chimp sanctuary

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

December 20, 2018 by Katelyn

Today was sponsored by Amanda Hahnemann in honor of her brother, Nathan Day, on his birthday!

Amanda, thank you so much for including the chimpanzees in your family celebration as you honor Nathan! All the primates here so appreciate you thinking of them!

Nathan, Happy Birthday! We hope you have the best birthday yet! Thank you for sharing it with the chimpanzees and for being part of making a difference in their lives.

Good friends, Burrito and Foxie:

Today is for Angela!

December 19, 2018 by Katelyn

Today is sponsored by Michael Courtney in honor of Angela Courtney! Michael shared this really lovely message about today:

“Angela is the kindest, most compassionate person I know and her love for animals is limitless. She has long been following the daily lives of Burrito, Annie, Jody, and all of the others at the sanctuary and this is just a small, simple way for me to say thank you to Angela for being the biggest and best part of my life while also contributing to the incredible work that Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is doing. From our home to yours. Happy holidays!”

Michael, we so appreciate you choosing to honor Angela in this way and for the difference you are making in the chimps’ lives!

Angela, thank you for being a light and inspiration in the world. And many thanks for being a part of the lives of these amazing chimpanzee people. All of us here hope you have a beautiful day and Happy Holidays to you both!

Burrito:

Jody (Burrito background:

Annie:

The hard work of having fun

December 17, 2018 by Katelyn

When I opened the door to Young’s Hill this morning, everyone crowded into the raceway to file out. Missy was first out and straddled the muddy, icy raceway to avoid walking in it, Burrito clung to the caging the whole way and Foxie just went for it and walked right out through it all. She had places to go with no time to spare. Everyone meandered up the hill together to take in the view. grab a snow snack and enjoy the brisk morning for awhile before coming back inside to warm up.

Top left, going clockwise, we have Missy, Annie, Jamie, Jody, Burrito and Foxie. Negra ordered in and had snow delivered while she lounged in her warm nest.

Jamie has been full of absolute joy today. She started the morning off upside down on her barrel (always a sign of happy Jamie) kicking, flailing and laughing. Then she moved into wild games of chase throughout the chimp house with her caregivers and good friends, Jody and Foxie, then there was policing of the fun and games of others, grooming a volunteer caregiver in training, and somehow she still managed to squeeze in some alone time on the hill to take in her queendom.

But it wasn’t long before she raced back inside for another round of chase:

Frankly, all these good times have been exhausting:

Casual Dining

December 11, 2018 by Elizabeth

This short video has it all: Missy and Burrito contentedly enjoying their lunch, lots of satisfying crunching sounds, and Missy peeling her carrot with her teeth like it’s no big deal.

Morning happenings

December 3, 2018 by Katelyn

I always think it’s the best feeling to spend time out in the brisk elements and then come inside and get warm. That’s exactly how the chimps chose to spend their time after breakfast today. They climbed, ran, chased, explored and meandered over every nook and cranny of the hill. I even caught someone hanging upside down from a metal bar licking ice off of it who I was certain was Foxie, but was delighted to discover was Jody! Naturally, as I raised the camera she swung off to other adventures so you’ll have to take my word for it. 😉 After a surprising amount of time outside the chimps all returned to the toasty chimp house to make fluffy nests, warm-up and doze off.

Negra: