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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

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Burrito

Mornings In The Chimp House

May 28, 2023 by Grace 10 Comments

Mornings in the chimp house are often super busy! The to-do list is impressive and as soon as we arrive we get started on breakfast prep, enrichment, laundry, and other morning tasks. Then, after breakfast is served to both groups and we’ve finished shifting, we start cleaning the enclosures. Despite the long to-do list, there are often sweet moments to catch all morning. Whether it’s the precious greetings the chimps offer us when we first arrive or little goofy moments between friends as we scrub and squeegee, there’s always something to make you smile.

Today was no exception! As we cleaned, chimps in both groups enjoyed the beautiful summer day. Check out today’s video for more! 🙂

BONUS PHOTOS:

Cy, looking on as his family explores the Bray:

Gordo, getting more and more comfortable on the structures:

Honey B enjoying the sunshine:

Jamie, resting after lunch with one of her cowboy boots:

Rayne, exploring the Bray:

Filed Under: Chimpanzee, Friendship, Latest Videos, Most Viewed Videos, Sanctuary, The Bray Tagged With: Burrito, chimpanzee, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum Seven, Jamie, Sanctuary

This, That, and The Other

May 23, 2023 by Chad de Bree 15 Comments

Throughout the day, I had several ideas for things I wanted to share on the blog. They were all just small things that happened. Everything doesn’t always go as planned, as you may know. Every single time the idea would pop into my head, by the time I got the camera out (either the DLSR camera or my phone camera) the thing I was going to write about vanished. I was, however, still able to get snippets of each thing.

First, I randomly took a photo of a toy school bus inside Jamie’s greenhouse after we got done cleaning it.

I didn’t know that a short time after I took this photo, Jamie would utilize it.

During lunch, she was putting portions of her meal into it and bring it along with her. This is the only photo she allowed me to take from this far away.

Second, as we were cleaning her greenhouse, I was scrubbing the walls when a little friend gave me a startle.

This little frog was just hanging out watching me clean. Nobody seemed to notice them after we gave them access back to the greenhouse. They were more interested in the spread of lilacs we had placed in there for them. Jamie even sat directly above the frog without a single notice.

Speaking of lunch things, one item everyone was served was a romaine heart. You wouldn’t expect anyone to be excited for romaine hearts, however, the chimps LOVE them and were very excited for them.

Rayne took hers and found a secluded spot in the Riverview Greenhouse, away from the commotion of the food peering that was happening inside the playrooms.

After lunch, her group went out onto The Bray. As some were going out, others were going in. As you might suspect, there was a little bit of a traffic jam on the boardwalk. Three of the biggest boys were the cause of this jam. From left to right: Willy B, Terry, Cy

Lastly, there was one final patrol on Young’s Hill before dinner was going to be served. Here are Missy and Burrito returning from the great outdoors.

Filed Under: Sanctuary, The Bray, Young's Hill Tagged With: assortment, Burrito, Cy, Enrichment, frog, Jamie, lunch, Missy, Rayne, Terry, the bray, Willy B, young's hill

A New Throne

May 15, 2023 by Chad de Bree 6 Comments

Followers who have been reading the blog for a little while may remember the Comfort & Joy Auction from last fall. The items bidders made for the chimpanzees were then highlighted throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas series. Though we covered some, we did not cover all of the items. Mostly because some items took a little longer to get. Well, today were were *finally* able to give the California chimpanzees another one of the items from that auction. Today, Honey B was able to finally get her chair! But before we get to the photos of Honey B using the chair:

Sending a special thank you to

Diane Mattis

Thank you so much for bidding on this item. Honey B wasted no time utilizing it. Every time I went back to their side of the building to get photos her using it, the chimpanzees would stop what they were doing. I was able to get some not so great photos though. It’s the context that counts, right?

Honey B was the first to claim her new seat

When I first found her, she was surrounded by others grooming her on her new throne

As you can see, in one photo, Lucky left when I was trying to get a photo, and Terry left when I tried from a different angle. Hopefully you get the idea though. All three of them (Rayne is also included) were grooming Honey B as she sat atop her throne.

As Honey B was taking in the ambience the new chair brought to Marmot Mountain Playroom, their neighbors were busy enjoying Spring.

One of my favorite things about Spring, and my indication that it is spring, is when the Pacific Bleeding Heart flowers begin to bloom.

This plant lives right outside the door that leads to their front rooms. But there was no time to admire the flowers, or so I was told.

It was time to go around Young’s Hill.

Luckily for me, about half way through our walk/run, Burrito got distracted by some morning Spring grass. Unluckily for me (but actually luckily for me), Missy picked up where he left off.

Missy is a chimp’s chimp. She will choose her family 99.9999999999999% of the time over dealing with the humans. In my case, she usually gives me one or two good acknowledgments a year. But unlike some of my colleagues, my interactions have never been grooming with her or playing tug-o-war. It has always been running around the hill. As you may have guessed, I lose every single time.

When we reached the very top of Young’s Hill, Missy took a break and sat in the shade to lookout upon her home.

When the break was over, it was time for a quick snack of fresh Spring grass.

Not far behind Missy was her best friend, Annie.

And Burrito came around shortly after.

A little later on, they all enjoyed a nice breezy lunch forage. Though she spent some time in her cabin eating the goods she found in it, Negra ultimately decided to grab some last minute picks and take it back to the Greenhouse.

This nice sustained Spring weather has been amazing so far. We hope you are all enjoying the weather wherever you may be as well.

Bonus Photos

Rayne in relaxation mode

Jamie doing her first patrol of the morning

Missy with a lilac bounty she collected from Young’s Hill the other day in honor of Jody

Mave, Dora, and Honey B having a nice lunch together in the outdoor chute during their watermelon bowl forage yesterday

Filed Under: Enrichment, Sanctuary, Young's Hill Tagged With: Annie, Burrito, dora, forage, Honey B, Mave, Missy, morning patrol, Negra, Rayne, run, walk, watermelon bowls, young's hill

Laying to Rest

May 12, 2023 by Jenna Skinner 28 Comments

This weekend, we will lay Jody to rest at the sanctuary, her home for the last fifteen years. Now, she will forever be with her chimpanzee family (Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Missy, and Negra). It brings us humans great comfort to know she will be physically here with us, even though she is gone. If you missed J.B.’s blog post about Jody’s departure, I will link it here.

The memory of Jody is everywhere.

When I pass by Front Rooms 2 and 3, I am reminded of her naps in those rooms. Sometimes, she would graciously get up and gather her blankets, as she knew we were hoping to clean the front rooms next. When I serve cherry tomatoes to her group, I am reminded of how Jody popped each one with her front teeth and then ate it. Sometimes, the juice would squirt in various directions and it made me laugh every time. When I look at Young’s Hill, I am reminded of seeing her foraging with her group, collecting all types of foods. She would do this certain walk that only Jody could do, when she was exceptionally proud of herself. When I look at lilacs, I see Jody. Since Jody has been gone, I’ve noticed myself taking in my surroundings more, looking for the beauty in things around me. I know that may sound bizarre that it took Jody’s death to make me do this, but when I see something extra beautiful, like a beautiful tree in full bloom, I think to myself, “Jody would love that”.

Today, some beautiful edible flowers that Kelsi ordered arrived and we knew we had to spread them out for Jody’s family. Nobody loved flowers as much as Jody. We spread out the flowers in the Greenhouse, as well as filled the pools with diluted Gatorade and floating orchids.

Annie

Jamie

Negra (L) and Foxie (R)

Burrito

Annie

Burrito

Burrito and Jamie

Foxie (L), Burrito (center), and Missy (R)

Negra

Negra with one of Foxie’s dolls in her pelvic pocket

Burrito and volunteer Krissy playing

Foxie

We love and miss you, Jo!

Filed Under: Caregivers, Jody Tagged With: Annie, burial, Burrito, Cle Elum 7, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Negra

Grief

May 6, 2023 by Kelsi 30 Comments

I guess I will start this blog on a personal note, and if you stick with me, I think I will make it come full circle. If not, I appreciate you all just being here reading the words that have been running around in my head :).

Grief looks different for every human and non-human. Grief has played a large role in my personal life and if I am honest my professional life as well. I would not be the person I am today without it. Grief and opportunity lead me to make some amazing impulsive decisions that at another time in life I may not have taken the risks or the leap. With the loved ones I have lost, the feeling doesn’t go away. Slowly, we heal and find a way to manage the void left behind. For me, their absence in life is always here, but I have learned that it is okay to acknowledge the sadness of a loved one you had hoped to share more memories with, over time it does get easier to cope with.

As I mentioned before, grief looks different for each individual. Some let the grief swallow them whole and come out of it when it is time, others mask with humor, or avoid, some make themselves so busy they can’t think about it. None are wrong, just different. For me, though I can express myself around others and share my feelings, showing those emotions is a different story. I tend to avoid my feelings and mask them with humor until I am alone, and then let the grief swallow me whole so that no one has to take care of me… because I do the care-taking. It’s hard to take care of the people who usually do the caring.

We as caregivers wear many hats and a difficult aspect of that is that we do see a lot of trauma. Some days we are just caregivers and other days we are jumping into help with an unexpected procedure or observing wounds to make sure it doesn’t need medical intervention. While other days, it’s a lot of emotional trauma of hearing the chimps scream and fight- hoping it doesn’t turn into an injury. This job can be hard because we cannot ask them to stop or always protect them from harm, no matter how much we try. Sometimes I don’t think we talk about the struggles that we endure enough. It isn’t always something we have time to unpack, we recognize it, make a note of it, but we have to continue to care for the other chimps. On the other side of the trauma, the things we endure can have incredible outcomes. Burrito is our miracle chimp, against all odds he made it and with everything he has been through, he has only gotten more hungry for life. Or making the group of 9, there were so many emotions during the intro process, watching them figure each other out, not knowing if it would work out, but here they are, one year together as a group. While we may have helped facilitate the intros, it is an incredible accomplishment made by Cy’s group.

For us humans (and the chimps too), I think as the days have passed by, we are slowly unpacking everything that unfolded. Everyone was working around the clock to help Jody and her family. Now that we have stopped moving the grief is settling in. The beauty of the individuals that I am so lucky to be surrounded by at CSNW, is though we may be unpacking in our own ways, everyone is there for each other. The community of CSNW is one of the warmest, most comforting places to be a part of. It makes someone like me uncomfortable to be vulnerable, accept sympathy, or even cry in front of someone not so hard. I am so unbelievably lucky to work with such remarkable people who can not only console the chimps who have lost such an important member of their group, but to also console each other when losing such a remarkable chimp like Jody.

Jody was everything that sanctuary embodied. Jody had gone through so many traumas in life. Jody didn’t owe us anything- especially her trust or friendship. But Jody was resilient, she was strong, she was brave, and she was so loving to the individuals she cared for. Jody stayed that way even in her final days. CSNW gave her security, safety, and love. Jody’s friendship was something to earn, but when she let you in, you were loved so fiercely and so loyally. For 15 years Jody enjoyed everything that sanctuary had to offer her and we are only better for knowing her.

I would like to share a few of my favorite blogs of Jody. One of my all time favorite memories of Jody is when she helped Foxie build the courage to climb up the Twister. Jody and Foxie worked on it for many morning before Foxie finally made it up there. I also loved a few weeks ago when J.B. found Negra out on a structure on the top of the Hill, that morning Jody made sure Negra went outside, almost as if they had a plan to get Negra up there and of course Jody was waiting for Negra to come back. Any of the great pumpkin heists! Watching Jody foraging for leafy greens. I also really loved this particular video of Jody and Negra playing!

Because my blog was not particularly uplifting, I will leave you with a few interactions with the chimps that have helped me get through this week.

The first day I came back from Jody’s passing, I was greeted by Negra. She was breathy panting, grooming my hands and my elbow. She would give me kisses for long periods of time. Negra would put her forehead on the mesh for me to knuckle rub, then her back to groom, and even her foot to knuckle rub. If anyone knows Negra, she really never gives her foot like that, like at all. Every time we made eye contact, we would just breathy pant together for long periods of time. We did these things together for at least 20 minutes.

Jamie and I went for one of the longest walks we had been on in a while. When I came back from the walk, I went through the greenhouses on Honey B’s side of the building. Honey B greeted me by giving me her belly and breathy panting followed by sweet kisses and grooming on the back of my hand. Honey B also was holding a plank of wood she had proudly found and wasn’t ready to give it to Caregiver Chad just quite yet. Gordo stopped by to tickle my hand and ask to play chase. Cy came by to look longingly in my eyes. Rayne came to inspect my toes (I was wearing one sandal and on the other was Jamie’s current favorite boot), and Terry gave me a very tender kind kiss. After I played a little chase with Honey B, I came back to Jamie where she was ready to receive her boot. After I gave Jamie her boot she went off to make a nest, which allowed Burrito and I played a mellow game of tickle, slow chase, and follow his lips- where he gives you kisses on the back of your hand and you follow this lips around all different parts of the mesh.

Yesterday, I was on Rayne’s side of the building for cleaning. I went upstairs to clean greenhouse 3 where Rayne met me. We sat across from each other through the double mesh. Rayne ate her breakfast chow while she stared into my eyes for a while. After, I started to clean again when Honey B showed up. Honey B and I, again much like Rayne, sat across from each other through the double mesh. She breathy panted and put her face on the mesh to give a kiss, though we couldn’t reach each other through the double mesh, I put my face up again the mesh to give a kiss back, Honey B and I did this for a while before she too moved on… I am sure to find some mischief : ). Gordo stopped by in between the kisses and wanted to play, but he didn’t want to wait long enough for Honey B and I to be done. And Mave stopped by in between to put her face up to the mesh and stare into my eyes before she left to find her Dora. After Honey B left, I started to clean again when Cy joined me upstairs. Cy and I played a silly game of chase and gazed into each other’s eyes. Eventually, everyone moved on and I finished cleaning.

These were some sweet moments that helped me in my moments of grief this week.

It’s easy to dwell, but the interactions I have had with the chimps this week are a good reminder of why we do what we do. I feel like everyone has come forward in their own small way to heal. I find solace in our dedication to the chimps. Each of them are beings with such depth, we owe it to them.

Silly Burrito:

Jamie in a giant nest:

And a few of sweet Jo <3:

 

Filed Under: Burrito, Cy, Gordo, Honey B, Jamie, Jody, Mave, Negra, Rayne, Sanctuary, Terry Tagged With: Burrito, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cy, Honey B, Jamie, Jody, Mave, Negra, Rayne, Sanctuary, Terry

Relationship Building

April 17, 2023 by Sabrina

Building relationships as the newest caregiver at CSNW is one of the most rewarding aspects of coming to work at a new (to me) sanctuary. Today I will talk about just a couple of my relationships in progress.

Starting with Burrito!

I think all the sanctuaries I’ve worked or interned at had one individual who welcomes new people with glee and invitations to play endless games of chase. I this it’s safe to say that Burrito is that person here at CSNW, his playful personality, love for walks and good natured mischief is definitely one of the the first things that made me immediately feel welcomed at CSNW and like I had come to the right place. It has been endless walks on Young’s Hill, where his favorite game is that of Misdirection – making me believe we are going downhill only to turn around and sprint back up, and of course I have no choice but to follow… not that I would have it any other way. Watching him run up hill while laughing is the best reward I can think of.

Next up, who else could it be but Jamie:

 

Jamie is definitely one of the more complicated personalities to get to know, she can be very strict in how she wants things done, am I learning. Individuals like Jamie tend to be some of my favorites to build relationships with no matter how long it takes. Lately I’ve been setting aside time most afternoons to find Jamie and see if she would like to hang out for a bit. She usually takes me up on it, possibly to keep an eye on me and study me more closely to learn my habits. So we have developed somewhat of a routine where I show up in the afternoon and she grooms me with a provided tool or one she finds herself. She seems to really enjoy grooming some of my tattoos, especially the one of my Bushbaby, and then she likes to inspect each of my fingers. For today this is good progress- Jamie decides what tomorrow will bring.

 

Filed Under: Sanctuary Tagged With: Burrito, caregiver, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Jamie

Bonding with our Newest Caregiver

April 15, 2023 by Jenna Skinner

One of the most rewarding and fun aspects of being a caregiver is building the relationships with each of the chimpanzees. Our newest caregiver, Sabrina, has been working hard on creating bonds with the chimps. One of the best ways to form friendships with the chimps is participating in their favorite activities, such as grooming or playing chase. As you will see in today’s video, Sabrina is doing just that! Enjoy 🙂

 

Filed Under: Caregivers Tagged With: Burrito, caregivers, Gordo, Terry

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Cle Elum, WA 98922
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509-699-0728
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