Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for July 2024

Something in the Paper

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Let us give Ellen one more round of applause for her amazing Olympics inspired blog! It has given us ideas for many more!

Okay, I thought I might share a nice moment with our friend Gordo, I was lucky enough to have Ellen be able to capture the moment so I could share it with you all, otherwise you might not have believed me when I tell you all about it. Last weekend we put out a ton of paper, no like, a TON specifically in front room 7 for Cy’s side! Jerrol’s spoils us so much, not only do we have an amazing partnership with them but they have a lot of packaging paper, which they so kindly collect for us! We use paper for a lot of enrichment, but also we like to give it out as an option for nesting material as well. As I said we put most of the paper in front room 7, a place the chimps like to gather because they can see into the foyer and check up on what we are doing. However, one front room is a tight space for a group of 9. Sometimes if the space gets crowded it can make other individuals nervous. But something in the paper made everyone get the silly-es, including Gordo! It started off as Lucky and I grooming while caregiver Ellen interacted with Terry! I noticed Lucky’s nail was a little jagged, so I asked if she would wait until I got a nail file. Once I had multiple files in hand because, you know, you never know if you will need more with chimps. Lucky and I spent our time grooming each other and she enjoyed me filing her nails. Later, Lucky was getting silly and I start to play poke her with a nail file and then eventually a bamboo stick. Lucky thought this was so fun! But none of us could have guessed what happen next. Gordo came in to front room 7 on a mission, a mission to be poked! I spent 10 minutes playing with Gordo!

We often play chase with Gordo and can get him to play a silly game from time to time. But this play session was something I have not quite experienced! He wanted to be poked, shake his head, invite Dora to play while I play with him, he was laughing, and a little wild! Gordo is know for spitting while playing, while this may not be desired I like to think of it has a high honor because you are part of the play, especially with Gordo. It seems to bring him joy and that is what we are here for! You may see in the video that I do keep trying to play with Lucky because we got abruptly interrupted by Gordo, but I also couldn’t miss the opportunity! You may also see several other chimps join in the paper fun! Something was in the paper and it was something amazing to witness! So thank you Gordo for letting me be apart of that!

Don’t forget, today is the last day for Christmas in July! Thank you to everyone who has participated! Our chimp house is so full of supply the sanctuary needs such as: enrichment, medicines, and other necessities! So please, if you haven’t already check out our Christmas in July drive and help empty our wish lists!

 

CSNW Olympics

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The humans of the sanctuary have been very excited about the Olympics, and today we were able to share our excitement with the chimps by tuning in to the Olympics where they could watch too! Cy and Rayne were especially interested in watching this morning’s events. All of this inspired us caregiver’s to compete in our own Olympic sport – competitive nesting! The rules were simple, each nest builder received the same number of blankets to use in building their nest, and each was allowed one novelty item. The item had to be approved for the chimps to use already, but could be anything besides a blanket. Interestingly each contestant chose to use multiple colorful peace sign blankets – a wonderful choice in the spirit of the Olympics! After two high quality nests were made, caregiver Ellen assisted Judges Rayne, Terry, and Honey B in scoring each contestant. There were three categories to score: technique, creativity, and comfort. Kelsi scored high in all 3 categories, getting notable mentions for her inclusion of a knot in her nest design and the overall comfort of the nest with its high walls and a Squishmallow being utilized as her novelty item. Jenna also earned high scores, but lost some points in technique due to her difficulty completing the difficult slinky maneuver. We had a lot of fun in today’s event, and who knows…you all might get to see more events as the week goes on!

 

 

‘Twas A Night Before Christmas… In July

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‘Twas a night before Christmas (in July),

When all through the Chimp House,

Not a creature was stirring,

Not even Burrito.

The stockings were washed for the chimps with care,

In hopes that more gifts soon would be there.

The chimps were nestled all snug in their nests,

While visions of new enrichment puzzles danced in their heads.

Ok that might have been a bit of a stretch (and thank you Kelsi for the idea from your blog a few Christmas’s ago), but it’s still fun nonetheless! If you haven’t heard, we are celebrating Christmas in July and are asking you to celebrate it with us by helping us to clear our wish-lists. It’s truly amazing how much support we’ve received and our wish-lists are looking amazingly sparse, but there are still a few items remaining- like Jamie’s favorite bonobo books, one of our important behavioral support medications, and every-day cleaning and office supplies! It’s hard to believe that there are just a few days left before August, but that means there’s just a few days left to help us reach our goal. From all of us (chimp, bovine, and human) here at CSNW, thank you for supporting the work that we do every day.

BONUS PHOTO:

It has been a gloriously cool, rainy day here in Cle Elum, WA and the chimps spent a lot of the morning nesting in their greenhouses where they could feel the breeze and hear the sound of the rain on the roof. A while later the rain stopped and Katelyn, who was on a walk (run? chase? sprint?) around Young’s Hill with Burrito called on the radio that Foxie was climbing on TOP of one of the new structures! Enjoy this mediocre photo of a really special moment from today. The word on the block is that Burrito also climbed one of the trees, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to snag any photo evidence. 🙂 Hopefully next time!

Man about Town

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Willy B used to be very avoidant of the grass and dirt outside. Remember? Watch this video from May 8, 2020.

And look at these photos of him today!

Mave is also getting more and more adventurous outside. Today, she followed Gordo out and convinced him to give her two of the three whole red peppers he had found in the forage.

I didn’t get good photos of it, but Willy B was actually the last one on the Bray. He was out there for so  long that Mave eventually came outside and waited for him to come back inside – it reminded me of Jody doing the same for her friends when she thought it was time for them to return.

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent in gifts from out wish lists for Christmas in July. There are still items to purchase for the sanctuary, mostly on our Jerrols wish list, which you can find here. Buying from the Jerrol’s list also supports a family business that is local to the sanctuary!

We are very excited about all of the items we have received and you’re sure to see them popping up on the blog in the next few weeks. Thank you again!!

 

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

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Our heartfelt thanks to long-time friend of the sanctuary, Rachel Ruggeri, for her annual sponsorship of a day of sanctuary in celebration of her own special day!:

“This day is in honor of my birthday. I wish happiness and freedom to all creatures, including the Chimpanzees and Bovines.”

Happy Birthday, Rachel! We hope you have a wonderful day! Burrito sends smooches:

Nutmeg and Betsy:

Cy:

Jamie:

Honey B:

Missy:

The Holdouts

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We’ve given you a lot of Mora B footage as of late…

Are you tired of all the ridiculousness?  Are you sick of all the play faces?  The joy, the laughter, the shenanigans?

Are you sick and tired of Mora B?

Say it with me, folks.

HECK NO!!!

These girls just tickle us caregivers, even if they do create a longer cleaning schedule.

This clip does not include Mave, as she opted to stay in the chute while her sidekicks whooped it up in the front rooms.

So…how do we refer to a Honey B/Dora combo?  What say you?

Also, be sure your sound is on – you won’t want to miss all the laughter!

If you’d like to help supply the sanctuary with food, enrichment, medicines, supplies, and other necessities, please check out our Christmas in July drive and help empty our wish lists!

The Many Uses of a Ball

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Burrito is one of the most fun chimpanzees I have ever met and, don’t tell my other chimp friends, but he is absolutely the funniest. One of the most endearing things to me about Burrito is how he can have fun with just about anything. A sock? Perfect for playing tug with the humans. A headband? Get over here Missy, let’s see how far we can pull it! A slinky? Obviously the perfect accessory for the foot or leg. A stuffed animal? The best for tossing around. A bandana? The ideal size for covering your face while playing with your friends. It goes on and on! Burrito is also, to my recollection, the only chimp I have ever heard laugh while playing by himself. I have heard him laughing and gone over to see who he is playing with, only to find him laughing at the silly things he is doing all by himself.

A very silly upside down Burrito

We recently received 3 stuffed knots, which each form a ball shape, as a gift for the chimpanzees from a generous donor. Since they have stuffing, we gave them to Burrito’s group as some of the members of the group of 9 eat stuffing, and therefore can’t have it. We started by giving them one ball, and Burrito had the BEST time with it! He quickly discovered every possible way to play with it. He stretched it out so it could fit over his body, he knocked it around like he was kicking a soccer ball, he put one of the stretched out bands around his foot and pulled it around behind him, he threw it as high as he could into the air and caught it on the way back down, he hugged it tight, and he bounced on it! We gave him the other two toys today, and he has been enjoying them throughout the day, somehow finding even more new ways to have as much fun as possible with them. Check out today’s video to see Burrito with his beloved new toys. Many thanks to the donor that sent them to us!

If you’d like to spread more joy and fun like this among the chimps, the cows, and their caregivers, consider joining us in celebrating summer by helping to empty our three wish lists for Christmas in July!