Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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The New Three

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You guessed it – Willy B, Mave, and Honey B are incredible, and we are all newly in love with them with each passing hour. It’s hard to believe they’ve only been here a few days from Wildlife Waystation.

Click on the video above for some recent clips of the three, and stay tuned for a video of their journey to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, which we will be showing as part of the Summer Biddin’ online auction that beings August 28th!

Willy B is starting to relax enough to play games of chase and was seen playing with a plastic slinky today. He loves watching videos and looking at photos on our phones. He seems to particularly like photos of Jody. Despite his grand entrance seen in the video he hasn’t been displaying very much. We suspect his displays will increase when he is able to see the other chimpanzees through the howdy door.

Mave, at least on the outside, appears to be most relaxed chimpanzee I’ve ever met. She was even making a nest and lying on her back during the transport! Today, she discovered troll dolls and carried one around with her this morning, tucking it into her pelvic pocket before greeting J.B. She has a way of casually shuffling across the new floors that makes it seem like she’s wearing slippers.

We’ve been told that Honey B is uber smart, and we’re definitely seeing glimpses of that. She has a way of looking right into your soul. She is a very enthusiastic groomer with her new human friends and is very excited when she finds a scab. She’s decided the mezzanine is the place to be and has been nesting up there at night using everything available.

There’s so much more for us to learn about these three chimpanzees, and we’re so glad to have all of you following along so you can get to know them too.

Structural Enrichment

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I have occasionally heard the word “enrichment” defined as items that are given to animals once their basic needs have been met.

In contrast, I think of enrichment as an entire philosophy, not just something extra that we do when our other work is done. For these chimpanzees and all other captive animals, enrichment is a basic need. Although survival would be possible without enrichment, thriving would not. Here at the sanctuary, every aspect of our daily routine, from meal preparation to cleaning, is done with the ultimate goal of keeping the chimpanzees happy and healthy. There is no easy way to group items or activities into “enrichment” or “not enrichment.” We just enrich everything.

In addition to distributing troll dolls, cowboy boots and slinkies, our team designs and builds new structures for the chimpanzees. The way in which we design and furnish the facility is considerate of the chimpanzee’s physical and emotional needs, and we often add or change components of the enclosures to keep the surroundings interesting and functional for the chimps. A great example is the network of firehose “vines” that transects the Playroom, Greenhouse, Hill, and new wing of enclosures. The video posted above shows how Jamie gets to use the firehose however she wants, giving her a greater degree of choice in addition to the obvious security and stability that such additions provide.

We’re also excited to share a photo of a new firehose hammock, modeled by Level III volunteer and CWU graduate student Chad. Several volunteers and interns helped staff and contractors to furnish the chimpanzee areas of the Phase 1 expansion with benches, firehose, hammocks, and ladders. The new hammock is hanging in the upstairs mezzanine enclosure, and will hopefully be enjoyed by the sanctuary’s newest residents once they arrive!

Video: A Day in the Life

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We were really busy last week preparing for our big event in Seattle. HOOT! 2019 was a great success, due to the staff and volunteers who put in hours and hours over the last year preparing and planning, plus the staff and volunteers who gave it their all at the event on Saturday.

But the gala is just a small part of what they do. This video is a look at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest that provides a glimpse into all that goes into a day of sanctuary.

We’re sorry we were so busy last week to not give #SanctuaryCaregiverDay its due. The sanctuary would be NOTHING without paid and volunteer caregivers. So, please watch this video and thank them for all of their hard work. We appreciate them so much!

June is for Negra

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If you have the CSNW 2019 calendar, you get to look at this beautiful photo of Negra all month long:

You’ll also notice (or may already know) that we celebrate Negra’s honorary birthday on June 13th, the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Negra remains the eldest of the group of seven chimpanzees. She dominated our thoughts as we were preparing the sanctuary for the group’s arrival. She had spent the most time in biomedical research and had suffered perhaps more than any of the other chimpanzees, showing the signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder upon her arrival.

We were excited to see all of the chimpanzees fully realize their new sanctuary life, but I for one could not stop thinking about being able to witness Negra experience all of the new comforts, choices, and space at the sanctuary. This video of her in the playroom for the first time captured what will forever be one of my most cherished moments.

The expression on her face today in this photo reminded me of the video:

Which of course led me to think of the most iconic image of Negra that we have: Negra in the Sun

This is the original photo I took in 2008:

Then artist Margaret H. Parkinson created this breathtaking painting based on the photo:

Margaret’s painting then inspired other artists, most recently mosaic artist Lisa Whatne.

Here is a close-up of Lisa’s truly stunning piece:

And guess what!? The Negra in the Sun mosaic is available for bidding in the HOOT! 2019 gala auction on June 15th! Even those who are not able to make it to the event can place an absentee bid on this mosaic as well as most of the other items in the auction! Absentee bidding begins Monday, June 10th at 8:00 a.m. See all items on the auction preview site now (items are still being added).

I can’t wait to find out who the lucky winner of the mosaic is going to be!

A Subtle Hint from Jamie

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Last week, you may recall that I had a difficult time choosing a subject for a blog post. Well, here’s an explanation of one of the reasons why.

The enrichment theme for that day was “reading day” and Jamie took that to heart.

She seemed particularly enamored with a Dwell magazine. I even saw her gather up the magazine when she was moving from the front rooms to the playroom.

We see the chimpanzees carry blankets from one space to another and their favorite things (dolls for Foxie, boots for Jamie, wooden or plastic objects for Burrito), but it was the first time I’ve seen a chimpanzee so deliberately take a magazine that wasn’t smeared with peanut butter into a new space.

I didn’t get a sense that it was any particular page that she was interested in, as she carefully and thoroughly looked through the entire magazine:

Included in the reading day was a large catalog full of all sorts of products. When I went into the playroom in the evening to spot clean one last time, I found the catalog on the catwalk opened to this page:

Did boot-loving Jamie  purposely leave the catalog for me to find, hinting at a future gift idea?

All is calm, and today is sponsored by Kery & Terran

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Sanctuary friends Kery and Terran sponsored today, New Year’s Eve Day, with this lovely message:

“For the Chimps, the staff and the volunteers of CSNW. All is calm, all is bright. Wishing you much love and joy during this holiday season! Love & Gratitude, Kery & Terran”

We’re wishing you the same!

Here are some calm and bright moments with the chimpanzees from this year:

 

Jamie in her tunnel hideout:

Jamie sitting in tunnel

 

Negra sleeping while wrapped in a red blanket:

negra sleeping

 

Burrito and Missy grooming:

burrito and missy grooming