Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Debbie

Perspective

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It’s hard to get photos of several chimps in one frame out on the hill. Typically they are foraging or exploring on their own or in pairs, but getting four, five, or six chimps in one frame is pretty rare. It seems this morning, JB was able to capture these rare moments when all but Negra were out on the hill checking out a helicopter flying overhead. They had a good perspective from where they were, I think. And since these aren’t close ups of the chimps, it gives you a new perspective as well.

Annie, Missy, Jody, and Foxie:

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Foxie, Jamie, Missy, Annie, Jody, and Burrito:

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I like this series a lot because both Jamie on ground and Missy (just above Jamie) are climbing up posts simultaneously. (Foxie is up top and Annie is on the bridge).

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Missy taking in the view

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This morning we put a forage out on the hill, which Missy snacked on for a bit, but then she took off running to a high spot. We don’t typically put forage past the structures, so I don’t think Missy was scouting for more food. She was just taking in the view.

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Foxie and the bottled water

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A couple of years ago, we had tons of bottled water after the fire which ended up being great enrichment for the chimps. This week, our water pressure was a little low (it’s fixed now!) so we handed out some bottled water just to make sure everyone had plenty to drink. Of course they were very happy to have something different!

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Portraits, then and now

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Humans, like chimpanzees, are very visually oriented. I think one of the most powerful ways we can show people how important sanctuary is, is by showing the “before and after” comparisons.

After decades in research, the chimps looked like ghosts of themselves. For some of them, coming to CSNW was the first time they’d ever been outside and felt fresh air and sunshine.

In just a few months, we saw dramatic changes in their appearance. Their hair and skin darkened and they began to look (and I imagine, feel) much more healthy. As our sixth anniversary approaches (next week!) I like to look back and see how far they’ve come in six years of sanctuary.

Yesterday’s post of Burrito looking especially handsome reminded me of that same spot we took many of the “before” photos in. There’s a window right by that bench, so for their first few days here, they would sit and look out the window at the surroundings of their new home. I can’t imagine what they must have been thinking—the fear of the unknown. We know that now they have nothing to be afraid of, and everything to look forward to.

I love showing people those first photos of the chimps compared to them now out on Young’s Hill, surrounded by beautiful grass, with the sun on their backs and the view of the valley below. This time, however, I want to show a more direct comparison—the chimps sitting in the same exact spot as they did the first couple days they were here. Most if not all of the “after” photos have been posted before on the blog, but I thought it’d be nice to see them all together.

Annie before:
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Annie now:

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Burrito before:

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Burrito now:

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Foxie before:

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Foxie now:

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Jamie before:

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Jamie now:

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Jody before:

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Jody now:

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Negra before:

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Negra now:

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Negra looking at camera with night bag

We haven’t gotten a portrait of Missy in the same spot as the others, perhaps because she is always on the move. 🙂

Streamer day

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Every day we like to provide the chimpanzees with different enrichment themes to make their day interesting. We also love to throw parties for any occasion! We even have a storage bin of extra party supplies, which has collected a lot of surplus streamer rolls lately. So today we decided to call “Streamer Day,” and Elizabeth, volunteer Sandra, and I made an intricate maze of streamers in the greenhouse this morning.

You may recall this video of Burrito really enjoying the streamers for our Seahawks party—so we were hoping today’s theme would be a big hit.

I think that our streamer maze was a success overall! Missy built a pretty great nest with some of the streamers:

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and even Foxie (who doesn’t usually build nests) started to make a streamer nest, too!

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Some of the chimpanzees really like to wadge the streamers. I personally am not an expert on streamer taste, but perhaps each color is different—Jody was interested in tasting each flavor of this Neapolitan-esque streamer:

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Jody also un-characteristically swung on a firehose up to one of the windows in the greenhouse (she’s not usually that agile).

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This isn’t a great photo of Annie, but really shows how awesome our streamer maze was:

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Foxie is still hanging on to French Dora, who now has also lost her shirt in addition to the pants and beret she lost yesterday.

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How time flies

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I was just telling JB yesterday, I can’t believe it is just two weeks away from our six year anniversary! Wow. How is it almost half-way through 2014 already? Well the saying rings true here at the sanctuary—how time flies when you’re having fun. 🙂

Perhaps it’s on my mind because we’re going to start doing 100 Happy Days next week, but I’ve been thinking about all the really great memories from the last six years! I’m curious what YOUR favorite happy moments are. Comment here with your most favorite memory (and if you have it bookmarked already, give us the link to the blog post about it, so new readers can look back with us!)

Here’s some photos I found from this month that hadn’t been posted before, of the seven amazing chimpanzees we’ve had the pleasure of caring for during the last six years.

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I’m looking forward to hearing what your favorite happy moments are!