Here are just a few of the highlights from this week!
In case you missed it, make sure to check out Diana’s blog from earlier today. We wouldn’t want you to miss any of our future blogs!
Archives for July 2021
Important Change to Blog – Action Needed by You
Attention all blog subscribers – we are changing the subscription gateway for the blog and you need to sign up in a different place to continue to receive blog posts. We won’t be making the switch immediately, and there will be some days of overlap, but you may as well sign up now to be sure you won’t miss anything!
All you have to do is enter your email address into this box and click the Subscribe button below.
That’s it!
Thank you so, so much for following this blog. It continues to be an incredibly uplifting way for us to be able to share the lives of the chimpanzees and bovines and other sanctuary goings-on with you and also to get to know some of you through this experience.
It’s very motivating for me personally to read your comments and know how much you care about everyone here at the sanctuary.
p.s. Don’t worry – you’ll be getting a real blog post from Anna later today!
World Chimpanzee Day 2021!
If we look straight and deep into a chimpanzee’s eyes, an intelligent self-assured personality looks back at us. If they are animals, what must we be?”
-Frans de Waal
Today is World Chimpanzee Day!
Several organizations within the sanctuary, zoo, education, and conservation worlds came together to create a day to honor our closest living relatives and to use the day to spread awareness of issues they face both in the wild and captivity.
July 14th was chosen as the honorary day because it was on this day in 1960, Jane Goodall first stepped foot in Tanzania to study chimpanzees. Though she had received backlash at first, her discoveries forced researchers to look at chimpanzees differently, and not just as another animal. From then, we have begun to truly see just how close of a living relative we are.
There are many things you can do to be an advocate for chimpanzees. You can donate to your favorite conservation organization, share your favorite sanctuary on social media, talk about your favorite chimpanzee to family, discuss what is a good social media post is and what is bad to friends, and the list goes on! To find out more about World Chimpanzee Day and how you can help, please check out World Chimpanzee Day!
We are truly honored as caregivers to know the 16 chimpanzees who call Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest home!
Thank you all to our followers and supporters for always supporting, advocating, and honoring these magnificent individuals!
Zero Kernels Given
Lunch is known to be a more relaxing meal to serve. Breakfast is always exciting because it’s fruit, everyone loves fruit! Dinner is the last meal served before the end of the day and night bags are always on the mind! Today’s lunch was eventful for all three groups of chimps. It seemed Dora and Annie were yelling towards each other and everyone had something to say about it, well everyone but Negra. Negra couldn’t have cared less. The interactions weren’t bad, just loud. But Negra’s only concern was eating lunch.
I thought I might share this photo of sweet little Honey B.
Here’s Luckin’ At You, Kid.
The “Lucky Six” chimpanzees just arrived a few weeks ago, but they already feel like part of the sanctuary’s family.
Within this charismatic group, Lucky stands out for being vigilant, independent, and strong-willed. Although she is a female chimpanzee, Lucky shares many physical traits with her brother, Cy: a dark face, intense stare, and bulky frame.
So far, she has generally maintained a serious demeanor with the humans and often observes us from afar. Even so, she occasionally “breaks character” to playfully present her belly, inquisitively examine our footwear, and demand cool drinks from the cleaning hose.
Given that Lucky likes to monitor her surroundings, it’s not surprising that she has taken to the upper levels of the multi-tiered greenhouse enclosures. Diana wrote Saturday’s blog post about these innovative spaces and how they give the chimps many opportunities to be comfortable and entertained. The blog entry also included the following photo of Lucky peeking through the upper caging.
It’s a familiar look for Lucky. From that secure and elevated vantage, she can look down on the human staff as we go about our chores, waiting for the right time to swoop down and let loose. In just a couple of weeks, I’ve already taken several photographs of her staring down at me from the platforms above.
Happenings of the Day
When I was opening up the chimp house this morning I found Negra still resting in the Greenhouse. She knows how to make a comfy looking nest!
Annie exploring Young’s Hill in the morning.
Missy close behind Annie.
Jody watching the others on the hill.
After her walk around Young’s Hill Missy was eating breakfast with style.
Foxie cooling off in the front rooms.
After lunch Missy went around and picked up all of the leftover cucumber pieces.
I was attempting to get get some photos in the afternoon and Burrito just wanted to play. So I stopped taking photos to get a little workout in.
It is very hard to catch this guy being still! He was resting after many play sessions with Chad. It didn’t last for long! By the time I was uploading this photo he was ready to play again.
Honey B was making such a good nest of blankets, troll dolls, her scooter, and some scarves that I was trying to get a photo of it. I got the Honey B stare instead 🙂
I worked with The Lucky Six a couple of times last week and here are some of the photos I was able to get. I am really enjoying getting to see their personalities more as the continue to open up with us! I didn’t work with them today, but as I was performing safety checks Terry was in my line of vision from a distance ready to play!
Gordo right before a game of chase started.
Dora and her sweet face.
Cy is definitely going to steal some hearts around here!
Glorious Greenhouses
I have to really hand it to J.B. for his greenhouse design and Gary from Sage Mechanical for putting it all together plus adding some special touches.
These new greenhouses are truly a chimp’s dream.
Yesterday was the first day that I was cleaning in one of the new playrooms with the new group of six chimpanzees on the other side of the windows in a greenhouse. I snapped some quick photos on my phone through the window to give you a sense of the chimpanzees’ perspective.
That view! 
All of the new six like to take advantage of the vertical space and can often be found up high on the benches at the edges of the greenhouse. There are some great spots to observe the neighbors.
Cy even took a minute away from his magazines to watch Willy B in the Courtyard today:
At Wildlife Waystation, the indoor space for the chimpanzees was much smaller than at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, and they spent most of their time in their concrete-floored, chain-link fenced space. We were all pleasantly surprised that they walked on the grass in their new greenhouse habitats right away. The grass is an experiment for us in these new spaces, one that so far is working well.
Though there are many differences, the greenhouses are probably most similar to what they are used to at Wildlife Waystation. During the day, there is usually at least one chimpanzee out there, and sometimes all six of them are in one greenhouse or another. During their first week they were in the greenhouses well after we had closed up for the night.
Last night around 7:30, I was outside wandering around. The sanctuary property was full of activity. There was a doe grazing in the pasture near Young’s Hill. The bovine family had gotten up from their daytime shady spot and they too were spending the cooler evening hours grazing. Ground squirrels and the occasional marmot were scurrying about, always in a hurry. The cliff swallows that have taken over the eaves of the new addition to the chimp house were soaring and dropping and diving, undoubtedly getting their dinner of insects.
As I approached the chimp building, however, there wasn’t even the hint of anyone stirring. I walked around the outside of the fence behind the new greenhouses and did not see a soul.
It made me feel disappointed for a fleeting moment, because it’s nice to see the chimps among the bamboo and logs and grass, with the sky as the backdrop, but then I smiled. Sometimes I even have to remind myself that it’s not about what I want or what I think they should be doing; it’s about giving them choices and letting them figure out what they want.
I pictured all six of them–Cy, Lucky, Gordo, Terry, Rayne, and Dora–sleeping soundly in their nests made of blankets and paper, in the special spot they chose for themselves, indoors in the new playrooms, perhaps with a newfound sense of safety and security.
