We received some fun toys for the chimpanzees recently and it appears as though the advertisements were correct, “slinky” (or the magic spring as ours are called) is apparently fun for everyone, including chimpanzees! Here is Missy enjoying the new enrichment and thank you for donating these wonderfully entertaining toys!
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Today is for human Annie!
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Elizabeth Cromer in honor of Annie Norris! Elizabeth shared this lovely message for Annie:
“We would like to sponsor this day to you, Annie. You are so very special to us and God knew we needed you in our lives. Thanks for loving us. We know you are a blessing to all the chimps and everyone you come in contact with. Love, the Cromer clan and your Daddy-O.”
Annie is not only a dedicated chimp house volunteer, but she helps us out in countless other ways, including playing an instrumental role in the planning, coordination, and success of our events. Annie has a beautiful, big heart and we humans and chimpanzees are all so fortunate to have her as part of the CSNW family. Elizabeth, thank you so much for sponsoring today for the chimpanzees in Annie’s honor!
Human Annie’s Pals, Missy and Annie Chimpanzee, sharing a relaxing moment together:
Wrestling on a Thursday Afternoon
Jamie takes her job as boss very seriously, but Foxie can usually get her to let loose for awhile.
Missy and Annie play wrestle
Are you sick of seeing Missy and Annie play? I didn’t think so! These two are always wrestling and having a good time. Here’s a video that is bound to brighten your Tuesday afternoon:
Today is in memory of Dr. Mel
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored in memory of Dr. Mel Richardson by Laura Handzel. Laura shared: “I’ll miss Dr. Mel and his smile. I’m grateful for everything I learned from him and for all he did for the animals, especially those at CSNW.”
As many of you are aware, the animals of the world (human and otherwise) lost a dear friend in Dr. Mel recently. While our loss is immeasurable, so is his legacy. Dr. Mel’s was a life well lived and a model of how to walk in the world as a human. Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and all of us here wouldn’t be the same without being so fortunate to have been a part of his extraordinary life.
Laura, thank you so much for honoring Dr. Mel in such a thoughtful way.
Here is another fan of living life to the fullest, Dr. Mel’s Pal, Jody:
B is for birthday and that’s good enough for Burrito
To celebrate the birthday boy today we tried to make sure his day was filled with things that he enjoys most. Enrichment for the party included scarves for playing tug-o-war with, the bedbug popper toys he likes so well, and wooden toys for biting to his heart’s content. Party decorations included streamers, paper, boxes, and more streamers. Volunteer Patti Sims contributed birthday pinatas and, for the coupe de grace, food! Truly, when it comes to Burrito’s favorite things, food is right up there on the list. So in his honor we made today about the food he loves. There was pineapple smoothie for breakfast, a chow and Brussels sprout forage in the party room, a leek and cucumber lunch forage in the front rooms, baked squash for dinner and healthy food snacks served throughout the day. In addition to his food themed day, Burrito also enjoyed plenty of games with human and chimpanzee friends alike! I don’t know about you, but I think he looks pretty well satisfied with the day’s festivities.
And while most of the photos we captured of the day involved the birthday boy, I can assure you that the other chimpanzees enjoyed the party as well!
Foxie foraging for chow (It’s what’s in the yellow party box):
Foxie’s dolls
We try our best to vary which chimps are featured on the blog, so that no one is over or underexposed. But sometimes good material for a blog post just comes to us, and we have to go with it. So, I have a Foxie video to share today, despite the fact that the blog has been rather Foxie-heavy lately.
Foxie has an interesting relationship with her dolls. She often treats them maternally, kissing them or carrying them on her back as a mother chimp would do with her infant. Other times, she behaves aggressively toward them, beating them repeatedly with a wooden spoon. Occasionally she seems to be in awe of them, holding them out in front of her and gazing at them adoringly. And sometimes, they’re simply playthings.
This morning she spent some time completely preoccupied with this collection of dolls in the playroom.