Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
This morning, as usual and despite the cold temps, Jamie was eager to take a walk. I got a boot and proceeded to walk up the hill to meet her (me on the other side of the fence, of course). At first I couldn’t find her, then I spotted her on one of the climbing structures. She was too distracted by her task to take the walk, so I went back and grabbed the camera instead.
I’m trying something new here and embedding a video posted on Facebook. Let me know what you think!
This thanking business is so much fun!
Today we are sending loud, boisterous chimpanzee-style pant hoot thanks to all of the foundations and organizations who have supported the sanctuary with grants.
The sanctuary does not receive any government support. While the majority of cash donations to the sanctuary come from individuals, we have also been fortunate to have received private grants from some really incredible organizations and foundations.
Sometimes these grants are for specific projects, such as the National Anti-Vivisection Society grant earlier this year that helped pay for the back-up generator for the chimp house (along with a donation from the Youngs), the ASPCA grant that paid for the wildfire sprinkler system, and a Yakama Cares grant that paid for essentials (namely the rental of the port-o-potty!) for our Summer Visitor program.
Often, grants are for general operating expenses. It’s difficult to express how affirming it is to receive grants, knowing that the granting organization has a limited amount of funds to distribute. Receiving grants for general operating funds can be particularly affirming because the grantor acknowledges the importance of the day to day care of the chimpanzees and the costs involved in operating the sanctuary.
Grants, just like donations from individuals, impart a responsibility on us to use the gift effectively and in partnership with the grantor.
We are very proud to have received, in the last year and a half, tens of thousands of dollars towards general operating funds from the American Anti-Vivisection Society, the Summerlee Foundation, the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, the Tony Stewart Foundation, and grants from two foundations that are in the process of closing down. Earlier this year we were also incredibly excited to receive a grant from Bob Barker’s DJ&T Foundation.
All of these granting organizations support other amazing nonprofits, and we are so thrilled to be a part of their good works.
Just like individual donations, the chimpanzees have truly benefited from these gifts. It is difficult to imagine their lives of desperation before coming to the sanctuary, and there are not thanks enough in the world to express to those who have not only helped get the chimpanzees out of that situation, but who continue to support their new leases on life that allow them to be…
goofy like Burrito
relaxed like Jody:
and serene like Annie:
Yesterday, J.B. introduced you to our Seven Days of Thanks by posting about the dedicated, full-of-heart staff caregivers that give so much every day to the chimpanzees.
Today, I would like to shout from the highest mountain a thank you to the founder of the sanctuary, Keith LaChappelle, all past board members, and our current board of directors.
There would certainly be no Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest without the vision, foresight, commitment, and determination that Keith and the founding board harnessed to start this organization from scratch – taking it from an idea to help chimpanzees in need to a physical sanctuary that has cared for seven of the greatest primates I know for the last six and a half years.
J.B. and Keith during construction of the chimpanzees first outdoor area (what is now the greenhouse):
Negra and Keith:
Keith and his friend Nick, helping with the sprinkler system installation this summer:
There are a lot of people who have the desire to start a sanctuary, but only a fraction of them see their dream become a reality. Starting a sanctuary is not easy in any respect, and it takes a profound amount of work in so many disparate areas to be successful.
Keith officially founded Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in 2003 by bringing together people with varied expertise and the shared desire to make a difference and personally purchasing the sanctuary property to lease to the organization. Ground breaking for the sanctuary began soon after, but it wasn’t until 2007 that the future inhabitants, the seven chimpanzees we all love so much now, were identified.
There have been many incredible people involved in the important work of leading the strategy of the organization as members of the board of directors over the last eleven years, making critical and sometimes difficult decisions. Board members are often the unseen and unsung heroes of nonprofits, carrying the huge responsibility of the organization’s health and vision.
We recently had our annual board retreat, which renewed my admiration for our current and past board members. Having a team of people focused on the same mission, with the same goals for the future, is essential and also inspiring.
Thanks to our retreat facilitator Susan Howlett for the above photo that looks staged – we really were all concentrating that hard!
The best way to show the impact of the work of Keith and all board members who have carried the organization from it’s idea phase to today is to show how far we’ve come.
Below are a few shots of the different phases of the sanctuary over the years:
And here is the very first photo that I put on our website after the chimpanzees arrived on June 13, 2008 – a photo of Negra:
Negra in the same spot this morning:
These photos of Negra reminded me to let you all know that sculptures of Negra via artist Jason Shanaman are available as part of our eight ways to celebrate the holidays! Check out Holiday Central for more info.
We have said it before – and I’ll say it again now – no one, whether human or chimpanzee, can bring out the goofiness in Jamie like Foxie can. This video is a must-see if you need a little boost to your day.
And here’s that chimpanzee pretzel photo:
Back in August, I posted some photos taken by winners of the photography experience at the sanctuary that was a popular item at our HOOT! gala. So popular, that we gave it away twice to the top two bidders. A few weeks ago, the second pair of bidders came to have their experience.
I’m very happy to say that a couple of their photos will be featured in our 2015 calendar! The calendar is done, I’m just (anxiously) awaiting a proof so I can list it for sale in our Zazzle store. If all is well with the proof, you’ll be able to buy the calendar starting Tuesday.
Big big thanks to Dean Rutz and Karen Ducey, the professional photographers who gave their time and lent equipment for this incredible experience!
It was very difficult to choose among the amazing photos, but below are a few of my personal favorites.
Jamie taken by Liz:
What a shot! Jamie seemingly flying, taken by Connie
Jody with a bountiful breakfast, taken by Connie:
This one of Connie’s I also really like because we don’t have many photos of Foxie and Negra together:
And here’s another one by Liz of Negra with “Negra light“:
Thanks Connie and Liz for bidding on the Photography experience and to Karen and Dean for making it happen and giving such great instruction to these professional photographers in the making!
This might be a good time to mention that we are in need of a hard drive for our chimp house computer. Our automatic back-ups stopped working, which means all of the photos taken in the last couple of weeks haven’t been backed up yet. I added a hard drive to our wishlist if there’s someone out there who would like to help us out! It’s on sale right now through Amazon Prime. Thanks for taking a look!
This morning I was contemplating how we as humans view chimpanzees and how my own views of chimpanzees have changed after getting to know many different personalities. And then I got to the computer and saw these photos that J.B. had taken this morning while strolling with Jamie and Missy.
I know most of you reading this already know how seriously we take safety, but for those who might be reading for the first time, I like to make sure it’s clear that J.B. was safely on the outside of the double electric fence when he took these photos.
No fence, however, prevents us from taking part in the lives of the chimpanzees – Jamie insists on her human caregivers joining in her strolls. And Missy sometimes comes along for the exercise, fun, and companionship too.
Today, Missy got an extra surprise – Jamie’s Halloween / birthday bag that was left at the top of the hill yesterday (see the Jamieween video for reference).
After taking a look in the bag, I’m guessing Missy ran down the hill at breakneck speed – not because of what she saw, but because this is what she likes to do. She sometimes joins Jamie in strolling down the perimeter, but Missy’s speed is usually on “fast,” and she really enjoys running down from the very top of the hill, leaving us slower folks in her dust.
Jamie, on the other hand, makes sure that her human walking partner is keeping up:
Walking around the hill is perhaps Jamie’s greatest pleasure. This is the face of contentment:
Many people, when first learning about chimpanzees, are in awe of how similar they are to humans. And, in fact, many behavioral researchers have spent years comparing chimpanzees to humans in so many ways – language ability, counting prowess, puzzle-solving, teamwork, etc, etc, etc. I think this is what first interested me in non-human great apes. And it still does. It’s remarkable to see Jamie communicating her desires with her human caregivers using gestures, using a (plastic) screwdriver, drawing with a ball point pen, playing with an iPad, and many other activities that she enjoys. And their similarities don’t end on the individual level – observing the social interactions of chimpanzees often really does resemble watching a human reality show – strong personalities and lots of drama.
But what I like most about chimpanzees now, and I think what more and more people are being drawn towards, is their chimpanzee-ness. It’s true that they are so like us, and we, in turn, are so like them, but what they are even more like is themselves, and that’s what makes them fascinating, wonderful, and deserving of protection.
It’s hard to remember, but the space that we now call the greenhouse used to be the chimpanzees’ only outdoor area.
Karen and Don Young visited in 2009, and we conceived the idea of encasing the caging in removable polycarbonate panels so that the chimpanzees could enjoy this space year round! The Youngs kicked off donations for this project and we raised the rest of the greenhouse funds at our 2009 auction.
Construction began in late 2009 and early 2010 (because what better time to embark on a construction project than winter?!). Those were some cold construction days, as Jim Spencer I’m sure still remembers.
The result for the chimpanzees was so worth it! The greenhouse is their favorite area year round.
When the weather starts to warm up in the spring, J.B. removes some of the panels, leaving the roof, so the chimpanzees enjoy their summer lounging in an indoor-outdoor space.
Then, around this time of year (today, for example), J.B. buttons up the greenhouse for the winter, so the chimpanzees can enjoy the cooler months in the protected area that heats up with the rays of the sun, or, in the case of today, keeps out the rain.
Today, Jamie enjoyed nesting and napping up high on the platform today, where it’s warmest, as it poured and blew outside:
And, of course, she also ventured onto Young’s Hill during breaks in the rain.
