While Anna and I deep cleaned Playroom 1, we heard some laughing (breathy panting) coming from Front Room 4. We knew our usual suspect would be Burrito, which was true, but we assumed he would be playing with Jamie or Foxie. To our surprise, when we peered over it was Burrito and Negra playing! As many of you may know, Negra can get rough when she decides to wrestle and let me tell you, it may have turned into a game of Foxie and Burrito vs. Negra, but she was holding her own and Negra was NOT going easy on them. In all the years that I have been working at CSNW, it was been such an honor to watch Negra get to decide what she wants to do every day. Negra gets to make choices- going on Young’s Hill to forage for grass, napping all day if she desires, playing with Burrito, or even the choice of interacting with humans (besides meals and medical intervention, of course). It’s kind of crazy to think that our 15th anniversary of the Cle Elum Seven arriving to CSNW is just around the corner (6 days to be exact) and with that we will be celebrating our dear friend Negra’s 50th birthday! Let’s not forget our very sweet friend Terry shares the same birthday as Negra and is turning 33! This coming week is going to be a trifecta jubilee!
Speaking of the Trifecta Jubilee, we have some exciting news to share! Because we are hitting big milestones this year, we are also hoping to reach big fundraising goals! An anonymous donor has pledged $30,000 matching donations through the month of June! All donations given now until the end of June will be doubled until we reach $30,000. Follow the link to learn more about how you can help us reach our goal!
As we celebrate the Trifecta Jubilee, don’t forget to sign up for the special opportunity to, Sit Down with the Co-Directors, on Saturday, June 10th at 2 pm. Join J.B. and Diana as they discuss the joys of running a sanctuary and working with chimps, the difficult aspects of working with chimps in captivity, and any of your burning questions you might have for them! J.B. and Diana have dedicated their lives to these chimps and are truly incredible people to work for, it’s an honor to get to work along side them. So I hope you all take advantage of this amazing opportunity! 🙂
I wanted to take a moment to say that I think we all wish that in celebrating, Jody would have been with us on June 13th, we will leave room for acknowledgement for her absence on that day, but Jody was able to have 15 amazing years in sanctuary, which is more than we could have hoped for! We know that Jody would have wanted us to have a giant party for Negra filled with all of Negra’s favorite foods, like Hawaiian rolls, which of course will be on the menu!
Neggie this morning greeting us with sweet kisses:
Silly Foxie:
Gordo with a mouth full of grapefruit and peanuts:
Sweet laid back Mave:
Burrito really got her up and moving around, more than I’ve ever seen her do when playing! And loved watching Burrito’s leapfrog evasion tactic! She even cornered Foxie!
“Are you the referee, Jamie?”
-“Why, yes. Yes I am. After all, there’s no napping with all of this noise.”
Oh Neggie….those Eyes…those Eyes….those Sweet Tender Eyes… THROW those nuts and Hawaiian R:monkey_face:olls all over the place:grin:
:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:Oh my goodness ….Let me get to the video…just came up !
You go girl! I love seeing Burrito playing with Neggie, and I’ve noticed in previous videos that he would usually be gentle with her….more so than his usual full on play with the others. However, the tables turned in this one…..she was definitely getting the upper hand with both of them! Can’t wait for the partying to begin!
Wow, You go girl!!!! Neggie was really making Burrito jump around, and she making sure everyone knew that although she may be turning 50, she is no push over, if fact it was her doing the pushing, pushing poor Burrito into the corner. I hope she has a fantastic birthday, which i know she will, and that she continues to “push” and show just how amazing she is. Also lovely Terry, enjoy your day with all your family and friends, and know like them you have your own chouce on how to do it. Thank you for such a wonderful video and of course the bonus photos.
The mighty Negra doesn’t need to defend her title. Anyone can clearly see that she “floats like a butterfly” (Okay, ….maybe it’s a more of a “scoots like a caterpillar” move, but you get the idea!) just like the masterful Muhammad Ali. There’s no denying she’s playtime/all-time royalty!! And her challengers, the King of Silliness and the Jester of Joy, throw down some stiff competition but Neggie holds her own, proving age IS just a number.
Thank you Kelsi for todays post, video, up-close-photos, and newsworthy giving opportunities and events. WOW! June is month full of festivities. I look forward to celebrating with all of you. And, not that I need to say this but, I am always virtually here by your side to help in holding you up as you brave all the “first time” experiences without your beloved Jody. In my heart, the Cle Elum Seven will always be……
You know, I think we have it all wrong on who is The Boss. I recall a couple of videos where the chimps are all gathered at the gate to get their food, and Jamie is front and center But when Negra walked up and gave Jamie a little elbowing, Jamie just moved over or off of the bench or stool she was on and gave it to Negra. Immediately. No question. I’ve seen that a couple of times. interesting…
But, back to today’s video… Wow! That was awesome that you captured all that. Caregivers often describe such things but couldn’t get their camera quick enough. Great catch today! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Negra move quite that fast. She was certainly frisky today! Super fun video… Thank you!
What a fun video. Thank you so much for capturing all the joy and play on camera and sharing it with us. Love love love these fabulous Chimps:) It makes me so happy to see them happy.