Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for May 2018

A gathering of friends

by

Thanks to so many amazing supporters we had a hugely successful and exciting evening at our annual HOOT! gala in Seattle last night! We can’t wait to share more of the details with you!

And if you saw the blog yesterday, you’ll know that while the humans were celebrating in Seattle, the chimps were, of course, having their own celebration here with a festive forage.

In typical day-after-the-party style, the chimpanzees have been relaxing and lounging today, while throwing in an occasional stroll around the hill. But the excitement returned when they received a visit from an old friend. Keith LaChappelle, the founder of the sanctuary, was here to attend HOOT! last night and stopped by with his family to say hello to the chimps before heading home. And the chimps could not have been more excited to see him! As soon as Keith walked in, the chimp house echoed with hoots and hollers and everyone was anxious to greet him.

But perhaps one of the most excited, was Burrito. The chimps had a nice long visit with Keith and Burrito followed him around the entire time. When it eventually came time for Keith and his family to leave, Burrito was glued to their every move, silently following them from inside the chimp house as he watched out the windows:

Burrito was actually softly hooting as he watched his friend heading across the driveway. I’m not going to lie, this is about the time I couldn’t help but tear up a little over Burrito’s sweet self.

To each of you who made HOOT! 2018 the amazing success it was and for all those who help to ensure that the chimps are thriving for all their days forward and are the momentum behind our vision for the future of the Bring Them Home Campaign for Expansion, you are a gift and an inspiration. From our hearts, thank you!!

And if you were unable to attend HOOT!, but would still like to contribute to this incredible celebration of homecoming and sanctuary, you may still do so here.

It’s a hootin’ good time!

by

Tonight’s the night! It’s our annual gala and auction, HOOT! While staff, volunteers and many of our fabulous supporters are in Seattle gearing up for an evening of merriment and celebration, the chimpanzees, meanwhile, have been having a hootin’ good time in Cle Elum.

Our dear friend (and former staff), Keri, arrived with fresh rhubarb, chives and lilacs from her garden which added to the amazing Hoot! party extravaganza. Also on the chimps’ party menu were strawberries, purple cabbage, sweet potatoes, snap peas, leeks, watermelon, sparkling cider, and one pineapple top!

Jody, among the flowers:

Jody, Annie and Foxie enjoying the treats in Jamie’s kitchenette while she was busy gathering ALL the grab bags for herself. Maybe this is something akin to their version of the Dessert Dash we hold at the gala each year?:

Annie enjoying coconut:

The entire beautiful forage was scattered with lilac flowers and Foxie took it upon herself to “hoover”all of them up. Notice her trademark rubbing her toes together as she does this – the ultimate sign of a happy Foxie:

(Toes!)

Conveniently, the flowers happen to be stuck in coconut water, hence the tongue!

My favorite, with the petals on her lip 🙂

To each of you supporting the chimps in all the varied and generous ways you do, be it supporting HOOT!, attending HOOT!, volunteering your time with us and the chimps, following the chimps’ lives on the blog, sharing their stories with others, sending gifts and donations, well, the list of compassion and generosity is endless really, and from our hearts to yours, we’re so grateful to you! It gives us hope for humankind. It not only ensures the chimpanzees continue to thrive in their lives here, and thrive they do, but gives us all hope for the chimpanzees still awaiting their time in sanctuary, something all of you are helping to make possible through celebrating with us tonight, be it near or from afar.

We couldn’t have come this far for the chimps without you. And just imagine what we can accomplish together for so many others. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being part of our chimp family!

The long game

by

Missy and Annie often play a long morning game of chase on Young’s Hill. This game isn’t always so obvious to the observer because it involves them each taking long breaks on opposing structures, where they seem to be doing their own thing. However, with just a flicker of communication between the two of them, the game resumes periodically, and usually ends with one racing the other back into the greenhouse.

This morning we got a nice rain storm at the sanctuary, so the ground was soaked when the chimps made there way out onto the hill. Annie and Missy’s game seemed to also include touching the earth as little as possible.

Annie spent a lot of time bipedal so she only had to touch wet grass with as few limbs as possible.

Until she could get off the ground..

Missy moved from structure to structure in her own style:

Annie wasn’t adverse to drinking the new moisture:

The chimps moved up the hill with Annie finding another playmate for a brief game of this terrifying (to human eyes) game of chase and wrestle:

That’s Foxie’s brow ridge you can barely see poking up from the platform below:

Meanwhile Missy investigated the wild plants to see if anything was worth eating:

But here comes Annie!

They reconvened on the logs before racing to the newest structure!

Then more wrestling was on the agenda:

A quick stop at the final platform before it was time to run inside. Somehow Missy knows how to get those short little legs to move at astonishing speeds 🙂

The conifer connoisseur

by

As you’ve probably seen previously on the blog, Jody is one of our most adventurous eaters. Wild greens, flowers, bamboo, she loves it all and seemingly the wilder the better!

Yesterday Anna wrote about Negra enjoying some Ponderosa pine tree browse that J.B. recently put out on Young’s Hill for the chimps to find. It took Jody mere moments to find it and haul huge branches back to the greenhouse to enjoy, in classic Jody style, while lying on her belly and taking in the view. It’s been a particularly big hit with a few of the chimps, but I think Jody has moved on to qualify as Honorary Conifer Connoisseur.

Apparently pine needles make for good wadging material:

I love the pine needle in her hair. 🙂

A cabin built for her

by

Happiness is watching Negra enjoy some quiet time under the shelter lovingly named “Negra’s Cabin.” The cabin was designed with her comfort especially in mind.

Negra isn’t quite as adventurous a forager as Jody, but she enjoys her fair share of browse. This morning she found a Ponderosa pine tree bough in the cabin and carefully took it back to the greenhouse for further consumption.

Happy Birthday, Kayla!

by

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Bernice Schick in honor of Kayla on her birthday!

Bernice, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees in celebration of Kayla! We are always touched when people so compassionately include the chimpanzees in their lives.

Kayla, all of us here at the sanctuary hope you have the best birthday yet filled with all that makes your heart happy!

Adventurous-hearted Annie:

An early heat wave

by

The summer heat has arrived a little early this year (for at least the moment). We are supposed to spike into the mid 80’s this afternoon, which seems unusual for May in Central Washington! To keep cool, the chimps move to lower spots around the sanctuary, spread their limbs wide, and melt into relaxation poses. Jamie asked for frequent drinks from the hose during our morning cleaning routine, and even Negra took a few sips from the hose that Katelyn offered her. The chimps have constant access to water spigots, but seem to really enjoy that special hose drink. Purely coincidentally, tonight’s evening enrichment food puzzle involves ice!

Annie has been maintaining this horizontal lounge position all day long:

Conveniently, grooming with Missy can also be done without getting up!

Despite the heat, Katelyn caught Negra cuddling with this little stuffed toy this morning. We jokingly consider it her sponge to mop up brow sweat 🙂