Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Jamie is always trying to help us get our jobs done the right way. Sometimes she helps scrub the mesh fencing for us, other times she wipes the floor down. She monitors us while we clean, almost as if she is there to make sure we are doing it right!
Yesterday I caught her doing something new: holding down one of the water spigots. I’m not really sure why she was doing it, but it went on for quite awhile! Jamie wasn’t being very environmentally friendly… but she was helping us flush the drain.
Today was sponsored by Charlie Neath in honor of Deb Wagman. Charlie shared, “I love Wagwoman and what she does!!!!”
Deb is a volunteer caregiver here at the sanctuary and comes all the way up from California every month to give her time to help care for the chimpanzees. She and her husband, Bruce, are passionate advocates for the rights and well being of all animals. They are long time supporters of CSNW and generously help us provide sanctuary for the chimpanzees in countless ways.
Charlie, thanks so much for honoring Deb and the chimpanzees! As you can see, Burrito is a fan of “Wagwoman” as well!
Foxie seems to treat each new troll or Dora doll as if it were a unique treasure. When she receives a new “baby” she immediately stares at them incredulously, whimpers softly as she rubs their belly and kisses them, and then rubs them against her belly, periodically gazing at them adoringly. Just as Foxie never tires of her trolls and Dora dolls, I never tire of seeing her with them. But then I never tire of anything Foxie (or any one of the chimpanzees!) does.
All the time we refer to different places in the chimp house on the blog—you’ve probably seen us write about the front rooms, the playroom, the greenhouse, and of course Young’s Hill. I can imagine that it might not make a lot of sense for the majority of our blog readers who have never seen the inside of the sanctuary!
So with this in mind I put together a virtual tour. I am a very visual person, so this sort of thing would help me out a lot and I’m hoping it helps you all too! For an idea of how the normal day goes, read this blog about the daily routine.
I also thought to include a map of the chimp house. You’ll notice a lot of letters and numbers between the rooms—these are the different chimp doors. Since we never enter the enclosures at the same time as the chimpanzees, we have another person check the doors before we unlock for cleaning. It’s nice to have a label for each door when we report our checks to the staff caregiver who is unlocking.
This is Part 2 of our series of blog posts on chimpanzee identification. (For last week’s post on Annie’s distinguishing characteristics, click here.)
Burrito is the only male in the Cle Elum Seven, and he is probably the easiest chimp to identify. For one thing, he’s a guy:
People often comment that Burrito is “fluffier” than the other chimpanzees, and that’s because his hair is often pilo erect (standing on end due to excitement):
Unlike Annie, Burrito has lots of white coloration on his face:
He’s missing the top of his right ear:
And of course you can always tell Burrito by his charm:
Today has been busy, busy, busy here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Not unusually but, nevertheless, enough to remark upon. Cleaning, and volunteers, and visitors, oh my! Throughout it all the chimpanzees appear content. The day is sunny and warm, their bellies are full, and life is good. There is nothing quite like the serenity of a late summer afternoon to remind you to take time to enjoy this moment, even amidst the craziness that is every day life.
Thank you, Missy Chimpanzee, for sharing the quiet of the warm, sleepy greenhouse with me today!
Today was sponsored by Carolyn Clarke in honor of Jean Sheldon and the Cle Elum Seven as a gift to Jean on her birthday! Carolyn and Jean, thank you both so much for caring about the chimpanzees and thinking of them today. We wish you the happiest of days, Jean!
And if you need any ideas on how to spend your day, Jody is definitely a lady who knows how to enjoy herself!
