Kelsi

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving…

November 22, 2023 by Kelsi

‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving, when all through the [chimp] house

Not a chimp was stirring, not even a Honey (B);

The chimps were in bed, tucked into nests

in hopes that sweet rolls would soon be at Chimp Sanctuary Northwest.

Today has been rather low-key, whether the chimps realize it or not, they are resting up for the big Thanksgiving celebration. I personally can’t wait to hear Negra food squeak for Hawaiian rolls – it’s something I wait all year for! I thought I would share a collection of photos taken from today.

Negra staring out the window this morning:

Terry playing chase with one of his caregivers:

Missy eating tomatoes at lunch:

Cy <3:

Burrito spying on the neighbors:

Jamie laying on a barrel:

Jamie off-duty:

Honey B during a lunch forage:

Gordo, isn’t he so handsome?:

Sweet little Dora:

New Traditions

November 2, 2023 by Kelsi

Holidays can be hard when loved ones have passed. Though Jamieween is a celebration of Jamie’s birthday and Halloween, for all of us (staff, volunteers, and supporters) it is the day of the great pumpkin heist. Where we watched Jody end up with the pumpkin whether she was sneaky about it or just plucked the pumpkin off the Hill and walked right in with it, obviously paying the Negra tax. It was a day we all looked forward to, Jody stealing the show, which is hard to do on a day all about Jamie :). Altogether the chimps still had an amazing Jamieween filled with so much good food, laughter, play, enrichment, and pumpkins, it wasn’t quite the same without Jody’s dinosaur groans and her carrying a pumpkin as big as her.

With change sometimes comes new traditions. Everyone in Negra’s group was much more modest with the pumpkins this year, including Negra having to get her own pumpkin. Yesterday, the day after Jamieween, I let Jamie’s group out onto Young’s Hill. Jamie seemed to be in a very happy mood and sprinted out wanting to go on a perimeter walk/run with me. While Jamie was walking, Annie, Missy, and Burrito went up to Jody’s pumpkin. Annie eventually took some of the pumpkin, still leaving a little behind. Annie also found other forage items that was missed yesterday. To our surprise Jamie did not get mad when Annie had a handful of mini peppers and a mouth full of pumpkin. Instead, Jamie seemed excited to go look for her own leftover forage items. To me it seems like Annie is the winner of the great pumpkin heist this year.

Jamie the day after Jamieween. Nesting with some of her new boots:

Jamie today nesting, still recovering from her party:

Never a Dull Moment

October 25, 2023 by Kelsi

I don’t think I have ever experienced a dull day here at CSNW. I truly don’t believe that there is such a thing with chimps. Especially when you have a chimp like Honey B always keeping you on your toes, or a chimp like Missy who seems to want nothing to do with humans, but all of the sudden you are playing chase and tug-a-war. Or when you put out enrichment, like a giant box, just hoping a chimp like Cy will hide in it while his friend Willy B playfully beats the box from the outside. Everyday there a lot of things happening here, even when we are there to observe. I think it is a testament to what sanctuaries like Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest can do. Sanctuaries offer dedicated care, security, stability, and opportunities so that every chimp can flourish and grow.

If you think we are as great as I do, we have an opportunity for you to spread your kind words! We would love it if you shared your love of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest TODAY by going to this site: https://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/chimpanzee-sanctuary-northwest and giving us a rating. The deadline for us to be a “top rated” nonprofit for 2023 is October 31st and we need nine more people to submit a rating. You all say such nice things about the chimpanzees, the staff, and the sanctuary everyday, so we thought you’d take this challenge. You can even take something you’ve already said and copy and paste it as a rating. And we can update the silly badge on our website and feel good at the same time. Thank you!

Unseen Bits

October 18, 2023 by Kelsi

As caregivers, we collect photos and videos on our phones constantly throughout the week. However, not everything makes it to the blog. Often when we get to our designated blog day, the chimps do something that inspires an idea or specific theme so we end up saving the content for later, or if we are nice, we share it with a co-worker if they are in need. The only thing about saving it for later is that it can get lost on our camera roll. Luckily for all of you, I have found some of the best unseen clips from the vault (aka my phone) and made a video to share! It would be a tragedy if these videos did not get shared with all of you!

Photos from the vault!

Terry grooming Honey B. It was such a tender and sweet moment between the two of them:

Rayne intensely grooming Mave:

Rayne striking a pose on the firehose:

A bonus photo!

This morning as we all arrive to the sanctuary it was very chill, but the morning fog looked so beautiful:

Jamie seemed to enjoy the fog and crisp air because she was so excited to go for a walk this morning. She came sprinting out of the raceway!

Compassion Satisfaction

October 11, 2023 by Kelsi

Yesterday, Chad wrote an incredible blog, it was so accurate and concise. Chad’s words in his blog are very important and very prevalent in our field. It hasn’t been talked about a lot until recent years. Though this job a dream, it is so rewarding and fulfilling, it can also be extremely taxing- not just physically, but emotionally and if you are not careful it will drain you. It’s hard to find a balance, it’s hard to feel like you are doing enough, or to not feel guilt, it’s hard to not give your whole self to the job, you can often feel pulled in a million different directions, and it’s hard to turn work off and be at home.

This year I received the opportunity to attend the NAPSA conference, where they spoke a lot about compassion fatigue/burnout. A big takeaways from the conference was one of the ways to fight against compassion fatigue, finding compassion satisfaction. That could mean something as simple as a positive interactions with the chimps- something that made us feel good. For example: making some type of enrichment that stimulated the chimps and made them happy, watching the chimps play, having a fun interaction with the chimps. Those moments remind us why we do our job and why it’s all worth it. However, the trick is that we don’t always have the time. For me personally, I have been trying to have a minute of reflection, what did I love about today? Today, I loved that Jamie was in a fun and silly mood, so much so that she made me carry her bonobo book and wear her favorite pair of Doc Martins to walk around Young’s Hill. That moment and small others like it have helped lighten my heart when it is feeling heavy.

If you haven’t read Chad’s blog I urge you to read it, his words are very important to those who care for others. Chad’s words comforted me on a topic that can be so difficult to discuss. He reminding me that I am not alone in those feelings and that though it is hard to do, it is not selfish to need to take care of yourself sometimes. So thank you Chad!

I will leave you with a photo of Jamie. We have added some items to the Amazon Wish List today, including Jamie’s birthday boot! We also added a lot of day to day items we need around the chimp house. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Jamie:

Ladies Who Goof

October 5, 2023 by Kelsi

I think we all can agree that most of the time Honey B can be a pretty big goofball, whether she is goofing by herself or with a friend! Honey B has no problem finding things to keep her occupied, but as someone who cares for Honey B the best way she occupies her time is when she is being silly with her chimp friends. Dora seems to agree! I hope this video brightens your day as much as it did mine :).

Here are some bonus photos of upside down Jamie hugging a charlie brown stuffed animal! Earlier today caregiver Sabrina and I caught Jamie in a goofy mood herself. As you can see Jamie is upside down holding Charlie Brown close to her.

Although Jamie was pretty content with Mr. Charlie Brown, she was gesturing for something. I found her I’m Lucy Book, which resulted in happy grunts as she took her book. She has never looked more satisfied than in this moment:

Night Walk

September 27, 2023 by Kelsi

Last Friday, we held a small, intimate memorial for our dear friend, Jody. While we had the service, it only felt right that Jody’s family have access to Young’s Hill. However, very unlike Jamie, she was no where to be found and slept through the entire thing. Apparently, all the chimps went to sleep after we left the Chimp House and left door Y (Jamie’s group access door to their outdoor space) open. Jamie must have thought, we, her humans, were so stupid and made a mistake. Eventually, around dusk, the event was winding down and caregivers tried to close the Hill off, Jamie finally noticed the service and came sprinting out. A few of us tried to catch up with her to join in on the walk, but she was going so fast! She was amped! Once it was fully dark and the service had come to an end, I had the pleasure of going on one last night-walk with Jamie. Thank goodness I brought a head lamp to light the way for both of us! It was so dark that I was starting to scare myself, so I apologize if the video looks a little like the “Blair Witch Project”.

Jamie on her nighttime stroll: