Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Katelyn

In honor of Sarah Baeckler

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored in honor of Sarah Baeckler by Patty Wilkerson! As Patty appropriately summed up when asked about sponsoring the day, “Who doesn’t love Sarah?!” And we couldn’t agree more! Sarah is the former Executive Director of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and recently moved out of state and into the next chapter of her life as Executive Director of the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance. And though she works tirelessly to improve the lives of primates everywhere, she still manages to come back to volunteer her time at the sanctuary as a volunteer caregiver. (As a side note, Patty is a chimp house volunteer who also comes from out of state. We have the most dedicated volunteers!).

I suspect Foxie is going to be doing a lot of pirouettes and back flips when she sees her good friend, Sarah, today. We humans might as well, but that would just be awkward, so we’ll leave it to Foxie.

Foxie with a playface

Patty, thank you so much for honoring Sarah and the chimpanzees in such a thoughtful way!

The inimitable Jamie

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Just as humans do, each of the chimpanzees has their own unique personality. And Jamie’s is like a kaleidoscope. She surprises us every day with her strength, beauty, intelligence, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and sheer, well, Jamie-ness. Jamie was my first chimpanzee friend and as such she holds a special place in my heart. While she can be demanding and intense in her relationships with both humans and chimpanzees, she can also be joyful, caring, and so much fun to hang out with. But one thing that Jamie consistently is, is a privilege to know, and an honor to call my friend.

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As Diana mentioned earlier today, it takes a virtual village to care for these seven amazing beings and we are so thankful to all of you who help provide them with the sanctuary they deserve. While this next photo of Jamie was previously posted, it’s one of my favorites and I feel, catches that inimitable spirit of hers. It also reminds me, as does Jamie, of one of my favorite quotes by Federico Fellini, “You have to live spherically – in many directions. Never lose your childish enthusiasm – and things will come your way.” Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for enabling things to come Jamie’s (and all of the chimpanzees’) way.

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The Great Piñata Heist

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The chimpanzees had some special guests today! Friend of the chimpanzees (and the humans!) Adrienne Armstrong, along and her family and friends, Ollie, Jessy, and Jamie, paid a visit to the sanctuary to volunteer in the chimp house. And they brought the chimpanzees piñatas! And you’ll never guess who made a haul of all the loot…Annie!

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As you may recall from a previous post, as the least dominant of the chimpanzees, this is quite a bold move for Annie and an undertaking not without some risk involved. As the boss of the sanctuary, Jamie typically makes a quick claim to enrichment like piñatas, leaving the other chimps to wait for an opportunity to see if anything was missed when she casts them aside. But today Jamie was distracted by a new pair of boots being “chimp approved” in the kitchen so Annie decided to make her move.

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Jamie was briefly torn between seeing Annie with the piñatas, and staff with the new boots, but after screaming at Annie once and throwing a blanket at her from the loft, the prospective new boots won Jamie’s attention. And Annie seized not only her opportunity, but all, yes ALL, of the piñatas!

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Annie wasn’t even swayed by her best (and more dominant) friend, Missy, who continually approached her while peering at her and moderately suggesting she hand the loot over. Annie just calmly picked up the piñatas and moved her spoils elsewhere. Gotta love this girl.

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Thank you so much, Adrienne, Ollie, Jessy and Jamie, for all that you do for the chimpanzees and for making their day (especially Annie’s!!) special!

The simple things

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This afternoon I went out to see who might be in the greenhouse and I found this good looking guy (Burrito, if you are new the the blog!) just hanging out:

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Burrito often becomes shy when the camera comes out but he remained pretty calm and nonchalant, until…

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I pointed out a lone potato that had been left over from lunch. The look on his face is as if to say, “WHAT?! A potato?!” (Notice that precision focus):

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After a quick scan of the greenhouse to make sure no one was watching, he silently swung down, grabbed the potato, and took it back to the top platform to gaze at adoringly and enjoy:

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The simple things in life. I am always thankful to the chimpanzees for reminding me to appreciate the little things.

Thank you, Lisa!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Lisa Stuverud in honor of Jamie’s (honorary) 36th birthday! Lisa shared these lovely sentiments:

“This day is for my girl Jamie who has taught me and my wonderful husband so much about patience, hope, forgiveness, strength, resilience and survival, not to mention unconditional love!! Literally, the best things in my life I have learned from Jamie and of course everyone at CSNW that works for her 🙂 !! Happy Hallowbirthdayween Jamie !!! And many many more!!”

Lisa, thank you so much for making Jamie’s day extra special for her and all the chimpanzees! As preparations get under way, today’s “Hallow-birthday-ween” extravaganza has all of the primates here at CSNW pretty excited! Be sure to check back later today for all the party happenings!

Here is Jamie at a past party with her incredible birthday-ween pumpkin:

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Funny faces and beautiful faces

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I love how expressive chimpanzees are. In their emotions, gestures, movements, vocalizations and facial expressions they communicate exactly how they are feeling every moment with a complete lack of self consciousness or pretense. I am mesmerized when watching the chimpanzees and studying their individual characteristics (I just realized today that Jamie has adorable freckles in her ears!) And here are two amazing faces I never tire of looking at, whether funny or just plain beautiful.

Funny Foxie (while this looks a little fierce, she is actually yawning):

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Foxie just being her beautiful self.

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Funny Annie with a mouth full of water:

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Annie just being her beautiful self:

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In memory of Marjorie Holmes

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Today was sponsored by Katharine Stone in memory of her aunt, Marjorie Holmes. Marjorie was also Diana’s grandmother. She is being honored today because it is the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an event that Marjorie had been involved with as a runner, walker, and board member up until her death this spring.

She never slowed down, even when she flew past the 70, 80, and 90-year-old milestones. No doubt many people are thinking about her today. There is a photo of her (wearing her KA5TAQ t-shirt – that was her ham radio handle) on the Duke City Marathon website.

Thank you, Katharine, for remembering her by sponsoring a day of sanctuary! May the chimpanzees have as active and full lives as Marjorie.

Missy flying