Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Today is in memory of Dr. Mel

by

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:

Jody weed in mouth

B is for birthday and that’s good enough for Burrito

by

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.

web_Burrito_lie_on_back_bite_wooden_toy_birthday_party_PR_ek_IMG_7604

web_Burrito_head_back_lie_on_back_bite_wooden_toy_birthday_party_PR_ek_IMG_7602

web_Burrito_lie_on_back_look_at_camera_bite_wooden_toy_birthday_party_PR_ek_IMG_7601

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):
web_Foxie_forage_birthday_party_PR_ek_IMG_7548

Jamie foraging for chow, or possibly the Brussels sprouts:
web_Jamie_forage_birthday_party_PR_ek_IMG_7544

web_Burrito_close_up_bite_wooden_toy_blurry_PR_ek_IMG_7586

Foxie’s dolls

by

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.

Thank you, Susan!

by

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Susan Cooper. Susan shared the following thoughts: “I love Sundays. On Sundays I think about things that are truly important to me. Sunday is the day I spend at home, thinking about those I love and taking care of my 5 rescue dogs and our home.”

Susan also shared how moved she was by our recent video about Foxie and the inspiration she provides for us all. It means the world to us when others see how special the chimpanzees are. Thank you so much, Susan, for thinking of Foxie and her chimpanzee family on your special Sundays, and for all you do for animals!

web foxie walk in motion hold troll doll yh IMG_9480

Foxie with tiny trolls

by

It seems Foxie has been the center of our blog posts lately, but that might be because no matter what she is doing she is bright, playful, funny, and can bring a smile to all of our faces. You’ll see what I mean while watching this video:

 

More love for Connie!

by

Today was sponsored in honor of Connie Lamm (formerly Connie Robertson) by Mary Neal, who wanted to share what “a wonderful person” Connie is! You may recall that a day of sanctuary was recently sponsored for Connie in honor of her marriage to Bill by her fellow chimp house volunteers. Connie never misses an opportunity to help her chimpanzee and human friends in whatever way she can so it comes as no surprise that the love for her keeps pouring in.

Connie works tirelessly to improve the lives of the chimpanzees in countless ways. From being a volunteer caregiver to keeping the chimpanzees’ refrigerator stocked with produce pick-ups, to helping organize fundraising events and sharing her passion for the sanctuary with everyone she meets.  And we can’t thank her enough!

Mary, thank you so much for honoring Connie in such a generous and thoughtful way!

web Annie close up IMG_4574

Happy Birthday, Don Young!

by

Today we’re celebrating Don Young’s 75th birthday. Don and Karen Young have been endlessly generous in their support of the sanctuary and the Cle Elum Seven. Among many other things, Don and Karen provided the contribution that allowed us to break ground on what is now known as Young’s Hill. Each time the chimpanzees step outside onto their two-acre open air habitat, we feel so thankful to the Youngs for making it happen. See Diana’s blog post from this morning for more on Don and Karen.

Karen sponsored today for the chimps in honor of Don’s birthday, so we threw a lavish party to celebrate. The weather was unseasonably nice today, so first thing this morning we set up parties in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill. The chimps foraged for coconuts, pineapple, kiwi, beets, Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, and fruit smoothie in Dixie cups.

web_Pinatas_75_GH_don_day_jb_IMG_7469

Although the weather was beautiful for January in Cle Elum, it was still a little cool for Negra, so she chose to stay in the greenhouse:

web_Negra_brussels_GH_don_day_forage_dg_IMG_7516

But everyone else went outside and foraged for breakfast on Young’s Hill:

web_Missy_coconut_YH_don_day_four_chimp_silhouette_jb_IMG_6825

Burrito gathered some Brussels sprouts:

web_Burrito_brussels_don_day_YH_forage_jb_IMG_6773

And Jamie collected some beets:

web_Jamie_beets_Burrito_brussels_don_day_YH_forage_jb_IMG_6794

The real prizes of the morning were the two whole coconuts. Missy quickly found one of them:

web_Missy_walk_coconut_in_mouth_don_day_YH_jb_IMG_6780

and looked for a safe place to enjoy it:

web_Missy_coconut_structure_YH_don_day_YH_forage_jb_IMG_6803

web_Missy_eat_coconut_beam_YH_don_day_jb_IMG_6906

She was soon joined by Jody:

web_Missy_coconut_Jody_beets_oon_beam_YH_don_day_jb_IMG_6884

Jody was very happy to find the second coconut a little later:

web_Jody_walk_with_coconut_YH_don_day_jb_IMG_6712

There was plenty of coconut to go around, and everyone eventually got a chance to enjoy some.

Foxie:

web_Foxie_eat_coconut_YH_structure_don_day_jb_IMG_6935

web_Foxie_coconut_YH_structure_don_day_jb_IMG_6891

Annie:

web_Annie_wadge_coconut_YH_structure_bamboo_don_day_YH_jb_IMG_6940

We can’t possibly count the ways in which we’re grateful for Karen and Don’s generosity. The Cle Elum Seven wouldn’t enjoy the life they do without them. Happy birthday, Don!