Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
We received a package of hand knit scarves and hats for the chimps the other day from a supporter in Georgia. In addition to a really sweet card, she also sent some packets of seeds since she won’t be able to attend next Tuesday’s Stand-up for Chimps comedy night in Seattle (have you bought your tickets yet?)
Jamie wore one of the scarves during the early morning and one of the hats as soon as we gave them to her. Below is Jamie with a blue hat. Pretty stylish, I would say.
Please be sure to tune in to Nightline tonight for a very important story about how chimpanzees are treated in laboratories. I just previewed some of the footage and it’s heartbreaking. Knowing Jamie, Burrito, Foxie, Negra, Annie, Missy and Jody were in similar facilities… There are no words!
Check out that shed, in the above segment, that Jim built and Audrey and Brian helped put together 🙂
*Note that the Sippin’ for the Seven wine tasting event is in Roslyn at the Masonic Building. Vintage Vine, wine and antique shop, is organizing the event and has managed to get 22 wineries and at least one brewing company to participate! It is going to be so much fun.
To continue our ongoing look at the changes in the chimpanzees since they first arrived at the sanctuary, here is Annie. Besides the really obvious differences such as hair growing in where there were bare patches and increased muscle tone, on thing we’ve noticed looking back at photos is that their faces have a new firmness. Faces of adult chimpanzee are pretty wrinkled and show a lot of character, but when they first arrived from the laboratory, the faces of the Cle Elum Seven had a very loose and drooping appearance, where now their faces still have wrinkles and are full of character but appear much more firm, healthy, and even younger.
Annie – day one of sanctuary life (June 13, 2008) after living in laboratories for decades:
Annie six weeks ago at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest:
Annie two days ago with Halloween treat bag:
Foxie continues to change… on Saturday, J.B. and I saw her display for the first time! She pant-hooted and even banged on the plexiglass window the way that Burrito does when he displays outside. I thought I was seeing things for a moment. Foxie is gaining so much confidence and obviously feeling more comfortable – I can’t wait to see what she does next!
Below is a photo of Foxie outside shortly after her display, with Negra behind her draped in a blanket.
And here is Negra – a photo I recently found and edited. I wish I could put into words how special and beautiful Negra is, but with images like this, maybe I don’t need words.
We just received a new lens for one of the cameras we’ve been using to take photos in the chimp house – the lens was a gift purchased of our amazon.com wish list!
I’ve had a soft spot for Negra ever since I met her at Buckshire (see this old post), and I think she is the most photogentic chimpanzee I have ever met. These photos were taken using the new lens. Negra has a tendency to look a bit sad or thoughtful in photos, but moments after the last photo was taken she was nodding her head happily as I danced for her (she loves to watch us dance and be silly).
A few days ago we reached a milestone – the chimpanzees have been at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest for two months. Decades in research, and now two months in sanctuary. So much has happened in that short time. We’ve learned so much about each of the chimpanzees, and they seem to be changing every day. Jamie has stopped plucking her hair, Foxie now handles enrichment and has displayed rudimentary nesting behavior, Burrito has been working on some really great displays in his expanded space, Jody’s hair is growing back in and she’s developing some muscle, Missy is playing all of the time, Annie is coming into ‘her own’ and standing up for herself, and Negra is enamored with the views out of the windows.
And now the big announcement – the chimpanzees will be in their outdoor area on August 26th!! I can’t wait to share photos and experiences of the chimps touching ground for the first time. Thank you all for you support – you’ve helped make all of this possible!
