Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee rescue

Missy Makes a Nest

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Nestmaking is one of my favorite chimpanzee behaviors to watch. Although each chimp has his or her own style, the basics are the same. A chimp will add one blanket at a time to the nest, arranging it so that it’s perfectly placed before continuing. Precision and focus are the name of the game.

Typically, the purpose of building a nest is to have a comfortable place to rest. But sometimes, it seems that the object is the process rather than the result. Missy spent several minutes building this nest in the greenhouse this afternoon, and just a moment after she had placed the last blanket, she leaped out of it and ran off to her next adventure.

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Jody the Harvester

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One of the chimpanzees’ favorite activities this time of year is going out on Young’s Hill and harvesting an armful (or mouthful) of the wild plants that grow out there, and bringing them back into the greenhouse to eat or wadge. Jody, especially, is a plant harvesting fiend.

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Private conversations

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Foxie has good friends. Over the past several days she has been gifted with French Dora, Russia Dora, and Tanzania Dora dolls! They are quick to lose their worldly accoutrements but Foxie couldn’t love them more. While I am not entirely sure what makes one Dora “better” in the eyes of Foxie than another, it seems these are the perfect size for passing through the caging with caregivers, holding in one’s feet during meals, and general ease of portability. She has been utterly smitten with each of them and we have found her gazing adoringly at them on several occasions.

No cultural barriers here. Foxie and her Doras of the world seem to be speaking their own language.

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Thank you so much to everyone who has sent these Dora dolls to Foxie! She has been a very happy chimp lady!

 

Happy Birthday, George!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by George Halliwell! Today also happens to be George’s birthday! George shared that he wants to celebrate by including the chimpanzees in this special day and that knowing he is helping them brings him great joy.

George, what an incredibly kind, generous and compassionate thing to do, especially on your birthday! The chimpanzees have the best friends! It’s such an honor to be able to witness so many amazing people open their lives to share with the chimpanzees with the desire to improve the chimps’ lives.

Thank you and Happy Birthday, George!! May your day be filled with pant hoots, food grunts, and all good things!

Annie and Missy:

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An intense focus

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Jamie takes life pretty seriously. She likes to work on her projects, eat meals, take walks, and interact very intensely. Her focus can certainly be intimidating but it’s one of the traits I really admire, probably because it resonates. Today we set up a cabbage forage in the playroom after morning cleaning. In the series of photos that I snapped of Jamie enjoying the cabbage you can see how intently she was savoring each bite. What is even more unusual about this series is that Jamie was so absorbed with her snack that I was able to get in a number of shots before her focus turned to the camera!

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Thank you, Tracy!

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Today’s very special day of sanctuary was sponsored by Tracy Dunham! Tracy shared the following  message:

“On this special anniversary I would like to sponsor the day in honor of Jane Goodall. She has long been an inspiration to me and I am sure of many others. I admire her tireless advocacy on behalf of not just chimps. Her eloquent letter to Vancouver Aquarium on behalf of belugas and dolphins has no doubt made an impact. She is a visionary, a teacher, an environmentalist and I am sure no one would be happier to celebrate the new life that the chimps have made for themselves.”

As you may be aware, today is not only Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s sixth anniversary, but it is also the honorary 41st birthday of beloved Queen Negra! Negra was captured from the wild, presumably in 1973, although she could be even older. While we do not know the exact date of Negra’s birth we felt what better day to celebrate her and the birth of a new life than June 13th, the day the chimpanzees arrived at their sanctuary home after decades in biomedical research. A new life filled with choices, comfort, dignity and love.

Tracy, thank you so much for all you do for the chimpanzees and for contributing to their (and our!) day of celebration!

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And thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to all of our supporters who have made the last six years of hope, love, home and sanctuary possible for Negra and her chimpanzee family. We could not do it without you.

Be sure to check back later today for the chimpanzees’ festivities! And it’s not too late to contribute to our day of celebration! Learn more about our future plans and please consider a donation supporting the next six years and beyond, making this the Luckiest Friday the 13th ever!