Archives for April 2021

Paper Play and Other Wish List Items

April 24, 2021 by Diana

Yesterday, we made a banner for Love a Chimpanzee Day and left the roll of paper in the greenhouse. Burrito immediately took the roll of paper outside. Did he have a plan? It’s difficult to say.

One thing we can say for sure is that we need more paper! It’s just one of many items currently on our Amazon wish list right now. Please peruse the list of things we need for a well-functioning and fun chimp house.

Today, when we were cleaning the playroom, I spied Burrito playing with the empty paper roll. You just never know what’s going to tickle the fancy of the chimps!

If you were able to join our virtual visit yesterday, I hope you had a great time! Our GiveBIG fundraising is off to a good start, but we have a pretty big goal this year. There’s still over $1,500 in matching funds from me and Monica to double your gift. The fundraiser goes until May 5th, which will be here faster than Burrito can drop a roll of paper.

The Celebration

April 23, 2021 by J.B.

We had our hands full this afternoon with the virtual tour for the Chimps in Need Campaign, but Anna somehow managed to snap a few photos of the Seven enjoying their Love a Chimpanzee Day celebration.

Don’t forget – you can help us welcome six more chimpanzees to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest this year by donating on Monica and Diana’s GiveBig fundraising page or the sanctuary’s main GiveBig page.

Missy:

Jody (with banana leaves):

Annie:

Negra:

Burrito:

Foxie:

Jamie:

It’s Love a Chimpanzee Day 2021!

April 23, 2021 by Diana

Supporter Monica Best named April 23rd Love a Chimpanzee Day and has sponsored this day each year since 2010 for her chimpanzee friends at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

We’re using this occasion as the official kick-off to GiveBig. Monica and I have teamed up by creating a joint fundraising page with a $5,000 matching donation!

Love a Chimpanzee Day has become an official holiday around here. So much so, that we even include the day in the annual calendar.

Monica created Love a Chimpanzee Day in honor of her cat Ozzie on her birthday during a difficult and uncertain time when she was battling cancer. She credits the chimpanzees with helping her through that time and subsequent relapses.

Like many of us, even as a kid, Monica loved and was drawn towards nonhuman animals, especially wolves. She didn’t fall for chimpanzees until she happened upon a television show that featured Carole Noon, the founder of Save the Chimps. She immediately searched for other sanctuaries on the internet and found Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

We are SO GRATEFUL to Monica. She has been an incredible champion of chimpanzees and is always thinking of ways to make their lives happier. She’s also always thinking of ways to broaden the support of the sanctuary and encourage others to donate to help the chimpanzees she loves and chimpanzees everywhere.

We would not be in the position of being able to welcome the Lucky Six chimpanzees coming to the sanctuary later this year without her support.

Today we are celebrating with the chimps and inviting all of their fans to join a virtual tour, see the expansion in progress, and learn about the Chimps in Need campaign and all of the chimpanzees who remain at Wildlife Waystation waiting to go to their new sanctuary homes.

You can still register for this 4:00 p.m. PT virtual event here.

Even if you are unable to attend, you can help us celebrate today and the future with more chimpanzees to love by donating on Monica and Diana’s GiveBig fundraising page or the sanctuary’s main GiveBig page.

Let’s all lean on our love of chimpanzees today and celebrate all the joy they have brought to our lives.

Happy Love a Chimpanzee Day, everyone!!

Burrito loves Duran Duran — Monica is a fan of Duran Duran and we took this photo of Burrito during the 2011 Love a Chimpanzee Day!

Earth Day

April 22, 2021 by Anna

This morning the chimpanzees looked absolutely heavenly with the beautiful grassy backdrop that was Young’s Hill. Being surrounded on all sides by green seems like the absolute perfect way to celebrate Earth Day don’t you think?

Negra’s Earth Day snack of choice seemed to be blades of grass and all parts of the dandelion.

Here’s Missy as she finally put on the brakes after doing an Earth Day “fun run.”

Burrito and Jamie doing their morning patrol together

“The Earth is what we all have in common.”
—Wendell Berry

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Thank you, Kim!

April 22, 2021 by Katelyn

Many thanks to Kim Harris for adding to the celebration of Earth Day in honor of the chimpanzees and bovines! Kim generously sponsored today as a way to celebrate her own special day!

“I happen to share my birthday with Earth Day, so seems to be as good a day as any to do my tiny part contributing to the love and care of these magnificent beings. Following their lives through your blog is a gift to me, and I would like to return the kindness in this small measure. Happy Earth Day to Jamie, Jody, Burrito, Annie, Negra, Missy, Foxie, Willy B, Honey B, Mave, Nutmeg, Betsy, Honey and Meredith!”

Happy Birthday, Kim! What a wonderful day to be born on! Thank you for your kind heart and choosing to make a difference for our chimpanzee and cattle families on this beautiful day.

Foxie:

Honey, Betsy, and Nutmeg:

Negra:

Independent woman, Meredith:

Missy:

In honor of Earth Day!

April 22, 2021 by Katelyn

Thank you, Dean and Kathy Featherstone, for sponsoring this special day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in honor of this magical and mystical world we all share. We so appreciate you!

“On April 22, 1970 my dog and I partook in the first Earth Day walk in San Francisco to raise awareness for the plight of the Earth’s health and the creatures that inhabit it. There was no EPA, no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act at the time and no legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment.

The East Coast was encountering acid rain and the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland caught fire from pollution. Rivers in the Colorado Rockies were poisoned by Lead, Copper and Mercury mining. San Francisco Bay was closed to bathers/swimmers from pollution.

In Spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda; The World followed. Have a Happy Earth Day and thanks to those that made this day possible.”

Willy B:

Nutmeg, Betsy, Honey and Meredith:

Balsamroot:

Jamie:

Missy and Jody:

Honey B:

Burrito, Annie, Missy, Foxie and Jamie:

Bluebird neighbor:

Fresh Produce & Green Grass

April 21, 2021 by Kelsi

We are really excited because today we put in our first online order for a Charlie’s Produce delivery that will come straight to the sanctuary! Before Covid-19, Charlie’s was our primary source for produce that we picked up at a nearby business. However, when Covid-19 hit, a lot of things changed and we had to start shopping for produce in person. In addition to the convenience for staff, Charlie’s also has an amazing assortment of fresh produce and the chimps will get to have a lot of variety in the food we serve them! On Saturday’s blog, Diana said that it never gets old to watch the chimps forage. That is so true and it never gets old watching them enjoy food that excites them!

There are a lot of different ways to donate to the sanctuary like becoming a pal to the chimps or bovines, sponsoring a day on the blog, but my personal favorite is becoming a produce patron. What is more rewarding than donating towards the thing that brings the chimps the most joy (their food!)?

Whenever I serve the chimps I feel so thankful for everyone’s donations and feel blessed to be able to hear the sounds of the chimps eating. Listening to Jody making dinosaur-like food grunts or Burrito food squeaking for sweet potatoes is simply the best. If you are ever looking to find a way to donate, become a produce patron and just imagine Foxie blowing raspberries for fruit smoothies, Honey B food grunting for a head of lettuce, Or Willy B eating his leeks like Bugs Bunny. That will always put a smile on your face.

Foxie eating her banana this morning.

Negra eating some celery.

And a carrot.

Jamie sitting on the firehose is the best and Foxie holding her carrot with her foot is pretty great too.

As much as I just talked about fresh produces, today’s real theme in the chimp house seemed to be grass. Everyone at some point was out on Young’s Hill foraging for grass!

Jody foraging for grass.