The Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees are usually cooperative. But sometimes they make us earn it.
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Happy Birthday, Linda!
Today was sponsored by Aimee Kaufman and Adam Webber in honor of their mother, Linda Webber! Aimee and Adam shared this message about their gift:
“Today is our mother’s birthday. All she wanted was a donation in her name to the sanctuary. She has such joy and love for the chimps at the rescue. It was her son, Adam who introduced her to the sanctuary after he began volunteering there. Nothing would make her more happy than to honor her by dedicating a day in her name. We love you Mom. Adam and Aimee”
Aimee and Adam, thanks so much for choosing to honor your mother and celebrate her special day by making a difference in the chimps’ lives!
Linda, we hope you have a beautiful day and year ahead! Thank you so much for your heart full of love for the chimps. Happy Birthday from all of us here at the sanctuary and may it be the best one yet!
Jamie and Missy, always enjoying whatever life brings their way (a winter past – we don’t have nearly this much snow…yet…):
Missy:
Annie:
The hard work of having fun
When I opened the door to Young’s Hill this morning, everyone crowded into the raceway to file out. Missy was first out and straddled the muddy, icy raceway to avoid walking in it, Burrito clung to the caging the whole way and Foxie just went for it and walked right out through it all. She had places to go with no time to spare. Everyone meandered up the hill together to take in the view. grab a snow snack and enjoy the brisk morning for awhile before coming back inside to warm up.
Top left, going clockwise, we have Missy, Annie, Jamie, Jody, Burrito and Foxie. Negra ordered in and had snow delivered while she lounged in her warm nest.
Jamie has been full of absolute joy today. She started the morning off upside down on her barrel (always a sign of happy Jamie) kicking, flailing and laughing. Then she moved into wild games of chase throughout the chimp house with her caregivers and good friends, Jody and Foxie, then there was policing of the fun and games of others, grooming a volunteer caregiver in training, and somehow she still managed to squeeze in some alone time on the hill to take in her queendom.
But it wasn’t long before she raced back inside for another round of chase:
Frankly, all these good times have been exhausting:
Burrito
Honestly, I can’t get enough of this guy…
Tis the Season
One frequently asked question we’re asked, well, frequently, is how the chimpanzees cope with snow. Snow is not a part of wild chimpanzees’ environment, to be clear.
However, save for maybe a few months as infants for Negra, Annie, and perhaps Jody, the seven chimpanzees here know nothing about the life and environment of wild chimpanzees. They grew up, for the most part, indoors. And for the last decade (at least) before coming to the sanctuary, they didn’t even have a window to look out.
So, to answer the question about how they cope with snow, I’d say they’ve adapted very well! As a rule, chimpanzees generally don’t like to get their feet wet. However, if the snow is not deep, the chimpanzees at CSNW go right outside, explore, and often collect some of the wintry treat to enjoy back in the greenhouse.
The visual of chimpanzees in snow is still sometimes strange; but they are, after all, honorary citizens of Cle Elum: Heart of the Cascades.
After ten years, a trek in the snow is probably just as normal as walking through the tall pasture grass and planted bamboo in the spring and summer.
And they look darn good against a backdrop of white.
Speaking of snow season, thank you to everyone who has donated so far in our year-end fundraising! I’ll have some more updates about that soon. I’ve been overwhelmed by all of the generosity from so many people. It really does a heart good to have the support of inspiring, amazing, and caring folks who are rooting for the Bring Them Home Expansion to continue as quickly as possible so we can provide a home for more chimpanzees!
Did you know that artist and friend of the chimpanzees Maragaret H. Parkinson has a special offer of a painting to a lucky person who donates $1,000?! Check out the original 12×12″ oil painting “Rainbow Ele” ©️ 2018 below and get in touch ([email protected]) if you would like to take advantage of this truly amazing gift!
Lunch conflict
We never want to give the wrong impression to our followers that chimpanzees are always gentle and sweet. It’s much easier to take a video of the chimps playing than fighting, so our blog gets a bit skewed sometimes. The chimps do in fact spend most of their days grooming, napping, eating and playing with each other, but they also have regular disagreements and these disputes happen every day (sometimes multiple times a day). Here’s a short clip from today’s lunch. Warning! There is a lot of screaming in this video and some may find that difficult to watch, but no one was hurt.
Chimpanzee motion
Compared to humans, chimpanzees have a tall and narrow pelvis, flat feet (not arched) and a differently shaped backbone. In short, a chimp’s skeletal structure is ideal for quadrupedal locomotion and when they are on the ground, they generally use all four limbs to get from one place to another.
This is not to say the chimps don’t use just their legs sometimes. It just looks like it takes a bit more effort:
But sometimes it can be convenient to switch to bipedalism:
The chimps have incredibly strong upper bodies that are perfect for climbing and swinging.
And having opposable toes comes in handy to add that bit of extra grip when you need it.
Sometimes, when they are feeling extra daring, those toes are all they need:
