Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Mardi Gras after party

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To start the day off with some excitement, you may have heard that we had a 4.4 earthquake here in Cle Elum very early this morning! It definitely shook things up a bit, but for the most part it seems to have just woken people up with a start. The chimpanzees remained quiet and have appeared unphased today, though Jamie was uncharacteristically still in bed when I arrived this morning.

To add to the excitement the chimpanzees celebrated Mardi Gras today! A bit late, but that’s no reason for them to skip a party! We decided to have a partial breakfast forage in the greenhouse this morning with banana and strawberry smoothie in fancy cups, peanuts in gift boxes and chow. And of course, what Mardi Gras celebration is complete without a couple of bald, eyeless trolls?

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Burrito was beside himself and sat in the window fear grimacing with excitement and food squeaking as he watched one of our interns, Ally, and I set things up. His plan seems to have been to get as much chow as he could hold (mouth and hands both count):

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Jody was the first one out to the party and went straight for the fancy looking smoothies:

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It is Mardi Gras…

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Fancy drinks are always one of Jamie’s favorites and she typically collects as many as she can:

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Foxie was really in the spirit of things and doing a lot of her signature “spider chimp” moves, but was so fast I could only capture a couple of photos:

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Negra really enjoyed the chow and gift boxes with peanuts (both her favorites) and spent her time looking for them. Though judging from her clapping in a demanding manner at us, it would seem she didn’t think we put out enough! I believe she was appeased by J.B. dancing for her though (don’t tell him I told you that 😉 ). But hey, what’s Mardi Gras without dancing? Though I am sorry there is no photographic evidence of this portion of the revelries.

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Annie and Missy enjoyed the hoopla as well, but both preferred to avoid the paparazzi.

And what better way to end the day than with a walk around Young’s Hill:

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The Day After

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All the excitement from yesterday’s big Valentine’s Day celebration has left the chimpanzees pretty quiet today. All of them spent time on Young’s Hill (some a little longer than others) in the sunshine. And this afternoon, most of them relaxed in the Greenhouse.

Jamie, as you may have guessed, took quite a few walks around Young’s Hill, before grooming her boots in the Greenhouse this afternoon. After our morning cleaning, I put on two black boots and went out to accompany her. I must have took too long because when I went outside, she and Missy were already at the top of the hill. Once she saw me, she walked back down to meet me (Missy took off running) and we continued back up the hill.

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Missy accompanied Jamie on a few of her perimeter patrols, half the time walking, half the time running. After that, she spent time chewing on an alfalfa cube in the Greenhouse.
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As you may have guessed already, Foxie spent her afternoon with her troll and dora dolls.
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Jody took a little time to stretch her arms from the tire swing. She also inspected the tree to see if there were any leftovers from yesterday’s party, although by the angle of the photo it seems she was deep in thought.
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Annie was all about kicking her feet up and relaxing in the Greenhouse.
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Burrito followed up his walk around Young’s Hill by sitting in the doorway leading from the Greenhouse to outside, looking out.
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And Negra. She went outside for a few moments, looked up to the sky before going back into the Greenhouse, where she could be sheltered from the cool breeze. Unfortunately, for photo purposes, she spent her time on top of the platform out of camera reach. But here’s one of her resting in one of her favorite spots in the Playroom.

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Thanks too all those who helped share the love for these beautiful chimpanzees!

Sanctuary is love.

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Today has been all about love! We threw a big party in the greenhouse for Valentine’s Day with the help of decorations and enrichment donated by Lisa S., Carol M., and volunteer Patti—plus delicious food donated by Anne R. and Patti, including some tasty buckwheat waffles with walnuts and carrots. They smelled delicious! Patti excluded the sugar and salt from the recipe, but the chimpanzees didn’t mind one bit. They wolfed them down!

Here’s some photos from the set-up:
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During the party, Foxie started to whimper a little bit. Jamie swooped in and comforted her and even shared a waffle piece with her. Now that is love! Jamie is the boss of the group, and in the chimp world, that means she doesn’t have to share anything if she doesn’t want to. In fact, she can take anything from anyone to assert her dominance. So for her to share something with Foxie is a true gesture of friendship.

Negra especially loved the waffles:
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Jamie loved the drinks—we had red gatorade watered down plus smoothie in little shot glasses!
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Foxie:
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Jody:
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We all appreciate your gestures of friendship and love for the chimpanzees and are blown away with how we surpassed our Share the Chimp Love goal! It warms our hearts to know that these chimpanzees mean so much to all of you that you would share your generosity with them.

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note: Patty Clark’s name should have also been included in the heart above!

 

You all have played a part in a second chance at life for these chimpanzees.

As supporter Kathleen C. put it in her sponsor-a-day message for today, “Sanctuary is love.” Just watch the video below to see how much love they had for sanctuary today!

 

 

And here’s the final Share the Chimp Love image of what love is for Negra

Love is for Negra

Today is for chimp love

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Today we celebrate love, not only in it’s countless beautiful forms, but also for what it makes possible. And making this day even more special, a day of sanctuary love was sponsored for the chimpanzees by both Kathleen Corby and Secrette Miller.

I don’t think I could ever sum up all the love we have in our hearts for the chimpanzees and the gratitude we have that they are able to live the lives they do. Kathleen shared this heartfelt message which definitely speaks for us all:

“I love Missy, Annie, Negra, Burrito, Jamie, Jody and Foxie. Why not celebrate their life in Sanctuary on The Day of LOVE?! I cannot fathom what their lives must have been like during the decades before they arrived at CSNW. I have great respect and admiration for what they had to overcome and for who they are today. May love and generosity fill every day of their lives. And may the Cle Elum Seven always serve as an example of the importance that all captive chimpanzees deserve the right to live a life full of good health, comfort and care, choices, friendships, and LOVE. Sanctuary is love. Let’s all celebrate our CSNW Love today!”

Kathleen and Secrette, thank you so much for sponsoring such a special day for the chimpanzees and for all that you both do to give them a life full of love. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Speaking of love, we’ve received a lot of it over the past two weeks during our Share the Chimp Love campaign. So much, that we increased our goal! Joan and Pat Borders, who gave us a generous $2,500 gift early on in the fundraising made another $1,000 gift, and yesterday we received a $1,000 gift from the Armstrong Family as well, pushing us well beyond our original goal of $12,000. Now we have just $209 to go to reach our new goal of $14,000 on the 14th! Many thanks to EVERYONE who has donated! For those who haven’t, there’s still time!  You can make a gift for a loved one, yourself, or just to celebrate love.

For inspiration, here are some photos of the chimps celebrating love:

Annie and Missy:

annie lovingly gazing at missy

Negra:

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Burrito:

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Jody:

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Foxie and Dora:

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Jamie:

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Be sure to check the blog later today to see the chimpanzees’ 2015 Valentine’s Day celebration!

The Meaning of Sanctuary

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Like many of you who read Diana’s blog yesterday, I was moved to tears thinking about all of the captive chimpanzees who have spent most or all of their lives in biomedical research and who have never known a life of sanctuary. Instead, their only perspective of life thus far is from behind metal bars, with no autonomy, no hope. And her post got me to thinking about what it means to provide sanctuary for Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra and what it possibly means to each one of them.

Webster’s dictionary defines sanctuary as “a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter” and “the protection that is provided by a safe place.” To me, that definition just doesn’t seem to convey the whole meaning of what I think the word sanctuary means.

I certainly agree that sanctuary means a “safe” place where someone is protected. But, I also think sanctuary means so much more than just that. To provide sanctuary also means to provide a place where each and every chimpanzee can feel the sun on their face and grass beneath their feet. It means providing opportunity for each of them to make choices on behalf of themselves, like whether or not to go outdoors or stay inside and nap or to play a game of chase or pass the troll with human caregivers. It also means providing a space in which there are no expectations of any of them other than for them to be themselves; essentially providing a place where they call the shots. And sanctuary means providing a home where they can feel hope, love and a place they consider their true home. This is what providing sanctuary means to me.

For Annie, sanctuary means being able to share the same space with her best friend Missy and fresh green grass.
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Sanctuary for Burrito probably means access to fresh food!
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Sanctuary for Foxie means she can finally care for her “babies”
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For Jamie, sanctuary probably has a lot to do with walks around Young’s Hill and boots.
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Sanctuary for Jody probably has something to do with foraging for plants on Young’s Hill.
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For Missy, sanctuary means having the space to run, jump, swing, tight-rope walk and use every form of locomotion possible.
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Peanuts, blankets and naps are what Negra seems to enjoy the most about sanctuary.
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And finally, for me, sanctuary means that we humans are here for these chimpanzees, they are not here for us. I look forward to the day when all chimpanzees currently in captivity are retired to a true sanctuary.

Lil’ Bigfoot

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When Missy is walking out on Young’s Hill, she will often stop every once in awhile, stand up bipedally, and turn around to see what’s going on behind her. We’re not sure why she does this but it’s very endearing. She spends so much time bipedal that she’s earned the nickname Lil’ Bigfoot.

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The favorite spot

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As I was walking around Young’s Hill with Jamie the other day, I was thinking about how she’s created a trail for herself (JB does mow the grass down during the summer, but there’s still a beaten path where Jamie walks several times a day) and it reminded me of when I visited the Louvre in Paris many years ago. One of the stairwells had worn down on one spot on each step because so many people walked that path every day. The favorite spot. I’m not really sure why I was thinking about that, but maybe because it’s just another way chimpanzees and humans are alike—we find a path we like taking, and stick with it.

The favorite spot phenomenon doesn’t just apply to pathways, but also places to rest or eat. Jamie has a few favorite spots, depending on the activity at hand. For her morning snack in the front rooms she likes to sit on her barrel in room 2, and she almost never strays from that spot for that activity. Foxie and Burrito both like to sit up on the lazy susans, and Negra will sit on a blanket just below.

Missy, Jody, and Annie all sort of move around during meals, but they do have favorite spots for resting. Annie and Missy like the catwalk by the bridge—it’s a popular spot for grooming. Negra has two favorite spots—her summer spot in front of one of the catwalk windows, and her winter spot in the middle of the loft. Jamie likes to rest in the corner of room 3 against the fencing, or near the playroom door. And Jody likes the bench in room 4—as we’ve dubbed it, “the portrait studio” because it has really great lighting. We have lots of photos of Jody lying down in this spot, both snacking on browse like cattails or bamboo, and taking a quick nap in a blanket nest.

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Jody nesting

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Whatever it is that motivates us to find our favorite spots—they represent comfort and safety, which is something that is so valuable for ex-biomedical chimpanzees. This is their second chance at life, and what better way to spend their day than in the comfort of their own home.

Watch the video below to see more ways the chimpanzees find comfort in their sanctuary home, and please Share the Chimp Love!