Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Today was filled from top to bottom with sunshine (prime weather for wrestling in the greenhouse). One window in particular was the hot spot made popular by Missy and Foxie who had a wild game going that included multiple play partners.
Missy (back) with Foxie (front):
Jody, Missy and Foxie:
Annie joins the party and Jody leaves to make room for her on the windowsill:
Friends of Foxie and family, Donna and Doreen Hughes, sponsored today for the chimpanzees in celebration of their birthday! Donna and Doreen have been wonderful, long-time friends of all the primates here and we look forward to celebrating with them each year.
“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate our birthday than by Sponsoring a Day! We count ourselves lucky to have visited the Cle Elum 7..and of course, the ENTIRE staff who work so hard to care for these Apes! We hope to visit Foxie and Friends again in 2019, and super cool – get to meet the new cattle residents! With love from NYC, Donna & Doreen”
Don and Dor, we’re so lucky to have you as part of our chimp family! The world’s a better place because of wonderful hearts like yours and while you are celebrating in the big city, we’ll be thinking of you at a tiny sanctuary in the country, wishing you the best birthday yet! Happiest of days to your hearts from all of our hearts!
Foxie is quite small for a chimpanzee. This comes in handy when you want to be light on your feet!
Foxie is probably the most joyous person I know. She, like each member of her chimpanzee family, has every reason not to be given their history. And yet, like the rise and fall of nature’s breath, she persists. And we’re all the better for it. As beloved poet, Mary Oliver, wrote:
“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel
Give in to it.
There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be.We are not wise, and not very often kind.
And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left.
Perhaps this is its way of fighting back,
that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world.
It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins.
Anyway, that’s often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty.
Joy is not made to be a crumb.”
I had the hardest time decided what to do for the blog today. There were many moments worthy of sharing and even more thoughts floating around my head. I could have written a novel.
Instead, I decided to let the two images below speak for themselves. What do you see?
Lord Byron’s poem “She Walks in Beauty” came to mind with the photo of Negra.
P.S. The “featured” image above of Annie’s profile reminded me of a Victorian cameo. I’m not sure why the chimpanzees brought to mind the 1800s today.
The chimps often use straws for drinking things that aren’t within reach (such as evening food puzzle drink buckets that we set outside their enclosures).
Sometimes they like to improvise and use straws, just because they can (not because it’s necessary). Annie for instance, likes to bring her own straw along to drink her morning smoothie (that we usually serve straight to her lips from the cup). Here’s Jamie making an interesting tool use choice.
Last week melted the majority of the snow covering the sanctuary, but we’ve had a couple of cold and dry days this week. The chimps seem unfazed by the drop in temperature and have still been eager to explore Young’s Hill each morning (albeit at a slightly faster pace). As the chimpanzees wrapped up their morning adventures, Foxie uncovered a lone Strawberry Shortcake doll that must have spent a great deal of this winter covered in snow. Being the responsible doll owner that she is, she gingerly took her buried treasure back to the warm playroom to thaw out.
