Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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It’s Beets!

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The lunch forage on the hill today included quite a variety of vegetables, but the beets were a favorite. Bonus: they are easy to carry back to the greenhouse to enjoy.

Eating beets temporarily stains the chimps’ white freckles a lovely shade of pink, and cleaning up the day after a beet feast is always more colorful.

 

Annie:

 

Missy:

 

Jamie:

 

Jody:

 

Negra (with Missy in the background)

 

If you are wondering about the troll doll by Negra’s feet in the photo above, she actually took a shine to it today. It’s Foxie who loves the troll dolls, but once in a while Negra decides to carry one around!

 

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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

 

 

the walking club

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Unless this is your first time visiting the blog (if so, welcome!!), you probably know about Jamie’s obsession with walking around the perimeter of Young’s Hill while one or more of her human caregivers walks around the outside of the perimeter while wearing a cowboy boot.

She has been doing this multiple times a day with all of her caregivers since the spring. While Jamie is quite demanding about taking these walks 4-7 times a days, it’s admittedly not a dreaded task for us humans. It’s hard to describe how great it feels to not only be making Jamie happy, which is pretty much a CSNW caregiver’s definition of a successful day, but it’s also just a very peaceful way to spend 15 or so minutes. It’s particularly great right now because the weather has been amazing this October, and the hill and the surrounding property is beautiful, even awe-inspiring at certain times of the day.

We actually dreamed of doing these perimeter walks before Young’s Hill was a reality. When it was in the design phase, we wondered if the chimps might patrol the perimeter of the hill, similar to the way chimpanzees in the wild go on patrol to check the boundaries of their territory. So when Jamie started doing this, it felt right.

While spending time with the chimpanzees one-on-one, like walking with Jamie while the other chimps do their own thing, is personally fulfilling, what’s 100 times more rewarding is observing the chimpanzees with each other and seeing their bonds strengthen and their friendships expand.

Which is why we’ve been thrilled that other chimpanzees have been joining Jamie on her walks lately. J.B. captured some clips on his phone and put together the video below.

Maybe, just maybe, one day the chimpanzees will go off on their own with each other to walk the perimeter of the hill, leaving us humans behind.

 

Burrito and Jamie on the hill

Window Play

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Burrito and Debbie had a fun game of chase going this morning, with Debbie running on the outside of the chimp building where the garden is, and Burrito running inside from window to window. At one point in the game, Burrito generously shared a little bit of his water.

Jamie played a bit too, but she mostly wanted Debbie to pick her something from the garden.

Donation Drive Extravaganza!

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donation drive extravaganza flyer

Big thanks to the Seattle Animal Defense League for organizing a Donation Drive Extravaganza for the Animals to benefit Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest as well as Precious Life Animal Sanctuary and Pigs Peace Sanctuary. The drive is underway now and ends February 13th.

 

Here’s how it works:

Anyone can donate money in the form of checks made out to the sanctuary of your choice, cash brought to the drop-off locations, or through this paypal account.

The drive was also set up to collect wish list items for the sanctuaries (see list below) and there are several convenient drop off locations in the Seattle area (see other list below). If you want to donate something specific for the chimps, be sure to label it “CSNW” or “for the chimps” or something else obvious. You can donate anything from our online wishlist, in addition to the general wish list below that covers all three sanctuaries.

For more information, of if you have any questions, email SADF at [email protected]

All of this information is also on their Facebook event page. Please spread the news about the drive! RSVP to the event and share with your FB friends.

WISH LIST:
money!
fresh fruits and vegetables
trash bags
(HE) laundry detergent
bleach
soy protein powder
buckets
scrub brushes
vegan chewable vitamins
boot and western wear catalogs
boots (of any size)
troll dolls
canned fruit
uncooked pasta
vegetarian dog treats
peanuts (unsalted)
towels
peanut butter
wet and dry cat food (preferably friskies)
cat litter
rabbit pellets (preferably honor brand)
wet cob
rolled oats junior or senior equine feed
orchard grass or alfalfa
dry dog food (preferably pinnacle or nature’s choice)

 

DROP OFF LOCATIONS:
Pizza Pi Vegan Pizzeria
5500 University Way NE

Wayward Cafe
5253 University Way NE

Araya’s Place
1121 NE 45th St

Chocolate Shoebox
7410 Greenwood Ave North

Mighty O Donuts
2210 N 55th St

Downtown Dog Lounge
420 E Denny Way

Georgetown Liquor Company
5501 Airport Way S

Evergreen Holistic Vet
14711 Fryelands Blvd (Monroe)

Thanks also to the businesses who are serving as drop off locations!