Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
We received some fun toys for the chimpanzees recently and it appears as though the advertisements were correct, “slinky” (or the magic spring as ours are called) is apparently fun for everyone, including chimpanzees! Here is Missy enjoying the new enrichment and thank you for donating these wonderfully entertaining toys!
Missy discovering the box:
Missy opening the box:
Missy playing with her “magic spring:”
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Elizabeth Cromer in honor of Annie Norris! Elizabeth shared this lovely message for Annie:
“We would like to sponsor this day to you, Annie. You are so very special to us and God knew we needed you in our lives. Thanks for loving us. We know you are a blessing to all the chimps and everyone you come in contact with. Love, the Cromer clan and your Daddy-O.”
Annie is not only a dedicated chimp house volunteer, but she helps us out in countless other ways, including playing an instrumental role in the planning, coordination, and success of our events. Annie has a beautiful, big heart and we humans and chimpanzees are all so fortunate to have her as part of the CSNW family. Elizabeth, thank you so much for sponsoring today for the chimpanzees in Annie’s honor!
Human Annie’s Pals, Missy and Annie Chimpanzee, sharing a relaxing moment together:
Are you sick of seeing Missy and Annie play? I didn’t think so! These two are always wrestling and having a good time. Here’s a video that is bound to brighten your Tuesday afternoon:
We try our best to vary which chimps are featured on the blog, so that no one is over or underexposed. But sometimes good material for a blog post just comes to us, and we have to go with it. So, I have a Foxie video to share today, despite the fact that the blog has been rather Foxie-heavy lately.
Foxie has an interesting relationship with her dolls. She often treats them maternally, kissing them or carrying them on her back as a mother chimp would do with her infant. Other times, she behaves aggressively toward them, beating them repeatedly with a wooden spoon. Occasionally she seems to be in awe of them, holding them out in front of her and gazing at them adoringly. And sometimes, they’re simply playthings.
This morning she spent some time completely preoccupied with this collection of dolls in the playroom.
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Susan Cooper. Susan shared the following thoughts: “I love Sundays. On Sundays I think about things that are truly important to me. Sunday is the day I spend at home, thinking about those I love and taking care of my 5 rescue dogs and our home.”
Susan also shared how moved she was by our recent video about Foxie and the inspiration she provides for us all. It means the world to us when others see how special the chimpanzees are. Thank you so much, Susan, for thinking of Foxie and her chimpanzee family on your special Sundays, and for all you do for animals!
Today was sponsored in honor of Connie Lamm (formerly Connie Robertson) by Mary Neal, who wanted to share what “a wonderful person” Connie is! You may recall that a day of sanctuary was recently sponsored for Connie in honor of her marriage to Bill by her fellow chimp house volunteers. Connie never misses an opportunity to help her chimpanzee and human friends in whatever way she can so it comes as no surprise that the love for her keeps pouring in.
Connie works tirelessly to improve the lives of the chimpanzees in countless ways. From being a volunteer caregiver to keeping the chimpanzees’ refrigerator stocked with produce pick-ups, to helping organize fundraising events and sharing her passion for the sanctuary with everyone she meets. And we can’t thank her enough!
Mary, thank you so much for honoring Connie in such a generous and thoughtful way!
Today we’re celebrating Don Young’s 75th birthday. Don and Karen Young have been endlessly generous in their support of the sanctuary and the Cle Elum Seven. Among many other things, Don and Karen provided the contribution that allowed us to break ground on what is now known as Young’s Hill. Each time the chimpanzees step outside onto their two-acre open air habitat, we feel so thankful to the Youngs for making it happen. See Diana’s blog post from this morning for more on Don and Karen.
Karen sponsored today for the chimps in honor of Don’s birthday, so we threw a lavish party to celebrate. The weather was unseasonably nice today, so first thing this morning we set up parties in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill. The chimps foraged for coconuts, pineapple, kiwi, beets, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, and fruit smoothie in Dixie cups.
Although the weather was beautiful for January in Cle Elum, it was still a little cool for Negra, so she chose to stay in the greenhouse:
But everyone else went outside and foraged for breakfast on Young’s Hill:
Burrito gathered some Brussels sprouts:
And Jamie collected some beets:
The real prizes of the morning were the two whole coconuts. Missy quickly found one of them:
and looked for a safe place to enjoy it:
She was soon joined by Jody:
Jody was very happy to find the second coconut a little later:
There was plenty of coconut to go around, and everyone eventually got a chance to enjoy some.
Foxie:
Annie:
We can’t possibly count the ways in which we’re grateful for Karen and Don’s generosity. The Cle Elum Seven wouldn’t enjoy the life they do without them. Happy birthday, Don!
