Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Diana

More beautiful photos of the Cle Elum Seven

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Can you believe how beautiful these chimpanzees are? Imagine how great they will look once they have soaked in the sun, their hair has filled out, and their muscles are stronger. They are a remarkably calm group and they are adjusting so well to their new environment – as though they’ve been here for months.The window which looks down the driveway is definitely the current favored spot by all, and the mural painting that volunteer Julie Nealey of Posh Pallette designed and volunteer Kim Michaels painted just a couple of weeks ago makes an incredible backdrop for these photo portraits of our new friends. Scroll over the photos to see the names of the chimpanzees.

Annie and Negra

Negra looking serene

Jamie

Jody

Foxie

Missy (eating oatmeal) and Burrito

Serving dinner now

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I know you all are anxiously awaiting photos – and I promise to post some more tonight. Right now J.B. and Keith are serving dinner, and I’m in the kitchen listening to very content sounds as J.B. gives out fresh peppers, carrots and apples. I’m preparing oatmeal – the Cle Elum Seven’s first cooked meal in their new home! Diana 

Cle Elum Seven home at last!

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All seven chimpanzees, now to be known as the Cle Elum Seven, are safe in their new sanctuary home! The transfer went incredibly smoothly and the chimpanzees are very calm and clearly happy to be here. Negra, Burrito, Missy, Annie, and Jamie have been taking turns looking out the window (Negra seems to dominate that space). They’ve been playing with each other and eating the fresh fruit that was donated this morning. You might see the chimpanzees on King 5 or Komo 4 tonight if you’re in Seattle or KAPP 35 in Yakima! And the story of their arrival will be showing up in various newspapers too. This photo, though, says it all.

Negra’s first view out of a window

Housewarming, Four Day Countdown, Bizarre News?

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Gifts for the ChimpanzeesThanks so much to everyone who came to the Housewarming event on Saturday. We had a great turn-out and the chimpanzees received so much wonderful enrichment! I was overwhelmed by the well-wishes from the community, and it was great to celebrate with some who have been involved with the sanctuary since it was just an idea.

I heard from J.B. earlier today – he and Keith are at Buckshire and spent some time with the chimpanzees this afternoon. J.B. said all of the chimpanzees were in good spirits overall (he made sure to tell me how great Negra is, and how much she is going to enjoy her new home at the sanctuary). Everyone is eager to get the journey started! I’ll keep you all updated as I hear more – they will be leaving early in the morning tomorrow.

We’ve been getting some press lately, and this is my favorite – it’s categorized as “bizarre news”: ABC 12 story.

Seems pretty normal to me to be rescuing chimpanzees…

Diana

Visualizing Chimpanzees

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J.B. and I are now in Washington having finally moved from New York State. After five days of driving, we were both really anxious to see the chimp house as soon as we got here.  For the first time, I could really see the chimpanzees in the building. Before I could imagine it in a theoretical kind of way, but now that their house is getting closer to completion, I could actually see Negra in front of the window on the loft, and I could see Burrito swinging from a firehose attached to the wide bridge that now spans the playroom. And I could see Jody walking out of the building to the outdoor area for the first time.

Keith and the solid and incredible group of volunteers who have helped create this building from scratch have put so much thought into it and have labored so hard, and I could finally see the chimpanzees appreciating all of that work.  The Buckshire Seven arrive in 28 days. It’s hard to believe that in less than one month all of these images that I saw in my mind will be a reality! It will be so great to fill the website with photos and videos of the chimpanzees and be able to tell stories about them everyday. Stay tuned – it’s only a short wait now.

Diana