2024 Update

We've been busy! The last few years have brought both highs and lows. Jody, who died in the spring of 2003 at the age of 47, was the first chimpanzee to pass away at the sanctuary. Her departure was a big loss to her chimpanzee group and all of the many humans near and far who loved her and followed her last fifteen years on the blog. Earlier this year, we lost Nutmeg, our gentle giant of a steer, who was with us for four years.

The highs have included so many small moments with all of those in our care, including the newer chimpanzees from Wildlife Waystation gaining new friends and settling into their large home. It's been particularly heartwarming to watch Honey B and Mave this year gather up their courage and explore their two-acre habitat for the first time.

That's the way of life, isn't it? In between periods of sadness, there is frivolity, joy, and happiness. The sadness too is merely a different reflection of the love and compassion we hold.

We have been looking strategically towards the future and our desperate needs for infrastructure to support our work. We are so excited to share that we have preliminary plans for a staff, volunteer, and visitor building that we plan to begin in 2025!

This building will include small and large meeting spaces, educational displays, storage, and workspaces for volunteers.

In order to ensure that the sanctuary’s primary focus is on the animal residents, we limit the number of onsite visitors. That said, we recognize how few opportunities exist to see chimpanzees in a sanctuary setting while learning about their complex individual needs and unfortunate history.

This support building will allow us to better engage small groups with multi-media potential such as live streaming camera feeds from the chimp building (and future monkey habitats) so people can see the primates “up close” without disturbing them.

Directly across from this future building is a memorial garden that will include a statue of Jody to remember her and all chimpanzees whose stories of tragedy (and, in Jody's case, salvation) should never be forgotten.

The future beyond 2025 includes construction of another caregiver residence on site, and then construction to rescue monkeys from the pet, entertainment, and biomedical industries. We've already begun planning for this new phase of the sanctuary and look forward to making a difference for smaller primates who are in great need of sanctuary homes and for their stories, too, to be shared.

2021 Update

What a year! Construction continued on Phases 2 and 3 of the expansion to create more space for Honey B, Willy B, and Mave, and to provide a starter home for another group of six chimpanzees from Wildlife Waystation.

The Lucky Six: Cy, Dora, Gordo, Lucky, Rayne, and Terry arrived on June 26, 2021. Watch their story in four parts on Down to Earth with Dagmar on San Diego's NBC7.

Now we are focused on completing the open-top outdoor habitat for the nine chimpanzees from Wildlife Waystation, which includes a shifted and expanded habitat of Young's Hill for the original group of nine. The outdoor habitat for the new chimpanzees is called The Bray, named in memory of James Douglas.

As we expand for the chimpanzees now at the sanctuary, we will continue to work with the Chimpanzees in Need campaign to ensure all of the remaining chimpanzees at Wildlife Waystation are placed in accredited sanctuaries.

2020 Update

We were hoping to break ground in March for Phase 2 of the expansion, but things were put on hold with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the economic uncertainty. Mave, Willy B, and Honey B from Wildlife Waystation continue to settle into their new home and we are grateful for each day.

Good news! Thanks to the continued support of individual donors, we will be breaking ground on Phase 2 on July 20th and hope to bring another group of chimpanzees from Wildlife Waystation in 2021.

Read this blog post from Co-Director J.B. for details about our plans for the future.

2019 Update

Phase 1 of the expansion was completed, and three new chimpanzees from Wildlife Waystation moved in to their new home! We continued to raise funds for the next phases of the expansion, with 32 chimpanzees in need remaining at Wildlife Waystation.

We attempted to integrate the new three with our original group of seven. Despite some bonds beginning to form, the integration resulted in some serious fighting and was ultimately unsuccessful, making the next phases of the expansion even more important for the new three chimpanzees.

2018 Update

It was a very busy fall at the sanctuary, and lots of progress was made. We welcomed four new cattle residents in addition to starting the chimpanzee building expansion. Read all about it here!

 

2017 Update

 

We have the finished engineered plans for Phase 1 (medical clinic, introduction and quarantine space) of the planned chimpanzee building expansion and are currently seeking bids and finalizing details in order to get building permits. At the same time, our architect is working on plans for Phase 2 (large playroom for a separate group of chimpanzees). The construction industry is busy in our area right now, so we will likely break ground for Phase 1 in the spring of 2018 (see the image of the plan below).

Additionally, we recently closed on the purchase of 21 acres of land immediately adjacent to the original sanctuary property. This brings the total acreage to 90 and establishes a buffer on all sides of the existing developed sanctuary land. Plus it sets the sanctuary up to provide a home for many more animals in need well into the future.

While we have done everything we can to move forward with finalizing a contract for the transfer of additional chimpanzees to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, some circumstances are out of our hands. However, we remain committed to providing a home for more chimpanzees who would benefit from a sanctuary environment, and we are excited to break ground and Bring Them Home!

 

 

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2016 Update

 

As the video above announced, in the spring of 2016, the sanctuary was able to acquire two additional parcels of land, tripling the total acreage. We do not have plans to immediately build on the new property, but the land provides a buffer for the sanctuary and will allow for further expansion in the future.

A $50,000 matching grant from The Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund, matched by generous donors at the 2016 HOOT! gala and further support throughout the year enabled us to move forward on plans for a physical expansion to be conducted in four phases so that CSNW can provide a home for more chimpanzees in need. Big thanks to everyone - individual donors and private foundations - who supported this effort as well as contributed towards the ongoing care of the chimpanzees. With your help, we plan to break ground on Phase 1 in 2017 and will continue to raise funds for further phases via our Bring Them Home Expansion Campaign.

 

The State of the Sanctuary 2015

 

As you’ll see in the above video, we’ve accomplished a lot together in the seven years since we first met Jamie, Negra, Burrito, Foxie, Jody, Annie, and Missy in that laboratory basement.

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is a testament to what can happen when chimpanzees are given a second chance in a true sanctuary environment where they are given the freedom to make choices and, finally, learn what it is to be a chimpanzee.

Thanks to supporters, donors, volunteers, and chimpanzee advocates like you, both the chimpanzees and their sanctuary home have been transformed, and thousands of people have been made aware of the plight of chimpanzees and have been moved to help them.

At CSNW, chimpanzees can live out the rest of their lives with dignity and respect, and each day this motivates us to do more.

Contact J.B. Mulcahy, Co-Director

Contact Diana Goodrich, Co-Director