Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Volunteers always tell us that watching the chimps enjoy their meals makes them want to eat healthier. Would you try the Chimp Diet? For the Cle Elum Seven, that means mostly whole fruits and vegetables, unprocessed nuts and seeds, and fresh edible weeds like prickly lettuce and dandelions. Oh, and if you’re Negra, the occasional wild frog…
Watch (and listen!) to Negra enjoying her celery, cucumber and sweet potato lunch (don’t worry, no frogs in this video).
Missy and Annie were having a quiet grooming session this morning but they just could help themselves and before long Annie was playfully biting Missy’s toes.
People often mistake the white hair around a chimpanzee’s mouth and chin for a sign of old age. This “beard”, however, is part of a chimpanzee’s normal coloration and is generally present at birth.
But many chimpanzees do go gray as they get older. Over the last ten years, we’ve watched Foxie’s patches of gray hair proliferate into a “salt and pepper” look, most notably on her arms.
As my own gray hairs have also begun to proliferate, I prefer to think of it as a distinguished look.
Everyone has a role to play when a snake is discovered on the hill. Watch this video to see how the gang dealt with today’s intruder.
Featuring:
Annie as THE SPOTTER
Jamie and Foxie as THE HUNTERS
Burrito and Missy as EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
Jody as JUST OUT FOR A SNACK
Negra as SLEPT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING
and The Snake as THE SNAKE THAT GOT AWAY
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s Bring Them Home expansion project officially got underway this morning.
A few years ago, we launched a campaign to expand our chimpanzee facility so that we could take in more chimpanzees in need. We knew it would be an ambitious project for an organization our size; what we didn’t expect, however, was all of the twists and turns that we’d experience along the way.
As we began to develop plans for the new addition, we were surprised to learn from the DOT that we’d be required to build a new driveway before we could get a permit for the building. We needed to find a suitable location to connect to the state highway and the options on our existing property, located on a long curve in the road, were limited. As fortune would have it, a neighboring property with an approved access location came up for sale, so we purchased it and made plans to install a driveway connecting the two properties. To get a permit to build that connecting driveway, we had to conduct a months-long environmental study. Given how eager we are to build for more chimps, each of these delays felt like an eternity. But at last we are underway.
This morning, Gordy Margullis of Gordon’s Dozing and Backhoe Service came over bright and early from Renton, WA to donate his time and equipment to build the nearly 1/4-mile-long connecting driveway. We are so incredibly grateful to Gordy for helping us with this project – he even took it upon himself to get other businesses to donate towards the cost of the gravel!. Our thanks also go out to Darci, who found out about our driveway project during a donor visit last summer and told her animal-loving employer, Gordy, about our situation.
Ellie supervising:
Connecting the new with the old, with Young’s Hill and the chimps’ Twister structure in the background behind the old barn:
It always helps with donors when your resident elk knows how to turn on the charm:
Next we will have to rip up the asphalt on part of the neighboring driveway and regrade it so that it’s not so steep (to meet code). Luckily we have another generous contractor lined up to help with some of that project and reduce the cost as much as we can.
The driveway is a costly and time-consuming project that we had not anticipated when we set out to expand the chimp house. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the sanctuary’s incredible friend Vicki Fagerlee and to the many donors from last summer’s Summer Biddin’ online auction who stepped up to help us cover the costs of this first part of the project. Because of them, and because Gordy and others have helped keep those costs as low as possible, we can put more of our resources towards the expansion and, ultimately, getting more chimps to sanctuary.
Speaking of the expansion, we are scheduled to begin construction on July 16! Due to the cost of the project, we have broken it into phases. The first phase will add a foyer, a permanent veterinary clinic with a recovery enclosure, a new bathroom, a new laundry/enrichment room, and two small indoor chimp enclosures to aid in quarantine and introductions. Phase 1 will immediately improve our ability to care for the Cle Elum 7 and create a better working environment for our staff and volunteers. It would also allow us to take in a very small number of chimpanzees to integrate into our current group, but only under certain conditions (depending on the number of chimps in the group, their ages, etc.), so there’s no guarantee that this would happen right away. However, we plan to continue as quickly as possible with Phase 2 (a new playroom) and Phase 3 (a new greenhouse) so that we can have space to integrate and care for a new social group.
For those of you with excellent eyesight, here’s a look at what the floor plan will look like after all three phases are complete:
Tomorrow we’ll be holding a ceremonial groundbreaking to commemorate this momentous occasion!
As you may have read on the blog, the chimps recently encountered a snake in one of the bamboo groves. The snake was clearly still on their minds on they ventured out onto the hill this morning.
They had all night to think about how scary it was and to dwell on the fact that it had eluded capture. It could still be out there.
Jamie immediately led a patrol to the area where the snake was last seen.
Foxie, Missy, Annie, Burrito, and Jody all followed but began to peel off one by one as the approached the bamboo grove.
It would be up to Jamie. Alone but undeterred, she climbed onto a structure to scan the grass for any sign of the intruder.
She moved from one vantage point to the next without setting foot on the ground below.
She watched patiently from the safety of her fire hose perch.
She searched for any sign of movement in the grass.
For all she knew, it could be right underneath her.
At last, she gave the all clear. But that didn’t mean that she was going to push her luck. There are plenty of other places to hang out besides that particular bamboo grove.
Which may very well still be hiding a snake.
Foxie is funny when it comes to climbing structures. While the other chimps enjoy shaky bridges, rope nets, and fire hose hammocks, Foxie tries her best not to set foot on anything that isn’t completely solid and firmly attached. One time I watched her rescue a troll doll that was laying in a fire hose hammock by hanging on the ceiling above the hammock and stretching all the way out to grab it with the tips of her toes. She may love her dolls, but she wasn’t about to risk setting foot in a hammock to get to one.
Whenever she tries a new structure, she makes sure to give it a few taps with her doll first, and then she stomps her way across it to assess its integrity. The newest structure on Young’s Hill (built last month) seems to meet her specifications. It’s become one of her go-to spots during her post-breakfast walkabout. I think she may appreciate the view from Young’s Hill more than anyone, and now she has a new, very stable place to enjoy it from.
