Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

chimp enrichment

Burrito’s Sense of Humor

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Burrito is a funny guy! He is always making us laugh, but from time to time his group doesn’t always think he is so funny. For example, in this video Burrito may or may not have gotten a little too wild for Foxie’s taste!

As you can see, Burrito is having so much fun playing with the giant stuffed bear. Make sure to check out the Comfort & Joy auction! There are a lot of great Squishmallows I know Burrito would love!

Please enjoy this silly video and some bonus photos!

The rare close up of Missy:

Beautiful Negra:

Jamie eating snow:

A series of Foxie photos:

 

What’s in Your Pocket?

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I wanted to share a cute quick story from yesterday and today, which fits perfectly with our Comfort & Joy, the Quid Pro Throw online auction theme! Yesterday, we noticed at all points of the day Annie was carrying one particular blanket in her pelvic pocket all day. I was on the other side of the building cleaning most of the day, but at any point I saw Annie, she had this blanket in her pocket. I was finally able to snap a few pictures at the end of the evening. I asked Chad, who was lead in Annie’s side and he said he observed her with it a lot too! When Annie came to lunch today she had a new blanket in her pelvic pocket that she then proceeded to carry around for the day. I can only assume that the blankets Annie carried around seemed to bring her some sort of comfort, but we can never really say for sure.

The auction is going on now! You can bid on items for the chimps or yourself. Don’t miss out on all the fun, but don’t out bid me ;)!

Annie enjoying her evening popsicle with her blanket in tote:

Annie at lunch today eating avocado and holding a blanket in her pelvic pocket:

 

A Lucky Day

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Winter may officially be at the sanctuary, but that doesn’t stop our celebration train from rollin’ through! Today we got to celebrate Lucky’s birthday. Lucky was born on November 6th, 1991 and is the youngest chimp here at CSNW.

Lucky was born at the the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) and is a full sibling to Cy and half sibling to Rayne and Honey B. Lucky came to CSNW with the Lucky Six in 2021 and is in the newly integrated group of nine.

Lucky might seem aloof to many of our blog readers, since she is often doing her own thing, but she has a goofy side to her as well. She really, really enjoys grooming the scabs off of her caregivers, will make bubbly-sounding raspberry noises with her mouth when she wants something, and is known to scoot across the floor while grasping blankets in front of her (see more here). She is a sweet, sweet lady and we are very lucky to celebrate her!

We also want to take a moment to say thank you to our amazing supporter Paulette Wrisley for sponsoring this day for Our Lucky Star. We couldn’t do the things we do without our amazing supporters and we are so grateful to you!

Cy, enjoying his mango:

A close-up of Dora:

Lucky before her birthday lunch (and Gordo cheesin’ in the background):

Rayne with a mouth full of mango:

Willy B looking very handsome during lunch:

 

Rainy Day Adventures

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It’s a rainy, cool day here in Cle Elum today. Driving into work this morning through the mist I thought that the chimps would maybe be pretty relaxed and be content to spend the day in comfy nests listening to the rain.

I was wrong. 🙂

When I went to say good morning to Cy’s group, everyone was rearin’ to play chase, groom, or just stare at me for long periods of time without blinking (hi, Honey B). On the other side of the chimp house, everyone was off on their adventures as soon as I gave them access to Young’s Hill! I’m pretty sure Missy spent the whole morning after breakfast out under the trees and everyone else came and went as they pleased. I was cleaning Playroom 1 with one of our awesome volunteers, Patti, when Jamie decided it was time to go for a patrol around the hill. She had me wear one of her new favorite boots and when we made it to the top of the hill, she stopped and hung out for a while. It was a pretty exciting walk- be sure to check out today’s video to see why! 🙂 I might have cried a little bit, but that’s just me.

This afternoon, though, has been quiet as everyone nests in warm, fresh, cozy blankets. All in all, it’s been a pretty darn good rainy day.

Cy:

Gordo, holding his feet, because why not?

Sweet Lucky:

Terry, mid-chew:

Honey B, gazing into my soul… pretty sure she knows my social security number, what I got on my SAT’s in high school, and every other little secret about me:

 

A Soothing Sunday

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It’s been a busy, busy day in the chimp house! While the caregivers have been busy with cleaning, the chimps have been busy with play, grooming, and relaxation. A perfect way to kick off the week!

Here are some photos from the day:

Terry mid-climb:

Honey B:

Cy catching up on facts about Mr. Bill Nye [the science guy]:

Jamie:

Lucky:

We hope you had a good weekend!

Scary, Spooky Stories [Cy’s Perspective]

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It is officially SPOOKY season!

Today, I am bringing you a video of Cy being very spooked… by the travel magazine he was reading.

While Cy LOVES to read, which we mention frequently, he occasionally finds things in his magazines that are very scary. You can watch him physically jump at the sight of cows in a blog video that Kelsi captured back in January, here.

I have created a list of things Cy is scared of with the help of my coworkers. As he reads many magazines every week, I’m sure this list will continue to grow.

Things Cy finds scary:

  • Flannel shirts
  • Elephants
  • Pink pigs
  • Cows
  • Hippos
  • Rhinos
  • Animated Scooby Doo
  • Panda Bears
  • Artichokes
  • Giraffes

Check out today’s video to see how we discovered that Cy is scared of giraffes.

Despite him finding scary things in the magazines from time to time, that doesn’t affect his love for reading.

Giving Day for Apes is only a few days away! Early giving is open now, but on Tuesday, October 11th, we will be competing with other accredited sanctuaries in North America for a variety of prizes. So much has happened at the sanctuary over the last few years and it’s all due to our generous supporters- keep helping us make our residents dreams come true by donating to CSNW! All donations will go directly to the care of our residents.
Donate to CSNW for Giving Day for Apes here: https://www.mightycause.com/organization/Chimpsnw
Learn more about Giving Day for Apes here:

We also are prepping for Jamieween! We have added some special items we know Jamie would love for her birthday on our Amazon Wishlist!

Thank you!

Let’s Not Forget

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There is no rhyme or reason today, I just wanted to share that Jamie is the coolest. Jamie is so genuinely herself and she doesn’t waiver from who she is, it is something to admire. There is never a day that goes by when I don’t say out loud or in my head: “Jamie is so cool”. I just thought I would put this info right here just in case anyone hadn’t heard it in a while!

Jamie sat in the window ledge of the Green House to watch JB and I clean for a while. I stopped by to hang out with her for a few minutes.

While we cleaned the front rooms, Jamie had to monitor JB as he tried to snake the drain. Jamie was there to ensure JB was using his tools correctly.