Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Anna

Effortless Rayne

by

Lately we’ve been doing lots of lunch forages for Cy’s big group.  We often spread the food out between a playroom, greenhouse, the front rooms and the Bray so everyone can access it fairly. Rayne seems to reliably skip the more competitive hustle and bustle of the indoor areas and head out onto the Bray for her lunch. This afternoon she did just that, going out to the Bray, grabbing a head of radicchio and enjoying her simple lunch while she took in the views of the river valley below.

One final note before I go! Today is the LAST day of Give Big 2024. We are just over half way to our goal of raising $50,000 towards the direct care of the chimpanzees we all love so much. Thank you to all who have already contributed and be sure to donate before the fundraiser ends tonight!

It’s National Volunteer Week!

by

Some of you might know already, but National Volunteer Week is celebrated annually during the third week of April. Of course, just one week isn’t nearly enough time to appreciate the volunteers of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest but it does provide a great excuse to talk about them on the blog! CSNW volunteers hold down a variety of responsibilities at the sanctuary and are all integral parts of the chimp and cattle’s care.

Our Level 1 chimp house volunteers are generally found in the kitchen and foyer spaces of the chimp house. They are hard at work doing laundry, dishes and meal/enrichment prep. There’s always a big sigh of relief from the staff when we know we have a Level 1 volunteer on the schedule because they are so helpful in completing the tasks that keep our days moving along smoothly.

Washing all those blankets day after day is a truly daunting task! Here’s volunteer Carrie moving the laundry along:

In addition to handling all the same tasks as a Level 1 volunteer, our Level 2 volunteers help staff tackle the dirty task of cleaning enclosures. Our level 2 volunteers are very important when it comes to scheduling. They help free up staff so they can work on extra projects and can even cover for us when we need time off!

Last week Level 2 volunteer Sienna did some organizing in the kitchen:

Our Level 3 volunteers are trained in all the Level 1 and 2 skills but have also been trained to provide direct care to the chimpanzees. They dedicate a lot of time, patience, and heart to meet the requirements to be a Level 3. Their commitment to the sanctuary is truly astounding.

Here’s Level 3 Volunteer Lizz and Jamie having a nice grooming session together:

And volunteers Patti and Krissy (now a staff member) going on a walk with Burrito around Young’s Hill.

We also receive help from other volunteers such as the team of medical professionals that Dr. Zamzow organizes to help us during procedures in the clinic.

And the large group of volunteers that help us with fundraisers!

Volunteers have quite literally helped build the sanctuary into what it is today.

Please join me in thanking all our hardworking volunteers. We truly couldn’t do it without you!

 

Burrito and Jamie’s Excellent Morning!

by

First off! Thank you so much to the Upper Kittitas County Senior Center for having us last night for a presentation on all things sanctuary at the Centennial Center! We really enjoyed connecting with our local community! Also, way to go staff members Kelsi, Grace and Jenna for putting together a fantastic talk.

Make sure to watch the above video too! Today seemed like a particularly good morning for Burrito and Jamie. They were almost inseparable from breakfast till lunch.

 

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Magazines

by

One of the most popular types of enrichment for the chimps also happens to be one of the easiest food “puzzles” to make. All it takes is a magazine and a tablespoon of peanut butter spread randomly over its pages to keep the chimps busy for a significant amount of time. The chimpanzees enjoy discovering their treats as they carefully examine each page, front and back!  They usually also end up swapping magazines to make sure their friends didn’t miss any secret peanut butter. This afternoon I snapped some photos as Cy’s group investigated their enrichment.

Dora in the chute:

Gordo:

Rayne:

Cy in particular enjoys the gift of peanut butter magazines because it really expands his collection of browsing material:

Bonus! Negra in snuggle mode this morning:

 

National Burrito Day!

by

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!

Easter Eve

by

It’s Easter Eve and just like so many of you probably are, we’re busy filling and dying eggs, prepping baskets and finalizing the menu for tomorrow’s festivities:

Meanwhile, it seems that the chimpanzees are without a care in the world and are busy soaking up the warm spring sun on this glorious day.

Exhibit A: Foxie and her shortcake doll

It’s not all lounging with dolls though, supervising the humans is an important duty that still needs to get done. This morning, Burrito and Jamie kept a close eye on Facilities Technician Jake as he did some work in Playroom 1.

Whether you’re prepping, working, supervising or just lounging today, wishing you all a beautiful holiday weekend!