chimp sanctuary

Missy before and after

January 28, 2013 by Debbie

I sometimes think it is really interesting to look back at the photos of the chimps’ first few days in sanctuary. It’s shocking how much they have changed. Here is a picture of Missy in June 2008:

And here is one from earlier this month:

One of my favorite things about the Cle Elum Seven is how almost everyone is really good friends. We tend to focus on BFF’s Annie and Missy a lot because they are pretty much inseparable, but there are lots of other people that seem to be pretty close, based on the amount of time they play with one another, groom, or have other interactions. If I had to guess based on my observations, I would say (aside from the Annie/Missy duo), Missy is good friends with Negra, Foxie and Burrito; Burrito is good friends with Foxie, Negra, and Missy; Negra is good friends with Foxie, Missy, and Burrito; Jamie is good friends with Foxie; and Jody is good friends with Foxie and Negra (I’ve seen a lot of play between Negra and Jody lately!). Annie’s world still revolves around Missy, but she does occasionally play with Foxie and Negra, so I think she would probably call them good friends too. If you haven’t noticed, Ms. Foxie is a popular lady!

Today I caught Foxie being super goofy all by herself (which is really not all that uncommon) but it wasn’t long before someone had to join in.

Some good news + cute Foxie

January 10, 2013 by Debbie

If you aren’t subscribed to the Take Action newsletter through Eyes on Apes, you may not have seen yet that we’ve had a victory! Two days ago I sent out an action alert regarding a Great Clips commercial with a chimpanzee, and just a day later Great Clips made a statement to pledge not to use apes in future advertising, and said they were working on pulling the ad. This is all thanks to letters from you guys, so congrats! Please forward this victory on to friends and get them to join you in speaking up for apes in need.

As if that good news wasn’t enough happiness for the day, I thought I’d share some pictures of Foxie eating some snow with juice added to it. She’s pretty cute. I think she can put a smile on anyone’s face.

Foxie and the horse head

January 3, 2013 by Debbie

Foxie still shows the most affinity for trolls and Dora dolls, but occasionally she will try something new.

A good ol’ fashion head bonk

December 30, 2012 by Jackie

Missy has been a complete goofball today. Every time I make eye contact with her, she darts off and starts laughing – suggesting she wants me to chase her. I’ve seen her playing with almost everyone today – so if you’ve got some energy and you’re feeling playful and extremely goofy, I know who you need to call! Ok, so maybe you can’t actually play with her, but you can donate to her team. After weeks of being in the lead, she is now in LAST place! And if my little spill doesn’t convince you, check out this adorable scene I caught between her and Negra this morning:

Icicles

December 27, 2012 by Debbie

The chimpanzees really love snow, which is great because it just keeps falling and they never get sick of it! Check out the newsletter that was sent out today that also includes a video of the chimps enjoying snow.

Anyway, with snow comes icicles. Today J.B. noticed that there were quite a few on the building, and the sun is out now so they are melting fast.

I knocked down a few and passed them out to the chimps, but found that it was pretty tricky to pass them out AND get photos before either the chimps ran off to a hard-to-see spot with their icicle, or the icicles melted. My solution: I placed some icicles delicately on the caging so the chimpanzees would have to pull them through on their own. Missy was the first to come over, and she grabbed most of them before they melted. The other chimps were happily munching away on the ones I passed out earlier.