Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Is there anyone sweeter than Annie? I think not!
Take a few minutes to share some moments with our beloved Annie. From a play session with Burrito, to a lovely afternoon breeze in her nest, a drink from the hose (perfect for summertime!) and a shouting match with the neighbors!
Sounds like a pretty good day, to me.
We’ve given you a lot of Mora B footage as of late…
Are you tired of all the ridiculousness? Are you sick of all the play faces? The joy, the laughter, the shenanigans?
Are you sick and tired of Mora B?
Say it with me, folks.
HECK NO!!!
These girls just tickle us caregivers, even if they do create a longer cleaning schedule.
This clip does not include Mave, as she opted to stay in the chute while her sidekicks whooped it up in the front rooms.
So…how do we refer to a Honey B/Dora combo? What say you?
Also, be sure your sound is on – you won’t want to miss all the laughter!
If you’d like to help supply the sanctuary with food, enrichment, medicines, supplies, and other necessities, please check out our Christmas in July drive and help empty our wish lists!
It’s officially snake season at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!
Last week, we had to recall Jamie’s group off of Young’s Hill 5 times by 10:30am! Whoa!
Luckily, most of our snake encounters are with non-venomous snakes, like the one we caught in the greenhouse, which you’ll see in today’s video.
Caregiver Ellen identified this snake as a Western yellow-bellied racer, Coluber constrictor mormon! That’s quite a mouthful!
According to Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Western racer (Coluber constrictor) is one of 11 subspecies of the North American racer. Racers occur in warm, dry open or brushy country. They are often observed streaking across roads. The racer holds its head and neck above the ground when hunting, and it may climb into shrubs (we found it sitting in the middle of a bamboo bush!). The diet of racers includes small mammals, reptiles, and insects.
We try our darndest to keep the chimps safe from venomous snakes. Our 4 acre outdoor enclosures are surrounded by snake fencing that extends several inches into the ground. Every day, before letting the chimps out onto Young’s Hill and the Bray, we do a perimeter check to ensure that the snake fencing is still in place. But there are certain types of snakes that have the ability to get around the snake fencing because they’re so tiny, so it’s up to us to catch them and remove them from the property – luckily they are usually non-venomous.
For more stories about our snake encounters, check out the following blog posts:
Prior to the last 2 months, I had been volunteering at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest for 4.5 years. I can easily say that it was the best way I spent my time! It was so incredibly meaningful for me that I decided, at 52 years old, to pursue a career change and am now a full time staff person! How lucky am I? So I compiled a list of reasons that YOU TOO should become a volunteer. We’d love to see your smiling faces 🙂
Now that you are ready to fill out an application to volunteer, you need to know about the different levels of volunteer:
*Level I – tasks include doing laundry, washing dishes, preparing enrichment, lunch prep, putting produce away, etc. Please note, Level I volunteers do not interact with the chimpanzees, besides a polite head nod.
** Level II – in addition to Level I tasks, Level II volunteers assist in cleaning enclosures. Please note, Level II volunteers do not interact with the chimpanzees, besides a polite head nod.
***Level III – In addition to Level I and II tasks, Level III volunteers serve meals and engage in protected physical and non-physical interactions with the chimpanzees.
You can fill out an application to become a Level I or Level II volunteer. Trustworthy and dedicated volunteers are invited to train to become Level III volunteers – while all levels are rewarding, you and I both know that the real magic happens when you work to become a Level III volunteer. It’s so worth it!
Jamie’s group was SO happy this morning! We had 3 different groups of wrestlers in 3 different front rooms! Today, enjoy Negra and Burrito mixing it up in front room 1.
And, don’t forget! The Sweet 16 Online Auction goes live tomorrow, June 10th, and ends the 16th. Check out Spring Rayne by our very own Caregiver Ellen. Although, I might fight you for it!
Those of you who pay close attention to the blog may be thinking, “Wait…don’t you already have a volunteer named Krissy?” Well, they DID have a volunteer named Krissy, but NOW they have a full-time caregiver named Krissy! How lucky am I??
My journey is a little different than many past and present caregivers at CSNW. I graduated from Washington State University (go Cougs!) in 1994 (not a typo) with a BA in Sociology with an emphasis on Social Work. But, like so many others, I left school and never actually used my degree. I spent the next few years as a bookkeeper, a relocation coordinator for a real estate company, and a software developer.
I’ve always had a great love of animals. While working as a software developer, one of my cats became very ill, which led me to learn about nutrition’s important role in our pets’ lives. A simple diet change had such a profound impact on my cats’ health that I decided to open a healthy pet food store. In 2006, myself and a dear friend opened The Whole Pet Shop in Woodinville, WA, and 18 years later it’s still going strong! 7 years ago, my husband and I moved to Roslyn WA, and opened another Whole Pet location. This is around the time the chimps came in to my life.
I first learned about CSNW at the Roslyn Farmer’s Market. I knew right away that I wanted to volunteer at the sanctuary (how had I never heard of the Cle Elum 7??) My first shift was on December 5th, 2019. By January 2020 I was invited to train to become a level 3 volunteer, which means I would get to have safe interactions with the chimps and to serve meals. Tug of war with Bubs, doll toss with Fox, perimeter walks and grooming with James? Sign me up! I promptly began preparing to train to be a level 3 volunteer, which included various reading assignments and tests. One such reading assignment was Next of Kin, by Roger Fouts, about the journey of Washoe and her signing (ASL) chimpanzee family that ended up at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. This book changed my life. I highly recommend this book, just be sure to read it with a box of tissues!
Unfortunately, my training halted almost before it got started, by a little thing called Covid 19. In order to keep the chimpanzees safe, the sanctuary shut down its volunteer/intern program. I wanted to stay involved with the sanctuary, so I prepped all of the chow bags for the 10 chimps living at CSNW at the time. That’s approximately 10,920 bags of chow in a year (I did the math)! After a long 18 months away from the chimpanzees, I was invited back to the sanctuary and became a level 3 volunteer! Yay!
So how did I become a full-time staff member? I tricked them! Ha – just kidding. I worked hard to show my dedication to the chimps, and I simply started throwing my hat in the ring as job opportunities presented themselves. And here I am now, shifting my career path at 52 years old. Proving you’re never too old to dream, and more importantly to realize your dreams!
