Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp enrichment

3,802 Days of Sanctuary

by

When I was watching Foxie this morning, I was thinking about when she first arrived with the rest of the Cle Elum Seven Chimpanzees. She showed some apprehension and perhaps suspicion those first weeks.

The first time she went into the larger space of what we call the playroom, she stomped all around the perimeter before venturing to the middle.

At first, she would push away the toys and blankets as though they might be contaminated.

And then came troll dolls…

Foxie was smitten:

and her imagination seemed to take off:

Today is day 3,802 of sanctuary for Foxie, Negra, Jamie, Burrito, Jody, Missy, and Annie.

Foxie is still suspicious of new things, or at least wants to verify for herself that we’ve built things well (see this video from earlier this year).

She’s more adventurous than ever, though. Each of the previous 3,801 days have been about her learning more about herself and the world of the sanctuary as it expanded and transformed around her.

This morning, Foxie (without a doll) climbed up on the newest structure on the hill that we call Esher and sat in the sun for a bit.

Then she was off to a new perch

Where she sampled some morning frost

After about 30 minutes, she came back to the greenhouse to groom with her friends and make the most of the rest of day 3,802.

New Kids on the Block

by

The chimpanzees have been joined by four new bovine sanctuary residents!

Betsy, Honey, Meredith (Honey’s daughter), and Nutmeg (Betsy’s son) arrived last night.

They came from Farm Sanctuary’s Northern California Shelter, which is closing down. Most of the cattle were moved to Farm Sanctuary’s main location in upstate New York, but there were some that they didn’t want to have to travel that distance. With our additional land purchases in the last few years, we happened to be looking to rescue farmed animals to graze the property surrounding the chimpanzee area just at the right time.

Originally, we thought a fifth cow, Whitaker, would be joining them, but he found a different sanctuary home with a good friend of his and didn’t have to make as long of a trip.

The four new residents at CSNW are very close to one another:

Nutmeg, the only steer (boy) of the group, was born at Farm Sanctuary and has grown up with people who love him and give him scratches, so Anna jumped right into that role today:

They are settling in and getting used to their surroundings with all of the new views (Betsy below):

The corral they are in for the weekend is not directly adjacent to the chimpanzees’ space, but the chimps can see the cattle if they climb up on the the structures, which is just what they did this morning first thing.

Missy:

Foxie:

Jamie:

Four adventurers – Missy, Foxie, Jamie and Annie – all climbed the Esher structure for a view and then seemed to confer with one another:

The way the light was hitting the chimpanzees makes it almost look like they are chimpanzee cut-outs, but I assure you, the photos above are actual chimpanzees on the structure.

No doubt there will be many more days of chimpanzees checking out cattle and vice versa, which will be enrichment for everyone!

We humans are thrilled to have the new residents and will be sharing more about them as they get a chance to further explore their surroundings.

Foxie moments

by

We are privileged to witness so many moments in the chimps’ lives. Moments of courage, contentment, moxie, joy, adventure, anger, fear, curiosity, love…the list goes on. And many, many moments of endearment. They’re fleeting and it brings to mind things like incredible sunsets that happen every day whether or not we’re paying attention, but for a few indescribable seconds they make your heart soar and your eyes pop if you happen to turn your head that way.

I’m notorious for lamenting, feeling utterly blue over the thought of how many beautiful seconds in nature I miss. But I can’t help but feel just as grateful for the moments seen in the chimps’ lives as for those gone unseen. Why? Because it makes me happy to think we don’t know everything their days entail, every special moment they might have with one another or on their own. It gives me hope that they feel a sense of autonomy, some sense of agency over their lives without the humans being privy to it all.

And those moments we do get to share in, even when they’re a blur…so grateful.

Foxie kissing her doll:

Blankets

by

It’s the time of year when everyone just wants to curl up with a blanket or ten, chimps included. Earlier today, I posted this photo of Negra to our Facebook page:

This gave me the idea to go through some of our older photos and collect some of the chimps cuddling up. Negra is the biggest blanket enthusiast, but the others enjoy getting comfy too.

Negra:

Jamie:

Jody:

Missy:

Intriguing browse

by

This weekend the chimpanzees tried Lemmon’s Willow browse for the first time and they LOVE it! It has this amazing sticky sweet smell that reminds me vividly of hanging out in the shade along the local Yakima River during those warm summer afternoons.
Apparently, if you ask many of the chimpanzees, the leaves (and even some bark) make pretty great eating and wadging materials. Jamie found a dual purpose for the branches today, as I kept catching her using them as long supple tools. Luckily, she kept her mayhem relatively tame and didn’t try to spear any unsuspecting caregivers.

Here’s Jody working on a branch last night:

And Missy expertly snacking on the leaves:

It’s October!!

by

It’s October!! And you know what that means…it’s the countdown to Jamie-ween!!!

For those of you who might be new to the blog/sanctuary, Halloween is probably the biggest party of the year at the sanctuary as we go all out to celebrate boss lady, Jamie, and her honorary birthday on the 31st (she turns 41 this year!). One can never plan too early. And it doesn’t hurt that we humans are all pretty crazy about Halloween. At least this human is…

Jamie had other pressing matters to attend to, but Burrito made a “new friend” during a game of chase in the greenhouse with Kelsi today:

“Can I eat this thing?”

It didn’t take him long to realize his “new friend” was a great back scratcher:

The surrounding mountains, hillsides and sanctuary property are turning all the beautiful shades of autumn:

Every season seems to gift the chimpanzees with so much abundance. They are currently enjoying freshly picked pears, apples, and Italian plums from the property orchard, and a new treat of freshly harvested Lemmon’s willow which seems to be a new favorite.

J.B.’s been working hard getting ready for our new bovine family members to arrive and has been making some adjustments to the fencing around the orchard. Our deer neighbor families are thrilled to finally have temporary access to all the pears they can possibly eat:

All the beautiful wild roses that Jamie, in particular, loves to eat during the summer have now turned to a bounty of rosehips:

Kelsi captured these lovely photos of Jody, who seems to have become the self-appointed sentry and guardian, posting herself at the opening to Young’s Hill where she takes in the early morning view of their outdoor habitat, scanning her family’s home for any signs of trouble or danger and watching over them all:

Look at that gorgeous eye healing up!

It really is such a magical, beautiful time of year. This time of harvest, full of so much abundance. Not just the local bounty of food and beauty available for the chimps to enjoy each day, but you. Every day we look around and see the abundance you make possible.

Phase I of the expansion of the chimp house literally grows by leaps and bounds each day. We’re still reeling from the overwhelming generosity and support you provided during our Summer Biddin’ online auction and the recent Giving Day for Apes event! You set up fundraisers on Facebook for the chimps, participate in your employee giving programs, supply us with all the in-kind gifts we could need to care for and provide entertainment and comfort for the chimps through our Amazon Wish List, you share your love for the chimps with others, and you show up, here, in this online space, every day to see what the chimps got up to, learn about them, and honor each of them for the amazing individuals they are.

In so many ways, you stand together with us not only in providing Jamie, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, Annie, Missy and Negra with the abundance of hope, love, and home, but also as we prepare to grow this special family in welcoming others in need of sanctuary. From our hearts, thank you for making the chimps’ lives rich beyond belief. And the lives of so many humans as well.