyes speak volumes. (Burrito sustained a minor scratch during an argument, but nothing to be concerned about).
But I am endlessly fascinated by the chimpanzees’ fingers and toes and the non-verbal communication they convey. So like ours, yet so different. And once you get to know the chimps, their individual personalities, thoughts and moods are reflected in their physical gestures just like ours. Jamie uses emphatic hand gestures when she wants to impress the urgency or importance of something, Annie claps her feet together when she’s happy, and Negra impudently claps her hands when the humans aren’t moving fast enough. They are always expressing themselves, we just have to pay attention.
Burrito bites his knuckles when he’s feeling shy and playful:
Foxie rubs her toes together when she’s particularly happy:
by Katelyn
Each year Joan O’Flaherty sponsors this day in loving tribute to the memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty. Though born in different years, Ned and Noreen, shared the same birthdate. Joan shared this message about today:
“This is in memory of my parents’ birthday, they loved animals and supported conservation. They would have admired the work CSNW is doing.”
Joan, it’s so beautiful that you honor your parents memory and compassion each year. And it means so much to us that you would choose to do so by making so much possible for the chimps. Thank you! We are thinking of you today and we’ll be celebrating your parents memory right along with you.
Jamie and Missy shenanigans:
PO Box 952
Cle Elum, WA 98922
[email protected]
509-699-0728
501c3 registered charity
EIN: 68-0552915
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