Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
After her long post-clinic recovery day yesterday, it was good to see Jamie immediately go on a patrol. Someone has to make sure things are in order!
It was also good to see the personalized night bag just for Jamie that was part of the HOOT! event. Thank you, Cee Cee :).
Tomorrow, J.B. will be providing an update on Jamie’s clinic trip and Foxie’s too, which happened today.
Yesterday, Jamie spent some time in the clinic for a checkup. You will hear more on her procedure in the days to come, but rest assured that she is doing just fine!
Today, I wanted to show you what the rest of her crew has been up to since Jamie has been in isolation.
You know what they say!? When the cat’s away…
Honey B is a complex chimpanzee. She is intelligent, sensitive, opinionated, over-the-top, stubborn, inquisitive, picky with food, and picky with humans. Honey B seems to prefer male caregivers, which is unfortunate for her, as this is a female dominated field (shoutout J.B. and Chad).
When I first started at CSNW, Honey B would often haze me when I interacted with her. She would invite me to groom with her and then use that as an opportunity to scream in my face. During meals, she would often spit her juice back on to my face unexpectedly. While this sounds intense, it’s just a normal part of becoming a chimpanzee caregiver. Some captive chimpanzees, I should rephrase and say a lot of captive chimpanzees, choose to spit and startle their caregivers because they can, it’s something they can control.
Almost 4 years later, Honey B still invites me over to scream in my face and/or spits at me at meals. One day, a few months ago, she regurgitated everything in her stomach on my head, which led to my first shower at work. While I truly never know what I’m going to get with her, it makes calm, positive moments that much more rewarding. Honey B will sprinkle in some quality grooming and play sessions from time to time, making me wonder if our relationship has miraculously turned a corner. For example, the other day after our staff meeting, I went back to say hello to the chimps in my out-of-work clothes, which included a baseball hat. Honey B seemed to appreciate my hat, which made her initiate a long game of chase with me, going back and forth from her playroom to the greenhouse.
Honey B’s and my relationship ebbs and flows, but that’s okay! I would mess with my caregivers if I were her, too.
Honey B:
Bonus photo of George:
Hi everyone – my name is Dusty. I’m not a new caregiver to the sanctuary, but I am new to writing the blog (outside of my one-time volunteer guest appearance).
My passion for animals began when I was a child caring for my dog, Peanuts, and my guinea pig, Squeaky. I dreamed of being a vet however my career took me down a path in the technology industry. To stay close to animals I volunteered with the Snoqualmie Valley Pet Food Bank, Conservation Northwest’s citizen wildlife monitoring program, and Seattle Humane.
I never imagined I’d care for chimpanzees but in 2016 I moved to Cle Elum and began volunteering at the sanctuary. I fell in love with the chimpanzees, the cattle, and the beautiful property and in 2024 joined the staff as a part-time caregiver.
During my time volunteering in the chimp house, I’ve also had opportunities to help with other projects. One year I made Easter baskets which our dearest Jody loved. I learned to wrap Christmas presents without using tape! I promoted the sanctuary at local farmer’s markets, helped build Ryan’s Lookout, the new outdoor perimeter fencing, and fire wised the property along with past resident Ellie the Elk (a.k.a. Buttons) who now safely lives at Woodland Park Zoo.
Volunteering brought so much purpose and joy to my life – if you are interested here’s how you can help!
As a part-time caregiver, my goal is to support the rest of the team where needed most – to give them days in the office for projects, time to do intros with George, precious vacations, and now assistance with writing the blog.
What will future blogs look like from me? Well . . . I think my co-workers would say I have a quirky sense of humor (hint, hint) especially after they found out I was behind the Human Enrichment Calendar caper, which they all blamed each other on for months (I enjoyed that very much). I hug new appliances, plan parties that include bananas on a stick which Willy B loved and Honey B not so much and The Rock cardboard cutout which Lucky eventually pushed over a cliff. And then there are the infamous spooky dolls – which will be a story for another time.
At the end of the day, I love the chimps and cattle with all my heart. And I look forward to sharing my view into the sanctuary with authenticity, creativity, and joy.
It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are coming up and Jamieween is just around the corner!
This year, we’re trying to be more proactive about getting everything we need for the upcoming celebrations: Jamieween, Chimpmas, birthdays, and all the fun enrichment and day-to-day supplies the chimpanzees love and rely on. So please keep your eyes peeled—starting this week, I’ll be adding holiday items to our Amazon Wish List!
While Amazon is a big part of our wish list planning, we also want to highlight Jerrol’s, our amazing local store here in Ellensburg. Jerrol’s has been incredibly supportive and helpful, supplying us with almost all of our cleaning products. However, they also have arts and crafts materials, books, and more! If they don’t have a product we’re looking for, they go out of their way to find it for us. They’ve been such a reliable partner, especially as we continue to have issues with Amazon not shipping certain items to our address. You can support us through our Jerrol’s Wish List, or donate to our bill, which allows us to get exactly what the chimps and the staff need.
As some of you may have noticed, Amazon has been a little difficult lately. If you try to purchase something from our Amazon Wish list and get a message such as:
“This item can’t be shipped to the selected address”
Don’t worry! Here are a couple of options:
OR purchase an Amazon gift card instead and send it to us at [email protected] and we can buy items off the list
I want to express how grateful we are for all of you and say thank you so much for being part of our community. Your support, whether it’s buying something off our list, sending a gift card, or just cheering us on, it helps make every day, and every holiday, special for the chimpanzees! Thank you!
Here are a few teasers of items to look out for on our Wish Lists!
More keys!
Fluffy, soft socks:
Sweatbands and more bouncy balls:
Wooden spoons:
Wood wool:
Toy hammers:
Blankets!
Books:
What is personhood? What is a person? Who deserves to bear those titles? It’s an argument that is fought for several years.
If you follow other NAPSA sanctuaries online, then you might be familiar with some cases that have taken place that paved the way for certain individuals to call a sanctuary home. There’s Sandra at Center for Great Apes, who in 2019 was granted rights as a “non-human person” in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In that case, the judge granted the basic rights of life, freedom, and a premise of “no harm” either physically or psychologically to Sandra and soon thereafter she made the trip to Florida.
Unlike Sandra, Leo and Hercules didn’t win their case to have habeas corpus granted to them, though they did make their way to Project Chimps afterward. In the United States, the fight to grant chimpanzees (or any species really) rights as a living being is a tougher fight. What seems to be the main sticking points are; does a “person” mean “human” and does a “thing” mean “everything else other than human whether it be living or inanimate?”
The reason this came to my mind is because there was a hearing in Michigan today about this very topic. There are currently seven chimpanzees who live at DeYoung Family Zoo. Animal rights organizations have been pleading their case to have these seven be transferred to an accredited sanctuary (Note: I just want to make it clear I am not talking about us.). The route they have chosen is to take the case of non-human animal personhood to court. The ruling on this hearing is still pending as I am writing.
In the U.S., there are two legal categories that fall under the law: persons and things. In a sense, this particular fight is if chimpanzees are persons or things. There is a great reference book called “Chimpanzee Rights: A Philosophers’ Brief,” which dives pretty deep into this argument. If you would like to read more about it, I would recommend that book. It breaks down the arguments for and against for considering chimpanzees as persons in a language I wouldn’t ever to be able give justice.
I am by no means an expert on this case and don’t know the full, complete details regarding those chimpanzees and their situation. But I know in my heart of hearts, chimpanzees are more than mere “things.” They are not simply property that can be sold or traded. They are smart. They are curious. They are complex. And yes, they also can be goofy. They can make their own choices and their own decisions in a way that mirrors humans. They can send signals, whether it be vocal, gestural, or just simply body posture, and reversely, they can receive those signals as well, even from us humans. They are brave. They are fearful. They are confident. They are anxious. They may not be human, but they are people.
Now, for what I’m sure most of you came here for: photos from the day!
Missy takes her job seriously. Like a hockey enforcer, her role is to aggressively protect her MVP, Jamie, and ensure everyone plays by the rules. But she’s also quick to reconcile after a conflict. After all, it’s nothing personal—she’s just doing her job.
Chimpanzees are actually quite well known for reconciling to maintain peace and repair relationships after conflicts. While chimpanzee fights can be loud, scary, and dangerous for those involved, opponents will often seek each other out almost immediately after a conflict to embrace, groom, and kiss. This may seem counterintuitive at first, but it demonstrates the value of social relationships in the chimp world.
