Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

board of directors

Test Your Knowledge of Chimpanzees and Other Primates

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We have something a little different for today’s blog post! Our education committee, which includes board members Tara, Lori, and Jessica, created a quiz for you!

Here’s the explanation and the quiz (below) from them:

If you have been a reader of our blog for any period of time, you know that CSNW’s mission is firmly rooted in caregiving and education. We enjoy sharing the daily stories from our staff members who spend their time cleaning, preparing food, and engaging with our family of chimpanzees and bovines. We also share behaviors of wild chimpanzees that we observe in our residents, reminding us that they could have lived freely in the wild had their fates not been overtaken by human intervention.

Informing our supporters is important to ensure that the public is aware of the plight of primates worldwide because awareness brings about action and action results in change. The kind of change that primates need is myriad, but the more people are aware, the more likely they are to donate, demand, and direct the results needed to protect primates and ensure their existence for generations. In contrast, unawareness or ignorance can misinform well-intentioned animal lovers, perpetuation harmful practices (lie roadside zoos, primates as pets, and use in biomedical research and entertainment) that can lead to lives of misery and even extinction.

Whether you are a donor, mission supporter, or a curious reader, we invite you to participate in an interactive series of upcoming blog posts that will focus on education about primates.

To start, we invite you to test your knowledge of chimpanzees and other primates by taking an anonymous quiz. Your responses will directly impact our educational outreach by identifying the topics on which we should focus on next.

Test your knowledge of chimpanzees and other primates at this link or directly on the quiz embedded below.

You can be an advocate for primates by sharing what you learn with your friends and family, further spreading accurate information and breaking common myths. Sharing our blog posts on your social media can have an exponential effect!

On The 2nd Day of Thanks

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Yesterday, J.B. introduced you to our Seven Days of Thanks by posting about the dedicated, full-of-heart staff caregivers that give so much every day to the chimpanzees.

Today, I would like to shout from the highest mountain a thank you to the founder of the sanctuary, Keith LaChappelle, all past board members, and our current board of directors.

There would certainly be no Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest without the vision, foresight, commitment, and determination that Keith and the founding board harnessed to start this organization from scratch – taking it from an idea to help chimpanzees in need to a physical sanctuary that has cared for seven of the greatest primates I know for the last six and a half years.

 

J.B. and Keith during construction of the chimpanzees first outdoor area (what is now the greenhouse):

Keith and J.B.

 

Negra and Keith:

Keith and Negra

 

Keith and his friend Nick, helping with the sprinkler system installation this summer:

Keith and Nick

 

There are a lot of people who have the desire to start a sanctuary, but only a fraction of them see their dream become a reality. Starting a sanctuary is not easy in any respect, and it takes a profound amount of work in so many disparate areas to be successful.

Keith officially founded Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in 2003 by bringing together people with varied expertise and the shared desire to make a difference and personally purchasing the sanctuary property to lease to the organization. Ground breaking for the sanctuary began soon after, but it wasn’t until 2007 that the future inhabitants, the seven chimpanzees we all love so much now, were identified.

There have been many incredible people involved in the important work of leading the strategy of the organization as members of the board of directors over the last eleven years, making critical and sometimes difficult decisions. Board members are often the unseen and unsung heroes of nonprofits, carrying the huge responsibility of the organization’s health and vision.

We recently had our annual board retreat, which renewed my admiration for our current and past board members. Having a team of people focused on the same mission, with the same goals for the future, is essential and also inspiring.

board annual meeting

Thanks to our retreat facilitator Susan Howlett for the above photo that looks staged – we really were all concentrating that hard!

 

The best way to show the impact of the work of Keith and all board members who have carried the organization from it’s idea phase to today is to show how far we’ve come.

Below are a few shots of the different phases of the sanctuary over the years:

painting

greenhouse framing

greenhouse construction

Missy chase Foxie

raceway to young's hill construction

young's hill construction platforms

chimps on platforms

mobile clinic

sidewalks

 

 

And here is the very first photo that I put on our website after the chimpanzees arrived on June 13, 2008 – a photo of  Negra:

negra day one

 

Negra in the same spot this morning:

Negra room four 5

Negra room four 3

Negra room four 2

Negra room four 1

Negra room four 4

These photos of Negra reminded me to let you all know that sculptures of Negra via artist Jason Shanaman are available as part of our eight ways to celebrate the holidays! Check out Holiday Central for more info.

 

In Memory of Dr. Mel Richardson

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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend, Dr. Mel Richardson.

Dr Mel and Gamma

Dr. Mel is and will always be part of the heart and soul of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. He joined the Board of Directors in the spring of 2008, prior to the chimps’ arrival, and was instrumental in developing the philosophy of care that guides us today. He continued to oversee the care of the Cle Elum Seven for the next five and half years with boundless love and unwavering dedication.

During his visits to the sanctuary, Dr. Mel won over the chimpanzees and humans alike with his southern charm. He welcomed phone calls from worried staff at all hours, which he handled with patience and understanding. His calmness and reassurance during uncertain times is something we will always appreciate. And his vast knowledge and decades of experience – from zookeeper to veterinarian to activist – made him one of the most trusted members of the organization.

If his easy smile didn’t immediately win you over, his countless stories surely would. He seemed to have lived multiple lifetimes, soaking up every bit he could, and he never stopped planning for the next adventure or the next opportunity to offer his expert but humble assistance.

Dr. Mel dedicated his life to helping animals, and he was especially committed to seeing formerly abused and neglected captive exotic animals thrive in sanctuaries. Remarkably, the health and happiness of the Cle Elum Seven are but one small part of his amazing legacy. From Rwanda to Cle Elum to Bolivia, he traveled across the globe to help animals in need.

The chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are fortunate to have an amazing team of veterinarians dedicated to their care, and you can rest assured that they are left in good hands. But we will all feel the void that Dr. Mel has left, as we mourn the loss of a kind, courageous, and compassionate soul.

Thank you, Dr. Mel.

Dr_Mel_podium_IMG_2849

the good, the bad and the snow

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Thanks to Candy’s initiative on our Holiday Wishes post, it looks like we have $120 pledged towards the new MacBook. Having a new Mac really is essential for our blog, so we appreciate the pledges from Candy, Kathy B., Theresa and Catherine Mollyneaux! Please comment here or email me if you’d like to join in the pledges.

Sorry for the lack of posts for the last few days. On Thursday we had a crew out from a national magazine doing a story on Sarah. You’ll have to wait until February to find out which mag (if you know, don’t tell!)

On Friday and Saturday we were having technical difficulties with the old Mac as well as memory cards for the camera. Jackie and I were worried it was the beginning of the end for my old MacBook. It’s okay for the time being, but who knows how long it’s going to hold on. We do really immediately need a new  4 to 8 GB memory card. There’s one on our Amazon wishlist, if you want to snatch it up for us. We also got a foot of snow yesterday and I had to take off early from the chimp house to attempt to plow the driveway with the tractor (yikes!).

In other exciting news, our Board of Directors will be purchasing the new Cannon camera for us!! We are so excited! It’s going to make videos of the chimps on Young’s Hill possible and will add to our collection of great photos. We have the best board! Being on a board is serious business. Basically, they are responsible for the organization, which is a particularly big deal when talking about a sanctuary or other non-profit that cares for living beings. Having a strong board with lots of professional expertise is essential. And boy do we have it – just check them out on our Board of Directors page.

I promise we will post some photos or video later today.