Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

animal rescue

Today is in honor of Hope. Love. Home.

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Monica Best who chose to honor three people (ten really, if you count the chimpanzees!) and the hope, love and home they each give and receive. Monica shared this message about today:

“In honor of an Instagram stranger, who needed to feel a little Hope. Love. Home. What better way to show them than through the Cle Elum Seven.

And to Josh and Kathryn, who give Hope. Love. Home. to so many. Thank you for giving your voices to so many causes, that people may otherwise have never heard about. Congratulations on your recent nuptials. May the two of you spend many, many years of love, friendship, fun and lasting memories together. Thanks for all you do!!”

Monica, thanks so much for always holding the chimps in your heart and for all the amazing things you do for our fellow animals, both human and non. You have such a huge heart and the chimps are so lucky to call you their friend.

To the person on Instagram, we hope you enjoy getting to know the chimps. They inspire us every single day with what hope, love and home make possible for us all.

And Josh and Kathryn, congratulations on your special day from all of us here at CSNW! May your lives be filled with all the good you help make possible for others.

Queen Negra, discovering anew each day what hope, love, and home mean to her, thanks to the compassion of so many people:

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Today is in honor of Carrie Miller!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Sylvia Gandolfo in honor of Carrie Miller! Sylvia and Carrie are long-time friends of the chimpanzees and gift one another with the generous and compassionate support of the chimpanzees. The chimps have so many wonderful friends and we’re so grateful for the love and good they inspire in the world. Sylvia shared this message about today:

“Honoring Carrie to acknowledge her lifelong, passionate understanding of the importance of all living beings and the need to provide rescue and sanctuary for those who have been mistreated. Happy Anniversary!”

Sylvia, thank you so much for choosing to celebrate Carrie and your special day by including the chimps! We greatly appreciate how you both hold the chimps in your hearts and include them in your lives.

Carrie, we’re so happy to celebrate in your honor today! Thank you for all you do to make the world a kind and loving place and for us all. We hope you have a wonderful day of celebration!!

Your pal, Burrito, as his usual adorable self:

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Sylvia’s pal, sweet Annie:

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This one never gets old: Annie and Burrito hugging on the chimps’ first day on Young’s Hill (Negra foreground):

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Today is for Chaela!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Glen Rinzler in honor of Chaela Ferguson! Glen has been a supporter and friend of the chimpanzees since they arrived to their sanctuary home and we are so happy to celebrate Chaela with him today.

Glen, thank you so much for your continued friendship of the chimps and for all you do to ensure their lives are overflowing with love, respect, adventure, joy, and family. We’re so happy that you chose to include them as you honor Chaela today!

Chaela, we hope you have a beautiful day! May it be full of all that brings you joy, just as you’ve helped provide the chimpanzees!

Jamie and Foxie play wrestling over a troll. Those play faces!:

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Happy Birthday, Linda!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Monica Best in honor of her mother, Linda Miller, on her birthday! Monica is a such a good friend to the chimps and we’re so happy to celebrate her human family along with the chimp family she’s a part of.

Monica shared the following message about today: “Sponsoring in honor of my mom, Linda Miller, on her birthday. She is one of the people who helped instill a love and respect of all animals, which helped me become the animal advocate I am today. Thank you mom!! Happy Birthday.”

Monica, thank you so much for everything you do to make the chimpanzees’ lives enriching, joyful, comforting and magical. You have such a big, loving heart and make the lives of so many of our fellow animals better and we are so grateful to you for that.

Linda, all of us here at the sanctuary wish you the happiest of birthdays yet! We hope that your day involves all that you love doing and all those you love being with!

Negra and Jody:

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Negra enjoying her days:

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Welcoming autumn

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Last night as the chimps were all curled into their nests for the night, I stood watching the last of the summer sun setting over the sanctuary. My heart beats a little faster during these moments, already pining for the passing beauty of one season, while leaping about in anticipation of the beauty to come.

After eight years in sanctuary, it’s been amazing to observe the chimpanzees beginning to make clear connections between the seasonal changes and favorite things to come. For example, the moment that the snow melted last winter they began running to the windows in anticipation to check their garden each day, seemingly hoping it would sprout up overnight.

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As we welcomed the first day of autumn this morning, I found dear, sweet Annie sitting in front of the barn doors, enjoying the late morning sun and gazing out over the remainder of the chimps’ garden, seemingly lost in thought. I hope it was all the good thoughts:

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Annie sat like this for several moments and at one point the breeze picked up and she just closed her eyes, letting it blow through her hair. And yes, my heart just melted:

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Even Ellie, our wild and sassy neighborhood elk, was dozing in the breeze:

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We’ve written about it before, but Annie is a different person after eight years in her sanctuary home than when she arrived. Having gone through many seasons of her own, it’s actually more probable that there is finally safe space for her true self to emerge, more at ease with the world around her, serene and comfortable in her own skin and able to hold hope and joy for what each day and season brings:

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Happy autumn everyone (or spring, as the hemispheric case may be)!

An Imperfect Life

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In Negra’s alternate life – the one she should have had – she was born in the wilds of Africa, enjoyed a long, lazy childhood by her mother’s side, spent her days traveling with her group, climbing trees, and playing with friends, and grew up to have and raise her own babies and grandbabies.

In Negra’s actual life, she was born in the wilds of Africa, captured as an infant – probably after watching her family shot to make her capture possible – and shipped to the United States to be used as a research subject. She spent her days alone in metal cages no larger than a bathroom stall and experienced the world through filters of boredom, fear, pain, and loneliness. She had three babies in a five year span, all of whom were taken away from her within days or hours of birth, never to be seen or touched again.

Negra was about 35 years old when she stepped out of her last lab cage and into her new home at the sanctuary. That was a little over eight years ago. I sometimes wonder if there is some equation to represent the value of sanctuary to Negra and the others. Does one day in sanctuary cancel out one day in the lab? We can only hope.

Negra shouldn’t be here. She deserved to be wild and free. But her lot in life was determined by forces out of her hands, and out of ours. All we can do, and what we must do, is infuse her imperfect life with as much love and warmth and joy and comfort (and blankets and peanuts and sunshine) as we can, and then root for her as she steps toward recovery.

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Tiny chimps

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As soon as breakfast was over this morning Jamie was ready (and demanding) to go on her first perimeter walk of the day. If you got a chance to check out Elizabeth’s great blog post yesterday, you can see this is also the time we begin cleaning the chimp house. But Jamie makes sure we keep our priorities straight. So as Anna and Jamie headed off for a walk, most of the other chimps decided to join them (with the exception of the Queen who was enjoying her after breakfast nap in the greenhouse)! And so I headed out to our observation platform to take photos.

It never gets old seeing the chimps traverse their outdoor habitat, but it was a special treat to see them all on the structures together! They looked so tiny out there…

Anna, (top to bottom) Jamie, Jody, Burrito and Missy:

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Annie, Missy, Jamie (at top) and Jody walking away with her treasure of found cattails:

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Jamie, Burrito, Missy (Anna looks like she’s catching a piggy back on Missy, but rest assured she’s on the outside of the fence 😉 ), and Annie:

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Meanwhile, Foxie and her twin Doras had meandered over to climb up Jamie’s Tower:

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So tiny…Foxie on Jamie’s Tower (the top right hand of the photo), taking in the woods above the sanctuary (and our new property!):

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Jody continued back to the greenhouse with her mouthful of cattails, making her way through the tall grass like a wild woman:

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The others caught up with Foxie and reconvened on Jamie’s and Carlene’s Towers together. Annie standing below, Jamie on the ladder, and Foxie up top:

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Jamie, Missy and Foxie:

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Jamie made her way across the shaky bridge to Carlene’s Tower:

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Burrito isn’t as sure of himself on shaky structures so he’s a little more cautious about traversing the bridge, but he made it across, brave chimp man that he is:

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Diana cleverly stuck some cattails on top of the roof for Annie’s birthday a few days ago and somehow it’s gone unnoticed by the chimps. Until this morning:

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Missy lucked out after Jamie left and found another one. The second she pulled it down a cloud of seeds blew across the hill:

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All during the photo shoot, Ellie enjoyed her favorite morning spot stretched out in the shade underneath the platform I was on, or as I like to call it, the elk port:

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