Annie

Thank you, Trish!

December 28, 2017 by Katelyn

Trish Loesch sponsored not one, but two days of sanctuary for the chimpanzees this week and she shared this lovely message:

“I love reading the blog everyday and appreciate what you do for the chimps and I wanted to do something for them by sponsoring two days of sanctuary!”

Trish, thank you so much for going out of your way to reach out and contribute to the chimps’ lives through your compassion and generosity. It’s hard to imagine their lives were ever anything less than the love filled days we see now and thanks to people like you, it’s all they will know for all their days forward.

Annie:

Burrito:

Foxie:

Jamie:

Jody:

Missy:

Negra:

Happy Birthday, Ashley!

December 27, 2017 by Katelyn

A gift from one of our chimp house volunteers! Becca Hines sponsored a day of sanctuary for seven special chimps and one special human and shared this sweet message:

“Happy Birthday to my favorite human – Ashley Pittman! You are the Missy to my Annie and I am so happy you were born. Thank you for all you do and for being a wonderful friend. Here’s to many more birthdays together, for you and I AND Annie and Missy. <3”

Thank you for all you do for the chimps, Becca, and for always holding them in your heart! Ashley, we hope you have the happiest of birthdays yet!

Besties, Annie and Missy:

Remembering Bill

December 24, 2017 by Katelyn

Nicki Walters sponsored this special Christmas Eve day of sanctuary in memory of her beloved husband, Bill, and she shared this touching message about today:

“This is my Christmas Present to my Sweet Willy Twist who is greatly missed. The Magnificent 7 always brought us so much joy and helped us find our smiles and give us reasons to laugh during several dark days. Even though he isn’t here to enjoy this day, I like to think he still looks on and watches them climb and romp around on his Twister! Merry Christmas to the Chimpazees and all who take such good care of them!”

Nicki, all of the primates here at the sanctuary are so fortunate to call you and Bill our friends. From our hearts, thank you for all you have, and continue, to contribute to making the chimps’ home a true sanctuary. Your amazing gift of Twister has brought so much joy and adventure to the chimps’ lives. It’s given boss lady, Jamie, a perfect vantage point from which to view her queendom and all the happenings in all the land:

It’s encouraged others to reach new heights of courage and daring (Burrito being VERY brave):

Foxie, Dora and Kate:

Jody:

Inspired chimpanzee shenanigans (Missy top, Annie below):

Missy chasing Annie:

And is a daily reminder of all the love that surrounds the chimps and all the good people we get to call part of our chimp family.

Nicki, you and Bill are in our hearts and thoughts and we are sending you all the good thoughts for a season full of love, comfort and peace.

Portraits from the vault

December 12, 2017 by Anna

A slow, quiet day in the chimp house seems like the perfect opportunity to dig through our digital files and share a few unseen portraits of the chimpanzees!

Annie:

Missy:

Jamie (doing her best glower):

Jody:

Negra:

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

December 5, 2017 by Katelyn

Jessica Keogh sponsored this day of sanctuary in honor of her boyfriend, Jonathan Londono, and in celebration of his birthday! Jessica shared this message about today:

“I am sponsoring today in honor of my boyfriend, Jonathan, on his birthday. One of the first things Jonathan told me as we were getting to know each other was that when he retired he wanted to study primatology to work with chimpanzees. I thought he was joking, but quickly learned he was kind of serious. Fortunately for me his enthusiasm is contagious, and fortunately for us we discovered CSNW. We follow the blog and watch your videos together. Jonathan really enjoys watching the way the chimps eat. Actually he enjoys everything they do. Mostly though, we follow along because we greatly respect the work you do and appreciate the home you have provided for the chimps. So thank you and happy birthday, Jonathan!”

We love that you both get so much enjoyment from following the chimps! Thank you so much for caring about them and for sponsoring today for Jonathan, Jessica! Your compassionate gift makes a difference in their lives and we so appreciate it.

Well, Jonathan, Burrito knows a thing or two about eating:

The chimps like to watch each other eat as well (food peer), but only when they are curious to see what their friend is eating and hoping they might be in the mood to share. Here is Foxie is checking out Annie’s pine tree snack:

Annie is hoping Negra might share that cabbage:

Happy Birthday, Jonathan, from all of us at CSNW! We hope it’s the best one yet! Hopefully it involves your favorite foods without the pressure to share with others who are staring at you. If it helps, the chimps are rarely swayed. 🙂

Even brisker mornings

December 4, 2017 by Katelyn

We have a stunning week of sun ahead of us in the forecast and even though the temperatures are progressively colder, the bright sun is filling everyone with adventurous spirits and joyful days. As Kelsi shared in her blog yesterday, even the Queen has been braving the chill to enjoy time outside.

Despite that, when I opened the door to Young’s Hill first thing this morning I couldn’t have been more surprised to see everyone literally racing outside seemingly on a group mission. Foxie and her doll headed straight for the nearest platforms where she proceeded to play stomp and shiver her way around with a mischievous look on her face.

Here she is mid-stomp:

Jody, Annie and Burrito wasted no time heading straight for the tire swings and it didn’t take long to realize they were remembering that the cold weather brings ice treats to be found in the tire swings! I love that they remember favorite things from each season now.

Jody:

Burrito found some ice pieces Annie and Jody missed:

Annie and Jody heading back toward the greenhouse with their ice chunks (Missy foreground):

Annie headed to the greenhouse:

Jamie on her way back from the business of the morning:

Annie returned to the outdoors seemingly to just enjoy the view and the feel the elements:

After Jody came inside with her ice she immediately realized that Foxie was still outside in the cold and charged back up the hill to collect her. Foxie is an adventurous soul and declined Jody’s encouragement to return to the greenhouse (much to Jody’s dismay) and continued on her way checking things out, but she eventually made her way back:

It makes my heart sing to see how the chimps embrace their days and everything they discover within each one, how adventurous and brave they’ve become, and how, well, themselves they’ve become. Winter, spring, summer and fall, they show us a new season of themselves.

Brisk Mornings

December 3, 2017 by Kelsi

Today was a beautiful brisk December morning, Jamie and I were on our usual perimeter walk. At the end of our walk I noticed Missy and Negra enjoying the warm sunshine beaming on Young’s Hill. Negra sat on a log watching Missy eat the little bit of snow left on the log, Negra then also took part in eating some snow! The Hill was pretty popular today even with the chill this morning, everyone made an appearance at one point. A little later, after I went back to the Playroom to help clean, I spotted Annie playing with the new mirror in the Greenhouse. Annie was being silly and flipping upside down and inspecting all the windows. Missy revealed herself from the cargo net near Annie, which made sense, Annie was trying to get Missy to play! It worked, they quietly played in the cargo net and I sneaked away so they could play in peace.

Negra: