Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Watch Seattle’s KOMO 4 Sunday

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The national broadcast of the chimps’ going onto the hill is still up in the air, but I did receive confirmation from Eric Johnson of KOMO 4 that they will air the story Sunday night at 11:00pm and it will re-air Monday at 6pm. So, for those in the Seattle area, set your DVRs and come to the blog after you watch it to tell us your impressions.

It was a pretty emotional day and we were lucky that the film crews were gracious, understanding and also really excited to witness the chimpanzees taking their first steps onto Young’s Hill.

Here’s a photo of 2/3 of the Young’s Hill clique. Maybe tomorrow someone else will join Burrito, Missy and Jamie in exploring the wide-open part of their home.

jamie and missy climbing structure on young's hill

 

Jamie on the Rock

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No word yet on an air date for the national news piece. It could be a little while. We will definitely let everyone know when we hear!

I was just looking through some photos from yesterday. After lunch Jamie spent some time on the Treat Rock and I snapped a couple of photos of her investigating.

Even though I took the photo and saw this in person, it’s still a little unreal that the chimpanzees are now on Young’s Hill. They look so small out there, and so natural. I can’t wait to see what they do today!
jamie on the rock

Today is the day

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I can’t believe today is the day we get to see our chimpanzee friends step on grass for the first time.

Yesterday I looked at the 5′ x 3′ cage we have on the property. They lived in cages that size for decades. It’s impossible to put into words the sadness that small cage evokes. Then I looked at the 2 acre hill.

It might be a little scary for them at first, but the chimps are definitely ready for us to open the doors to the next chapter in their lives and put their pasts further behind them. We plan to set up a large lunch forage for them and open the doors around 11:00 (pacific time).

Its been heartwarming to see all of the posts that people have been sharing about the news on Facebook. It’s a privilege to be part of such a great community of people who care about chimpanzees and are as excited as we are to see the Cle Elum Seven step onto that hill.

A lot of people have been sharing the Young’s Hill video that Jonathan Houser made just a year ago when we were raising funds for the hill at our 2010 auction. I’ve included it below.

Young’s Hill – The Dream from Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on Vimeo.

 

Thank you all.

Did you hear the NEWS??

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Tomorrow is the big day! We are all freaking out (in a good way). The chimps are ready, we’re ready and we know you are ready to see them out on the hill.

See the announcement about the big day.

Today, the final touches were put on the hill, including the concrete on what we are now calling the Treat Rock, which mimics a termite mound where the chimps can “fish” for treats we place in pipes mounted in the rock.

treat rock in construction

A Little Bit of Burrito in Your Life

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I was looking through some photos from last month and came across two of Burrito that I had to share

burrito biting log

 

 

Look closely at the one below – he’s hugging a coconut.

burrito hugging coconut

 

Burrito is featured on this year’s special label wine – only available at the 2011 Out of the Box auction in Seattle! Get your tickets quick!

Laughing

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As many of our regular blog readers know, Annie is coming out of her shell more and more. We’ve seen her become more confident and play with chimps other than Missy. Foxie seems to be someone she likes to play with, and the other day I caught them in an intense wrestling match. Their laughter was amazing! It really makes me smile so much when I think about how much Annie and the other chimps have all changed since their arrival to the sanctuary over 3 years ago. I can’t wait to see what other changes we might see in the chimps’ personalities after Young’s Hill opens!

Speaking of the ever-changing chimps, in this clip, you’ll see Annie and Foxie playing with Foxie’s new doll that I mentioned on her Facebook page. This is not a troll doll, and although it resembles a troll, it’s still great to see her expanding her usual very narrow focus on “enrichment objects worth interacting with.” As seen in this blog from just a few days ago, Foxie is well on her way to making nests with blankets! Like I said above, it’s amazing to see how the chimps have all changed and keep on changing.

 

 

Negra’s style of play

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Negra plays slower and less frequent than the other chimps. Missy and Foxie are very playful and active, but they slow down to Negra’s speed when she decides to engage in play with them.