Jody’s face is permanent wonder. It’s hope and expectation and awe, and it’s a reminder to us all to always be on the lookout for good things right around the bend.
chimpanzee retirement
A time for lounging and a time for adventure
If we were to do a poll of the caregivers, or you all reading this (if you’ve been following a long for a bit), I would be willing to put good money down that Negra would be chosen as the chimpanzee at CSNW most likely to be found nesting.
Who do you think would be the second runner up?
I’m going to go with Jody. Is that what you thought?
There is no question that Negra and Jody know how to truly relax. Here are two of my favorite photos of them demonstrating their lounging prowess.
Negra:
Jody:
This morning was another GORGEOUS fall day, and most of the chimpanzees headed right outside, literally disappearing into the hill:
You will probably be able to guess who remained under her blanket, though (thanks to Earth Rated for donating these green lovely blankets to the chimps!):
If you guessed Negra, you would be correct.
Jody, despite her love of leisure, does like a morning adventure, so she went out, then back to the greenhouse, then out again, until she finally came back with a procured bamboo snack:
She stopped at the raceway to keep an eye on the other adventurers:
By the time lunch rolled around, Negra too was ready to emerge from her cocoon and soak up the fall air:
The addition of baked pumpkin to the lunch forage may have played a motivating factor:
It’s so satisfying to be able to see the chimpanzees making choices about how they spend their time. I’m glad that everyone got outside and enjoyed this beautiful day and also fit in a little quiet time for napping too.
Negra’s priceless life
The other day someone asked me what I thought about all of the resources (time, staff, funds) that go into caring for a relatively small number of chimpanzees. It wasn’t a hostile or accusatory question at all, just one of curiosity.
Part of my answer in the moment was that we are working hard towards bringing more chimpanzees to the sanctuary. We are REALLY excited to expand in order to provide more chimpanzees with a home at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
But there’s also what we’ve seen in the last decade caring for the seven chimpanzees.
I was thinking about that question again this morning as I took this photo of Negra:
and then some more as I watched Negra walk out onto Young’s Hill and climb a structure to sit next to Annie in the sun:
Some things really are priceless. I could never put a value on the last ten and a half years of Negra’s life. Every moment has been invaluable for her, for her six friends, and for all of the humans who have gotten to know the chimpanzees in person and through this blog.
I’m filled with gratitude that so many people care about Negra and her friends and have given their time and money towards each priceless moment.
Negra thanks you!
More love for Vicki
Everyone knows that birthdays should be extended for as long as possible, right?! Certainly the chimpanzees would agree with this:
Because Vicki’s birthday yesterday was a special one and she has many people in her life that care about her (count all of the primates at CSNW in that list!), we have a second Sponsor a Day celebrating her birthday yesterday.
This one is from Mary Fagerlee with this message, “We want to honor our sister-in-law Vicki Fagerlee on her birthday. She is an awesome addition to our family, and it’s perfect to add to Jim and Kim’s sponsorship of her day to her chimp family!”
So, happy continued birthday, Vicki!
Golden Grass
This morning was stunningly beautiful.
The fall grass touched with fresh dew seemed to be a source of light unto itself. With the angle of the morning sun and the glowing grass, the chimpanzees also seemed to emanate sunshine.
Annie:
Jody, as per usual, was acting as the sentry and crossing guard:
Jody was VERY excited to see Negra coming out to join the group:
Here is Jody greeting Negra. You can see her excitement in her pilo hair:
Negra climbed up to the first climbing structure, with Jody in tow:
Here they enjoyed the sights:
A little while later, Negra meandered back to the greenhouse, looking simply gorgeous against the backdrop of the golden grass:
It’s October!!
It’s October!! And you know what that means…it’s the countdown to Jamie-ween!!!
For those of you who might be new to the blog/sanctuary, Halloween is probably the biggest party of the year at the sanctuary as we go all out to celebrate boss lady, Jamie, and her honorary birthday on the 31st (she turns 41 this year!). One can never plan too early. And it doesn’t hurt that we humans are all pretty crazy about Halloween. At least this human is…
Jamie had other pressing matters to attend to, but Burrito made a “new friend” during a game of chase in the greenhouse with Kelsi today:
“Can I eat this thing?”
It didn’t take him long to realize his “new friend” was a great back scratcher:
The surrounding mountains, hillsides and sanctuary property are turning all the beautiful shades of autumn:
Every season seems to gift the chimpanzees with so much abundance. They are currently enjoying freshly picked pears, apples, and Italian plums from the property orchard, and a new treat of freshly harvested Lemmon’s willow which seems to be a new favorite.
J.B.’s been working hard getting ready for our new bovine family members to arrive and has been making some adjustments to the fencing around the orchard. Our deer neighbor families are thrilled to finally have temporary access to all the pears they can possibly eat:
All the beautiful wild roses that Jamie, in particular, loves to eat during the summer have now turned to a bounty of rosehips:
Kelsi captured these lovely photos of Jody, who seems to have become the self-appointed sentry and guardian, posting herself at the opening to Young’s Hill where she takes in the early morning view of their outdoor habitat, scanning her family’s home for any signs of trouble or danger and watching over them all:
Look at that gorgeous eye healing up!
It really is such a magical, beautiful time of year. This time of harvest, full of so much abundance. Not just the local bounty of food and beauty available for the chimps to enjoy each day, but you. Every day we look around and see the abundance you make possible.
Phase I of the expansion of the chimp house literally grows by leaps and bounds each day. We’re still reeling from the overwhelming generosity and support you provided during our Summer Biddin’ online auction and the recent Giving Day for Apes event! You set up fundraisers on Facebook for the chimps, participate in your employee giving programs, supply us with all the in-kind gifts we could need to care for and provide entertainment and comfort for the chimps through our Amazon Wish List, you share your love for the chimps with others, and you show up, here, in this online space, every day to see what the chimps got up to, learn about them, and honor each of them for the amazing individuals they are.
In so many ways, you stand together with us not only in providing Jamie, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, Annie, Missy and Negra with the abundance of hope, love, and home, but also as we prepare to grow this special family in welcoming others in need of sanctuary. From our hearts, thank you for making the chimps’ lives rich beyond belief. And the lives of so many humans as well.
The inspiration of Negra on Giving Day for Apes
While we’re in the midst of raising funds for the expansion (and we will be for a while), we also have seven chimpanzees to care for each day. They are the top priority as well as the inspiration to push forward to be in the position to help more chimpanzees.
The “we” in the above paragraph includes everyone who supports the sanctuary. Donations provide everything from laundry soap to staff salaries to funds to expand. We’re all in this together!
Negra has been a big inspiration for supporter Monica Best over the last several years. Having the connection to the sanctuary and reading about the daily lives of the chimpanzees on the blog helped Monica battle cancer four times.
Monica loves all of the chimpanzees, but feels that Negra is a kindred spirit. She relates to Negra’s need to just get under a blanket and take a good nap:
She understands Negra’s desire to have buddies:
and also the comfort Negra finds being on her own, sitting in her cabin:
In Monica’s words, “knowing that Negra’s safe and just gets to be who she is brings me so much joy.”
Monica is the kind of donor who gives whenever there’s a call to give, so it’s no surprise that she’s pledged $10,000 for the 4-5pm PT Power Hour during today’s Giving Day for Apes.
With Monica’s generous donation, we will be in the running for the bonus $2,500 that will be given to the North American sanctuary that raises the most donations during 4-5pm PT.
Monica hopes you are ready to give during that time and encourage others to give too! She will match every donation up to $10,000, doubling your contributions!
