Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Katelyn

Happy Summer Solstice!

by

Thanks so much, Dylan, for always sponsoring a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in celebration of the wonder and beauty of our changing seasons! From Dylan:

“Happy Summer Solstice!”

And to you, Dylan, from all of us here!

Summertime forages are something we try to offer the chimpanzees as often as we can this time of year. It gives them the opportunity to engage in natural foraging behaviors, enjoy some exercise and exploring in their outdoor habitats, and the excitement of finding and enjoying favorite foods (like watermelon bowls!) without having to wait on the humans to serve them, while enjoying a little space from one another as well. We can’t wait to see what this one holds. And we’re so happy that George gets to take in everything his new life will bring his way during this beautiful time of year. (We’ve learned that he does love watermelon!). 🙂

Enjoy these moments of summers past:

Jamie:

Willy B:

Missy on a watermelon bowl forage:

Burrito:

Rayne:

Mave, Dora, and Honey B:

Congratulations CWU Primate Behavior Program Grads!

by

Thank you so much to Dr. April Binder, Central Washington University’s Primate Behavior Director of Programs, for sponsoring a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees and cows in celebration of all the amazing students graduating from CWU in Ellensburg today!

“Congratulations to all CWU graduates in the Primate Behavior programs – including those earning a BS degree in Primate Behavior and Ecology and MS degree in Primate Behavior!”

We are so grateful to all of the amazing graduates for all their hard work and passion for contributing to the lives of primates, including the chimpanzees who call CSNW home. We appreciate you all and wish you all the best! Congratulations!!

Willy B:

Jamie and her cherished Lucy Bonobo book:

Cy:

Rayne reading Lucy Bonobo:

Honey B resting up:

For Terry Chimpanzee!

by

Our heartfelt gratitude to Holly Hayward for sponsoring a day of sanctuary for our beloved Terry on his 35th birthday!

“To Terry on your birthday-your awesome personality & superb floofiness is an inspiration to us all to embrace the best this life has to offer! Happy birthday & wishing you and your mates the happiness & peaceful retirement you deserve! And thanks to CSNW for making this happen!”

This is so sweet, Holly! “Superb floofiness”, indeed! Thank you for seeing what a special guy he is and being such a wonderful Pal!

Rayne and Terry:

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey!

by

Many thanks to Jeffrey Abramczyk for sharing his birthday with a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees!

“Sponsoring a day for the chimps to celebrate my birthday with me and to welcome George to CSNW!”

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey! All of us here hope you have a fantastic day! Thank you for sharing it with the chimpanzees and for the George love and support!

Cutie George:

Cy:

Missy and Annie:

Lucky:

Happy Birthday, Carrie, from Jenara!

by

Thanks to Jenara Miller for sponsoring a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees and cows in honor of long-time friend of the sanctuary, Carrie Miller, for her birthday!

We appreciate you and yours, Carrie, and hope your birthday celebrations extend in joy as long as you like!

Foxie and Burrito being silly:

Dora and Honey B:

Honey B and Mave:

Honey B and some celebratory spaghetti:

June celebrations!

by

Firstly, we’d like to once again welcome all of our new followers, a seeming built-in fan club who graciously arrived with George! We are so grateful to you all for being here and for wanting to help ensure that George’s next chapter in life is one he has long deserved!

As we look ahead to June’s celebrations, we cannot wait for George to experience what a partying place he has landed! Though we just missed his April birthday, he’s going to have plenty of practice in the months ahead. 🙂

If you’ve been following us for awhile you are probably well aware that as far as celebrations go, the month of June holds an abundance!

Miss Dora turns 36 on June 6th!

Honey B turns 36 on June 11th!

June 13th is our Trifecta celebration of two birthdays and an anniversary! Queen Negra is turning 52!! June 13th also happens to be the 17th anniversary of Negra and her group’s arrival to the sanctuary!

I know we’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. When Diana and J.B. first met Negra and her group at the Buckshire Corporation in Pennsylvania (the organization that “owned” the chimpanzees and still leases animals out to labs for use in research), given Negra’s age and condition, their hope was that she would be able to enjoy at least a couple of months in sanctuary. SEVENTEEN years later and we’re celebrating her 52nd birthday!!

There are countless moments, big and small, which speak to the power of sanctuary to heal it’s residents, but Negra reminds us every day of what you help make possible. For her, and for every individual fortunate enough to make it to sanctuary from the biomedical, pet and entertainment industries.

And June 13th is also our beloved Terry’s 35th birthday!

On June 20th we welcome the summer solstice here in the northern hemisphere. May and June are two of the most beautiful months here at the sanctuary, the still green and lush days before the summer heat kicks in, and the chimpanzees and cows have been enjoying every moment.

Negra on Young’s Hill, her group’s outdoor habitat. Just look at her! She’s ready for Hot Neggie Summer 😉 :

Terry enjoying his group’s outdoor habitat, the Bray:

June 20th is also Annie’s wonderful son, Virgil’s, 36th birthday! As J.B. mentioned earlier, some of us were able to attend the 2025 North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) Workshop last month and we had the immense privilege of meeting Virgil at his home, Save the Chimps in Florida. Imagine our thrill when we arrived for the tour to be greeted by this!

This sweet guy looks soooo much like his beautiful mama, Annie:

Annie:

And we’ll be wrapping up our June celebrations with the 4th anniversary of the arrival of “The Lucky Six”, Cy’s group, to the sanctuary on June 26th!

Lucky, Rayne, and Cy on the Bray:

Gordo and Terry:

Dora and Cy in one of their greenhouses:

Summer visit season is also upon us and we welcomed our first guests yesterday! Though the sanctuary isn’t open to the public, we do offer a limited number of small, educational visits to donors each summer and we really look forward to sharing the sanctuary with everyone who attends. It’s a wonderful way for supporters to see first hand what they help make possible for the chimpanzees and cows (and hopefully see the chimpanzees as they forage for lunch and lounge in their open air greenhouses – appearances are entirely the choice of the chimpanzees, one of the many beauties of sanctuary life). And it’s always fun for the humans to share the chimps’ and cows’ lives and get to visit with some of our amazing supporters!

Missy!

Betsy, Honey, and Meredith, enjoying their summer pasture:

A beautiful end of spring and summer ahead to you all (or autumn into winter, as the case may be). Thank you, always, for being here and making so much possible.

For Central Washington University’s Museum of Culture and Environment

by

Many thanks to Lori Sheeran, Professor of Primate Behavior and Anthropology (and Board member and sanctuary volunteer!) for sponsoring this day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees and cows in honor of the following:

“Thank you to everyone at Central Washington University’s Museum of Culture and Environment for the beautiful exhibit honoring Washoe, Dar, Moja, Tatu, and Loulis! Thank you to museum director Karisa Terry; preservation and museum specialist Lynn Bethke; graduate students Caity Bailey and Candice Mendez; and museum staff and interns Cormac Arenson, Zoe Hammer, Clarel Ruvalcaba, Winnie Killingsworth, and Rebecca Gutshall.”

Many of us had the joy of attending the exhibit’s opening during a recent day of events at Central Washington University, A Legacy in Every Gesture: Celebrating CWU’s Primate Program, honoring Washoe and her family, their profound legacy, and the continuing Primate Program. Diana wrote about this wonderful event here if you’d like to read more.

It was very special to see the primatology and local communities of the past many decades come together, putting so much heartfelt effort and care into honoring these amazing chimpanzee people and so many of the humans who are not only connected to the program, but have gone on to make a difference for chimpanzees, both in captivity and the wild.

Washoe (photo credit – Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute):

You may recall that Rayne is half-siblings with Tatu. Tatu and Loulis, the remaining members of Washoe’s family, reside at the Fauna Foundation in Quebec.

Jamie, enjoying her television:

Burrito and Foxie on Young’s Hill:

Cy enjoying his reading:

Amazing Honey B: