Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Burrito

Happy faces

by

Did I mention that I love Jamie-ween’s Hallo-Birthday at CSNW? As if The Great Pumpkin and all the treats in the Playroom weren’t enough, volunteers Stephanie and Katelyn carved mini pumpkins and filled them with various fruits and veggies (cucumbers, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, etc) for the chimps’ lunch forage in the greenhouse. I think the chimps were already stuffed at that point, but they enjoyed them none the less! Needless to say, no one, not even Burrito, was interested in dinner.

The carved mini pumpkins:

If you take a closer look at the photo above, you might noticed that one of the pumpkins has a “CS” on it. And you may notice that in the photo below, Burrito’s carved pumpkin has a “W” on it. It was impossible to really get a good photo of the whole thing, but it says CSNW. Stephanie is so creative.

They also carved faces into melons:

Jamie:

Jody:

Foxie looks like she’s mimicking the face of hers

What a great day. Thanks so much to Stephanie, Katelyn, Tamela, Dick and Robbi for all the awesome gifts and decorations for the party and to all of those who donated in honor of Jamie’s big day! You guys are the BEST!

The Great Pumpkin

by

As Diana mentioned in a blog post from earlier, Jamie and I share a birthday today! I can’t think of a better way to spend my Hallo-birthday than by throwing a party for Jamie and the rest of the Cle Elum Seven!

We have a lot of folks to thank for making today’s party a huge success. Robbi & Dick Brown and Tamela donated a lot of fun new toys and decorations, and volunteers Steph and Katelyn brought some new things with them today as well. We also want to thank Deborah G., Barbara B., Jessica K., Tamela, and Jeani G. for donating towards Jamie’s big celebration today! And of course we can’t forget all of Jamie’s Chimpanzee Pals: Cherie Breaux & Robert Bochnik; Kathy Carlson; Candy Crannell; GFWC Cascade Woman’s Club; Debbie Kray; Pam Lehnert & Marc Warner; KC McCarthy; Jackie Mulanax & Brad McNeice; Debra Redwine; Pam Reid; Kathleen Roan; Tony Silvia; Nicole Sturn; and Jackson Walkden-Brown.

Steph and Katelyn brought with them a giant pumpkin, with Jamie’s named carved in it (and the “J” was made into a boot!) The following photos are of the Great Pumpkin (as I’ve decided to call it).

 

Jamie with her pumpkin:

 

Jody was the first to dig in:

 

Negra joined in:

 

Missy asking Jody if she can share, Jody giving her a reassuring kiss:

 

Jody and Foxie (Missy in the background):

 

At one point Burrito was working on the pumpkin all by himself:

 

So much happened today that I’m pretty sure there will be more Hallo-birthday photos and videos posted tomorrow!

 

Burrito on the hill

by

Like Foxie, Burrito hasn’t spent much time out on the hill since the first few days out. Although we don’t want to push anyone out there and want the chimps to go out in their own time and on their own terms, I found myself on a mission the last few days to encourage him out there… and what did the trick? Lettuce? no. Peanuts? nope. Dried Apples? nope, try again. It was chow (biscuits that are often given to captive primates to ensure proper nutrients. It’s a lot like dog food, but for whatever reason, the chimps really like it). Mr. B is pretty predictable sometimes.

Back to the basics

by

As exciting as all these posts are about the hill, since not everyone is going out on the hill all the time, it’s resulted in some blog posting-neglect of certain folks. So here’s a photo I took of adorable Burrito this afternoon hanging out in the greenhouse, just like “the old days”. He and Negra are definitely creatures of habit.

Burrito’s journey with you

by

A lot of you began following the story of the Cle Elum Seven even before their arrival to the sanctuary in June, 2008.  I was thinking today about how far we’ve come together. I started to think about Burrito.

This is for friends old and new.

Burrito was the first one to be moved from the truck that took the chimps from the basement laboratory in Pennsylvania to his new sanctuary home.

burrito's cage coming off of truck

 

Everything was new to him

Burrito when he first arrived

 

We soon discovered his passion for all food

burrito eating pomegranate

 

Not always brimming with confidence, he was the most anxious when the chimps were given access to the steel outdoor area shortly after their arrival. And in 2010, after the greenhouse panels were put up for the winter, he went through a period when he seemed anxious about being in the greenhouse. But he overcame whatever was holding him back.

burrito toy in mouth in the greenhouse

And now look at him

burrito foraging in grass

burrito pilo youngs hill

If you live anywhere within a 300 mile radius (or larger) of Seattle, I hope that you’ll join us at the Out of the Box auction on Friday.  Join 200 other Burrito fans – there are still some tickets available. Along with the great auction items, including exclusive “chimp stuff” (like Jamie’s hand-colored mask I forgot to include in my post yesterday), we’ll be celebrating the journey of Burrito and all of the Cle Elum Seven. It will be a magical evening – I guarantee it.

First few days out

by

I know all our regular blog readers have been waiting to see some more video of the chimps out on Young’s Hill. If you haven’t yet, watch this video from KOMO News that shows their first moments out (but have some tissue close by!) This montage is of highlights from the following days. Enjoy!

A Little Bit of Burrito in Your Life

by

I was looking through some photos from last month and came across two of Burrito that I had to share

burrito biting log

 

 

Look closely at the one below – he’s hugging a coconut.

burrito hugging coconut

 

Burrito is featured on this year’s special label wine – only available at the 2011 Out of the Box auction in Seattle! Get your tickets quick!