I love Jody’s eyes. And in this picture, Negra’s eyes peeking over to Elizabeth as she’s taking the photo really bring a smile to my face!
chimpanzee retirement
Today is in honor of Lori Waters
Steven Waters generously chose to sponsor a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in honor of Lori Waters. What a thoughtful gift, thank you so much Steven! We greatly appreciate it and so do the chimpanzees!
Thank you, Jordan!
Today was also generously sponsored by Jordan Bower, who shared the following message: “I am making this donation to honor the Cle Elum Seven’s Caregivers (paid and volunteer) for all of their tireless efforts of love and commitment. Without you Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra would not have the wind in their hair, yummy food in their tummies or love for their souls. Thank you.” Jordan, thank you so much for your kind words. And thank you Jordan, and all of our supporters, for enabling us to give the chimpanzees hope, love, home and sanctuary.
Take Action Tuesday: Split-listing may be removed!
This morning the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that they are proposing to remove the split listing between captive and free-living chimpanzees, making ALL chimpanzees endangered. This potentially will have a major influence on how chimpanzees are treated in this country. It will certainly have an impact on invasive research and most likely entertainment as well.
Read our press release on the proposal and see this news article featuring a photo of CSNW’s resident, Jody (read her story here).
At this moment, the FWS has only made a proposal and this does not guarantee that it will be passed. The FWS is currently accepting public comment, so we need your help! Please leave a comment here to express your thoughts on this issue. Let them know that chimpanzees should be regarded as an endangered species and that the hundreds of chimps still in labs and entertainment truly deserve to be in sanctuaries. Spread the word!
Negra’s Journey
One week from today, we will celebrate Negra’s 40th birthday and CSNW’s 5 year anniversary. Due to incomplete lab records, we don’t know Negra’s actual date of birth. To honor her status as the Queen of the Cle Elum Seven, we celebrate her birthday on June 13, the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to the sanctuary.
Negra is the oldest of the seven chimps here, and it’s easy to tell by looking at her. She is rounder than the other chimps and moves a lot slower. While they’re playing energetic games of chase, she can often be found wrapped in a blanket gazing out the window. Negra has the wisdom and dignity that often come with age. It’s for this reason that we call her our Queen.
One of the things I love most about Negra is that she doesn’t settle. She demands what she thinks she deserves and doesn’t give up until she gets it. Usually, what she thinks she deserves is her night bag, a nightly post-dinner treat of nuts and seeds in a small paper bag. She loves night bags so much that often, mid-dinner service, she claps her hands together imperiously as if to say, “I’ll take that night bag NOW, please.”
This photo was taken when Negra and the rest of the Cle Elum Seven were en route to CSNW from the laboratory five years ago. I often wonder what Negra was thinking sitting in her cage on the transport truck, leaving over three decades of research labs behind. Of course, she couldn’t have known during that cross-country drive that those days were in the past.
I’d like to think that she started to understand that her life was changing shortly after arriving at the sanctuary. This photo was taken on June 13, 2008, just hours after the transport truck carrying the chimpanzees pulled into our driveway. Negra and the others took turns in front of this window. In the lab they had lived in a windowless basement, so it’s likely that she was seeing outside for the first time in many years, maybe decades.
The next two photos were taken this morning, almost exactly five years later. Negra spent the morning foraging for fruit and sitting in the grass on Young’s Hill, the chimps’ two-acre outdoor habitat. I don’t know if Negra will ever get used to the feel of the cool grass under her feet or the sight of the blue sky overhead, but I think that she finally knows that her past is history.
Next Thursday, June 13, please join us for Give Five Day. By donating just $5, you’ll pay for one meal for one of the chimpanzees, show your love for Negra and the others, and enable us to keep serving seven incredible survivors.
A Gentleman’s Tea Party
Today I brought in some new “garden tool” themed enrichment for the chimpanzees so we decided to throw an impromptu garden tea party in the greenhouse this morning. JB and Diana contributed beautiful roses from their garden which the chimps love to smell and eat, and we brewed some berry tea to put out in teacups. And in perfect serendipity, Zibby Wilder, a former board member for the sanctuary (featured in this video of when the chimps first arrived almost five years ago!), came for a visit and just happened to bring fresh grapevines which the chimps were very excited about! Being the only fella at the garden tea party, Burrito had no problem problem joining in to enjoy the treats and he was the perfect gentleman.
Sunny sanctuary days
Last week Katelyn posted about Jamie’s reaction to a relief from the rainy days of May. I have to admit, I’m right there with her! I, too, have anxiously been awaiting the warmth of the central Washington summer. Working here brings an added satisfaction to each sunny day as I have the pleasure of anticipating and watching the joy of the chimpanzees as they forage and spend time on Young’s Hill. Never having been deprived of the sky, the wind, the grass, and the sun I simply can not imagine what an amazing contrast this is to the chimpanzees today but I appreciate every opportunity, every day that gives them one more gift of freedom. Here is Missy, enjoying Young’s Hill in the sun.
