Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Jamie may be the leader of the Cle Elum Seven, but Jody is the den mother. She always looks out for the other chimps – making sure they’re safe and accounted for – and sometimes this means “collecting” them if they venture too far outside.
This morning Negra seemed in the mood for a little outdoor adventure, but “mama” Jody wasn’t so sure.
Foxie’s love of her dolls is an endless source of heart-melting joy, fascination and mystery to us. If you’ve been following the chimpanzees for awhile you are probably aware that Foxie’s love of her dolls (that we’re aware of) began shortly after the chimps’ arrival to the sanctuary in 2008 with her subsequent discovery of “Trixie” the troll doll. For several years, Foxie lived and breathed troll dolls and showed little to no interest in other dolls or forms of enrichment.
Then Dora the Explorer appeared on the scene and for reasons known only to Foxie, she was utterly smitten. Dora quickly raised through the ranks to join the status of the trolls. While we’ll never know what mysterious criteria Dora met, we were happy to see Foxie branching out with her interests. She became particularly enamored with France Dora. She definitely has a certain “je ne sais quoi” and to this day I think she remains Foxie’s most treasured of all the Dora dolls.
Fast forward a few years and Foxie branched out even further to include Dora’s friends:
It’s hard to resist wanting to interpret Foxie’s behavior with her dolls and in our curiosity to make guesses as to Foxie’s doll criteria, we thought maybe it was the combination of big hair and big eyes. Most recently she’s incorporated the new Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Big hair: check! Big eyes: check!
And then…Foxie threw us a curve ball by falling in love with the new old-style Strawberry Shortcakes. Big hair: meh, not so much. Big eyes: no, beady!
When Foxie adds another doll to her collection that doesn’t mean her trolls and Dora dolls lose their status. Her comfort level just seems to expand allowing her natural curious nature to investigate new things. And it seems her heart feels increasingly safer to let new experiences in. And we certainly know that our fellow animals experience the same emotions we humans do. That said, it’s tempting to read too much into Foxie’s behavior and it’s emotionally appealing and comforting for us to think her love for her dolls is all about a chance to be the mother she was never allowed to be to her four children she gave birth to in the labs who were stolen from her. After such incomprehensible trauma, it’s clear the dolls bring Foxie enormous comfort and joy and I think it’s safe to say she does engage in mothering behavior with them, but at the same time she often beats them up. And I mean beats.them.up!
And so as curious as we are and as well as we know Foxie, just as with any other person, we can never know for sure what she is thinking. Nor would we be so species-centric if you will, to assume. And the thing is, it doesn’t matter. Foxie is Foxie and her happiness doesn’t need definition. Nor does our love for her. Her happiness and well-being, that’s the only thing that’s our business.
It’s been a few weeks since Foxie has received a new Dora and when we surprised her with one a supporter had sent, it was evident that Dora’s still got it. Whatever “it” may be.
Today was sponsored by Chad DeBree, one of our wonderful student interns, in honor of his mother, Jody Sanchez, on her birthday! Chad shared this pretty amusing message:
“February 5th is my mother’s (Jody Sanchez) birthday. When I was first just thinking about interning/volunteering at CSNW, she went straight to the internet to learn more. Through her research into the sanctuary, she learned there was a chimpanzee named Jody, as well. From then on, she refers to Jody as my second mom, and scolds me if I refer to Jody by her name or Jo. If I tell her any story about Jody, I have refer to her as “Mama.†So now I have a Mommy and a Mama, which, personality-wise, they’re not that far off from each other.”
Chad, thank you for sharing your mother’s special day with the chimpanzees! We really appreciate all you do for the chimps. Your hard work makes a lasting difference in their day to day lives and helps provide a safe, comfortable and enriching home in which they can thrive and that means the world.
Happy Birthday, Jody! Jody Chimpanzee would probably have a lot of suggestions on how you should spent the day, but whatever you do we hope it’s a day full of joy, celebration and a full heart!
Today is sponsored by Kenneth Epstein in honor of Nicki Walters and in memory of her husband, Bill “Twister” Walters, on his birthday. Kenneth shared this message about today:
“Nicki Walters honored her husband Bill by sponsoring the chimps on his birthday. That beautiful gesture of love inspired me and many of their friends and family to share their love of the chimps. So much so that the Twister structure was built the following year in Bill’s honor. We lost Bill to cancer a few months later but he got to see the chimps play on the structure named after him. While we miss Bill we know that nothing would make him happier than knowing that the chimps are partying in his honor.”
We at CSNW are so thankful for the generosity of Bill, Nicki, and their family and friends. The chimpanzees continue to receive so much joy from their wonderful gift of the “Twister” structure! This morning as the chimps ventured out onto the Hill, Missy raced up the Twister as Jamie and Annie watched from below. When Missy started to climb down from the top she began to do somersaults all the way down, from firehose to firehose! We’ve never seen her do this before! It continues to be a favorite lookout for Jamie to oversee her home, especially during the long summer evenings. The joy the Twister has brought to the chimps is unforgettable, just like Bill.
CSNW had a very busy Sunday! Old friends visiting, our wonderful interns taking ID tests (and killing it!), materials being dropped off from the Chimpanzee and Human Communicate Institute, and of course cleaning. Jamie also received a new pair of boots yesterday, which she is very happy about. In the morning after I gave the chimps access to Young’s Hill, Jamie sprinted through the raceway very pilo and very excited for us to put the boots on and walk around the Hill! Young’s Hill was a hot commodity this morning. It felt like a warm spring day and the chimps were all about it! But at last the cold breeze came and it went back and forth between almost a rain storm and being sunny. The chimps enjoyed their sun while they could and Jamie persevered as usual being the amazing person she is. Here are a collection of photos throughout the day:
Missy ripping around the Hill this morning:
Missy waiting for Annie:
Annie:
Later Annie & Missy basked in the sun, grooming and playing with each others toes:
Jamie our fierce leader:
Missy was backing Jamie up on the Hill, helping with surveillance:
Jamie:
Jody was the gate keeper waiting for everyone to get in safely:
Foxie spending some time with her doll:
The chimpanzees’ good friend, Sherry Berman, is celebrating her birthday today by sponsoring a day of sanctuary for them! Sherry has been a long-time supporter of the chimps and has made a lasting difference in their lives and we’re so happy to share in her special day. Sherry shared this message about her lovely gift:
“It is a double duty day…my birthday and Superbowl. Time for some celebrating for the fabulous 7. They bring me such joy on a daily basis from across the country so I would like them to celebrate along with me.”
Happiest of birthdays to you, Sherry! We couldn’t be happier than to share in your celebration and hope you have a wonderful day! Thank you so much for always holding the chimps in your heart and for all you do to help us care for them. We’re so grateful to you.
I think Missy plays in her own Superbowl every day:
Wednesday was an eventful day. The drain for the front rooms was clogged, so J.B. rented a plumbing snake to try to clear it. Jamie is always interested when there’s equipment around, so she was watching J.B. as he worked on the drain. Maybe she felt a little left out, or maybe she had been thinking about this for a while, but, for whatever reason, she decided to do some surface destruction to part of the wall in the playroom.
And there went J.B.’s plan for the day.
Volunteer Kailie was serving lunch in the front rooms when Jamie was doing her redecorating. With the added incentive of a few grapes, I was able to convince Jamie to come into the front rooms along with everyone else so that I could close off the playroom for J.B. to patch the wall. He wasn’t sure how long it was going to take to patch things up, but it was likely going to be a few hours.
They still had plenty of places to be – the front rooms, the greenhouse, and Young’s Hill (it was a mild, sunny day). But there had been some tension in the group lately, so I immediately started thinking about activities that might keep them busy and maybe out of each other’s way. I had a couple of things in mind and decided to see what they were up to so I could assess the situation.
Lo and behold, I found all seven chimpanzees occupying just a few square feet on the top of the structure of the green house! Negra was in her spot on the corner napping (she’s the only one you can’t see in the photo below), and the rest were huddled up in pairs grooming.
Perhaps Jamie had some sort of master plan to cause an incident so everyone would bond and work out the tensions they were having with one another. Probably not, but isn’t that a nice interpretation?
The chimps were not bothered at all by being locked out of the playroom. At one point, Annie and Negra were in the front rooms playing. Luckily, I was able to grab a camera and get some of their play session, which is one of the funniest things I’ve filmed in a long time. Be prepared to laugh out loud.
J.B. got the wall patched up in a few short hours and the playroom was ready for the chimpanzees to go back into after their dinner. They weren’t the least bit anxious to get back to that space – even Jamie, who I would have thought would want to inspect J.B.’s handiwork asap.
It just goes to show that the chimpanzees are not predictable, and sometimes an unexpected change to the routine can result in wanting to playfully push all of the air out of your friend (see video above).
Today was sponsored by Kery Shaw and Terran Baylor in honor of Gary Smith and his wife, Kezia Jauron, on his birthday. Kery and Terran are long-time friends of the chimps and advocates for animal welfare and they shared this message about Gary and Kezia:
“Gary Smith and his wife, Kezia, have decades of experience in advertising, marketing, and public relations for a range of clients and product. They left the profitable world of corporate high-tech PR to create Evolotus in 2006. Gary focuses on media relations and account management. Their company, Evolotus values strong and lasting relationships with clients. Gary and his wife have dedicated their lives to advocating for animals trying to help those who have the same goals, such as documentary film makers, non profits, wellness and personal growth individuals, vegan companies, including so many more individuals. The list goes on. The work that Gary and his wife do is incredible and so crucial to our movement. “Evolotus also has a reputation for representing clients that are working for a better world, so journalists know that when we approach them, we have something important to communicate. We don’t just promote; we educate the market and the public, we raise awareness, we make people think and feel differently than they did before. “Happy 50th Birthday Gary!!! What an extraordinary individual YOU are. So glad we bonded over Animal Place, chicken rescues and Tony Kanal! We look forward to bringing you here, so we can bond even more over chimps! – Much Love, Respect & Gratitude, Kery & Terran”
Kery and Terran, thank you for always thinking of the chimpanzees and for celebrating the work of Gary and Kezia!
Happy Birthday, Gary! Thank you for all you and Kezia do to make a difference for our fellow animals. We hope you have a wonderful day!
Jamie:
