Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Animal Welfare

Today is in honor of Family Day!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Tanis Sklarchuk in honor of Family Day! Tanis sent us the following message:

“February 17, 2014, is Family Day in Ontario, Canada. This day is in honor of CSNW for creating such a wonderful family at the sanctuary, for the chimps and humans alike. Keep up the great work!”

Tanis, this is such a beautiful gift, thank you so much! We are so full of gratitude for you, and all of our wonderful supporters, who make it possible for the chimpanzees to have the family and home they deserve. Whether you live somewhere this day is recognized as a public holiday or not, it’s such a lovely thing to celebrate! Happy Family Day!

Jamie (left) receiving a brow bite/kiss from Negra (right) as she offers her a little reassurance. Just what friends and families are for.

Negra kiss Jamie

And thank you so very much to all of you who have helped us through our Share the Chimp Love campaign this month! We have 10 days left to reach our goal and are almost there! Every single gift makes a difference and helps to ensure that we are able to provide Annie, Missy, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody and Negra with the life long care they deserve. And it helps us to build up our reserves so that in the future we may be able to offer other chimpanzees in need their long awaited sanctuary family and home.

In honor of Rita and Scully

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Today was sponsored by Rita Morgan for Rita Laws and Scully Dog. Rita shared the following touching message about her friends, Rita and Scully:

“Rita rescued Scully the dog over a decade ago but lost her this summer when Scully passed away. Scully was a faithful and true friend, brave and sweet, and lived to cuddle with her mama. Nothing brought her more joy than getting the invitation to tunneling under a blanket on Rita’s lap. She felt safe and warm, and all was right with the world. The chimps would appreciate her skill in creating the perfect nest. I know Rita would love to celebrate Scully’s life by helping to build a new nest for the many chimps who need our help. I chose Valentine’s Day to honor Scully because I lost my baby boy Kobe, the love of my life, on that day in 2010. Take care of our Scully, Kobe. Honeybee and Deuce too. We love you all and miss you so so much. xxxooo”

Thank you so much, Rita, for honoring your dear friends, Rita and Scully, in such a special way and thank you both, for bringing so much love into the world. Happy Valentine’s Day from all of the primates at CSNW!!

Beautiful Negra:

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Unintentional Enrichment

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Enrichment comes in many forms—food enrichment, social enrichment, object enrichment, and structural enrichment—but sometimes the most enriching things are completely unintentional. Nearly two years ago, JB took out the extremely heavy drain covers we used to have and exchanged them for lightweight covers. They are much easier to handle for the humans, but also much more likely the chimps could get it. However, the covers are durable and pose no danger to the chimps, so the risk of them grabbing it versus practically breaking our backs every time we had to lift the heavy drain cover was worth it!

After JB put in the new covers, we took bets on when the chimps (particularly Jamie) would get it. I guessed about 20 minutes after they had access to the playroom. Diana guessed that night while the humans were away, and JB guessed within 48 hours. We were all wrong! Twenty-three months was the actual answer. We didn’t see how she got it, but when we came into the chimp area a few days ago, Jamie had removed the drain cover, finally.

After removing it, she proceeded to clean it with some scraps of paper. Annie was very interested in watching her—I’m sure they know it is something they aren’t really supposed to have. (Kind of like this time we played keep-away with a laundry basket).

You’ll notice in the video that there is quite a mess in the playroom—it was the day after the Lunar New Year party, so there was a lot to clean up. Once breakfast was brought out, Jamie dropped the drain cover and exited the playroom so we could enter to retrieve it and clean up the party. As far as I am aware she hasn’t bothered to get the drain cover since, but it certainly was enriching for her that morning.

Negra with seeds on her belly

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It’s no secret that Negra has a big place in my heart. I first wrote about my love for her in this blog post from 2008, before the chimpanzees had made the journey across the U.S. to come to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. She has many endearing qualities, including her enjoyment in watching her caregivers dance (as shown in the Dancing with Negra video from 2009), the multiple stages of her droopy lip, and her love of the night bags that we give the chimpanzees after dinner each night (there’s a short video of Negra getting her night bag here).

As mentioned in this post, one of my favorite sights is a very content Negra eating her night bag while the shells of the seeds in the night bag drop on her belly. Tonight, I finally got a few good photos of just this. Negra has lost a little weight at the sanctuary, but, despite our attempts at rationing her food, she still has a buddha belly. She actually eats quite a bit less than the other chimpanzees and isn’t as food focused as, say, Burrito, but she’s also the least active of the chimpanzees. I consider Negra’s shape to be a pretty endearing quality in itself.

I hope these photos make you as happy as Negra with seeds are her belly makes me.

Negra with night bag

Negra eating night bag

Negra eating night bag

Negra eating night bag goodies

Negra looking at camera with night bag

 

 

In memory of Dr. Mel’s birthday

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Lynn Williamson, Connie Lamm, and Sue Rowlett, in memory of Dr. Mel Richardson. Today would have been Dr. Mel’s 64th birthday. His dear friend, Lynn, wanted to share these beautiful sentiments:

“Happy birthday to our dear friend Mel. I have gone to the phone and laptop a number of times to reach out to you, and then I remember. You are greatly missed. Some of the things I miss most are:  you had my back always, you had a lovely accent, you had a big beautiful smile, you had a wicked sense of humor, you were so smart and witty that I could listen to you talk on any topic – in particular of your adventures, your vast knowledge of, and love for,  animals and veterinary medicine.

Mel also had a resilient personality but a very tender heart. Mel introduced me to the sanctuary and to the chimps – because of that, I have these 7 amazing beings in my life. I also am honored to now be friends with the most amazing bunch of humans who share my values and ethics. So thank you, Mel, for this and more. See you again some day.”    

Jody, Jamie, Annie and Burrito on Young’s Hill:

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And these lovely thoughts from Sue:

“I had never met Mel but have worked with Lynn Williamson for many years and what he shared with, and taught her, was carried forward by her to me and to others. Like when a rock is dropped in the water and the ripples fan out. The difference being Mel’s ripple effect doesn’t stop.”

Thank you so much, Lynn, Connie and Sue, for honoring Mel in such a generous way and for including the chimpanzees in this special day.

Jamie enjoying her view:

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If you have been following our blog recently, you probably realize by now that Dr. Mel was a very special person, loved by so many throughout the animal kingdom. We are truly touched and honored by all those who have wished to honor Dr. Mel’s memory through their support of the chimpanzees. More than one person wished to sponsor today in celebration of Mel’s life so please check back later for another sponsorship and the chimpanzees’ party in his memory.

Missy interrupts Annie making a nest

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Missy is Annie’s best friend, but she is more dominant on the chimp hierarchy. Today she took Annie’s place in a huge paper nest Annie built (called “displacement”), but Annie didn’t get upset—instead, she started to play.