Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Archives for December 2018

There’s magic here

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Personally, I think resolutions are made to be broken. And I’m more a follower of seasons, than the calendar. That said, I think New Year’s Eve is another wonderful opportunity we’re given to stand still and breathe for a moment, take stock and revel in the celebration and gratitude of what brought us to this point and the hope and inspiration of what’s to come.

Today was an incredibly beautiful day. This single gorgeous kestrel spent the whole day flying around the sanctuary:

There was some epic breakfast excitement involving whole apples (apples are a hot ticket item because boss lady, Jamie, LOVES them so we usually quarter these for easier serving to everyone). But when Jamie caught sight of a bowl of whole apples headed her way she literally stood up and screamed at the top of her lungs. I’m not talking about the usual hooting or food grunting, but screaming! You would never think something so every day, so simple as an apple would elicit such pure joy in someone. It made our hearts want to leap right out of our chests. And hers as well it seemed.

The morning may have started in the low twenties, but the chimps anxiously tumbled out into the brilliant sunshine together without hesitation. I couldn’t help but admire their loyalty to one another because even as those less tolerant of the cold stopped to shudder and seemingly rethink their decision, when the others encouraged them to continue, they did. They stuck together. They’re family.

Burrito, Annie, Missy, Jody, Jamie and Foxie:

Missy (R) encouraging her reluctant best friend, Annie, up the hill in the cold morning:

Annie’s such a loyal friend:

Even Burrito was sticking with the group:

Foxie had just lapped up the frost on the structure:

Missy is also a loyal friend and though she was cold, she stuck with Jamie, doing her best to hold back the horses that usually send her galloping across the hill:

Jody diligently followed her family onto the hill making sure everyone was safe, as she does, but she tends to be a little more sensitive to the cold (case in point, the sneer face) and decided to head back inside:

But Jody’s not happy until she knows her family is safe and sound so it wasn’t long before she came out again and decided to busy herself looking for ice snacks until everyone returned:

Jody could see Jamie coming down the hill, back toward the greenhouse where Jody was headed, and decided it would be good chimp politics to make sure Jamie was okay with her keeping that amazing chunk of ice:

Luckily for Jody, Jamie isn’t big on ice chunks:

Annie heading inside:

Later in the afternoon, Jamie and I were headed out on a walk when she spotted staff caregiver, Kelsi, and volunteer caregiver, Caroline, coming back from taking care of the cattle. And that’s not all she spotted. Kelsi had a new pair of muck boots with cows on them! Jamie was so pilo with excitement it looked like she grew three sizes as she made Kelsi race her around the hill, Missy hot on their heels:

You may be wondering about Negra by now. She spent much of the day in happy baby pose in the sunshine streaming through her window and grooming with the others. But she declined having any photographic evidence of anything she did all the live long day. I don’t blame her.

The chimps enjoyed a New Year’s Eve forage for dinner complete with sparkling cider and were all happily ensconced in their evening enrichment as we left.

And here we stand on New Year’s Eve, in the middle of the solstice season, looking back, looking forward. I’m convinced there’s magic here, in the just so tilting toward our star, in the darkening and the lightening of our days. I see it in Annie who used to sit in the raceway too frightened to venture onto Young’s Hill with Missy, rocking with anxiety until she returned, who now bravely follows her into the cold. Annie, who is often the one outside on her own these days. I see it in Missy who flies across the hill, her legs barely able to keep up with her now free heart. I see it in Jamie who wants to explode with joy over the sight of whole apples just for her and caregivers with new boots to race around the hill to her heart’s content. I see it in Jody who braves her dislike of cold temperatures to make sure she can keep a watchful eye over her family until everyone returns safely to the chimp house. I see it in each of the chimpanzees every single day. And I see it in all of you.

YOU make all these moments possible for them. You have helped provide the home, the time, the care and the love for them to heal and grow more than we ever thought possible. Because of you and your overwhelming support of our Bring Them Home campaign we now stand here looking to the year ahead and the expansion of home and family that your absolutely incredible generosity, compassion and love is making a reality. So yes, I see magic in that.

From our hearts to yours, thank you. You. Are. Amazing!! Thank you for being part of this chimp family. And thank you for being committed to the caring and connecting that extends far beyond the bounds of this small sanctuary home. We are all wishing you a New Year’s Eve and year ahead as magical, hopeful, and inspiring as you make possible for these seven amazing individuals, the four beautiful bovines we’re so happy to have welcomed to their new home with us, and all the humans here who have the privilege and honor to care for them, as well as the future family members we can’t wait to welcome.

Happy New Year, everyone! And apologies for the late post! We had persnickety internet today! 😉

Thank you, Christine!

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As we head into 2019 we have a celebratory gift of a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees from Christine Hines!

“On this, the last day of the year, I am feeling grateful for discovering CSNW and the Cle Elum 7. I wish all of you a wonderful 2019 and am looking forward to watching CSNW grow!”

Christine, from our hearts, thank you for ending 2018 on such a kind and compassionate note. I think it’s safe to say that at the start of this year we could never have imagined all that the love for these seven chimpanzees has grown and manifested. We’re grateful to you for being part of our chimp family. And we can’t wait to see all that the love surrounding them brings to their family in the year ahead. Happy New Year!

Negra, someone who embodies, this year more than ever, all that love, care, and home make possible:

In memory of Robin Scott

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Today was sponsored by Dorie-Ellen Maville for all the chimps in memory of her brother, Robin Scott. Dorie-Ellen shared this very touching message about her gift:

“In memory of my brother Robin who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from complications of his cancer treatments on December 30, 2017. We never got to say goodbye and we miss him every day. Robin would love that I am doing this in his memory.”

Dorie-Ellen, we are so sorry for your loss and we’re very touched that you would choose to share Robin’s memory in this way. Thank you so much for making a difference in the chimps’ lives. You are in our thoughts today and we’re wishing you memories of comfort, joy and peace as you hold Robin in your heart today.

Jamie:

Fleeting Moments

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This morning the sanctuary was encased in a thin layer of delicate ice.

Here’s Annie taking in the scenery:

Each tiny twig and blade of grass seemed to have suddenly discovered an independence, briefly standing on it’s own, separated from the whole:

It was clear this was going to be a very temporary state – a moment that vanished so quickly the shutter of the camera was scarcely fast enough to capture it.

The air turned warmer and the icicles began to disappear one drop at a time. As I walked around the perimeter of the chimpanzees’ outdoor habitat, I could hear cracking all around me as the trees shrugged off their icy coats.

After taking in the scene, Annie quickly decided to partake in the moment before it was gone.

Soon the sun stood boldly in its place in the sky and transformed the landscape.

Still, in the places that stubbornly hid from the sun, the ice-covered snow remained.

Missy realized that she didn’t need to venture outside herself, she could instead request that I gather handfuls of the delicacy for her.

A lesson for us all, as another year comes to end (a lesson that I’m in need of remembering): appreciate what the day has to offer and enjoy the fleeting moments before they disappear.

Speaking of fleeting moments – we are just days away from December 31st and the end of the huge year-end matching challenge! I don’t know if you’ve looked recently – we are now less than $40,000 away from reaching the goal.

I honestly am not sure what is going to happen. Can we actually reach that lofty goal?! This is where I turn towards you all and ask that question!

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

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Yippee!! It’s our good friend Tracy Headley’s birthday today and being the loving soul she is, she is celebrating by sponsoring a day of sanctuary for her chimpanzee friends!

“Celebrating my CSNW family on my birthday. You make every day a little better.”

We’re so lucky to have you as part of our chimpanzee family, Tracy! We’d say you make the world a little better each day just by being in it. Thank you so much for all you do for the chimps. We hope this is the best birthday yet!

Foxie:

Day Nests

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At the end of each day, free-living chimpanzees build elaborate nests and go to sleep for the night. These night nests, typically built high up in the crown of a tree, are thought to serve a number of functions including thermoregulation, protection from predators and parasites, and shelter from the elements. According to one researcher who spent time sleeping both on the ground and in chimpanzee nests, they may also simply provide a more comfortable night’s rest. Chimpanzees spend considerable time selecting the proper trees and branches on which to build their nests and then weaving smaller branches and leaves together to form a mattress or basket. This investment of time and energy makes sense; after all, once they are asleep, it is only the quality of their nest keeping them from falling to the ground below.

Day nests, by contrast, are hastily constructed and typically far less structurally complex. They are also more likely to be made on or near the ground. Day nests are simply a place to relax for a moment before the group moves on to another spot.

The chimps at CSNW tend to follow a similar pattern when it comes to the elevation of their nests. Jamie and Foxie in particular regularly make their day nests on the floor of the playroom or front rooms but will make their night nests almost exclusively on elevated benches or catwalks (while Foxie doesn’t build elaborate nests like the others, she does engage in rudimentary nesting behavior). The biggest difference between the nests of the Cle Elum Seven and those of their wild counterparts is that the Seven’s day and night nests are equally complex. Perhaps this can be explained by the fact the the Cle Elum Seven don’t travel very far during the day, and thus they are free to spend as much time in their days nests as they’d like or even return to them throughout the day if they so choose.

In fact, it’s possible that Jamie’s day nests are even more complex than her night nests. This afternoon I watched her make a nest on the playroom floor. With her new favorite boots tucked into her “pelvic pocket,” she twirled fleece blankets in circles around her for several minutes, pushing and pulling each one to form the perfect shape. Then she carefully wove the ends of those blankets through nearby caging, as if to anchor the otherwise unstable nest to something sturdy. She pulled two of her new books close by, one on tractors and another on the chimpanzee children of Gombe, so that she could flip through them as she drifted off to sleep. To top things off, she pulled the last blanket over herself. With each step of this elaborate process she let out a low moan – a sign of contentment.