Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for February 2020

Mave in the Middle

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Yesterday afternoon, the three “new” chimps (Honey B, Mave and Willy B) were so engrossed in a session of play wrestling that they almost forgot about dinner.

It’s somewhat unusual for all three of them to play this intensely at the same time. In fact, it may have been the most vigorous bout of rough-housing that I have seen them partake in. Mave took a quick break but was soon back in the midst of all the action, chuckling and somersaulting around. For a few minutes, it looked as if the other two might absorb fuzzy little Mave to become one gigantic megachimp amoeba, which is both concerning and adorable. At one point, Mave seemed to surface for air in between bouts of laughing into Honey’s thigh. Even Willy, who is normally quite serious when not dropping jaws with his slinky moves, let the ladies turn him into a total goof.

Of course, I featured this surprising and heartwarming event in yesterday’s blog.

Happy Birthday, Sharon!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Sharon Saknit! Sharon shared this lovely message about her gift:

“It’s my birthday and I’d like to celebrate by giving back to CSNW!”

Sharon, what a generous gift to share your special day with the chimpanzees and the cattle! We truly appreciate getting to celebrate with you and the difference you’ve made in the lives of those who call the sanctuary home. Happy Birthday from all of us! Especially your handsome Pal, Willy B! 😉

Willy B!!

 

An A-Mave-zing Teaser

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I want to formally apologize for the tardiness of today’s blog. I’m trying to upload a video I made for you all but it is taking much longer than I initially hoped. I could blame it on the rural internet, which is indeed horrible, but I should also hold myself accountable because I made the video quite long. I couldn’t bring myself to remove any of the scenes; each is compelling in its own way. Just think of the resulting work as my director’s cut.

I aim to have it uploaded, along with the full blog post, sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning. For now, I’m just going to leave you all with this screenshot from the final video. I won’t say which chimp it features, but let’s just say that they’re a MAVE-nificent individual. Good luck trying to figure it out.

 

 

The Month of Love

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I spent the last few weeks fretting over our ambitious budget for 2020. It’s a dramatic increase from past years as we prepare for further expansion by adding staff and increasing all operational funds to care for more wonderful chimpanzees who will arrive this fall if the construction and the funds come together.

I will send out an e-newsletter next week to entice people to join our Chimpanzee Pal and Bovine Buddy programs, but I wanted to share the accompanying video with blog readers and social media followers first (see video above).

You all are the dedicated loyal supporters who follow along with rapt attention. Many of you are already Chimpanzee Pals, and a small handful are Bovine Buddies. Maybe you’ll consider adding another chimpanzee or bovine to sponsor?

You can also share the video and tell people why you are supporters – you’d be surprised how helpful it is to refer other people to the sanctuary!

Since you are still here, I’m guessing you want an update on the day today. I am more than happy to tell you that it was a great day.

It was cloudy and drizzling in the morning and I did not expect anyone to go outside, but Honey B, Mave, and Willy B spent time in the chute, and, in the other group, everyone but Negra took a walk around the hill despite the damp weather. They went counter-clockwise, for those keeping track.

Burrito was not very speedy, but he walked the entire perimeter. Foxie slowed down her brisk pace to stay with him, which just completely melted my heart.

When Foxie came back to the greenhouse, she took some time to release a troll doll from bondage:

Two things to note about the photos of Foxie: 1. That gray hair that J.B. mentioned yesterday! 2. The gorgeousness of Foxie brought out by the camera lens that was gifted to us off of our wish list. I love that camera lens!

While you are pondering which chimpanzee and/or bovine to sponsor, we could also really use some more Safeway gift cards from our wish list. It turns out that ten chimpanzees consume a lot more food than seven chimpanzees, and we find ourselves supplementing the weekly donated produce from Darwin’s Natural Pet Products via Charlie’s Produce quite regularly these days.

Thank you for everything you do to share your love of the sanctuary! Stay tuned for more videos and information for the month of love!