Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Katelyn

What a difference a day makes

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We have been having many days of much needed, but seemingly never ending, rain here at the sanctuary.  And let me tell you, Jamie has had a bee in her bonnet for days.  And when Jamie’s not happy she makes it well known.  I can’t really blame her as it’s hard to be stuck inside after we have had so many beautiful days recently.  As caregivers, it is always first in our minds as to how we can make the days better for the chimps, particularly when they aren’t able to go outside.  Yesterday, despite our best efforts, Jamie was a grouchy lady and let it be known in no uncertain terms that she wanted nothing to do with any of our suggestions.  But today the humans and chimpanzees finally awoke to sunny skies.  Everyone was in a good mood and JB even got a laugh from Annie, who typically reserves those for her raucous games of chase with her best friend, Missy.  We put a breakfast forage on Young’s Hill to make the most of the day and the chimps were all lined up waiting for the door to open.  They immediately all filed through the raceway together with Negra (!) in the lead. Everyone spread out, foraging through the now significantly taller grass, food squeaking with joy (we are hoping to have some great footage of this from the GoPro camera on the hill soon).  And then much to our surprise, we spotted Jamie trying her hand at tightrope walking across the fire hose bridge!  While this is usually a classic Missy move, I’d say Jamie is giving her a run for her money.  And the best thing yet? That bee that’s been in Jamie’s bonnet seems to have flown off.

web Jamie tightrope firehose yh I IMG_8613

web Jamie tightrope firehose yh II IMG_8614

web Jamie tightrope firehose yh III IMG_8615

web Jamie tightrope firehose yh IV IMG_8616

I love Jamie’s face in this last picture.  It almost looks as though she’s giving herself a little congratulatory cheer.  I would look like that as well if I had just been able to do a tightrope walk across the fire hose bridge!

web Jamie tightrope firehose yh V IMG_8623

In Memory of Marjorie Holmes

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Today was sponsored by Linda Goodrich in memory of Marjorie Violet Stone Holmes (known to many as G’ma) whose Celebration of Life gathering is today. Megan Mulcahy Bischoff and George Stone also made donations in Marjorie’s honor.

Linda shared the following with us: “Marjorie was Diana’s grandmother and friend to many. Much like Jamie, she was highly active, engaging in many athletic and social endeavors, and as a leader she frequently managed to have things done her way.” Linda, what a thoughtful and generous way to honor Marjorie’s memory, thank you.

web Jamie green grass Young's Hill YH IMG_8097

 

 

Happy Birthday, Michael!

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Today was sponsored by Michael Miller.  Michael generously chose to celebrate his own birthday by honoring the chimpanzees today!   We have the best supporters.  Thank you so much, Michael!  We all send loud and raucous pant hoots wishing you the happiest of birthdays and a big birthday forage!

web Annie bipedal hold watermelon forage green grass Young's Hill YH IMG_8512

The Many Sides of Burrito

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There is no denying that Burrito is one of the sweetest guys around.  I mean, just look at this face.  When he wants to play with us he will often try to pass toys or scarves through the caging for us.  The other day he happened to pull up a flower and hand it to me and then offered me a kiss.  Now he may or may not have been just grabbing what was in reach, but nevertheless, my heart melted.  And there are the raucous games of chase and tug of war.  During one particularly spirited game the other day he started laughing so hard he fell over backwards! Which, of course, made me laugh so hard I had tears coming down my face.

web Burrito close up greenhouse GH IMG_7916

But just like all of us, Burrito has many sides to his personality.  When we open the door to the chimp area in the morning he typically displays loudly and vigorously, rattling the caging, charging through the playroom clapping, throwing things, and pant hooting at the top of his lungs, getting all the ladies stirred up.  He has also been known to bang relentlessly on the caging throughout meal time, and upon occasion, will even try to poke us as we are serving none other than the Boss, Jamie.  Mind you, we are the ones who get in trouble from Jamie for this.  And with me being one of the newest staff members here at CSNW he also likes to let me know his opinion of my new ability to move and unlock doors.  There have been many a morning that as I am opening or closing doors in the chimpanzee areas that he climbs up the caging directly in front of me, bangs, and spits water (with excellent aim I might add) right in my eye.  I know, who could believe such stories of this sweet man chimp?  But all of this is normal, healthy, male chimpanzee behavior.  Burrito is reminding me that this is his home and that just because I have the keys does not mean I am in charge.  It means that he feels safe and secure enough to claim this as his territory.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Changes

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In my home I have a wall where I’ve hung each of the chimpanzees portraits.  I chose photos that reminded me of each of their personalities.  But I look at those photos now and they almost seem like different people.  It seems that the chimpanzees are changing and growing by leaps and bounds each day.  Sometimes it’s big differences like Negra venturing so far out onto the hill that we lost sight of her for a couple of hours this morning.

web Negra sit in cabin Young's Hill YH IMG_1831

And sometimes it seemingly smaller things like finding Jamie covered up in her usual morning nest while we clean the playroom but with the huge difference of having (and keeping!) her eyes closed, sound asleep.  Jamie is typically always on alert, even while “resting” and in the past typically kept her eyes open, keeping track of what was happening around her.  From my perspective, it would seem that Jamie is finally feeling safe and comfortable enough to let down her guard long enough to rest peacefully, if only for a brief time.

web Jamie PR IMG_7564

And there is Annie who no longer rocks anxiously in the doorway to Young’s Hill, waiting for Missy to return to the safety of the greenhouse.  Now she is fast on the heels of Missy wherever she goes on the hill and can even be found foraging on her own.

web Annie sit mound grass in hand Young's Hill YH IMG_8056

And much to my surprise and delight, Jody engaged in a brief game of tug-o-war with me this afternoon and then turned around and presented her back to me for a knuckle rub.  Again, this may seem small but in all the time I have been at the sanctuary I have not seen Jody play like this.  I cannot tell you how happy this makes all of us.  Not because we want or need them to change of course, but because it seems the natural result of their healing.  And I cannot wait to look at my wall by the end of this summer, this year, and beyond and see who’s there.

web Jody close up look up birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_7891

 

 

In honor of Patti Sims

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Today was sponsored by Marcia McComb in honor of Patti Sims.  Marcia shared that Patti is a dedicated animal lover and activist.  Patti has been a volunteer with the sanctuary for some time and as one of our newest Volunteer Caregivers-in-Training, we are thrilled to see her recognized for the amazing and fabulous person we know her to be!  Marcia, thank you so much for honoring Patti in such a thoughtful way!

Here’s Foxie and one of her best friends, Dora the Explorer:

web Foxie holding dora bench in room 4 FR IMG_1934

 

Honoring Apollo

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Debbie Redwine sponsored today in memory of Apollo Chimpanzee. Debbie shared that she was very moved by Sarah Baeckler’s story of the undercover work she did at a Hollywood training facility. Apollo was a young chimpanzee that Sarah worked with at the facility and Debbie wanted to do something to honor his life. As many of you know, Sarah is our former Executive Director. Today Sarah begins her next venture as Director of The North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) where we know she will continue to improve the lives of captive primates while advocating for all those still in need of a safe haven. Debbie, thank you so much for your compassion and generosity in honoring Apollo and Sarah today!

Apollo Chimp