Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Spring is in the air

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Spring is here, which for this region means the weather is predictably unpredictable. Yesterday, we had a beautiful 70 degree slightly cloudy day—the chimpanzees and the humans were loving it! We had the windows open, we did some work outside, Jamie went on lots of walks, and it felt like summer was just around the corner.

Annie enjoying some of the nice spring weather lately:
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Today is, well, not as nice. We have had some very blustery winds with a slight drizzle, but that hasn’t stopped Jamie from making her daily patrols! Most of the other chimps have preferred to stay in the warm wind-protected greenhouse, soaking in the spring sunlight.

What will tomorrow bring? No matter what, I’m sure Jamie will still make her patrols and require her caregivers to come along as well. And maybe Burrito will join and do his new “hop.” Or who knows—maybe even Foxie will come along.

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Take Action Tuesday! Chimpanzee in new Comedy Central show

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EOA take action tuesday

Tomorrow night, March 25, Comedy Central is planning to air a new TV show called Big Time in Hollywood, FL. The show’s previews contain footage of a chimpanzee in several scenes.

The show was produced by Ben Stiller, who we hope will respond favorably to your feedback — but please hurry! The show premieres tomorrow and we would like to encourage the production to make sure the chimpanzee scenes are not included in the premiere. Not only are there numerous welfare concerns, but seeing chimpanzees dressed up in clothing and in physical contact with humans perpetuates the idea that they can be treated as pets.

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Recently, A&E canceled the show Wild Transport after receiving feedback from Eyes on Apes and other advocacy groups about the use of chimpanzees in their show. We urge you to encourage Ben Stiller and Comedy Central to make the same progressive decision for Big Time In Hollywood, FL! Send him a letter (c/o his publicist), and let him know that chimpanzees should not be used in entertainment. We’ve set up a sample letter below which you can customize as you wish. You may also post on the show’s Facebook page.

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St. Patrick’s Day 2015

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As Katelyn mentioned in the sponsor-a-day post this morning, we love to find any reason to throw a party for the chimpanzees. So today we filled little shamrock cups with almond milk which was dyed green with food coloring, as well as their usual fruit smoothie which we also dyed green. We picked green apples and kiwis for the breakfast forage—and threw in some oranges because the chimps love them! Add some streamers and St. Patty’s day decor, and you have the perfect recipe for a great party!

Everyone loved the drinks. We added little straws to the cups, and some chimps used them while others tossed them aside while they licked the cups clean! Foxie was especially great at getting every last drop:

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And Missy, too:

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Negra delicately drank from the little shamrock glasses:

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Burrito had filled his hands with chow so he had no choice but to lean over and use the straw for sipping:

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Annie also enjoyed every last drop of the drinks:

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Of course, the fruit was a big hit! Jody was so motivated to get some that she took on some unusual (for her) acrobatic moves to get to the high windows to get a snack.

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Negra:

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Burrito:

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Missy:

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We also hid some peanuts in little green boxes. Annie was the first to find them:

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Burrito:

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Missy:

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Jamie, quite uncharacteristically, was not the center of everything during this party! She grabbed a stash of food and drinks and stationed herself in a corner where we couldn’t get any photos of her. But she certainly enjoyed the forage, and we saw her still searching around for leftovers hours later!

New Boots for Jamie

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Jamie got a new pair of boots today. She has a pretty consistent new-boot ritual that I love watching. After we give her the boots, she walks around and gathers blankets and other materials for a nest. She sets the boots aside momentarily while she gets her nest situated.

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Once everything is in its place, she can devote the necessary time to inspecting the boots closely.

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Is Burrito cute?

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This afternoon, volunteer caregiver Sandra was hanging out with Jamie in the greenhouse when she called me over the radio to let me know Burrito was sunbathing, in case I wanted to come out and snap some photos for the blog. As usual, Burrito was unable to lie still for long once he sensed there was a human in the vicinity who might be enticed to play. See the end of this post for an adorable series of photos.

Speaking of the word “adorable,” we try to be careful with how we present the chimpanzees to people who follow the sanctuary. Much of what we share on this blog is happy and lighthearted. We love to share video of a great play session, or photos of the chimpanzees peacefully grooming one another or basking in the sunshine. And these are all things that chimps do. But chimps are also immensely powerful, intelligent, curious, willful, unpredictable, and at times, violent. We never want to give the impression that we view the chimpanzees as babies, or that we view them as harmless.

CSNW is run on a complex system of security protocols and safety rules that are based on the knowledge that chimpanzees are capable of doing great harm in the right (or wrong) circumstances. Volunteers are trained to treat the chimpanzees as equals; to offer them the same respect they offer fellow humans.

Respecting the chimps for who they are means being aware of and appreciating all aspects of their personalities. Jody may poke us one minute and offer us a kiss the next. Jamie may put on an intimidating dominance display, and then come over and gently groom our boots. Just like humans, chimpanzees are complex and multi-faceted.

So when I say that Burrito is adorable, I am not intending to take anything away from the strong, smart, sometimes aggressive adult male chimpanzee that he is. But in addition to those things, he is undeniably cute. I think there’s plenty of room in one person for all sorts of contradictions.

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Content Jamie

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Today is a gorgeous spring day with clear skies, the temperature is in the mid-60s, and everyone is in a great mood. It seemed like a great day for a picnic, so we set up a forage outside and everyone—including fair-weather gal Negra—ventured out for their lunch.

When they’re not outside, the chimps have been relaxing in the greenhouse mostly, but Jamie popped into the front rooms to get a good look out the window to see what JB and Diana’s dogs were up to (they’re enjoying the weather, too!)

I was able to take some photos of the boss in this calm moment. She was happy to let me do so, as long as I promised to show her the photos afterwards. She watched as I flipped through the photos on the camera screen—I took a couple dozen, at least! Once she was satisfied she returned to the greenhouse.

These are the best photos out of the bunch that I took:

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