Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for April 2025

It’s National Volunteer Week!

by

This week is National Volunteer Week! Volunteering and interning at a chimpanzee sanctuary is rarely glamorous. It requires hard work, dedication, and deep empathy. And yet, time and time again, our volunteers and interns walk trough the front gate with those qualities and more. Each week we send out a quick thank you email to our sanctuary team with a photo of someone in action to celebrate any recent accomplishments (big or small). I thought I would share a few of the behind the scenes photos taken from our “Thank you of the week” emails.

Please join me in thanking our volunteers and interns for all their compassion and commitment to our residents. We are beyond thrilled to be working with you!

   

For more info on how to get involved in our volunteer program, please visit our website.

Love a Chimp Day!

by

Today is the infamous Love a Chimp Day! In addition to Tobin’s lovely sponsor-a-day for this special Love a Chimpanzee celebration, of course the founder of the day herself, Monica Best, also sponsored today. How incredible is it that Monica has been helping us all celebrate our love of chimpanzees for 16 years! She is also the donor of all of the squishmallows that were part of today’s celebration. Thank you so much to Monica for your incredible and ongoing support and generosity!!

This years menu was: pasta, virgin pina coldas, ice treats, lettuce, and young coconuts! The chimps house was noisy from all the food grunts and squeaks! Click here to watch all the fun!

Happy Love a Chimp Day!

In celebration of Love a Chimpanzee Day!

by

Many thanks to Tobin for sponsoring a day of sanctuary in honor of our 16th annual Love a Chimpanzee Day! (You can read more about the history of this unique celebration here!). In a recent letter to Burrito in thanks for his Valentine’s Day letter and regarding today, Tobin shared:

“As the first person of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest who I ever learned about, you hold a special place in my heart and soul. Learning about you changed my life, and I will always be grateful…Of course, I love you and all your chimpanzee friends and neighbors (don’t you just love spying on your nine next-door neighbors?) every day of the year, but the day after Earth Day needs to be celebrated in honor of people like you. May you have much to feast upon and laugh about when that day comes around.”

Burrito:

Jamie, Foxie, and Burrito:

Terry:

Lucky:

Negra:

Honey B and Dora:

And if you missed the invitation, you are cordially invited to join us for the chimpanzees’ Love a Chimpanzee Day celebration TODAY (12:00 noon PST / 3:00 pm EST) live via Zoom! For a minimum donation of $5 join us and the chimpanzees behind the scenes, ask questions in real time, and celebrate these amazing chimpanzee people with us! We hope to see you there!

Snapshots

by

A few photos from a mostly quiet Monday at the sanctuary…

Missy, who gave me the rare privilege of grooming her this afternoon:

Foxie and doll #643:

Terry, who was on an (unsuccessful) mission to gain the attention of the girls next door:

Marmots and Dolls

by

As I was putting the video together today, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole, or, more precisely, a marmot hole.

Did you know that marmots, which are rodents (technically large ground squirrels), are also called rock chucks and whistle pigs?

The territory of yellow-bellied marmots in Washington overlap with hoary marmots, with the yellow-bellied variety making their homes in the lower elevations of the state. They live an average of 15 years and generally hibernate for eight months, reproducing within weeks after emerging from hibernation and giving birth to a litter of 3-8 after a short 30-day gestation period. Their social structure is varied and complex, prompting some researchers to use social attribute models, frequently used when studying primates, to examine their social structures. I haven’t read every word of this, but if you are interested, take a look at this paper. Now I think someone should be studying the marmots we have on the property!

You’re welcome for that marmot lesson. If you are still with me…

After my marmot deep-dive, I was looking at photos of infant chimpanzees clinging to their moms, when somehow I came across this really interesting story about adult male chimpanzees “kidnapping” an injured first-born infant from her young mom (don’t worry, everything turns out okay).

This is why you are here, right?

Our fellow animals who we share this big blue marble with are so fascinating. I never get tired of watching the chimpanzees at the sanctuary, whether they are expressing an instinctual behavior like carrying (their version of) a baby on their back, or they are just chewing a leek.

Thanks for taking a deep-dive into Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest through this blog.

There’s more! If you didn’t receive the e-news last week, or if you need a reminder, here’s a couple of things to have on your radar:

First:
We are hosting a virtual visit this Wednesday for Love a Chimpanzee Day! You can learn more and sign up for as little as $5 on this donation page: https://giving.chimpsnw.org/page/LoveChimps25

Second:
You can help a NAPSA sanctuary of your choice win a really cool mirrored enrichment item from Wildlife Toybox! Make a donation to the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance and nominate one of the following sanctuaries by writing their name in the message box on the donation form: Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Primates Incorporated, Black Beauty Ranch, Fauna Foundation, Project Chimps, Chimp Haven, Save the Chimps, or Center for Great Apes. If you donate $1,000 or more, you’ll be featured as a sponsor of NAPSA’s upcoming Workshop! The first named sanctuary to hit $2,500 will win a Looky Lou feeder.

In the Company of Chimps

by

Today’s blog is a collection of photos of silly and sweet moments with the chimps from the past week.

First up…can you guess who is the owner of these cute lips?!

Here’s your next hint, some very kind eyes… Answer incoming…it’s Cy! He was enjoying admiring his reflection in my phone camera. Now for a group shot…Cy in front, Lucky back left, and Rayne back right, relaxing and waiting patiently as we finished preparing their breakfast.

Agents of chaos and endless fun, Honey B and Dora, having yet another play session!

Lucky in a box!

Terry shows us his play face while being tickled by a caregiver. He is just the sweetest!

Upside down playful Terry!