Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for February 2023

March birthdays, first birthdays, and second birthdays.

by

Happy Birthday, March celebrating friends! Why are we wishing you Happy March Birthdays when it’s technically still February? Because tomorrow, March 1st, is Willy B‘s 33rd birthday! Well, I should now say it’s been Willy B’s celebrated birthday because as Diana recently shared on the blog, we’ve since learned that his actual birthday is November 30th! So of course we decided to celebrate both in a kind of Hobbit-style this year, with first birthday and second birthday. 🙂

We hope this inspires all you March revelers to not only start the day in celebration the very second your eyes open tomorrow, but to celebrate your own special day at least twice this month. Willy B would want you to.

We love this guy so much and are so proud of how courageous he’s been this year navigating so many exciting, and understandably sometimes scary, changes.

And our next celebration will be Cy‘s 33rd birthday on March 12th! If you haven’t yet had a chance, you can purchase one of our new limited edition Cy’s Bookclub t-shirts and/or tote bags. Today is the last day to order these through presale if you want to have them in time for his birthday! And if you’re looking for other ways to help celebrate Cy, we also have a few items on our Amazon Wishlist we’d be so grateful to have for his party (we hope to set up his own library)!

We are so thankful for Cy. His commanding and calm presence have been a real gift to us all as his group of now nine continues to navigate their blending. We couldn’t be prouder of each one of them for the courage and growth they continue to show as they build and renew friendships, experience so many new things, and work out issues, like any chimpanzee family, sometimes with ease, and sometimes far from it.

Just about the time everyone is rested up from Cy’s party, we will be on to the next for St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th. And I think it’s safe to say we will all be celebrating the official arrival of spring here in the northern hemisphere on March 20th. Even if it’s still snowing, we will know it’s really spring and that counts for something.

The staff team was busy today with an onsite CPR and First Aid training provided by our wonderful local Kittitas County Fire Protection District 6. Perhaps Cy would have been interested in our training materials. (Though, as Diana noted, it’s Jamie who would have most likely been fascinated by all the resuscitating and bandaging going on). 🙂

Well, rest up, friends! Partying starts at sun-up! 😉  Be sure to join us on the blog tomorrow for Willy B’s bash! And please know that every step of courage, joy and celebration these amazing 16 chimpanzees get to experience would not be possible without the incredible support you all show in so many ways. We are so grateful to you all for being here with us!

Before you end this last day of February while I drift off into a pasta-induced coma (hot tip: don’t eat a big bowl of pasta while you’re trying to work), please enjoy these beautiful bonus photos that Chad graciously said I could use:

Rayne:

Terry:

Gordo and Terry grooming in the greenhouse:

Half-sisters, Rayne and Honey B enjoying lunch together:

Second Winter

by

After enjoying a lengthy Fool’s Spring throughout the month of February, we awoke to find ourselves in the momentary grasp of Second Winter. While this may be viewed as a setback to folks like Burrito, who had been furiously lapping Young’s Hill in an attempt for a single-day record, Negra takes it all in stride. In fact, no one is better prepared for a change in the weather than Negra. Because no matter the conditions outside – hot or cold, sunny or cloudy, windy or still – it is always exactly the same inside her perfect nest.

the more you know

by

Earlier this month, Anna revealed a half-sibling pair that we were not previously aware of (see this blog post for details if you missed it, but try to guess first just for fun).

Along with that information, we learned of the actual birthdays for Willy B and Mave!

It’s possible we could have had this information before, but their medical records did not include their dates of birth and I assumed they were unknown. So, I forged ahead and chose celebrated birthdays for Mave and Willy B, like we did for Negra, Jody, Jamie, and Annie, whose birthdays are unknown to us.

If you have a CSNW calendar, or have looked at their individual pages on our website, you might know that Willy B‘s celebrated birthday is coming up on March 1st. However, now we know that his actual date of birth is November 30th (1990).

We chose May 27th to celebrate Mave‘s birthday, but now we know that her actual birthday is September 25th (1989).

So, what are we to do for their celebrations this year?

It seemed only right that this year we celebrate both Willy B and Mave’s “calendar birthdays” as well as their real birthdays. No one is going to complain about two more parties, right?!

Speaking of parties and birthdays, don’t waste any more time if you haven’t yet purchased a limited-edition Cy’s Book Club t-shirt and/or tote bag in honor of Cy‘s birthday on March 12th

 

Below are some classic photos of these two birthday guys, but first, a very brief story from today. After morning cleaning, Cy was clearly looking for some “reading” material. I brought out a book for him. See photo below of the book’s cover:

I knew there was a risk that Cy would find something in the pages of the book that he found alarming. What I didn’t count on was that he would fixate on the smallest photos. The inside cover of the book features very small images of other books in the series (see below). While he looked closely at those small photos he frequently let out one of his unique “scary image alarm calls.”

Willy B and Rayne immediately came to his side. Based on their reactions, the other chimpanzees in his group are as perplexed as we humans are about Cy’s reaction to certain images, but it’s nice that they want to assist or just be near him when he’s alarm calling at an image in a magazine or book.

Willy B really seems to look up to Cy (we can understand why, propensity to overreact to images aside). Here are a few photos of the two of them together:

 

Happy Birthday, Mark!

by

Many thanks to long-time friend of the sanctuary, Mark Blitzer, for giving this wonderful gift of sanctuary and celebration!

“A treat for me on my birthday! And what better treat than sponsor the day in tribute to the staff and the residents, be they chimpanzees, bovines, and of course Barn Kitty. Thanks for all you do in caring for these magnificent creatures!”

Happy Birthday, Mark! All of us here send the best for a fantastic day for you! Thanks so much for celebrating with us all.

Lucky:

Terry:

Jamie and Jody:

Barn Kitty:

Negra:

Betsy, Nutmeg, Honey and Meredith:

Jamie:

I Spy…

by

Today’s video features nice and peaceful moments I came across around the sanctuary. Burrito was specially playful this morning, engaging with caregivers but also having a lengthy play session with Foxie. On the other side of the chimp house, Dora and Mave spent the morning grooming Honey B and while capturing the moment Willy B approached the camera to look at his reflection and further inspect his handsome smile. While this was happening, sweet Cy was catching up on his reading.

Speaking of, Cy’s 33rd birthday is on March 12th and we decided to partner up once again with EcoJoia to create “Cy’s Lucky 6 Book Club” tote bag and t-shirts!

Click here to get yours on pre-sale event and secure the item before his big day!

Unexpected Story Time

by

Last week, Cy was sitting in the front rooms with an orangutan book. While he absolutely loves to read, he was not even touching this one. However, to my surprise, when I sat down to spend time with him, he slid the book my way. Cy does not usually hand over his reading material, so this was unexpected. I even said to him, “You gave it back?!”. Instead of leaving to swap out his book with a different one, I decided to read it to him. Cy loves having quiet moments with caregivers so I assumed he would not mind. As I started reading, I had no idea that I would soon have a front room full of chimpanzees listening to facts about orangutans.

Dora and Honey B came first.

Then Mave.

Then Rayne.

Terry.

Gordo.

Lucky.

I somehow had eight chimps gathered around to listen. I made sure to hold the book up after every page so everyone could see all of the pictures.

I will admit, since you cannot see their faces well on the camera footage, some enjoyed it more than others. Honey B appeared captivated and enjoyed looking at the pictures. I could tell Terry just wanted to groom my shoes. Gordo did not even face my direction. However, with the exception of Willy B, they all chose to gather and that felt pretty special to me.

After a few minutes had passed, the audience started to leave. First went Gordo, followed by Mave, and Lucky. Then, Cy started blowing raspberries demanding his book to be returned to him. I slid the book under the caging and he immediately grabbed it and left to the Mezzanine. He had had enough.

Please enjoy the video up above showing these events!

The New Kid in Town

by

Hi, everyone! Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a volunteer here at CSNW? More specifically- have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a level III volunteer who interacts and serves the chimps? Worry no more- today is the first in a series of Guest Blog Writers! We have some amazing Level III Volunteers who have volunteered (because they’re awesome) to write a post or two about their experiences here, so be on the lookout for them over the coming months.

First up to bat, we have Dusty-  a level three volunteer in training! She has volunteered with us for about six years!! So, without further ado, check out Dusty’s blog below!

The New Kid in Town, by Volunteer Caregiver Dusty

As a volunteer, it’s a lengthy training process to learn how to serve the chimpanzees their meals. There are books to read, videos to watch, observations to be made, steps to take, lessons to learn. This intimate activity must be done with the utmost thought and care, after all I am entering their private home. Imagine someone new coming into your home to serve you
breakfast. Who would get the first apple? Maybe you like your smoothie before your chow. Maybe your sibling likes the pears you are served better and takes yours away. This experience is exciting and humbling and I’m constantly reminded by the sixteen – I’m the new kid in town – which transports me back to 1976 when The Eagles released “The New Kid in Town” song as part of the Hotel California album. If you’ve never heard this song (where have you been?) or to refresh your memory, take a listen to the song at the same time you read about my training experience below.

The New Kid in Town
There’s hoots in the hall, it sounds so familiar
Initiation time, all the chimps are watching you
Smoothies and plums, how do I serve them
Even though they know me they treat me like I’m someone new

Dusty come lately,
The new kid in town,
Better serve the food right,
or they won’t come ’round.

I look in Terry’s eyes, his Bronx cheers began to play
Gordo sprays me with water, here we go again
Rayne runs to hide, Lucky looks the other way
It’s those precious hearts I want to mend

Dusty come lately,
The new kid in town,
Better serve the food right,
or they won’t come ’round.

There’s so many things Jamie should have showed me
Serve her pears first, serve Neggie slowly, slowly
Jody got extra oranges, holy moly!

There’s hoots in the hall, it’s there to remind you
Doesn’t really matter which side of the caging you’re on

You’re walking away, they’re plotting behind you
Initiation will continue ’til somebody new comes along.

Dusty come lately,
There’s a new kid in town,
Better serve the food right,
or they won’t come ’round.

Just another new kid in town
Everybody’s gawking
There’s a new kid in town, I don’t want her apples
There’s a new kid in town, I don’t want her bananas
There’s a new kid in town
There’s a new kid in town
Everybody’s hooting
There’s a new kid…

Serving Jamie at breakfast:

Still in training, so Chad is close by!

Bonus Photo: Honey B being goofy while caregivers cleaned her front rooms.