Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
We were very fortunate to receive another camera lens from our wish list (thank you Stephanie and Kurt!). This is a telephoto lens, so we can get great close-ups. Diana and I tried it out this morning…
Annie:
Annie close up:
Burrito:
Missy:
…and Foxie:
Keith will be on interviewed on Seattle’s 98.9 kwjz today at 4:30. He is appearing with our friend Yoram Bauman of Comedy Underground to talk about their non-profit comedy benefits and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s upcoming comedy night show on October 7th.
If you’re in the Seattle area and haven’t already RSVP’d for this event, please do so by adding your name to the Evite list. The current one-night record for funds raised at non-profit comedy night is $5,100, raised by Puget Sound Community School – I hope CSNW can make a new record for the Cle Elum Seven!
Update: Looks like the show will be taped and will actually air early Sunday morning on the Public Affairs program. I’ll provide more details as we have them.
Even if you can’t make the show, you can listen to Keith’s interview live on the radio or on kwjz’s website.
Here is a video from the first day outside. One of our board members, Zibby Wilder, brought a blanket made by her grandmother specifically for Missy. The video is Missy taking the small pink blanket and nesting with it, Jamie coming over to perch on a boat bumper, Missy being overcome by the urge to chase Annie, and Foxie stomping around on the deck. Foxie’s stomping is something she did when the chimpanzees went into the play area for the first time – I wonder if Angie would do the same thing.
We set up a lettuce and homemade granola forage last night for the chimpanzees in the outdoor area and had a little cook-out with vegan sausage and corn.
There is terrific article published today by Rachel Abramowitz which discusses PETA’s new documentary about chimpanzees used for entertainment. It mentions Sarah and her undercover investigation.
I’m finally sitting down to process the day a little bit, and wanted to share some thoughts while they are fresh.
biggest surprise: Annie brachiating 17 feet up in the air, then just hanging there because she could
best scene: Jody laying on her back in the sun in a bed of straw
most impressive acrobatics: Foxie pulling her legs through her arms as she hung from the ceiling, turning upside down, while holding two troll dolls
best “awww” moment: Negra on the deck (the ledge made of donated Trex decking) “Negra style” – with a blanket over her head
proudest moment: seeing Burrito come out – he was pretty scared, but he did it. By the end of the day, he was napping in the sunshine
biggest laugh: Missy standing bipedally with a huge play face looking up at Annie as she dangled above
when it really hit me: watching Jamie try out all of the kids’ construction tools, then swing from the fire hose like a “real chimp” and thinking about her in a tiny barren cage in a windowless basement for most of her life
We just received a new lens for one of the cameras we’ve been using to take photos in the chimp house – the lens was a gift purchased of our amazon.com wish list!
I’ve had a soft spot for Negra ever since I met her at Buckshire (see this old post), and I think she is the most photogentic chimpanzee I have ever met. These photos were taken using the new lens. Negra has a tendency to look a bit sad or thoughtful in photos, but moments after the last photo was taken she was nodding her head happily as I danced for her (she loves to watch us dance and be silly).
