Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

cattle

The 5th Annual Running of the Cows – and more Bray photos!

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If cows had a national holiday, this would be it.

A little further down the mountain, Cy’s group continues to explore the Bray. Here are a some photos from the past few days – you’ll notice that there are a lot of Rayne, and that’s because she spends more time out there than anyone else. We were so happy when she decided to take her lunch out for a picnic this afternoon. While some of the chimps are still a little nervous—and Mave and Honey still have yet to go out—the group is doing really well overall with this new aspect of sanctuary life.

Willy B and Gordo:

Terry:

Gordo and Terry:

Rayne:

Cy:

Happy Birthday Honey Cow!

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Today our beloved Honey Cow turns 15! At CSNW, caregivers have been getting to know this sassy golden cow for the last 4 years! A very special thank you to Paulette Wrisley for sponsoring today in Honey’s honor.

Honey is easily recognized as the lightest “honey” colored member in her small herd of fellow Jersey cattle.

From front to back: Meredith, Betsy, Honey and Nutmeg:

Honey is also known for being  the sauciest member of her herd. She has no patience for the hugs we would ideally like to give her. Occasionally we can get away with a few scratches or a little brushing, but in general we respect Honey’s wishes and give her the personal space from humans she seems to appreciate. I think if Honey could plan an ideal birthday party for herself, she would like a bale of hay delivered to her barn and to be left alone with her family, and that’s just what she got today!

Here are a few of my favorite photos of Honey taken by my fellow caregivers throughout the seasons!

 

King of the Hill

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While on a walk with Jamie, I observed Burrito and Missy following each other on the logs and then start to wrestling. It made me think about when I was young playing king of the sand dune with my brother. I asked the rest of the staff if they had ever played this game when they where kids, which of course they had! Some of their variations were: king of the mountain, king of the hill, and king of the log! The object of the game was to be the last one standing and then you were pronounced king of the object you were standing on, said log, mattress, or hill and then you have bragging rights for as long as you rein! Today, for Missy and Burrito it seems as though no one holds the title but I see a rematch in their future!

Time has flown by! Can you believe it already been 4 years with our wonderful bovines!

Honey and her gang:

Honey:

Meredith:

Nutmeg and Betsy:

Happy Birthday, Meredith!

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Meredith turns 7 years old today! Many thanks to both Paulette and to Tobin for sponsoring this day in her honor.

Our post office has been out of commission for the last week, but we got Tobin’s letter for Meredith just in time.

Here is Tobin’s personal message to the birthday bovine:

Dear Meredith,

I wish you a happy 7th birthday. I am very glad you, your mother, your Aunty Betsy, and the Dude with the Hairdo are residents of the sanctuary.

As you may have noticed, there is some construction going on near your meadow. The humans are configuring the acreage where your chimpanzee neighbors live. In addition to Willy B (you know, the singer and drummer) and the seven who were living here (including Jody, who joins Willy and me in sponsoring you) when you moved here four years ago, there are eight new chimpanzees who have taken residence. Some of them haven’t been outside yet. It is hoped that they will finally step out into their new enclosure soon.

If you follow the CSNW blog, you’ll remember that one of these new chimps – CY – reacted with fright in seeing a photograph of Betsy and Nutmeg. I doubt that his reaction was anything personal – I would assume that Cy simply wasn’t familiar with cattle despite his copious reading habits.

Hopefully, once Cy starts exploring the outside and looks across the pasture and sees you and your herd, he’ll figure out that you are a perfect fit for your immediate surroundings, and appreciate having you as a next-door neighbor.

If, however, Cy barks or screeches out some harsh words in your direction, simply moo back to him, “So, have you read any good magazines lately?” That should resolve any conflict.

Meanwhile, I wish you a happy birthday.

from your Bovine Buds, Tobin, Jody, and Willy B

 

This afternoon, Diana gave the herd a little extra alfalfa to celebrate:

Here are a few other photos of the birthday girl that I’m fairly sure we haven’t posted before:

Check out that winter coat!

You can learn more about Meredith and her bovine family here. And for pictures of BABY MEREDITH (!), please visit this page from our friends at Farm Sanctuary.

And as always, you can help support the daily care of the cows and chimpanzees by ordering from our Amazon Wish List!

This Life of Fortune

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Two fundraising updates and a story about our bovine friends today.

First, yesterday alert blog readers took it upon themselves to start a group fundraiser for a much-desired, literally named “Big Ass Fan” evaporative cooler. Right now we have $895 pledged towards the $1,899 cost of the fan, with $1,004 left to raise. I myself have pledged $100 and have been having pleasant visions of receiving that cooler.

If you would like to participate, you can email me ([email protected]) and let me know your pledge amount. Donations towards the fan can be made online on our donation page (just specify in the gift note section it’s for the cooler), or you can mail a check to the sanctuary at PO Box 952, Cle Elum, WA 98922. You can donate now or pledge first and donate once I let you know that the total has been reached. Thank you all so much!!

Second, counting today, there are only three days left to take advantage of Early Bird pricing for the HOOT! gala! The gala is a pretty big deal in terms of fundraising but also in terms of connecting with supporters. We are hoping to see many familiar and new faces in-person in Seattle on September 16th!

For those not in this area or otherwise unable to attend the fundraising fête, you can still participate! We’ll be having an online auction open to anyone, and for those who buy a virtual VIP ticket for just $20, you will also receive a special invitation to an exclusive Zoom tour of the sanctuary to take place on Sunday, September 11th at 2pm.

A big shout-out goes to our sponsors of HOOT! 2022. Numerous individuals are now sponsors in addition to generous Gala Sponsor Concord Construction. What would we have done without them these last few years with all of the expansion!! We are so grateful to have worked and continue to work with them to expand the lives of the chimpanzees and beyond honored to have their sponsorship for the gala.

Also a big thanks to Happy Hour sponsor Martha Faulkner Real Estate. Martha was a very helpful board member for years and is an all-around animal lover, giving part of her commission to multiple animal groups through her business, hence her website: homes4petlovers.com.

If you are interesting in sponsoring as a business or an individual, you can do that directly here or if you’d like more information, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Third, it’s hot, ya’ll.

Today was my day to do “cattle care”. In the winter, that means giving our four bovine friends hay, mucking out the barn, and making sure there is an ample supply of water.

In the early summer they are able to free-feed in the pastures, helping us with fire control, so we don’t need (yet) to supplement their food. They aren’t spending as much time in the barn, so there’s less mucking to do, though we do try to pick up in areas where they congregate to keep the fly population under some control.

With the addition of the large pasture on the property above the original sanctuary property this year, you just never know where you are going to find the cows.

Today, I couldn’t find them at all.

They weren’t at the barn, where I stopped to make sure the water trough was full.

And they weren’t in the pasture by the pond, where I have been finding them on most Fridays since they’ve been given access over a month ago.

I followed their well-worn path down towards the spring, and found them doing exactly what they should be doing in 100+ degree weather, hanging out in the shade, ready to stare me down.

But wait, where was Betsy?

Seriously, where was Betsy? I called her name. No response. I called louder. Still nothing.

Despite my best efforts at self-mind-control, I can be prone towards thinking the worst and I was starting to get nervous. Betsy is not usually away from her herd.

I walked further down the path adjacent to the spring. Ahhhh. There she was.

In the patch of lush greenery at the edge of the spring.

She too was keeping cool right near the water.

On my way back across the property, I spied another mom laying low in some shade.

It makes me so happy that Betsy, Meredith, Honey, and Nutmeg can, like momma deer, follow their instincts and choose the smartest spot to be on the property.

They are no longer beholden to the humans making all decisions for them or viewing them as a means to their own ends. They are residents of this land. Not as unlikely as the chimpanzee residents across the way, but, like the chimps, while not free, definitely freer than many of their species who have been forced into a life of servitude.

By luck or by fate (if you believe in that kind of thing), we get to be a part of their lives.

Celebrate this gift with us by participating in HOOT!, online or in-person. We have a lot to celebrate!

The 4th Annual Running of the Cows

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Past the wetlands, up the mountain, across the stream, between the scary gates, and through the forest to the upper pasture we go! It’s time once again for the cows to head to their summer pastures. And this year, they’re exploring a new part of the sanctuary’s 90-acre property.

As you may know, the cows actually moved a few weeks ago but I’ve only now gotten the chance to put a video together. They’ve really been enjoying the upper pond pasture and most nights they don’t even return to the barn.

We’d like to express our gratitude for your kind and generous comments on yesterday’s blog about Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day. Diana and I, along with the Board of Directors, are grateful for the staff every day but you all have expressed our sentiments better than we ever could. Though we will be getting them food next week and it turns out you can actually say a lot with food.

Speaking of caregivers, we’d like to introduce you to our newest staff member, Jenna! Jenna interned at CSNW while attending Central Washington University and then gained valuable experience at other chimpanzee sanctuaries before returning to the northwest. I’ll let her more fully introduce herself next week in her first CSNW blog post.

Here’s Jenna getting in good with the boss:

Heart of Grass

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As J.B. summarized in yesterday’s blog post, we’ve been hard at work caring for Negra as she recuperates from a trip to the sanctuary’s clinic.

Neggie continues to enjoy her cozy solitude and appears to be making a speedy recovery. We caregivers have been supplementing her cocktail of meds with enrichment puzzles, movies, and even the occasional sips of Sprite and nibbles of a sweet Hawaiian roll. It’s safe to say that, despite the laceration on her backside, Negra is thriving in this temporary clinical setting. (Think of Forrest Gump happily eating ice cream despite the bullet wound in his buttocks.)

Despite the unpredictable events of the Chimp House, J.B. and special projects volunteer Adam found time this weekend to complete a facelift of the upper pasture. The area was previously grazed by our neighbor’s horses but will now be the main enclosure for the rescued bovines during the summer. This afternoon, Betsy, Honey, Meredith and Nutmeg made the trek up from their winter paddock to the new frontier. The area is currently dotted with wildflowers and partially shaded by pine trees, and we think they’re going to love it up there once they get used to the terrain.

(Note: the wildflowers include quite a bit of lupine, which is problematic for pregnant cows when grazed in large amounts. Since none of the cows in our small herd are breeding and they generally avoid the lupine anyway, we’re allowing it to remain on the pasture for now.)

Here are some photos of Betsy taking an initial romp around the new area:

And here is a wider shot of the four bovines hanging out at the far end of the new pasture:

There aren’t many things that get the Jersey cattle to show their excitement, but giant fields of green grass seem to do the trick.