Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Burrito

Today’s Highlights

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Today is sunny but very cold in Cle Elum – tonight’s low is predicted to be 0 degrees Fahrenheit – and the chimpanzees are having a quiet afternoon in the warm playroom. Here are our favorite photos from the day; let us know which is your favorite!

Negra in her nest:

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Missy checking out the blanket fort built by caregiver Keri:

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Foxie carrying the remnants of a wooden spoon that she broke earlier in the day:

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Jody with green lips after munching on an alfalfa cube:

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Burrito searching the playroom for leftover food after lunch:

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Annie grooming her arm and basking in the sun:

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Jamie looking peaceful:

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Happy Birthday, Tracy Headley!

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Tracy Headley sponsored today with this message, “I celebrate my friends at CSNW on my 50th birthday.”

Tracy is an impressive supporter of the sanctuary. You may recognize her name because she has sponsored several days, has had days sponsored in her honor, is a Chimpanzee Pal to more than one of the chimpanzees, and donates literally whenever we have any kind of donation opportunity, including sponsoring the HOOT! gala.

Tracy is clearly an incredibly giving person and a friend to all of the primates at the sanctuary. I was so excited when she and her husband Bruce signed up for a Summer Visitor day this past summer and got to see Foxie’s birthday party – – because there’s not much that tops seeing a party thrown for the chimpanzees.

Here’s a photo of Foxie from that day as she scrapes every bit of watermelon out of its skin:

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and here’s a bonus photo of Burrito, who’s always up for a party:

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Thank you for all of your generous support, Tracy, including sponsoring today.

Foxie, Burrito, and crew wish you the best of all birthdays today and we hope you are throwing yourself a big party!

I know Tracy would want everyone to know that we need only five more sponsored days to reach our goal of 50 new sponsored days before the end of the year. Help us get there by picking a day to sponsor for yourself or a loved one.

 

Today is for Brenda Radeke!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Julie and Karen Olson, in honor of their aunt, Brenda Radeke! Brenda was able to attend our visitation program this last summer and we are so happy to know she continues to follow the lives of the chimpanzees.

Julie and Karen, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees in honoring Brenda! Having the support of all of you means so much to them (and to us!) and we are so grateful for your generous spirits. You truly make a difference in the chimpanzees’ lives!

Your support makes “play faces” an every day part of Burrito’s life in his sanctuary home:

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A wonderful Christmas time

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The chimps (and the humans!) have been having a really great Christmas, thanks to all our amazing supporters! We had five people sponsor the day for the chimps today, so we owe a big thank you again to Laurel H., Kathleen K., Molly W., Michael H., and Janine B.

Also a huge shout out to Lisa S. and Jayne R. for their decorations that we were able to spread across yesterday‘s and today’s parties! Carol M. sent us seven adorable chimpiñatas which we added to the decor, too. More thank-yous are in order for everyone that sent in new toys which became presents for today’s celebration, including Sharon & Larry C., Diana M., Lisa S., Jayne R., and Helen K. Here’s part of the haul in front of Santa’s sleigh:

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Volunteer Patti and supporter Anne also picked up a lot of yummy fresh produce for the party and Patti made amazing roasted pumpkins with quinoa, wild rice, and veggies.

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The day began with a small forage of tomatoes, pistachios, and shaved coconut in the tree. Negra was the first out to see what we had set up under (and in) the tree.

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Missy snagged most of the tomatoes, and went through the presents, too:

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The party then moved into the playroom, where all the food and presents from our friends near and far brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees!

Annie:

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Jamie:

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Foxie:

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Missy:

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Negra:

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Jody:

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Burrito

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As if those photos weren’t enough, here’s a video of the festivities of the day. Thank you again to everyone who has helped bring such happiness to the chimpanzees this Christmas and every day!

A Season of gratitude (and parties!)

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The chimpanzees (and humans!) of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest have the best friends and neighbors! People far and wide love these chimpanzees and do so many amazing things to ensure their well-being and the forever home they deserve. It’s an honor and a gift to witness this every single day and we are immensely grateful.

The sanctuary is located a few miles outside the small, eastern Washington town of Cle Elum. This year our local Umpqua Bank sponsored a Giving Tree for the chimpanzees and ARRF Animal Rescue! The bank staff including Jamie, Patti, Brenda, Danielle, and Seka put so much time and effort into organizing this, from creating ornaments for each of the chimpanzees listing chosen gifts on the back to spreading the word about the sanctuary:

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And did our local friends and neighbors ever come through!

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So if you know us and the chimpanzees, you know we had to start celebrating the holidays with a Christmas Eve party! All of the chimpanzees were enjoying time in the greenhouse this morning, unaware of the party preparation, except for the ever clever Jamie. She knew something was going on and even skipped her usual mid-morning nap, choosing instead to supervise things while playing upside-down-Jamie-on-a-barrel, which in caregiver lingo translates to “Jamie’s happy!”

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Caregiver Debbie graciously served as our Christmas Eve elf extraordinaire and made the chimpanzees hot cocoa (with almond milk and unsweetened cocoa powder), put our snow cone machine in overdrive (since we are still waiting on our winter snow here), and prepped the party decor (thanks to Jayne R. and Lisa S.!). Here are volunteer caregiver, Lizz, and our elf, Debbie, setting up (and yes, we have as much, if not more fun, than the chimpanzees!):

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No holiday party is complete without the holiday trolls:

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Burrito was the first one into the play room where he decided to enjoy the cocoa with the trolls:

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This giant present held a new pair of boots for Jamie:

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Annie opening party favors filled with peanuts:

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Missy enjoying snow cones in a Santa boot mug:

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Jody foraging through her stash of holiday treats:

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Jamie, of course, had collected numerous cups of cocoa to enjoy:

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(Unfortunately, no photographic evidence exists of this, but Foxie and one of the holiday trolls spent their time slurping up snow cones and Negra took her stash to enjoy in the comfort of her nest).

Cle Elum friends and neighbors, we can’t thank you enough for welcoming the chimpanzees into your neighborhood and for your generosity and compassion, not only on this holiday, but all year long. We are truly thankful for your support! And thanks again to Gary and Jan Scott for sponsoring today in honor of our neighbors, Jack and Sue Dignum!

We’ve received so many genuinely thoughtful gifts and good tidings this holiday season it would be impossible to list them all, but here is just a glimpse of the love, creativity and inspiration we’ve been gifted with:

Adorable, hand-made ornaments for the chimpanzees from Claudia H.:

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So many wonderful holiday wishes and kind words from our amazing supporters:

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This amazingly beautiful Advent calendar created by Kathleen C! (It’s taking all my willpower not to walk over and sneak a peek at the 25th right now):

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Please know we are incredibly thankful to each and every one of you who have not only graciously made the chimpanzees’ holiday special, but most importantly, have made a difference in their lives. As I type this, the chimpanzees’ just finished a popcorn forage after a dinner of lentils and roasted squash. With bellies full of healthy food, they are safely asleep in their nests, resting in the comfort of their sanctuary home this Christmas Eve. Each of you through your thoughts, donations, in-kind gifts, and sharing what you know of the chimps with others have made this possible for them. I can think of no more meaningful gift and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. From all of the primates here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we wish you a magical Christmas Eve and holiday season filled with the love, comfort and compassion you so graciously share with us.

And if you haven’t done so already, please check out Holiday Central if you’d like to see how you can celebrate the holidays and help the sanctuary at the same time! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the chimpanzees’ Christmas celebration! Until then, I leave you with a poem sent by another friend of the chimpanzees, Regina Lagrasta:

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Today is for Jack and Sue Dignum!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Gary and Jan Scott in honor of Jack and Sue Dignum with the following message: “Merry Christmas! Thanks for introducing us to so many animals this year!”

Jack and Sue are amazing friends and supporters of the chimpanzees (and the humans!) and we are so grateful to have them as part of our chimpanzee family. They do so much to advocate for the animals we are so fortunate to share this planet with.

Gary and Jan, thank you so much for honoring Jack and Sue by making a difference in the lives of the chimpanzees! We are thrilled to know the chimpanzees have even more wonderful friends.

From all of the primates here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we wish you all a Christmas Eve and year ahead filled with the love, kindness, and compassion that you so graciously share with others.

Jack and Sue’s buddy, Burrito:

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Be sure to tune in later today for the beginning of the holiday celebrations for the chimpanzees!

Outtakes

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Today Missy was combing her hair and I grabbed the camera and took a series of photos. They all turned out blurry and dark. Here are a few of the better ones:

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On a typical day, we take dozens of photos of the chimpanzees. The vast majority of these are deleted. Our photos have improved in quality by leaps and bounds over the last six years – partly due to better camera equipment and partly due to practice – but I would say that 90% of the photos we take on a given day are pretty bad. They’re blurry or the lighting is poor or someone’s eyes are closed. The chimps themselves often don’t help matters either. They love to spend their time high off the ground and in other places that we photographers just don’t have easy access to.

Negra’s favorite spot is in front of this window on the playroom catwalk. Because of the light coming in from the window, she is usually backlit. She is also typically covered up in a blanket. Not great photo conditions.

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This is the only line of sight to Jody’s preferred spot:

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The playroom loft is another favorite of the chimpanzees. Here’s Annie kicking back, well out of camera range.

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In the greenhouse, the chimps love to hang out on the highest platform. This photo of Jamie is a pretty good depiction of how much we can see of them when they’re up there:

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And certain folks rarely sit still long enough for us to get a clear photo:

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