Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Kelsi

New Doll, Same Snow

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I mean wow! Foxie cannot thank you all enough for the stack of Strawberry Shortcake Dolls. She is rich in dolls! Now, she won’t get them all right away, but we did give her a new one. To say she was happy would be an understatement. She was holding her new doll close to her chest, flipping her around, and passing Strawberry Shortcake back and forth with her caregivers. It’s nice when something so simple can bring someone so much joy.

I hope everyone is staying safe and warm out there. Maybe these portraits of Foxie and Jamie can warm up your day.

A Little Bit of Everything

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Today’s blog has many themes. For starters, it’s Nutmeg’s 6th Birthday! Chad served up some extra grain for all the cattle for his special day, though Betsy was pretty sure it was just her day. Nutmeg is still a big sweet mama’s boy. Happy 6th Birthday Nutmeg, we are so lucky to have you here!

I literally squealed when Chad shared this photo of Nutmeg. I mean, look how dapper he looks and that curl on the top of his head is killing me!

The excitement keeps going! We are looking for artists for a contest! This is such a neat opportunity! The sanctuary is collaborating with the students at CWU, Primate Awareness Network and our local art gallery, Gallery One. One design will be selected and there will be a cash prize too! I almost forgot to mention, the chosen design will be printed on limited edition sway and be sold to benefit the chimps! There will also be a people’s choice award. Check out the Gallery One’s website for more details and peruse our blog if you need inspiration! Or maybe these portraits will awaken your creativity! I am so excited to see what people will create and how they will capture the chimp’s personalities!

Burrito is really enjoying this orange ball right now.

Foxie has the most piercing eyes.

Jamie.

Honey B.

Willy B.

Our wish-list is getting quite full. We have added our day to day items, future items for our new building, and lots of dolls for Foxie! We are trying to get as many of her favorite dolls as possible because they are getting harder to find lately!

The Doll Thief Strikes Again!

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The doll thief is back! While we did a deep clean on chimps playroom, Foxie and Jamie decided to play. Jamie has been in a great mood and as many of us know Foxie always tends to get the silly side out of Jamie. This play session may seem similar to last Friday, though not quite as epic as Jamie lifting Foxie up, but still pretty great!

After the play session was over, Foxie needed to rest.

And for those who need a daily dose of  Burrito, here he is enjoying his bags of chow :).

A Blossoming Friendship

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Since Burrito’s life-threatening situations, most particularly the rattlesnake incident, Jamie seems to be more tolerant of Burrito. It wasn’t that they weren’t friends before, they would play or groom from time to time. But something in their friendship has shifted. For example, Jamie often wants to go on walks alone with her caregivers; she will even hideout in the culvert to ditch everyone. Recently though, she doesn’t mind when Burrito joins, she doesn’t even try to ditch him! We find them going on adventures, like climbing the twister. They even share a barrel while eating! He is kind of her shadow sometimes. Could it be that Burrito is less reactive overall, maybe? Could it be the near death experience, possibly? Or it could be a little column A and a little column B, we will never know for certain. But, what I do know is that watching them share a barrel while eating a meal brings me more joy than words can express.

I mean look how close they are!

Burrito wearing a blanket around his neck. It looks like a sweat towel, which makes perfect sense for him because he is always working up a sweat. Wait, no, his caregivers are the ones sweating.

Bonus Mave photo! Personally, I love a good photo of chimps hands or feet clasped together.

Play is in Session

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The chimps are always having these amazing play sessions in the front rooms while we clean their playroom. Yesterday was a particularly silly day as you can see from the video and photos. It’s always a good day when you see boss lady Jamie letting her hair down to play with her friends, Burrito and Foxie. The day continued to be goofy with this guy! There is nothing better than an upside-down Burrito and hearing him laugh.

It snowed quite a bit last night. So today was all about snow, napping, and yelling at the neighbors.

Jody melting our hearts since 1975 <3.

Negra with her snow snacks.

Five Ways to be Cool Like Jamie

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Jamie is a complex individual. She is serious, but she has a sense of humor. Jamie is assertive, but also a little insecure. She has these amazing moments of tenderness, but will remind you she is someone not to mess with! Jamie remembers everything, she is also not one to forget. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind. And she is always doing the unexpected.

One of the things, well one of the many, I appreciate about Jamie is her decisiveness. Jamie is a person who knows what she likes. I personally, like to surround myself with assertive, bold, and unapologetic female figures. Jamie is all of those. So as a person who is never sure if they are making the right decision and not very assertive, you could see why I admire her so much.

I thought I would write up an easy 5 ways to be cool like Jamie.

1.) Find your passion!

Jamie, as we all know, loves boots, construction, walking on Young’s Hill, and flipping through her books!


2.) Never apologize.

Jamie isn’t afraid to tell someone they have stepped out of line. Don’t be afraid to share how you are feeling, but maybe out of for respect social norms, use words instead of projectiles ;). Also never apologize for being yourself, Jamie wouldn’t.

3.) Face you fears.

Jamie is always finding ways to push herself!

4.) Don’t forget to do your cardio.

Jamie is probably the toughest fitness instructor I have ever had. No excuses in her gym! If you want to be Jamie’s friend, you got to keep up!

5.) Always do what people won’t expect.

Jamie loves to surprise us. If you feel like wearing a scarf, do it! If you feel like randomly flipping upside down like a bat, do it! If you feel like putting your head in a box, why not! Or in today’s case if you just feel like being silly and laying on some firehose while your caregiver jumps up at you, she says do it!

Here is Jamie laying on some firehose!


She would lay on it and then have me jump as high as I could to reach her.

Jamie doesn’t let anything hold her back in life and you shouldn’t either.

Don’t Mess with Honey B

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I wanted to write a light-hearted blog because, well I think we all need it. But this morning Honey B, Willy B, and Mave had a big fight at breakfast. Don’t worry everyone is fine, but it was an intense one! It was mostly Honey B and Willy B fighting, because Willy B tried to steal her chow. Chow is no joke. Each chimp really looks forward to getting their bags of chow. In general, the three seem to be less physical with each other. They have their occasional fight, but a lot of the time it’s just screaming. This morning, Honey B was not having it. Honey B has always been described as fun and silly, which she is, but I would NOT want to be on her bad side. Honey B can be, let’s go with feisty, but another word could be ruthless. Surprisingly, Honey B tends to avoid any drama that doesn’t have anything to do with her. If Mave and Willy B are worked up she will leave the area, but she also tends to be the person who will strike first if she thinks something is going to happen to her. I won’t lie, I think it works. During the fight, Honey B quite literally beat Willy B with a scooter. Again everyone is fine, but Willy B’s pride might be hurting just a little. Mid-morning we found Willy B grooming Honey B, so I think everything is all good now, but I don’t think he will try taking her chow for quite some time.

On a lighter note, Jamie received a late Christmas present. I am sure many of you are familiar with the Bodies Exhibit. We found the book version and it seemed pretty on brand with Jamie so we put it on the wish list. It finally came today! Jamie was in a very cozy nest upstairs when caregiver Anna went to go give it to her. Instead of coming down right away, Jamie had Anna flip through the pages for her. Later, after lunch Jamie took the book and began skimming it.

This is the page Jamie left her book on.

I think we should get some bonus photos!

Willy B taking a nap.

Yesterday Mave, Willy B, and Honey B watched the chimps from Chimp Haven on Disney+. Mave settled in to watch her soaps.

Jamie was on patrol after hearing the fight this morning. She went straight out onto the Hill to get a better view of the other side.

Burrito <3.

Missy sprinted out onto the Hill and had Burrito and I joined her on a mid-day run! She is seriously so fast! I took a video but I was embarrassed by how heavy I was breathing.

Honey B making a nest with toys this morning.

Watch out for this one, she doesn’t take crap from anyone!