chimp sanctuary

Celebrating 5 years of sanctuary and a very special birthday

June 13, 2013 by Elizabeth

Today has been an incredible day. We’re so moved to see all the love for the Cle Elum Seven as the Give Five donations keep rolling in. As of right now, we’ve raised $10,550 toward our summer goal of $35,000! We’re asking for just $5 as a pledge of support for the chimps and the sanctuary (and as a happy birthday wish for Negra!).

It wouldn’t be a CSNW holiday without a party, of course, and the chimpanzees are expert partiers with five years of practice under their belts. Volunteer caregivers Denice, Seana, and Patti came this morning to help the chimps celebrate. Denice dressed up the morning fruit smoothie and put it in festive plastic shot glasses.

Patti brought several pinatas, including this one to honor Negra’s birthday.

Seana setting up the party in the greenhouse:

Denice:

Patti:

Missy was very interested in the pinata, but she had some nuts to eat first, so she held on to it.

Missy drinking smoothie:

Jamie:

Foxie enjoying some raspberries:

Annie with a pinata:

As for the birthday girl, she has had a pretty great day. Here she is with some fruit smoothie:

And with a tiara pinata (she is the Queen, after all):

After the party Negra explored Young’s Hill, venturing so high up the hill that we lost sight of her for awhile.

And after all that activity, she took a well-deserved nap.

We really can’t say what all of your support means to us. You enable us to do what we do. Here’s to another five years!

A Gentleman’s Tea Party

June 5, 2013 by Katelyn

Today I brought in some new “garden tool” themed enrichment for the chimpanzees so we decided to throw an impromptu garden tea party in the greenhouse this morning. JB and Diana contributed beautiful roses from their garden which the chimps love to smell and eat, and we brewed some berry tea to put out in teacups. And in perfect serendipity, Zibby Wilder, a former board member for the sanctuary (featured in this video of when the chimps first arrived almost five years ago!), came for a visit and just happened to bring fresh grapevines which the chimps were very excited about! Being the only fella at the garden tea party, Burrito had no problem problem joining in to enjoy the treats and he was the perfect gentleman.

What a difference a day makes

May 28, 2013 by Katelyn

We have been having many days of much needed, but seemingly never ending, rain here at the sanctuary. And let me tell you, Jamie has had a bee in her bonnet for days. And when Jamie’s not happy she makes it well known. I can’t really blame her as it’s hard to be stuck inside after we have had so many beautiful days recently. As caregivers, it is always first in our minds as to how we can make the days better for the chimps, particularly when they aren’t able to go outside. Yesterday, despite our best efforts, Jamie was a grouchy lady and let it be known in no uncertain terms that she wanted nothing to do with any of our suggestions. But today the humans and chimpanzees finally awoke to sunny skies. Everyone was in a good mood and JB even got a laugh from Annie, who typically reserves those for her raucous games of chase with her best friend, Missy. We put a breakfast forage on Young’s Hill to make the most of the day and the chimps were all lined up waiting for the door to open. They immediately all filed through the raceway together with Negra (!) in the lead. Everyone spread out, foraging through the now significantly taller grass, food squeaking with joy (we are hoping to have some great footage of this from the GoPro camera on the hill soon). And then much to our surprise, we spotted Jamie trying her hand at tightrope walking across the fire hose bridge! While this is usually a classic Missy move, I’d say Jamie is giving her a run for her money. And the best thing yet? That bee that’s been in Jamie’s bonnet seems to have flown off.

I love Jamie’s face in this last picture. It almost looks as though she’s giving herself a little congratulatory cheer. I would look like that as well if I had just been able to do a tightrope walk across the fire hose bridge!

Changes

May 15, 2013 by Katelyn

In my home I have a wall where I’ve hung each of the chimpanzees portraits. I chose photos that reminded me of each of their personalities. But I look at those photos now and they almost seem like different people. It seems that the chimpanzees are changing and growing by leaps and bounds each day. Sometimes it’s big differences like Negra venturing so far out onto the hill that we lost sight of her for a couple of hours this morning.

And sometimes it seemingly smaller things like finding Jamie covered up in her usual morning nest while we clean the playroom but with the huge difference of having (and keeping!) her eyes closed, sound asleep. Jamie is typically always on alert, even while “resting” and in the past typically kept her eyes open, keeping track of what was happening around her. From my perspective, it would seem that Jamie is finally feeling safe and comfortable enough to let down her guard long enough to rest peacefully, if only for a brief time.

And there is Annie who no longer rocks anxiously in the doorway to Young’s Hill, waiting for Missy to return to the safety of the greenhouse. Now she is fast on the heels of Missy wherever she goes on the hill and can even be found foraging on her own.

And much to my surprise and delight, Jody engaged in a brief game of tug-o-war with me this afternoon and then turned around and presented her back to me for a knuckle rub. Again, this may seem small but in all the time I have been at the sanctuary I have not seen Jody play like this. I cannot tell you how happy this makes all of us. Not because we want or need them to change of course, but because it seems the natural result of their healing. And I cannot wait to look at my wall by the end of this summer, this year, and beyond and see who’s there.

Always on the go

May 14, 2013 by Debbie

We all know that Missy is a bundle of energy. She’s got one speed when she’s on Young’s Hill: FAST. She brings a smile to our faces every time she darts back and forth and up and down the hill, because she’s able to exert her energy in a space larger than she ever would have even imagined of in the lab. It’s so hard to try and think of how she was able to contain that energy in the confined space she had for decades. Now, she’s able to run as fast as she can, climb every structure and post, do her acrobatics on the fire hoses, and if she wants, to sit still. Missy is a very great example of how the chimps now have choices.