Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Katelyn

The Birthday Tomato Queen

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Today we celebrated Missy’s 42nd birthday and the amazing chimp woman she is, so naturally we’ve been partying all day long!

If you know Missy, you know that she thinks tomatoes are the.best.thing.ever! So naturally, we bought more tomatoes than we thought one small chimp woman could possibly eat. $42 worth to be exact. Missy was beside herself when she saw them all this morning! These are of course meant to stretch out for a couple days (our plan, not hers), but we still served tomatoes with every meal. And she still thought it wasn’t enough.

We planned an indoor/outdoor forage brunch party with fresh fruits, veggies, and primate chow to compliment the tomatoes along with sparkling cider and pineapple coconut juice and everyone seemed pretty pleased with the festivities. Though I didn’t include a photo of her, Jamie was on the go drinking up all the juice.

Missy with a mouthful of cherry tomatoes:

Missy’s bestie, Annie, with a treat bag:

Negra with a mouthful of corn:

Missy on the go, foraging:

Burrito:

Jody:

We also scattered forage with lots of tomatoes on Young’s Hill with some special hothouse tomatoes still on the vine high up on the shaky bridge – a classic Missy spot – in the hopes she’d be the one to find them. Foxie is right up there with Missy as far as tomato connoisseurs go and they ended up being the only two who decided to venture onto the hill for the outdoor portion of the forage. They headed out together and played it cool so as not to attract the attention of the others.

Foxie found a whole tomato and quietly looked around to make sure no one was watching before popping the entire thing in her mouth. And you may not be able to see, but she’s rubbing her toes together which is Foxie speak for pure happiness and contentment:

Here she is hiding behind a post as she enjoys her secret tomatoes:

Missy searched high and low (and she did find the tomatoes on the vine!):

The Birthday Tomato Queen herself. We love you Miss! Happy Birthday and sweet tomato dreams. Rest up! There’s more tomatoes to eat tomorrow!

In honor of Martha Faulkner!

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Today we also celebrate another wonderful woman, Martha Faulkner! Sandra Clardy sponsored today in honor of her “wonderful sister, Martha.” Martha is such a kind and compassionate person. She is an avid supporter of her local communities and she dedicates herself to helping animals and humans find homes, create families and heal spirits. And it’s only fitting that we are so fortunate to have her as a member of our Board of Directors.

Sandra, thank you so much for honoring your sister, Martha, by contributing to the chimpanzees’ lives! We are so touched you would choose to celebrate her in this way.

Martha, we’re so grateful not only for all you do for the chimpanzees, but for all you do for the world around you. You make a difference in so many lives and we’re thrilled to celebrate the special soul you are. Have a wonderful day!

Your pals, Burrito and Jody:

Burrito and Jody with bamboo

Happy Birthday, Missy!

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We have two wonderful people to celebrate today! The first is Missy!! Unbelievably, Missy turns 42 today and naturally that means party in the chimp house! Ramona Isbell kindly sponsored this special day wishing Missy “a wonderful day with her playmates.”

Ramona, thank you so very much for thinking of Missy and wanting to celebrate her on her special day! It means so much to us all.

Missy. She’s a loyal, courageous, beautiful person and she’s got her friends’ backs no questions asked. She’s brave and daring and a bit of a thug. She is mother to Honey B and Josh (who reside at Wildlife Waystation in California), best friend to Annie, and trusted backup to boss lady, Jamie. She is an athlete extraordinaire and loves nothing more than spending her days zipping, zooming, swinging, tight-rope walking and tumbling around for the sheer joy of it and she thinks tomatoes are the.best.thing.ever. She never hesitates to use her “medical expertise” to doctor her families or her own wounds and she sometimes puts on socks when she’s ready for some serious games. Despite all she’s been through and endured, Missy is the kind of person who opens the door to life and runs toward it, arms open. And when I watch her my heart is zooming right alongside her, I love her so.

Beloved Missy, happiest of birthdays yet to you!! We could not have more love and admiration for you and we can’t wait to celebrate all the amazingness and beauty that is you.

missy running on youngs hill

Stay tuned for Missy’s tomato lovin’ festivities and our second Sponsor a Day!

Eclipse happenings and shenanigans

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Caring for chimpanzees during an eclipse was something new for us. We’ve been discussing thoughts and plans with our fellow sanctuary colleagues and veterinarians for awhile and understandably, there isn’t a lot of precedence for chimpanzee care (or other animal care) during such events. Though we did come across this interesting report from 1986 in the American Journal of Primatology.

We suspected the chimps probably wouldn’t look directly at the sun, but we decided to err on the side of caution and threw an exciting breakfast forage in the playroom to keep the chimps happy and active during the peak of the eclipse.

While the chimps were enjoying their tropical fruit brunch forage, we humans donned our eclipse shades and headed outside to watch with Ellie. It was a partial eclipse in our area, but incredible to experience nonetheless. Our local wild-ish elk friend, Ellie, couldn’t figure out what we were doing, but seemed happy to join the herd.

The “other” sun, Elizabeth:

J.B. has been waiting his whole life for this moment:

Ellie gave zero indication that anything was occurring other than the humans being odd. The chimps were aware that their routine was slightly different and the humans were running around trying to get things done faster than usual, but outside of that they didn’t appear to notice much. However, Jody and Foxie spent some time looking out the front rooms doors at the increasing shadows and the human shenanigans.

Foxie:

Jamie, as usual, had important matters to attend to:

We hope you all had an opportunity to enjoy this amazing event!

Happy Birthday, Arlene!

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A weekend of celebration has been sponsored for the chimpanzees by Michael in honor of his wife, Arlene, for her birthday! Michael and Arlene are such wonderful friends to the chimps and we’re so happy to celebrate with them! Michael shared this sweet message about today:

“This is for Arlene’s birthday weekend!! I would like to sponsor today and tomorrow to my beautiful wife!! As this is all she wanted was to help the chimps.”

Michael and Arlene, thank you so very much for including the chimpanzees in your special celebration! We’re so grateful to have you as part of our chimp family. Your kind and compassionate hearts are a gift to them and make a lasting difference not only in their lives, but the world in general.

Arlene, all of us at CSNW hope your birthday weekend has been filled with all that brings you joy, comfort and love and wish you the happiest of birthdays yet! The chimps wishes might look something like this…

Annie and Missy wish you the love and companionship of friends and family (and stylish birthday fashion accessories):

Foxie wishes you adventures as often as possible:

Burrito, of course, wishes you all the good food you can possibly eat:

Jamie wishes you well, whatever you want:

Jody wishes you lots of lounging time:

And Negra wishes you a peaceful heart:

Reflections of Annie

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We sometimes refer to some of the chimps as “human-oriented” and others as more of a “chimp’s chimp.” Individual histories and personalities have Jamie, Burrito and Foxie choosing to spend more time interacting with the humans than their other family members, Missy, Jody, Negra and Annie. While the latter folks are occasionally interested in engaging with the humans, it’s more their preference to spend time with their chimp family. And as much as we love interacting with the chimps when they choose to, their relationships with one another are the priority.

All of that said, over the years the “chimps’ chimps” have shown increasing interest in interacting with the humans. Negra could watch us dance for ages, Missy now leaps on the caging in excitement before running off for a game of chase with her caregivers and enjoys long grooming sessions with us, Jody spends more time greeting us throughout the day, and Annie, well, Annie’s continuing to bloom and grow in pretty much all areas of her life as you may have read before.

I’ve often felt that Annie shares many similar interests with Jamie. She’s curious, intelligent and creative and loves to check out new projects and enrichment. Where in the past she was often hesitant to do so could have been because of her less dominant position and Jamie typically taking things over, and maybe it’s just that now that she is feeling more comfortable in her own skin, safe and secure, she finally has the space to follow her interests and express herself, no longer having to look at the world around her through the filter of anxiety and fear. Whatever the reason, she is a pure joy.

Today I decided to see if she was interested in taking some “selfies” and checking herself out on the iPhone with the camera screen turned toward her. As we all are with dear Annie, she appeared quite mesmerized with her reflection:

Happy Birthday, Erin!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Erin Yuhas! Erin has been a friend to the chimps and the sanctuary for a long time and she shared this beautiful message about today:

“When I make my wish and blow out my candles I would know my wish came true if I were suddenly there with these chimps. I would give anything to spend every day with these chimps and with those of you who do all you do to help them to be free, happy, and healthy. I enjoy your photos and stories every day and can think of no better way to spend my birthday than partying with my friends, no matter what species they are. I would love to spend the day with all of you. Thank you for sharing their stories with me.”

Erin, we are so touched by your lovely message. Thank you so much for giving us all the opportunity to celebrate your special day with you and for making a lasting difference in the lives of the chimps! You are definitely here in spirit! And since you share a birthday month with Foxie and Missy, maybe if you do some flips, carry some trolls and Dora dolls around, drink smoothies and eat copious amounts of tomatoes all day long, it will help bring the spirit of these birthday ladies to you! 😉

Happy Birthday, Erin! All of us are wishing you a fantastic day of celebration, joy and love!

Foxie:

Missy: