Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for June 2018

Conflict

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We had a question recently on YouTube wondering if the chimpanzees fight less than other groups. It made us realize that we really don’t share that part of their daily lives much. I tried to provide some answers as to why in this video, but maybe there are other reasons that are less obvious (number of likes on Facebook? I hope that’s not it!).

We do have a category called “Fights” for blog posts, so you can check out previous posts on the subject here.

Let us know what you think – does this surprise you or make you uncomfortable to see the chimpanzees fighting?

Happy Birthday, Donna!

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Donna Dinsmore sponsors today for the chimpanzees each year and sent this sweet note:  “This is my birthday and I would love to have the chimps celebrate it with me!”

Donna, first of all, Happy Birthday!! It’s such heart-lifting and inspiring thing when people choose to make a difference in the lives of others as a way to celebrate their own lives. And the fact that you do this each year for the chimps is incredible. We so appreciate you wanting to share your own special day with the chimps and your generosity and compassion make a lasting difference for them. And you are in good company as we look to the week ahead. With hearts full of gratitude and excitement, we will be celebrating Negra’s 45th birthday AND the chimps’ 10th anniversary in their sanctuary home! Thank you for starting things off in such a lovely way, Donna!

We hope you have a beautiful day full of all that you love!

Jamie:

Besties, Annie and Missy:

Annie:

Foxie, Jody, and Burrito:

Queen Negra:

Wake up, Negra, it’s Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day!

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Negra simply wasn’t ready for this day to start. After a brief hello, she started drifting back to dreamland.

She tried her best to get out of bed, but it was just too comfortable.

What’s the point of getting up, anyway? It would be at least another ten minutes before breakfast would be ready.

Ten minutes is a lot of sleep.

Surely someone would let her know when it’s time to eat.

Negra may not have been able to muster up a lot of energy this morning, but we’re excited to wish everyone a Happy Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day! Anna told you the other day about all of our hardworking interns and volunteers; now it’s time to shine the spotlight on our hardworking staff.

Here’s Kelsi, who spends her weekends working as a Lead Caregiver at the sanctuary:

Anna, who coordinates the sanctuary’s educational events and chimpanzee enrichment program:

Elizabeth, who coordinates our internship and volunteer programs, and who has a preternatural talent for avoiding being photographed:

And Katelyn, who manages the office and keeps in touch with our hundreds of incredible donors and supporters:

As you can see, every staff member at CSNW works directly with the chimps in addition to their other duties – they clean, serve meals, give medications, train interns and volunteers, participate in positive reinforcement training with the chimps, and go on endless walks with Jamie. They get dirty, they stay late, and they put every bit of their hearts into their work.

Happy Animal Sanctuary Caregivers Day to the staff at CSNW and to our friends and colleagues at sanctuaries everywhere!

Happy Birthday, Karen!

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Julie Olson sponsored today’s day of sanctuary for the chimps and her sister, Karen Olson! She shared this message about her gift:

“I wanted to sponsor a day for the chimps in honor of my sister’s birthday. I know this is a gift that truly means a lot to her. She loves all creatures great and small!”

Julie, thank you so much for always thinking of the chimpanzees and including them in your family celebrations!

Karen, we hope this is the best birthday yet! We’re so happy to celebrate your special day with you and are so grateful to you and Julie for always holding the chimpanzees in your hearts and for the difference you make in their lives.

Happy Birthday from all of us here at the sanctuary! This guy is always up for a celebration (as long as it involves food, playing and food!):

New Views

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So many things have changed for the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees in the last ten years since they moved from a research lab to the sanctuary.

One of the most striking is their new view.

Those hardworking humans

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The chimpanzees are so lucky to have such amazing volunteers and interns working for them. The sanctuary is fortunate to have a core group of volunteers from the surrounding community, as well as a fleet of Primate Behavior student interns because of our collaborative learning agreement with Central Washington University.

Our volunteers and interns help take care of all those important daily tasks that are critical to giving the chimps comfortable and happy lives.

From preparing meals:

And in turn, serving those meals to the chimps:

To cleaning enclosures:

Keeping Burrito entertained is a pretty important job in itself:

And the boss Jamie has her own list of requirements for volunteers.
Like being a patient grooming partner:

And a diligent friend to walk with:

And being willing to repeat the process for an undetermined amount of time:

Some industrious volunteers come to the sanctuary just to help with building projects, like the newest structure that was put up earlier this spring:

Other volunteers help support our outreach and fundraising projects. Our spring fundraising gala Hoot, required dozens of volunteers to put together and pull off the big night!

Handing out sanctuary information and selling merchandise helps the chimps gain fans and supporters at our tabling events (hope to see you at the first Roslyn Farmers Market of the year this Sunday!)

Last year’s Seattle Vegfest 🙂

The end of spring means it’s time to say see you later to some of our college interns until fall as they take their summer break or leave for far off places for their thesis data collection. Others are finishing up their time at CWU and moving on to the next big adventure!

Here are just a few of this year’s masters students that will be graduating this weekend:

Next week we are excited to welcome our summer interns to the sanctuary! Thanks to all those that care about the Cle Elum 7!

In memory of Robert Ruggeri

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Rachel Ruggeri sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in honor of her father, Robert Ruggeri. Rachel shared this touching message:

“I saw on the blog today the word…independence. And no single word could better describe my father, Robert Ruggeri, who would have been 82 years old on this day. Though he passed away five years ago, we think of him each and every day and we are grateful for the independence he fostered in each of his children. He loved all animals, most especially chimpanzees, and he would be so happy to know the gang of seven was discovering their independence in the hills of the sanctuary amid the Eastern Washington skies. “Freedom over security” was among one of the many of my father’s favorite sayings. Like the gang, here’s to hoping that my father has found the freedom and independence he so desperately craved…”

Rachel, thank you for sharing such a loving and powerful tribute about your father. It seems beautifully apropos for the chimpanzees. We are so honored to celebrate Robert’s memory with you and your family.

Ten years in sanctuary, and the chimpanzees continue to explore and embrace freedom and independence in their own meaningful ways more and more with each passing day. And we couldn’t be more honored to bear witness to their daily self-discoveries of bravery, adventure, joy, love, and healing.

Foxie relishing the accomplishment of her first courageous climb to the top of Twister:

Negra bravely traversing the shaky bridge for possibly the first time:

Annie, first to the top of the new structure:

Jody, enjoying the freedom to rest: