Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Sarah

Donnie’s Day

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Today we’re remembering and celebrating a special person on what would have been his 62nd birthday: Donnie Pfeiffer. Donnie was the brother of one of Foxie’s most dedicated supporters, Karen Young. Since Donnie was an archaeologist, we created a special “dig site” for the chimps to celebrate his birthday. We put fresh straw in the outdoor enclosure and scattered treats so that the chimps would have to hunt for them. For more fine-tuned digging, we also put out raisin boards and big blocks of ice with cranberries, raisins, and apples frozen inside. Jamie and Missy have been working on excavating the cranberries all day. Donnie also founded the Vermont Wooden Game Company, so we gave the chimps lots of wooden toys today too. Among other things Donnie was a world adventurer, a free spirit, an animal lover, a decorated veteran, and a very dedicated brother, son, and father (to his three pups!). Happy Birthday Donnie!

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Sad news from the chimp world

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It looks like there’s been another chimp tragedy this week. There’s no such thing as a “pet” chimp. They simply do not belong in unqualified facilities, and this sort of heartbreak will keep happening until there is no more breeding  of captive chimps into this cruel trade.

Jamie’s dexterity

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Jamie LOVES it when we give her a ball point pen. I love her pen ritual – it’s as though she needs to collect a certain shopping list of things before she can begin writing. You can almost see her planning in her head. She’ll take the pen, pause while she scans the play room, and then walk around to collect what she needs. Sometimes it’s a blanket, or a stool, and a certain toy. Today she needed a blanket, an address book, and a scarf with a troll doll attached. There’s been so much talk about how strong chimps can be – but think about the gentle, fine movements required to draw with a pen!

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Negra rockin’ out

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Ok, so I am officially a dunce with regard to lighting videos. Apparently when shooting straight into the bright sunlight, everything else gets dark. Who knew?! But this is such a cool video of Negra, I thought I’d post it anyway. Negra loves to watch us dance for her. When we do, she bobs her head along. This video is of her watching JB dance – to Bruce Springsteen of course!

Get your name in paint

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