Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Animal Welfare

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!

Really Big News

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First of all, the HOOT! 2019 event was a great success and so, so much fun! Thanks to everyone who attended and raised their paddles for the chimpanzees!

We were able to share some very exciting news in person at the event. If you are an e-news subscriber, you got this news in your inbox this morning.

Here’s the highlight: three more chimpanzees will be coming to the sanctuary later this summer! Honey B, one of the three, is Missy’s 30-year-old daughter. Honey B was removed from Missy right after she was born in the laboratory, but now they will have a chance to get to know each other as adults.

You can watch the video (above and below) that we shared at the event right before Give a HOOT! where guests raised their paddles to give direct donations to the sanctuary. After watching the video, we raised over $100,000 for Give a HOOT! We’ll need these funds to continue the care of all of the chimpanzees, including Honey B and her friends Willie B and Mave.

If you were not able to attend, but would still like to help, you can make a celebratory donation too. We appreciate it!

We really couldn’t be more excited to be making this announcement. Thank you, blog readers, for following the sanctuary and investing in learning more about the chimpanzees. Your support means 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!

Moms

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Most of you reading this probably know that Annie, Foxie, Jody, Missy, and Negra were used as breeders during their years in biomedical research. Each of them gave birth to multiple babies in the laboratories, all of whom were removed from their respective mothers at or shortly after birth and brought up in “nurseries” in the labs.

That’s the reason we celebrate Jody’s birthday on Mother’s Day, as we did last weekend. Jody had the most pregnancies and the greatest number of children who she did not have the opportunity to raise and love and dote on, as we suspect she would have.

Though not chimpanzees, we do, however, now have two moms with their children at the sanctuary! Moms Betsy and Honey originally lived at a dairy, where they too were probably bred multiple times. The last children that they had were able to grow up with their respective mothers at Farm Sanctuary. And grow they did!

Nutmeg, like Burrito, is the one male of his group. You don’t often see adult dairy steers because the males are basically unwanted byproducts of the dairy industry. When you do see them, they are big, and Nutmeg is no exception.

He’s about twice the size of his mom, Betsy, but he still looks to her for comfort and nurturing.

Meredith, though she’s a cow not a steer, also towers over her mom, Honey. They both seem to share an independent streak.

It’s really nice to be able to have this little family here at the sanctuary and to know these moms were able to raise their kids from birth. You can learn more about the cattle by clicking on their individual pages from the main cattle page and you can now become a Bovine Buddy too!

A Study in Contrasts

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Ya’ll, even though it’s only May, it is summer weather out here today at the sanctuary.

Foxie was getting the most out of the airy greenhouse and lazy summer vibes by literally putting her feet up.

With a doll, of course.

Jody was doing the same, right next to Foxie.

But this is my favorite photo of the bunch. It shows Foxie, the picture of carefree relaxation, in stark contrast to Jamie, who broke herself away from a perfectly calm grooming session to take the opportunity to try the scare the living daylights out of the caregivers cleaning on the other side of the door.

To each her own, I say.

The Thief

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Boss Jamie is not generally light-hearted. She runs a tight ship and she takes her job seriously. It’s rare to catch her playing with anyone, but when we do, it’s almost always with Foxie, and it’s almost always the same game.

Jamie knows that a surefire way to get Foxie’s attention is to swipe one of her beloved dolls, because Foxie will inevitably join Jamie’s game of keepaway.

Jamie (left, plotting) and Foxie (right, oblivious):

The theft is complete and Jamie makes her getaway.

All the way down to the ground…

Foxie follows, as Jamie knew she would.

Love a Chimpanzee Day 2019

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Today is our 9th annual Love a Chimpanzee Day! This holiday was born in the imagination of one of the chimps’ longtime friends, but that doesn’t make it any less real to us.

This year we decided to celebrate by offering each of the chimpanzees something they love.