Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Debbie

See you tonight!

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Tonight is the Out of the Box gala auction! This is going to be a phenomenal event with so many different things to bid on. There’s going to be a multitude of items in the silent auction, including impressive and beautiful handmade art pieces, great deals on local restaurants and other businesses, and amazing wine packages. The live auction features tons of fun getaways and even a private tour of the sanctuary. Buy a raffle ticket to get a chance to win a live auction item of your choice! You can also contribute by adopting a caregiver, and help sustain the sanctuary’s operating costs at the Do it Now board. I’m really excited and hope you are too!

This year’s Fund-a-Need item is probably our most important item yet. We want to open an on-site medical clinic, so that in case the chimps need medical care, they will get to wake up next to family. Do it for Negra!

And don’t forget about the online auction, which opened up for bidding this morning! It will just go until Sunday, so hurry up and place your bids quick! This is a great way for long-distance supporters to take part in the Out of the Box auction. (And for local attendees, too—there’s items available online that won’t be available tonight!)

Negra on Young's Hill

Jody’s exploring

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If you checked the blog a couple days ago, you’ll know that Jody and Foxie are making some big steps toward finding their place out on Young’s Hill. Well, as I mentioned on her Facebook page, yesterday Jody decided to start exploring all on her own! She even skipped lunch entirely to check out nearly every inch of the enclosure.

When I think about how the chimps must feel about the open space we’ve given them, I imagine they must feel so many different emotions—joy, excitement, fear, anxiety, curiosity, and so many more I’m sure. After living behind steel bars for over 3 decades, it’s fairly overwhelming to step out into grass and open sky.

I was in front of the tunnel yesterday (while cleaning Young’s Hill to get it ready for the chimps) and I was able to see how things are from their perspective. Although Young’s Hill is an enclosure, when you first leave the tunnel it does not feel that way.

Jody was captured from Africa and put into a cage, so it’s really awesome and inspiring to see her gain the confidence to step out into the unknown.

Sometimes you need a little push

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We know that some of the chimps seem completely comfortable with Young’s Hill, especially Missy, as well as Jamie. Annie has gotten more brave with help from Missy, and Burrito and Negra have ventured out for a little bit, too. Jody and Foxie are more hesitant and have only been a few feet past the raceway tunnel. Today, Jamie encouraged both of them to come out further and even hugged Foxie and guided her along.

First few days out

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I know all our regular blog readers have been waiting to see some more video of the chimps out on Young’s Hill. If you haven’t yet, watch this video from KOMO News that shows their first moments out (but have some tissue close by!) This montage is of highlights from the following days. Enjoy!

Laughing

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As many of our regular blog readers know, Annie is coming out of her shell more and more. We’ve seen her become more confident and play with chimps other than Missy. Foxie seems to be someone she likes to play with, and the other day I caught them in an intense wrestling match. Their laughter was amazing! It really makes me smile so much when I think about how much Annie and the other chimps have all changed since their arrival to the sanctuary over 3 years ago. I can’t wait to see what other changes we might see in the chimps’ personalities after Young’s Hill opens!

Speaking of the ever-changing chimps, in this clip, you’ll see Annie and Foxie playing with Foxie’s new doll that I mentioned on her Facebook page. This is not a troll doll, and although it resembles a troll, it’s still great to see her expanding her usual very narrow focus on “enrichment objects worth interacting with.” As seen in this blog from just a few days ago, Foxie is well on her way to making nests with blankets! Like I said above, it’s amazing to see how the chimps have all changed and keep on changing.

 

 

Negra’s style of play

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Negra plays slower and less frequent than the other chimps. Missy and Foxie are very playful and active, but they slow down to Negra’s speed when she decides to engage in play with them.