Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee retirement

Happy Birthday, Billie Joe!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Susan McKagan in honor of Billie Joe Armstrong for his birthday! Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong, Susan McKagan, and their family and friends, are such amazing friends to the chimpanzees and we’re thrilled to celebrate Billie Joe’s birthday here today!

The Armstrong family and their friends have been part of our chimp family for some time now and when they last visited in October, they worked hard to construct the chimps’ newest structure on Young’s Hill. The chimps love this structure and with the recent melted snow, this was one of the first lookouts they scaled to take in their surroundings after a long winter.

Susan, thank you so very much for thinking of the chimpanzees in your celebration of Billie Joe! What an awesome thing to do!

Billie Joe, from all of the primates here at CSNW, we hope you have the best birthday yet! Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for everything that you all do to make the chimpanzees’ lives better!

Jamie:

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And special birthday hoots to you from the main man, Burrito!:

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Happy Valentine’s Day, Arlene!

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This beautiful Valentine’s Day was also sponsored by Michael in honor of his wife, Arlene! Michael and Arlene are also special friends of the chimpanzees who always have the chimpanzees in their hearts.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to Arlene who is a big fan of the chimpanzees and shares their love everyday.”

Michael, thank you so much for such a heartfelt gift for both Arlene and the chimps! We are so happy to have you both as part of our chimpanzee family and are grateful for all that you do to ensure the chimps’ lives are filled with love in all it’s many forms. Happy Valentine’s Day to you both!!

Best friends, Missy and Annie:

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Foxie and her beloved troll:

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Jamie and her cherished boot:

Jamie with her boot

Burrito and his love of food:

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Jody and her love for bamboo:

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And Queen Negra and her love for a comfy nest in the sun:

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Same boy, different toy

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Today’s blog is kind of a revisit of last Wednesday’s blog. Same boy, different toy.

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As most of these games with Burrito go, this is just his warm-up. Eventually, he can stand it no longer and launches down off the bench (as he’s moving to do here) to advance into the tickle and chase portion of the game.

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Of course, it’s incredibly fun to have the honor to play with any of the chimpanzees, but it’s hard to find words to express the heartfelt gratitude as we witness them living their lives with such joy after all they’ve been through. That they find within them such a capacity to enjoy each day out from under the shadow of their histories is the best gift of all.

Thank you, Joanna!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Joanna Morris in honor of the chimpanzees! Joanna shared how much she loves the chimps’ different personalities and today she wants to celebrate each of these amazing beings.

Joanna, thank you so much for not only recognizing and honoring how special and unique each of the chimpanzees are, but for helping to give them the lives they deserve in their sanctuary. We are so grateful to you for your compassion and generosity!

Best friends, Missy and Annie playing chase on Young’s Hill:

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Courageous Foxie exploring with Dora:

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Burrito accompanying Jody on one of her foraging adventures:

Burrito and Jody with bamboo

And of course, Boss Jamie and Queen Negra:

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What a perfect Sponsor-a-Day to be gifted with as we kick off our Share the Chimp Love fundraiser for Valentine’s Day! See how your support has not only changed the lives of Annie, Missy, Foxie, Burrito, Jody, Jamie and Negra, but has also made it possible for us to begin our Sanctuary Expansion Fund so that other chimpanzees in need may experience the hope, love, home and sanctuary they deserve.

Burrito’s invisibility cloak

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Burrito is known for his ridiculously adorable shenanigans. And today was no different. (There are some blurry action shots that I just couldn’t leave out).

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Despite the blur of Burrito, I love his huge play face you can just make out under the veil. At this point, he jumped down to begin a raucous game of tug o’ war with the scarf. This guy.

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Happy Birthday, Meg!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by the chimps’ good friend, Meg Lunnum! Meg has been a long-time supporter of the chimpanzees and their sanctuary home and she shared this message about today:

“Today is my birthday and my birthday wish is for the chimpanzees to have new roommates. I understand this is a real possibility and I am so excited.”

Meg, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees today and always! We have such an exciting year ahead as we begin to move forward with our plans for expanding the sanctuary and the chimps’ family. How very special it is to have you as part of our sanctuary family as we watch the chimps’ lives grow in so many wonderful ways. Thank you so much for recognizing and honoring them, and all animals, as the amazing individuals they are. All of us here at the sanctuary send you Happy Birthday hoots!! We’re so glad you are in the world!

Your pal, Queen Neggie:

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20 snapshots of the day

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I probably could never quite explain how ecstatic we all were to wake up to sunshine and beautiful clear blue skies this morning. We couldn’t wait to start shoveling the chimps’ walkway on Young’s Hill and fluff it up with fresh, dry straw so that they could enjoy their morning outside.

As we prepped the walkway the chimpanzees were so excited, intermittently watching us and playing and laughing with one another inside.

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Once I opened the door to the hill I couldn’t believe my eyes when who but Negra was leading the group outside! You can just see her head peeking out from in front of Missy at the head of the line. Then we have Annie, Foxie and Jamie bringing up the rear with one of her new snow shovels (Burrito was the one person who opted to stay inside and eat snow from the raceway door, but he’s been enjoying a day of Burrito-style antics with his caregivers):

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I put a straw path up to one of the swinging tires, always a favorite spot to check for ice treats. Jody headed straight for it and quickly made her way back to the greenhouse with her prize. The trick was getting around boss lady, Jamie, with her treat undetected.

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But the boss had work to do so Jody was able to sneak by.

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Missy:

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Annie enjoying her solitude:

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But she was so happy when her best friend, Missy, arrived and greeted her with a kiss and a hug:

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Foxie rubs her toes together when she’s happy and content and if you look close you can see she seemed to be pretty pleased to be enjoying the morning outside with her troll:

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Jamie was in her element this morning as she proudly surveyed her snow covered kingdom:

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Foxie and troll headed back inside after stopping to collect snow on the way:

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Annie was the last to head inside, but had to stop briefly to readjust her huge mouthful of snow:

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Jamie still had a little work to do:

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Negra didn’t stay out long, but she made it quite away out to collect snow and then returned to her favorite sunny spot inside the greenhouse to enjoy it, along with Jody.

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It’s been a good day at the sanctuary! The chimpanzees have spent a lot of time outside enjoying some warmer temperatures and even more time at the top of the toasty greenhouse grooming and napping. Blue skies and sunshine have worked wonders and been a welcome respite from our crazy winter for all the primates here today.