chimp

The Art of Grooming

March 24, 2016 by Elizabeth

Grooming is a standard activity here at the sanctuary. Usually, the chimpanzees groom one another. Some of the chimps enjoy being groomed by their caregivers. Jamie, though, likes to be the one doing the grooming. For safety reasons, the chimps don’t have the same level of physical access to their caregivers as they do to one another, so when Jamie wants to groom a caregiver she grabs a tool.

Jamie is fascinated by humans and often uses her tool to explore as much of us as she can. She removes dirt from the bottom of our shoes, checks our fingernails, and tries to remove buttons from our clothes or undo zippers or velcro. She pays special attention to any wounds, scars, or tattoos.

Missy’s Green Pepper Play

March 19, 2016 by Diana

The chimpanzees have had many bell peppers donated from a local grocery store lately, so today we did an exciting whole pepper forage on the hill!

Missy made a play for two of the peppers:

Jody made an attempt to force a turnover:

But Missy drove to the end zone:

Once the play was complete, she checked for injuries:

And then sat back and enjoyed her touchdown:

This post was inspired by one of the new personalized stones that is part of the Dr. Mel Richardson Memorial Walkway!

Thanks Jordan Hill!

Chimps and Dolls

March 12, 2016 by Diana

Chimpanzees are powerful, intelligent, adaptable, and sometimes aggressive wild animals. They do not belong in people’s homes as pets. They do not belong on training compounds used for television shows, music videos, movies and advertisements.

They belong in equatorial Africa where they live in large social groups, foraging and hunting their own food.

When that’s not possible, when where they belong has been taken away, and when they have been born into and grown up in captivity, a sanctuary is the best option for them. And sanctuary means taking the individual chimpanzees on their own terms and letting them find things they enjoy – things that may be very far from the image of the wild animals who they are.

For Foxie, that means dolls. It’s not that she is like a human child, or even that she’s using the dolls as substitute children (though maybe that’s part of it, given her history). Foxie has found something she likes, something that entertains and comforts her.

Foxie is still very much a powerful, intelligent, adaptable, and sometimes aggressive chimpanzee.

And Jamie too. I can’t imagine too many things more silly than a troll scarf, but Jamie manages to wear a troll scarf while at the same time projecting the strong chimpanzee that she is.

The return of Ellie the elk

March 9, 2016 by Katelyn

Ellie (as we call her), our local neighborhood wild elk, spends her days roaming up and down the valley where she grew up after losing her mother. During the winter she tends to stay more frequently at the neighboring ranch, but she always makes her way back to the sanctuary in the springtime to hang out.

On one of her first days back after the snow melted she decided to accompany the chimpanzees (everyone except Negra!) and I on a walk around Young’s Hill. The chimpanzees, however, (specifically Jamie and Foxie) weren’t so welcoming of her return and wanted to remind her whose territory she was in. (Be sure to watch until the end when Jody and Missy offer Foxie and her Dora doll reassuring hugs for their bravery).

Guest Photographers

March 5, 2016 by Diana

Today is GORGEOUS at the sanctuary! I went up to take a few photos from on top of the visitor observation deck while the chimpanzees were traveling to the top of the hill, and I remembered that I had not yet shared photos taken by last year’s Photograph the Chimps winners from the HOOT! gala!

Before I share some of those photos, I have two questions for all potential HOOT!-goers this year:

1st – do you have your tickets yet?!

2nd – would you like a chance to bid on a photograph the chimps experience again this year? We’ve had it for two years in a row, and I’d hate for things to get old, so let me know! Maybe there’s another kind of experience at the sanctuary that you would like to bid on instead?

Professional photographers / photojournalists Karen Ducey of Animal News Northwest and Dean Rutz of the Seattle Times generously donate their expertise and equipment for these experiences.

The first winners last year were Jim Keller and CeeCee McCray:

It was difficult to choose among the many great photos that they took, but here are a few. The three below were taken by CeeCee.

Annie:

Foxie:

Missy (this is probably my favorite, because it’s just so Missy):

And the three below were taken by Jim.

Annie:

Jamie:

Jody (just checking to see if there was any food up there – you never know!):

Big, big thanks to Karen & Dean, Jim & CeeCee for giving generously and being all around great people! Kathy & Alice Rose were the two other winners of this experience, and I will share some of their photos soon too.

To Be Known

February 27, 2016 by Diana

This blog is a true labor of love.

It is satisfying, on a frivolous and somewhat shallow human-level, to have people like our posts and make comments. But in the world of the chimpanzees in our care, it’s a big part of their second chance in sanctuary.

To be known and respected and loved is what they deserve; what they’ve always deserved.

Sharing posts and hitting that “like” (or now maybe the “love” emoji) on Facebook may seem like a small act, but this is what allows more people to grow to understand and appreciate not just the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, but chimpanzees as a species. It’s what allows hearts to grow and minds to change.

Sharing this post, these photos of Jamie, and taking the time to learn about the amazing and interesting person that she is, gives Jamie power.

Even though there’s no way to explain it to her, we know she would appreciate that there are people out there who have never met her who truly admire who she is, as she is. She would expect no less.