Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for April 2024

Brave Mave’s Foray on the Bray

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We almost missed it the first time.

I had a few minutes to kill before the chimps’ breakfast and decided to see if anyone was on the Bray. When I exited the greenhouse door I had to rub my eyes. Funny, I thought, that almost looks like Mave out there…

When caring for animals, or anyone for that matter, there are things you can control or influence and things you can’t. For the latter, all you can do is be patient and let them find their own way in their own time.

I guess the other obvious life lesson here is this: If there’s something you are afraid of, just get in a lot of fights and do the scary thing while you’re fighting. The fighting will seem much scarier by comparison, and over time, you will come to discover that you had the power to do the thing without fighting all along. 🙂

Anyway, three cheers for Mave! See you out on the Bray!

 

Ten Seconds

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Every ten second counts at the sanctuary. What was your favorite 10 second clip from the video? Isn’t it exciting to see Mave and Honey B outside??!! It still takes a little bit of drama for them to go out, but today Mave ventured out in between actual conflicts, which I think was a first!

You too can make ten seconds count by voting for the subject of Sue Cartwright’s next portrait in our poll (either by voting in the poll below, or if you don’t see it, vote here).

Vote now and vote again if you feel strongly about your choice.

Bonus points for letting us know if you have a particular photo that you’d like her to use as reference – let us know on our Contact Us form! Even bigger bonus points if you know of an artist who may want to make a donation to an upcoming fundraiser.

Magazine Madness

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This week we received some interesting magazines in a donation package, Cy and Jamie have been enthralled with their new reading material in today’s video

Cy even had his magazine thoughout the day and brought it to meals with him:

A Special Game of Tug

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One of the most special parts of my job as a caregiver is being able to build relationships with the chimpanzees. This can be a slow process, with most of the first steps being them testing you and seeing how you react to things they do. Sometimes these things are not so pleasant for you, like poking at items you are serving, spitting at you, jumping at the caging to try to startle you, or even throwing poop. But all of that is so worth it for the friendships to come. It is incredibly rewarding when they start to let their walls down with you, and you start to get to see the chimpanzee person behind the tough exterior they first put up.

When I was first starting as a caregiver here, I admittedly struggled with “being the new guy” with the chimps more than I had expected. I had worked with many chimps as a caregiver at Chimp Haven, and had helped to welcome in many new residents to the sanctuary over my years there so working through those initial steps of relationship building was not new to me, and the hazing by the chimps was to be expected. But a big difference, which I quickly noticed, was that I was greatly missing my reliable, constant friendships that I had built over years of working with specific chimpanzee friends. I could always count on having a grooming session with Keeli, Maxi’s excitement when I showed up to train with her, and a good game of chase with Hamlet, but now I was working to build new friendships without those old ones to lean on, and remind me of all that is to come.

But thankfully, the weeks and now months have passed by quickly, and while I do still miss my old friends, I remain very excited for all of the new relationships I have and continue to build with my friends here. There is something extra special (as I mentioned in a previous blog post), about being able to have safe ways to touch and be touched by the chimpanzees that has allowed for an even greater level of trust and friendship that I have not been able to experience before.

I don’t want to spoil anything in the video for you, so you’ll have to go there to see who I got to share a few extra special moments with recently! I’m so grateful to be here, and to be able to build friendships with these very special chimpanzee people.

Bonus photos from the day:

Honey B resting in Riverview

Jamie flipping through an extra large magazine sent by a donor – it was a HUGE hit!!

Negra napping in her nest after a busy morning

National Burrito Day!

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The other day I wore one of several of my CSNW apparel items out in public. This time, a cozy grey sweater with Burrito’s face and name adorning the front. A passerby asked me very logically (in retrospect), “why does your sweater say ‘Burrito’ on it?” It took me a second to answer… In my head I was thinking, of course it says “Burrito” because that is Burrito Chimpanzee, isn’t it obvious? To that innocent bystander, a burrito is more simply a tortilla stuffed with a variety of filling and seems odd to connect to a chimpanzee face. Which I suppose it is.

Burrito was actually given the name Raj when he was born in the laboratory but it was later changed. Somewhere along the way, after all these years of knowing him, his name and face are fully fused in my mind and I literally never think about the food when I talk about him. I also can’t imagine calling him by a different name (apart from his long list of nicknames of course).

Today just so happens to be National Burrito Day. The day might technically have been created to appreciate the food, but I choose to celebrate my goofy chimpanzee friend instead. Here’s to you Mr. B!

Happy Birthday, Lisa Stuverud!

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Many thanks to Tatiana Vizzare for including the chimpanzees (and humans!) in this wonderful day of sanctuary in celebration of one of the sanctuary’s long-time friends, Lisa Stuverud!

“Sending birthday well wishes to one of the chimps’ biggest fans, Lisa Stuverud! To know her is to feel endlessly loved and supported by her. We hope today she feels just as celebrated and special as she makes all those (human or animal) around her feel! Cheers to you Aunt Lisa, your strength, consistency, and love is inspiring and we are all so lucky to call you ours! Happy Birthday! Love Always, Tony, Kendall, Enzo, Tazio, Logan, and Tatiana.”

We are so happy to be able to celebrate with you all! Happy birthday, Lisa! We hope you have the most beautiful, heart-happy day!

Bubbie:

Sweet Annie:

Honey B:

Missy:

Dear Terry:

Negra:

April celebrations!

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Somehow, here we are at another month sans any resident chimpanzee or bovine birthdays! But we made it to spring! So, human friends, you’ve got to party it up extra hard for us this month! If you’ve been following the chimpanzees for any time at all, we know they’ve taught you well. Happy Birthday to all our April reveler friends out there!

However! On April 1st, Missy’s insanely handsome son (and Honey B’s brother!), Josh, turned 37! Josh is another former resident rescued from Wildlife Waystation after they closed and he is now thriving at his new forever home at Center for Great Apes (from where I blatantly stole this beautiful photo)! Hearing this is such heart-happy news for us.

And as many of you are probably aware, today Jane Goodall is celebrating her 90th birthday! Her impact (not to mention passion and stamina) is immeasurable and I couldn’t hope to expand upon any of the countless ways in which she continues to contribute to our world. But what a remarkable way to live a life. There are, of course, countless every day ways to live a remarkable life, the majority of which involve seemingly small actions that most people remain none the wiser of, particularly ourselves. But it’s inspiring and sometimes hopeful, isn’t it? Seeing the kaleidoscope of ways in which following our singing hearts can reimagine and recreate so much for the world and the lives of those we share it with. Including our own lives. (Photo: Jane Goodall Institute/Shawn Sweeney):

Jane Goodall looks through binoculars in a forest.

I’ve had the great fortune of meeting Dr. Goodall twice. The first, was not long after I’d begun volunteering at the sanctuary while still living in Seattle. My best friend surprised me with tickets to the screening of Disney’s “Chimpanzee” which Jane Goodall was presenting and somehow we wound up sitting next to her. It was a small venue and in my crazy follow my heart kind of way I just walked right up to her after the showing. She was patiently signing a book for me as I nattered away and when I mentioned the chimpanzees her eyes met mine and lit up. A media photographer took our photo and sent it to me as a surprise. Me, smiling like a goof, Dr. Goodall in her ever composed calm. A zillion people have had the good fortune to hear her inspirational talks, often getting to meet her and have their photos taken with her, and yet I’d bet it holds the same magic for each of us.

Not that you asked, so feel free to scroll ahead ;), but at the time, I was over a decade deep in a previous life career I was passionate about, also working with individuals who were living in a form of captivity, though as a consequence of their own human behavior. But I was readying for a change. A pure leap of heart and faith. But you know when you stand on such precipices, all the doubts and worries come swirling up around you. I still so clearly remember driving home that night along the lake I lived by, the world awash in the most stunning blue hour, my mind awash in excitement and possibility from having spoken with Dr. Goodall, the indigo silhouettes of herons along the water’s edge. And in that very moment feeling surer than sure that following my dream of working with chimpanzees was somehow, miraculously going to become a reality. Or that I at least had to take the leap and try.

I cherish this memory. Not only because of the inspiration that comes from getting to meet those we admire, but also because of the inspiration and courage living within our own hearts that we get to catch glimpses of in such moments. So you see, something seemingly inconsequential to one, perhaps something done a million times over, can make a profound difference for someone. Or for many.

Happiest of birthday wishes to you, Dr. Jane Goodall, from all of us here at the sanctuary! Thank you so much for your resilient heart so full of tenacious hope, possibility and kindness.

And I’d be remiss not to mention, as in the gracious and heartfelt Sponsor a Day post in memory and celebration of loved ones passed earlier today, April 30th is incomprehensibly, the first anniversary of Jody’s passing. I had first typed, “the first anniversary of our lives without Jody.” But that’s far from accurate. At the risk of penning a platitude, which I personally loathe even though well-intended, right next to the very real pain that will always be in our hearts, is also beautiful, endearing, Jody, every second of every day. Her group will forever be “the seven.” I still call out hello to her when we walk around the hill and pass the lilac grove where she is buried, I still talk to her when serving her family meals, or when Foxie uncharacteristically lowers her forehead or lifts her ankle to the caging for a knuckle rub – exactly like Jody used to do and as Foxie never did when Jody was here – I speak to her every day when working from home as I gaze at her photo hanging on the wall above my desk. We will ache in our missing and delight in our celebrating of this beloved chimpanzee woman and she will be part of our lives for all our days forward.

I know I’ve share this before, but it’s one of my all-time favorite photos of Jody from an epic Easter forage past. Pure Joji <3:

I feel like I had something else to share with you all, but I just cannot bring it to mind. Foxie was cute this week. Newsflash! Each of the chimpanzees and bovines are just such amazing individuals. Another newsflash!

Each of you help make so many things possible for the chimpanzees, bovines, and all of us here at the sanctuary, every day. And if you ever doubt that, just look at this Queen (Negra) I captured awhile ago in all her glory:

Happy April to you all! As always, thank you so very much for being here with us.