Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimp enrichment

Missy the Disco Queen – Part II

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As Anna mentioned in her blog post yesterday, the chimps and humans spent the entire day celebrating Missy and her 41st birthday (along with the birthdays of a couple of our wonderful friends and supporters, Deb and Martha)!

As you may be aware, Missy is mad about tomatoes. She seems to never tire of them and I think she’d be happy to eat nothing else. And because she and her best friend, Annie, love to incorporate socks and ’80’s style headbands into their play sessions, what better way to kick off the celebration than with an ’80’s Disco Party theme complete with disco ball pinatas (graciously made by volunteer caregiver, Patti) and cherry tomatoes in socks, along with a breakfast forage!

As promised, here are photos from Missy’s day (and I hope you all like lots of photos, folks!)

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Jody was able to get one of the cherry tomato socks (that’s Burrito to the right who was emitting low moans of joy over his handfuls of breakfast treats – I just now realized it’s the only shot we got of him, but rest assured he was happy!):

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Foxie:

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Annie (notice all the socks hanging on the firehose – Missy got every single one!):

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The party continued with a watermelon bowl lunch forage on Young’s Hill:

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The birthday lady quickly found one and headed for a quiet spot to take in the view and enjoy her lunch in peace:

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Annie also chose to enjoy her watermelon bowl in solitude:

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Jody found two and quickly headed back to enjoy them in the comfort of the greenhouse:

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Foxie found they were the perfect size to just put her whole face in:

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Jamie took the approach of dumping out the bowls and then using them to collect copious amounts of chow to bring inside and enjoy:

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And the piece de resistance? Queen Neggie:

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Back inside the greenhouse, Negra headed to her favorite sunny corner which overlooks her beloved valley:

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A heart full of thanks to all the staff, volunteers and supporters who made this special day of celebration for Missy and her friends possible!

Celebrating each of the chimp’s birthdays and the amazing individuals they are is always a joyous and fun occasion. And as I shared with Missy’s Pals yesterday, the reasons for celebration and gratitude go far beyond a specific date. In Missy’s case, it’s hard not to recall the thought that she almost didn’t make it sanctuary. Diana shared this story in a previous blog post though I failed to locate it. But in preparation for the chimps’ transfer to CSNW they all went through physicals at which time Missy was found to have uterine fibroids and was given a hysterectomy. Missy came through the surgery just fine, but during her transport afterward, she suddenly crashed. It took a lot to bring her back. After 30 years of torture and torment, she was so close to never knowing anything different. It makes my heart shake and shudder just to stand on the edge of this thought. And yet it’s a reality for so many chimps, particularly those who never made it to sanctuary or are still awaiting their turn.

Since arriving to her sanctuary home Missy has shown us she is someone who greets life by opening the door and running into it, arms wide open. With every leap, twist, swing, jump, sprint and full out run she puts her history further behind her, defying her age and claiming a life full of joy, adventure, comfort and love. None of which would be possible without you.

Please know it’s not my intention to end this fabulous celebration on a downer. It’s my hope to share with you how truly amazing each day in sanctuary is for the chimps. And to express our profound gratitude to you for ensuring that every day is one of the celebration of freedoms in all shapes and sizes for each of the chimps, in their own way and choosing. Safe in the knowledge that they are home, respected, valued and loved for the individuals they are.

And to our Disco Queen, Happy, Happy Birthday, Missy, we love you so much!! For all your days forward may your heart and soul sing out loud. And may there be tomatoes. So many tomatoes.

In celebration of Bill Walters’ life

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This special day of sanctuary was sponsored by Nicki Walters in memory of her husband, Bill. Nicki and Bill have been such wonderful friends to the chimpanzees over the years and we are so honored to celebrate Bill’s life with the chimps today. Bill had a great passion for animals and their well-being and he was also a long-time supporter and volunteer at PAWS Lynnwood. Nicki shared this special message:

“Today is the day that we celebrate Bill Walter‘s life. So I wanted the Chimps to be able to do the same since they brought him many smiles and were a source of happiness during many rough days as he fought Cancer. Knowing that they will be playing on a Monument dedicated to him, The Twister, gave him a lot of pride that his memory will be kept alive in such a fun way.”

If you’re new to the blog, you can also check out the unveiling of the Twister here.

Nicki, thank you so much for holding the chimps in your heart and giving them such a special day of sanctuary. Our hearts are with you and your loved ones. Words fall short in the face of such profound loss, but the difference Bill made for so many others with his life gives much to celebrate.

We are so moved by all that you, Bill and your friends have done to add to the chimps’ home and lives in a meaningful and lasting way. Bill’s spirit will always be present in the joy you’ve all brought the chimps and in all of the lives made better by his. We’ll think of him every time we see the chimps enjoying your amazing gift to them and especially when we see Jamie surveying her kingdom from the new heights of her beloved crow’s nest.

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A chimp’s eye view

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Every morning before we give the chimpanzees access to Young’s Hill we do a perimeter check, walking the fence line to ensure everything is secure. I did this from inside Young’s Hill today as I was picking up around the chimps’ outdoor habitat. Every time I am out there I am in awe of the views so I can only imagine what it means to the chimps.

This is the chimps’ view as they enter Young’s Hill from the greenhouse. Imagine going from a view of the wall in a windowless basement from behind bars to having your door opened to this each day:

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These are the chimps’ views from atop Carlene’s Tower of the wooded hillside across from the sanctuary and where Missy and Annie often like to enjoy their morning chow or wild greens:

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And in the opposite direction toward the mountains and river below (and also Jamie’s current favorite when she sits atop the crow’s nest):

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The beautiful valley below from the chimps’ log bridge atop the wild mustard and lettuce mounds (the spot Negra has been hiking to almost daily this summer!):

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Negra:

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Jamie’s pathway when she walks the perimeter every day with her caregivers following along on the other side of the fence:

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Jamie:

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The bamboo tunnel in the middle of the hill:

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As the chimps had breakfast, lunch and dinner today there were so many fresh, healthy, yummy foods for them to choose from that I noticed the majority of them were quick to let us know exactly what they wanted to be served first, what they wanted to pass on and even what color of a certain food they preferred. To see the chimps not only have choices, but see them recognize and KNOW that they have choices and make those choices from a sense of abundance is an incredible thing.

This freedom, abundance and love that fills each of the chimpanzees lives is because of the many forms of support you provide them. Every day is one of celebration and we couldn’t be more grateful to you.

And because we believe the chimpanzees can never have too much to celebrate, if you haven’t yet heard we have some exciting Christmas in July festivities happening! Check out our Christmas in July video starring Foxie and Dora on the GoPro on Young’s Hill (trust me, you don’t want to miss this one) and then help us fill up our stockings! We’ve stocked up our Amazon Wish List with things the amazing chimpanzees need and things the caregivers need to take care of the amazing chimpanzees and we’re going to have a party for the chimps on July 29th to celebrate!

Foxie and Dora send hoots upon hoots of thanks to you (as do we all)!

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Burrito and Tool Use

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Around the sanctuary, Jamie is known for her amazing tool using abilities. With a long tool and flick of her wrist, she can get just about anything she wants that happens to be lying on the other side of the caging. Burrito on the other hand, can be a bit too blustery for such business. However, he might be willing to give tool use a little try, if eating peanut butter is the end goal.

Introducing the Database of Chimpanzee Enrichment!

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The unfortunate reality for all chimpanzees that face captivity (even ones in a high-quality sanctuary) is that captive life can be boring. Chimpanzees are highly intelligent and active primates, and the truth is that no enclosure could possibly replicate the constant changes and choices that free-living situations provide. Another unfortunate reality is chimpanzees that have grown up in captivity cannot be returned safely to the wild where they belong. It is for this reason that sanctuaries exist, to give captive chimpanzees as many choices and enhancements in their lives as possible, while still keeping them safe, so that they can enjoy their lives in peace and comfort.

Caregivers at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are always working towards improving the quality of physical and psychological stimuli that we have to offer the Cle Elum 7. We provide a variety of environmental enrichment to challenge their bodies and minds and we are always looking for more ideas. Today we wanted to announce our newest foray into the world of enrichment project sharing, the Database of Chimpanzee Enrichment!

Several months ago we started building a database tool for chimpanzee caregivers around the world to be able to browse our enrichment activities. However, simply compiling and sharing our ideas is not the end of the road! Not only will online visitors be able to see and learn about the types of enrichment that CSNW uses, but we also hope to be able to learn from and share the enrichment of other facilities over time. We have a couple of guidelines for submitting enrichment ideas to us so please visit this link if you are interested in contributing.

Everyone should feel free to peruse this database at their leisure, adding comments or questions at the bottom of each enrichment post. Please also share this blog post on social media to help get the word out! Hopefully, this collaborative effort will lead to an open dialogue about enrichment and help enhance and improve the lives of captive chimpanzees everywhere.

So without further adieu, we bring you the Database of Chimpanzee Enrichment!

You can also find it by visiting our website https://chimpsnw.org/ and scrolling over the About Us tab or typing http://enrichment.chimpsnw.org/ into your address bar.

Happy browsing!

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