Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Animal Welfare

Intangible expansions

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I’d like to say that I no longer think of the decades the chimpanzees spent living as biomedical research subjects in open slat cages the size of a bathroom stall, the last couple of years which were in a windowless basement. But I do. I’d like to forget the images of my friends’ familiar eyes peering out from between the bars that their familiar hands clung to. But I can’t. I wish I couldn’t picture them having spent their days – their years – with no enrichment, nothing to nest with, no room to rip and run and climb, unable to engage in natural chimpanzee behaviors and family relationships, or just be free to be themselves, however that looked. But these thoughts, and most importantly the chimps’ histories, are inversely proportional to the growth and expansion they demonstrate with each passing day, season, and year.

We are fast approaching the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to their sanctuary home eight years ago, on June 13th. Eight years! And yet every single time I see them foraging on the hill, climbing new structures and taking in unobstructed views, pushing their own comfort levels with such courage, grace and dignity, it takes my breath away. No matter how many times I see all these moments in each of their lives, it never for one second feels less than wondrous and breathtaking.

And this morning, one of now countless particularly beautiful mornings the chimpanzees have had here, was no different. As they foraged for breakfast al fresco on Young’s Hill, as they traversed seemingly every inch of every structure, their hair shining in the sun and blowing in the breeze, moving as a family, each step through the electrifying green grass another step further from their histories, my friends’ familiar eyes cast to the expanse of sky and valley and mountain beyond, I watched, my heart on tiptoe.

Jamie:

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Burrito and Jamie:

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Burrito:

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Foxie and Annie:

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Foxie and France Dora:

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Annie:

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Annie and Missy:

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Missy:

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Jamie taking in her new viewpoint from the new structure, Twister:

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And then moving on to check out the view from Jamie’s Tower:

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And not to worry, Jody and Negra were both at the far reaches of Young’s Hill foraging for breakfast with a side of wild greens right along with their family, but unfortunately my photos of those two beautiful ladies didn’t turn out.

The Queen of late night

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While Burrito and Annie utilized their bipedal skills to navigate the growing grass on Young’s Hill in the hopes of finding a missed piece of forage, or a new patch of wild greens sprouting up…

Burrito:

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Annie:

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Jamie, of course, opted for something a little higher up.

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And in other news, if you’ve been following the blog for awhile you’re probably aware that as the weather grows nicer boss lady, Jamie, often keeps us out late walking around the perimeter of Young’s Hill with her. After the chimps are served dinner at 4:30 they typically start heading inside to collect their evening food puzzle and make their nests for the night (unless you’re Jamie). The humans’ day ends at 5:30 after the chimps are all safe inside and mostly asleep. But if anyone (again, Jamie) wants to stay out late, we stay until they are ready to come inside. But who do you think stayed out past bedtime this evening?…

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Yep, that’s Negra!! Sitting on her current favorite mound at the very top of Young’s Hill happily eating prickly lettuce! No matter the evening sky is growing darker with the threat of a storm coming, the Queen is in no hurry to come in. So it looks like we have a second boss lady in town. But that’s what sanctuary is all about. And this is probably a rare job where one’s heart grows a little bigger every time your bosses make you work late.

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Today is in memory Judy Matthews

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It’s been a beautiful weekend of celebration of our beloved Jody’s birthday and honoring both the mothers who the chimpanzees lost and the mothers who they are. We are honored to continue the celebration with today’s day of sanctuary in memory of Judy Matthews, sponsored by her daughter, Ronda Cluff. Ronda sent this beautiful message about her mother:

“This donation is in memory of my mother, Judy Matthews, who nurtured my love and respect for animals by teaching me from the earliest age that “do unto others” applies to all creatures. She continued her support of me as I became a vegetarian and animal activist and even thanked ME for teaching HER to see the world a little differently”

Ronda, your mother sounds like such a special person and we are so touched that you would choose to honor her through helping to provide the chimpanzees with the nurturing home and lives they deserve. Thank you so much for choosing to live your life in such a compassionate way and for all you do for animals. What a beautiful way to honor your mother’s memory each day. As we celebrate Judy’s life here today, our thoughts and gratitude are with you both! Thank you for making a difference in the chimps’ lives!

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Water and Ice Enrichment on a Hot Day

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There’s a whole crew of people here building a new structure on Young’s Hill today! We will do a big reveal on Monday, so start making your predictions as to what the structure will look like.

Because there are humans on the hill, the chimpanzees don’t have access. And today is HOT! It feels like summer. With these two circumstances combined, we needed to come up with something cooling and time-occupying for the chimpanzees. We decided on water and ice enrichment.

 

I’d say it was a hit.

 

Annie:

Annie drinking from table

 

Missy:

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Missy eating ice

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Burrito:

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Burrito chilling out

Burrito drinking water

 

Foxie:

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Jamie making up her own enrichment (of course):

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Happy Birthday, Diana!

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There is so much to celebrate today! Not only is tonight our annual auction and gala, Hoot!, but it also happens to be our Co-Director, Diana Goodrich’s, birthday! An anonymous friend of the chimps appears to have been in cahoots with their pal, Jamie, and “helped” her sponsor this day for Diana along with sending this sweet message:

“When Jamie asked to borrow my credit card, I got suspicious…more cowboy boots ??? Not this time, she wanted to sponsor a day for one of her best friends, Diana, on her birthday! She said she hopes it will be one of the best birthdays ever!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANA!!! Love Jamie”

Thank you so much to Jamie and her co-conspirator for sponsoring this special day for Diana!! The chimps and humans alike couldn’t be more fortunate to have such an amazing, compassionate and dedicated person to call our friend and colleague. Happiest of birthday hoots to you from us all, Diana!! Thank you so much for all you do to make the lives of so many others the best they can be.

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ANNIE and Family for the 3rd day of HOOT!

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J.B. and I met Annie eight and a half years ago, along with the rest of the chimpanzees who were to become The Cle Elum Seven.

From the very first blog post we wrote about her (read it here), when we talked about Annie, we talked about her friendship with Missy. Her clear love for and reliance on her friend Missy was her defining characteristic.

But Annie is coming into her own.

While some of the chimpanzees are taking advantage of the sanctuary and living out the childhood that they never had (notably Foxie – just watch the video re-posted to the blog yesterday), I think Annie has been experiencing a bit of a rebellious adolescence lately.

It was clear from day one that Annie was at the bottom of the hierarchy of the seven chimpanzees. We’ve written about her anxiety and lack of confidence in social situations many times. And we’ve told you that her confidence has skyrocketed in the last few years. What we might not have mentioned is that she’s moved beyond confidence to downright moxie.

As a general rule, timidity is not a trait that is revered in the chimpanzee social world. Chimpanzees can be a rough bunch, and if you’re not prepared to walk your talk (or would that be walk your pant-hoot?), you might find yourself in a perilous situation.

While Annie remains sweet and soulful, she is learning that she can be just as tough as the other ladies and gent, and she is much less likely to back down during conflicts now. In fact, sometimes she is the one starting them. If she feels wronged, she won’t just have a self-directed anxiety-laden outburst as she did in the past, she will let the group know she’s not only upset, but she’s not putting up with it.

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On Saturday, we will be raising funds at HOOT! for our Expansion Fund. We have some big dreams for the future of the sanctuary, and we will be sharing these, including a surprise announcement, at the gala.

We have received a matching grant pledge from the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund for $50,000. Laura Bonar, Fund Advisor for the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund and Chief Program & Policy Officer at Animal Protection of New Mexico, will be one of our special guests at the event!

That grant and the matching funds that we will raise on Saturday will go towards our first phase of expansion. This means that we will be adding more chimpanzees to the group in the near future.

We are still seeing the individual personalities and the group dynamics of the Cle Elum Seven change after almost eight years, and this will be a whole new and thrilling chapter in the lives of Annie and her six family members.

Who knows how we will be describing Annie’s position three or four years from now. What I do know is all of the chimpanzees will continue to change and grow and experience life in new ways.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

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