Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Diana

Diana’s Birthday Wish

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Today is my birthday! My birthday wish is for the newly integrated group of nine chimpanzees at the sanctuary to blossom into a stable family that includes new friendships as they watch the construction of outdoor habitats that are are being built just for them right now.

If you’d like to contribute towards this wish, at least the building of the habitats part (as for the stable group and new friendships, we will all just have to cross our fingers), consider investing in future adventures by making a donation on my and Monica’s GiveBIG page.

A pant-hoot thank you in advance and to those who have already made a donation!

In Memory of Steve Ross

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Last week, the non-human primate community received the sad news that Dr. Steve Ross had suddenly passed away.

Steve was the director of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes and the board chair of Chimp Haven for more than a decade. As a primatologist who was unabashedly focused on chimpanzees, he bridged the primate zoo, sanctuary, and observational/academic research communities in a way that no one else has, bringing everyone together to improve the welfare of chimpanzees.

Steve was the brainchild and leader behind an ambitious project to identify every captive chimpanzee in the United States and keep this information public and regularly updated as part of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCare.

He aided in the rehoming of many chimpanzees to zoos and sanctuaries from undesirable situations including chimpanzees within the entertainment industry and in private ownership. His loss is a huge blow to chimpanzee advocacy and a personal loss for countless people who were influenced by his academic and professional work and his passion, including many students who considered him a mentor. It is no exaggeration to say that anytime any question came up regarding a chimpanzee in captivity, I would immediately think to ask Steve.

Steve visited Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on several occasions over the years, including a visit that coincided with a speaking engagement at Central Washington University in 2017 that I mentioned on the blog. He was a source of support to us during both difficult and joyful times at the sanctuary.

Not surprisingly, Steve was a member of Burrito’s unofficial fan club.

I thought about him often yesterday as I was watching the newly integrated groups of chimpanzees interact. I have been working alongside Steve on the placement committee for the Chimpanzees in Need campaign to find homes for all of the Wildlife Waystation chimpanzees, and we had exchanged impressions and updates over the last year about various chimpanzees we had met and fallen in love with at Wildlife Waystation.  If he had been alive, I would have texted him the good news of the integration. I have no doubt he would have responded with enthusiastic words of encouragement, and that it would have been among dozens of encouraging texts and emails he sent to others that day.

We are so saddened by his loss, and our hearts go out to those he was closest to in this world. His legacy is large and far-reaching and he leaves behind an immeasurable void.

Steve Ross @Lincoln Park Zoo

Love a Chimpanzee Day 2022

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Today was a Love a Chimpanzee Day for the books! Not only did Monica continue her tradition of generosity by paying for party supplies (including a bunch of stuff like scarves and giant stuffed animals that are not pictured here, but the Primate Awareness Network at Central Washington University also got involved and planned the party! It was bug themed and the food for the day included bugs on a log (celery with peanut butter and berries), whole sweet potatoes, watermelon radishes, kale, bok choy, and Swiss chard.

We didn’t get a lot of photos of all of the elements of the parties because the chimpanzees were a blur of excitement, but Kelsi and Anna got some great photos of the chimpanzees. There were so many, I had a difficult time selecting only a few.

Thank you to those who have already donated on my and Monica’s GiveBIG fundraising page in celebration of Love a Chimpanzee Day. Monica’s matching donation is live, so your donations will be doubled.

Huge hugs of thanks to Monica, and Happy Love a Chimpanzee Day to everyone!

 

Gordo enjoying Swiss Chard:

 

Terry enjoying bok choy:

 

 

Beautiful Rayne:

 

Some set-up shots of creative party elements that the Primate Awarness Network made for the chimps:

 

Negra digging into a box and later eating some greens on the hill:

 

 

Willy B with the big party banner:

 

Missy slack-lining and carrying sweet potatoes:

 

Burrito with a watermelon radish and bok choy then “hanging out”:

 

Annie with some kale:

 

Jamie was the first on the hill and collected as much bok choy as she could:

 

A goodnight photo of Mave grooming Honey B while Honey B was in her nest:

Outdoor Habitat Expansion

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We are pretty darn excited about the expansion projects underway at the sanctuary! I predict Jamie is going to LOVE her new patrol routine.

Learn more about all that’s happened the last two years and the future/current projects on the Future of CSNW page on our website.

Construction costs have gone way up, so if you have the ability to donate, we would really appreciate it!

In addition to all of the various ways you can contribute every day, there will be a few special opportunities throughout the year, including the upcoming GiveBig and the in-person HOOT! fundraising fête in September. Reach out if you want to talk to me about donation and sponsorship opportunities.

Cy Solves a Fire Hose Puzzle

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Cy has been trying out different ways of retrieving the walnuts out of the fire hose knot puzzles over the last few months. The last few times that I’ve been in the chimp house when Cy’s group has gotten fire hose knots, I’ve seen him chew the nut while it’s was still in the fire hose, then suck on the fire hose, I suppose getting some essence of walnut out of that process.

Last night, however, I was lucky enough to get this video of Cy’s new, and more fruitful, method of getting that sweet, sweet walnut reward.

a little bit about Fantastic Ms. Foxie

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It was recently brought to my attention that we haven’t had a lot of blog posts about Foxie lately. So, I wanted to let everyone know that Foxie is as fantastic as ever.

I did try to get some photos of her today, but I only got a couple of mediocre ones with my phone as Foxie anticipated and then ate the avocado that Sofía served at dinner:

There’s virtually no where you can go on Foxie’s side of the chimp house without seeing signs of her. Here’s a few photos of Foxie calling cards that I took tonight while spot-cleaning the loft:

I remember several years ago remarking on Foxie’s suddenly gray hair on her arms, which was an undeniable sign of her getting older.

Just last week, however, Foxie did a full flip from a standing position while playing with me. That old lady still has a lot of energy and is way more fit than I am!

Here’s a selection of Foxie photos from the past:

This photo of Foxie:

taken by Katelyn, was the inspiration for this year’s HOOT! graphic, created by loyal blog-reader, Foxie fan, and graphic designer, Kathleen Corby:

It’s true – we are planning an in-person HOOT! fundraising fête this year on September 16th. Stay tuned for more details.

Thank you to everyone who loves Foxie. She is one-of-a-kind and has a way of stealing our hearts every day.

Happy 32nd Birthday, Cy!

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It’s Cy’s 32nd birthday!

His group arrived less than a year ago, so it’s the first birthday that he has celebrated at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Birthday Fairy Paulette Wrisley helped to make Cy’s celebration even more special by sponsoring a day of sanctuary in his honor. Thank you for remembering so many birthdays, Paulette!

Cy had a fabulous birthday today that included a library theme. Big thanks to Carpenter Memorial Library in Cle Elum for not only donating magazines and books to add to the celebration, but also for giving Cy an honorary library card!

Katelyn coined the term “magazineworm” to describe Cy, and he was certainly happy to have his passion recognized on his birthday:

Enjoy these close-up photos of Cy that Kelsi took during some quiet time today:

No celebration at the sanctuary is complete without a feast. On the lunch menu today were cherry tomatoes and lettuce as a forage and corn (a Cy favorite!) plus giant spring onions and passion fruit.

Jamie was the only chimpanzee out of the sixteen who demonstrated a passion for the passion fruit right away.

All of the other chimpanzees seemed pretty skeptical of this new fruit, but we did see Rayne and Dora collecting the discarded ones later.

Speaking of Rayne and Dora, Rayne really took to this Farmer’s Market book:

And here are some bonus photos of Dora close up, with different color tones: