Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Diana

Rainstorm bravery

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It hadn’t really occurred to me before today, but it hasn’t rained in any significant way since the chimpanzees arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Today it poured.

When J.B. and I heard the playroom erupt in alarm barks, we realized the chimps may have never seen a rainstorm before! We went into the human area and saw the chimpanzees intently staring out the windows upstairs. When the rain started to slow down, some brave chimpanzees began to approach the doorway to the outdoor area.

Missy seemed most curious…

Missy standing in doorway

Annie followed Missy’s lead…

Annie sitting in doorway

It was Jamie who finally ventured outside…

Jamie right before going outside after rain

She immediately came back in to dry her hands…

Jamie drying her hands

And the rest of her…

Jamie putting cloth over head

What a great new experience for everyone!! Missy also took a couple of steps outside. Jamie went back out, wearing the cloth over her head, and Annie remained content sitting in the doorway. The other chimpanzees looked out the windows – maybe next time they’ll decide to go out too.

Sanctuary Fashion

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I was going through some photos last night and I started to pull out those that demonstrate the keen fashion sense of Jamie and Missy.

Here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we do give out clothing as part of the chimpanzees’ enrichment, and Missy and Jamie in particular occasionally choose to wear things that we give them. It is entirely their choice if they do. It saddens me to see “entertainment chimps” stuffed into uncomfortable clothing in order to produce a laugh for a commercial or a television show, so I hope you’ll recognize the difference and appreciate their own ideas of fashion!

Jamie wearing boa
Jamie wearing boa
Missy wearing sock, pulling blankets
Missy wearing sock, pulling blankets
Jamie lounging, wearing tie
Jamie lounging, wearing tie
Missy wearing tie and slinky
Missy wearing tie and slinky
Jamie wearing a bib she made out of a dishtowel
Jamie wearing a bib she made out of a dishtowel
Missy wearing tie
Missy wearing tie
Jamie wearing crossing guard vest
Jamie wearing crossing guard vest
Missy with sock on arm
Missy with sock on arm

Keith on the radio SUNDAY

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Keith will be on interviewed on Seattle’s 98.9 kwjz today at 4:30. He is appearing with our friend Yoram Bauman of Comedy Underground to talk about their non-profit comedy benefits and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s upcoming comedy night show on October 7th.

If you’re in the Seattle area and haven’t already RSVP’d for this event, please do so by adding your name to the Evite list. The current one-night record for funds raised at non-profit comedy night is $5,100, raised by Puget Sound Community School – I hope CSNW can make a new record for the Cle Elum Seven!

Update: Looks like the show will be taped and will actually air early Sunday morning on the Public Affairs program. I’ll provide more details as we have them.

Even if you can’t make the show, you can listen to Keith’s interview live on the radio or on kwjz’s website.

J.B. on the radio

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Right now! I meant to post this earlier, but messed it up. You should be able to access the archives soon. If you read this within the next few minutes, you’ll be able to catch the end of the interview. Link to Martha Norwalk’s Animal World: http://www.marthanorwalk.com/ and the link to the radio station is: http://www.newschannel1150.com/ (clicking on “listen live” will get you the live broadcast).

Update: to listen to the show, click on the marthanorwalk link above, then on “Visit the Animal World audio archive” J.B.’s interview is half way though Hour 3.

Changing Negra

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Many of you have noticed that I recently changed the image of Negra on the homepage of our website. The photo that was up there I had titled “Negra perfect” because I thought that she looked absolutely beautiful in that photo. I still think that she looks beautiful, but, seeing her now that she has more color in her face and her skin has firmed up and her eyes are filled with curiosity and alertness, I can see she is pretty far from perfect in that image. I’m not sure why this surprises me… she was the subject of biomedical research for decades and had been living in a windowless basement with no sun, fresh air, or mental stimulation. Three months later she looks almost like a different chimpanzee. See for yourself below.

Negra on Day one of sanctuary life
Negra on Day one of sanctuary life, June 13, 2008
Negra outside, Sept. 2008
Negra outside, Sept. 2008

New CSNW Forum!

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The Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest Forum is now live! Roslyn from Montreal has been kind enough to offer to help me administrate the forum/discussion board and she’ll be answering a lot of your technical and other questions from that site.

The forum is a place where people can more easily get to know each other and to talk with one another about the chimpanzees at CSNW and related topics – the CCC group asked for it, and we’ve delivered! I think it’s going to be a lot of fun! We’ve created several forum topics to begin with and will see if others seem to naturally develop as people use the board. You must first register to make posts – you’ll see how to do this once you go to the main page.

See you on the forum!! chimpsnw.org/forum

Diana

P.S. – Shelly K. is a moderator on the forum and will be helping with a few things including making sure the board rules are being followed (common sense stuff about being polite – please read the full rules on the forum) and moving messages to more appropriate topics, if need be.

Fall Play

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Today was the first day that actually felt fall-like. It was overcast, windy and chilly. I wondered if the chimpanzees would stay inside all day to avoid the cooler air. Here’s a video that answers that question. Annie is the first chimp in the video, Missy is wearing a sock on her left foot (she often puts on a sock or t-shirt when she’s feeling playful), and Jamie is wrestling with Missy under the structure. You can hear the wind in the camera’s mic.