Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Burrito

Happy Birthday, Billie Joe!

by

This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Susan McKagan in honor of Billie Joe Armstrong for his birthday! Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong, Susan McKagan, and their family and friends, are such amazing friends to the chimpanzees and we’re thrilled to celebrate Billie Joe’s birthday here today!

The Armstrong family and their friends have been part of our chimp family for some time now and when they last visited in October, they worked hard to construct the chimps’ newest structure on Young’s Hill. The chimps love this structure and with the recent melted snow, this was one of the first lookouts they scaled to take in their surroundings after a long winter.

Susan, thank you so very much for thinking of the chimpanzees in your celebration of Billie Joe! What an awesome thing to do!

Billie Joe, from all of the primates here at CSNW, we hope you have the best birthday yet! Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for everything that you all do to make the chimpanzees’ lives better!

Jamie:

web_jamie_top_of_green_day_structure_kd_IMG_9186

web_jamie_sit_bar_green_day_structure_aw_IMG_9178

And special birthday hoots to you from the main man, Burrito!:

web_burrito_top_structure_yh_aw_IMG_9194

A Nightly Treat

by

Each night after a dinner of fresh fruits and veggies, the chimpanzees are given a “night bag” consisting of a handful of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and other healthy treats. This tradition began on the chimps’ first night at the sanctuary, and they’ve enjoyed night bags every night since.

As soon as we pass out the night bags a hush falls over the group as everyone digs in. The chimps are masters at shelling the nuts and seeds with their mouths and then discarding the shells. Burrito demonstrates below.

Celebrating Valentine’s Day Chimp Style

by

How did the chimpanzees celebrate Valentine’s Day? Well, with a party of course!

Volunteer caregivers Patti and Debbie prepared today’s breakfast smoothie and enrichment along with the help of staff member Elizabeth.

web_Volunteers_caregivers_Patti_Debbie_prepare_valentines_day_celebration_IMG_9046

web_Valentines_Day_enrichment_party_preparation_IMG_9048

web_Valentines_Day_enrichment_preparations_troll_doll_IMG_9047

After we finished cleaning the Playroom (one of the chimps’ indoor enclosures), we laid out blankets in the shape of hearts on the floor and placed pomegranate seeds and organic red roses inside. We also hung three pink, heart-shaped pinatas with nuts inside and scattered the Valentine-themed cups and treat boxes (with nuts hidden inside) throughout the enclosure. Unfortunately, I accidentally erased all of the photos of the setup, so you’ll have to use your imagination for that or see if you can spot some of it in the following video taken today.

And here are a few photo highlights from today as well. Unfortunately, the setup photos weren’t the only ones I erased by accident; I also erased photos of Negra, Jody and Missy enjoying the party.

Jamie
web_Jamie_hold_inspect_valentines_box_PR_kh_IMG_9074

web_Jamie_gather_roses_check_enrichment_Valentines_Day_PR_kh_IMG_9097

web_Jamie_hold_inspect_boot_enrichment_hold_roses_hand_Valentines_Day_PR_IMG_9099

Burrito
web_Burrito_open_heart_pinata_IMG_9066

web_Burrito_hold_open_heart_pinata_enrichement_Valentines_day_IMG_9115

Annie
web_Annie_multiple_roses_in_mouth_enrichment_Valentines_Day_PR_IMG_9090

web_Annie_multiple_roses_in_mouth_Valentines_Day_PR_IMG_9092

web_Annie_hold_eat_leaves_off_roses_Valentines_Day_PR_IMG_9130

Foxie
web_Foxie_inspect_hold_troll_doll_enrichment_Valentines_Day_IMG_9135

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! And if you haven’t already, it’s not too late to Share the Love for the Cle Elum Seven! This Share the Chimp Love fundraiser will provide funds for the direct care of the chimpanzees now and will help with our plans for the future.

Negra Share the Love pic

Happy Valentine’s Day, Arlene!

by

This beautiful Valentine’s Day was also sponsored by Michael in honor of his wife, Arlene! Michael and Arlene are also special friends of the chimpanzees who always have the chimpanzees in their hearts.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to Arlene who is a big fan of the chimpanzees and shares their love everyday.”

Michael, thank you so much for such a heartfelt gift for both Arlene and the chimps! We are so happy to have you both as part of our chimpanzee family and are grateful for all that you do to ensure the chimps’ lives are filled with love in all it’s many forms. Happy Valentine’s Day to you both!!

Best friends, Missy and Annie:

web_Annie_groom_kiss_missy_face_GH_jb_IMG_3322

Foxie and her beloved troll:

web Foxie kiss new troll doll enrichment outdoor area IMG_3409

Jamie and her cherished boot:

Jamie with her boot

Burrito and his love of food:

web_Burrito_eat_small_pumpkin_birthday_party_food_halloween_gh_aw_IMG_0237

Jody and her love for bamboo:

web_27_jody_eat_bamboo

And Queen Negra and her love for a comfy nest in the sun:

Negra sleeping

Happy Valentine’s Day Chimpanzees!

by

We are so happy to have two Valentine Sponsor-a-Days today! Our first sponsors are Donna and Doreen Hughes, two of the chimpanzees dear friends in New York City who are sponsoring today in honor of the chimpanzees! Donna and Doreen have hearts full of love for all animals and do so much to help them. They shared this sweet message about today:

“Happy Valentine’s Day to the chimpanzees! For Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra – you guys are the Sweetest – you are all Valentine’s and we wish you a Very Happy Valentine’s Day! We love reading about your lives and love seeing your photos! We are so glad you are all safe and thriving at the Sanctuary! Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! Love, Donna & Doreen”

Donna and Doreen, we are so thrilled to have you both as part of our chimpanzee family! Thank you for always holding the chimpanzees in your hearts and for all you do to make the lives of so many animals better. You are such special souls. And we all hope your recent birthdays were the best ones yet!

As I’m sure you already know, your beloved Pal Foxie may be tiny, but she is a joyful soul who has an awfully big heart. She’s peacekeeper, protector, and friend to all in her chimp family and probably the only person who can get serious boss Jamie to cut loose and really laugh. Thank you for helping to provide a home in which her heart can bloom.

Foxie and Annie (and Troll):

web_Annie_and_Foxie_with_troll_logs_YH_jb_IMG_4841

Foxie and Burrito:

web Burrito hug Foxie 2 IMG_3258

Foxie and Jamie:

web_Jamie_Foxie_play_playface_wrestle_PR_ek_IMG_2108

Foxie and Jody:

web_jody foxie eat food pumpkin halloween birthday playroom IMG_1272

Foxie and Missy (and Dora):

with Dora, sitting next to Missy

Foxie and Negra:

web negra foxie groom cute greenhouse GH IMG_9848

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Be sure to check out our next sponsor a day later this morning and of course, preparation for the chimps’ party is underway so there’s a lot more love headed your way!

And to all of you who so generously contributed to our Share the Chimp Love fundraiser, thank you from the bottom of our hearts! You’re not only helping to ensure these seven chimpanzees’ lives are filled with love and care, but you’re helping us prepare for the expansion of their family so that other chimps will get to live out their days with hope, love, home and sanctuary. And if you haven’t had the chance to participate yet, there’s still time to share in the love! Every day that they get to live the lives they deserve is because of you and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Alfalfa, the miracle weight loss food

by

If the chimps had their way, they’d eat all day long. Burrito would be unstoppable. Negra would probably forego blankets entirely and just make huge nests out of bread and peanuts so that she would never have to get out of bed again. But overeating is not usually conducive to good health, so for their sake we try to balance these two competing interests as best we can.

Thankfully, there’s a miracle diet food that helps keep chimps happy and healthy: alfalfa. Not just alfalfa, but also bamboo, grape vines, timothy hay, cattails – things that we collectively refer to as “browse”. Chimps love browse, but most browse plants are too fibrous to be digested properly, so they either pass right through or the chimps spit them out after a thorough chewing. Browse makes it possible for chimps to chew to their hearts’ content without eating a lot of calories.

In the summer and fall, many types of browse grow naturally in the chimps’ two-acre enclosure, which allows them to grab a snack anytime they like. Naturally occurring browse is harder to find during the winter, so we make sure to provide Burrito and his family with store-bought treats like alfalfa cubes on a regular basis:

web_Burrito_FR4_jb_IMG_9039

web_Burrito_chew_alfalfa_cube_FR4_jb_IMG_9024

web_Burrito_chew_alfalfa_FR4_jb_IMG_9018

web_Burrito_chew_alfalfa_cube_FR4_jb_IMG_9033

web_Burrito_chew_alfalfa_FR4_jb_IMG_9012