Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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Here for the Show

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Burrito spends a lot of his time spying on the neighbors, especially when said neighbors are in the Chute, which is close to his playroom’s windows. But he can even get glimpses of other chimps when they are in Lupine playroom.

What was catching his attention this afternoon was a lot of displaying from both of the other groups.

You probably know Cy by now as more of the quiet bookish type, but he’s also a large male chimpanzee who is more than capable of putting on an impressive display:

It’s not clear if Burrito wishes he were in the mix or is merely entertained/enriched by focusing on the goings-on of the other groups.

He’s certainly not the only one.

Missy was also keeping a close eye on things this afternoon, bounding up and down as a greeting when she glimpsed Terry in the Chute.

While we won’t be doing any introductions with Burrito’s group in the near future, it’s clear just having neighbors has added a very enriching element to their lives.

Rayneception

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For weeks now, I’ve been bringing my camera with me when I walk between the two new greenhouses (Oakwood and Riverview) in hopes of catching someone looking through the canvas flaps that separate those areas from the indoor playrooms. The concept formed when I saw Rayne pause there a while back and thought the rectangular doorway framed her face nicely. Sadly, I did not have my camera with me at the time, but Rayney had already inspired (or incepted?) the idea into my mind.

This afternoon, Rayne unknowingly made me a happy photographer. (I’d say she made me a happy caregiver, but she does that everyday regardless.) I was walking by the greenhouses and trawling for blog material when she popped her head out to see what I was up to. Rayne calmly paused in the doorway, gently lifted the curtains, and peered out into the greenhouses to see if there was any activity worthy of her time. I cheerfully snapped a few shots, excited that my vision for a composition had actually manifested itself into a real photo. I might need to do a little editing to make the image look the way I think it should, but Rayne clearly did most of the work here.

As I was transferring the image file to the desktop computer we use for blogging, I found some other photos of Rayne that I don’t remember sharing here before. I hope her tender, inquisitive demeanor comes through in the photos!

 

A celebration from the heart: Cherish the chimpanzees this Valentine’s Day

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Today the chimp house was full of celebratory festivities, and the cattle were frolicking in their pasture on this unusually spring-like February day.

Gordo reaching for a box full of goodies.
The boxes included blood oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and heart-shaped banana oat pancakes, as well as sparkling cider with raspberries.
Enjoying his bounty!

Spring weather always puts me into planning mode. As we’ve mentioned before, we have a very busy summer ahead as we complete new outdoor habitats for the chimpanzees. We’ll also be introducing the cattle to a new area of the property, so there are adventures ahead for everyone!

Betsy, Nutmeg, Honey, and Meredith!

In the past, we’ve had fundraising drives on Valentine’s Day. This year, instead, I wanted you to join me in planning mode. You can give with your heart today while also planning for the future by including CSNW in your estate plan.

With our well-into-maturity chimpanzees, you may wonder what our plans our for the long-term future of the sanctuary.

If you signed up to receive the link to the recording of the conversation I had with Jen Feuerstein about merging groups of chimpanzees (and you made it all the way to the end of that recording!), you know that we are thinking hard and carefully about the next steps for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Whether than means rescuing more chimpanzees or rescuing smaller species of primates, there is a lot ahead for this sanctuary, well beyond my life, I hope.

Creating an estate plan is definitely an action that comes from the heart, for your loved ones and their future. And it can make a generational impact on the organizations important to you. When you create your will, you’re ensuring the future of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and helping to provide future residents the promise of a sanctuary home.

This free online tool helps you create your will in just 20 minutes so you can secure the future for the human people and the chimpanzee people you love. If you have any non-probate assets not included in your will, you can use this secure tool to designate beneficiaries for those assets and make your plans.

Thank you for making this Valentine’s Day so special.

Annie enjoying the banana oat pancake!

If you’ve already included us in your plans, please fill out this form to let us know; I want to thank you for your kindness!

Other financially clever and more immediate ways to provide hope, love, and home include giving from your IRA or donating your appreciated assets.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the ways that you give your hearts to the chimpanzees and the bovines too.

Dora enjoying here box of goodies!
Willy B grabbing as much as he can in Riverview.
Cy with armfuls of goodie bags!

Names of Sanctuary Spaces that Honor Donors

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When we started the Bring Them Home Campaign for Expansion, I was full of hope for a future that included helping more chimpanzees, but I really wasn’t sure how long it would take to raise the funds needed to expand.

We have been incredibly fortunate to have the support of many dedicated donors who are invested in providing all of the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest with an enriching loving environment with a variety of things to do and places to explore. Thanks to all of you!

The ongoing campaign includes the opportunity to name specific parts of the expansion for certain significant donations, which was a bit of a new approach for us. We have had some wonderful donors take advantage of this opportunity, and we now have names for the two playrooms and greenhouses that were Phases 2 and 3 of the expansion.

Drum roll, please…

Playroom 2, which is on the east side of the building, closest to the Chute and Courtyard, and connected to the front rooms of the expansion, is named Lupine. The naming opportunity was given as part of a fundraising initiative that included a drawing with a chance to name the space. Longtime local-to-Cle Elum donor Patty Clark wanted to honor her mother, who was known as “the flower lady”, with the name, so together we chose the name of a beautiful native flower, with it’s purple spikes decorating the hillside of the sanctuary each summer.



 

Playroom 3, on the west side of the building closest to the road and the river, and connected to the Mezzanine, was named Marmot Mountain by Monica Best. With her training in wildlife biology, Monica has a great fondness for all local fauna and chose to honor the small and delightful mammals that scurry all over the property in the spring in summer. You might notice a marmot silhouette painted on the wall of this playroom in photos shared on the blog. There’s a chimp-proof window that looks into Marmont Mountain from a human area that we boringly refer to as Mechanical Room 3. That window is a favorite spot for chimps to greet people, like Anna’s daughter Luna.



Greenhouse 2, with its 20-foot-high peak, artificial tree, real bamboo, and views of the hillside and open-top habitat (soon to be multiple habitats) to the east, has been named Oakwood in honor of Oliver Mazner by Karen Emmerman Mazner. Oliver thought about the place he feels the most loved, secure, and at ease—selecting his grandparents’ neighborhood in the Oakwood area of London— to reflect that the chimps are now in just such a place.  A new overhead tunnel being built now will run outside of the building, providing another connection between Oakwood to Lupine and also branch (see what I did there) to the existing Chute, which will open onto the Bray, the new open-top expanse named in honor of James Douglas by his wife Jen.

   

Greenhouse 3 stands equally tall on the west side of the building. The chimpanzees from Wildlife Waystation love lounging on the high benches and the platform of the artificial tree, looking out towards the river and the railroad that runs beside it. Donors Vicky and David Fagerlee allowed the staff to choose a name for this indoor-outdoor space. They appreciated the creative puns often seen in blog titles by Chad and Anthony, but we opted to go for the more literal (but we think still poetic) name: Riverview.

Thank you again to every person who have made these spaces come to life and who will continue to contribute as we continue to add more exciting habitats!

More Love for Rayne

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Rayne has charmed many supporters since arriving at the sanctuary last June, including Monica Best, who is another person who is sponsoring today’s day of sanctuary in honor of Rayne’s birthday! Thank you, Monica!

There is no doubt that Rayne is someone to be admired. We knew that Rayne was a strong individual, considered the female leader of her group (with Cy being the male leader) by those who cared for her at Wildlife Waystation. When she first arrived, she was a little slow to show her silly side, but once she settled into her new home and decided she could trust us, Rayne really warmed up to all of her caregivers. She greets us with friendly breathy pants and will play great games of chase throughout the building. She likes boxes, scarves, slinkys and smoothies, all of which she is enjoying in abundance today.

Today is the first birthday Rayne is celebrating at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We think she makes 32 look pretty great.

Sounds of Sanctuary. LOUD Edition

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Just like humans, chimpanzees have a variety of decibels in which they vocalize, though when they are loud, they are LOUD.