Today as the chimps were waiting for their lunch to be served, I caught Missy playing with a red blanketed lump, also known as Negra Chimpanzee. It stood out as particularly funny to me because, although Negra loves to wrap herself (head and all) up in a blanket, and although lots of the chimps, particularly Missy and Jamie, often play with blankets over their heads, we don’t often see Negra playing like this. I love seeing Missy bring out Negra’s playful side!
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
In memory of Tovarisch and Ilka
We are so lucky to have an amazing base of supporters who are always thinking of the chimpanzees. Today is sponsored by Robyn Leff in memory of Tovarisch and Ilka. (It’s easy to sponsor a day of sanctuary for the chimps as a gift or memorial (or just because!) – just go here.) We’re so grateful, Robyn!
Your support keeps this guy supplied with as much watermelon as he can eat:
Comfort
A few nights ago while the chimpanzees were being served dinner in the greenhouse, I entered the playroom for a quick spot clean and found this nest in Negra’s current favorite spot in the loft. The photos really don’t do it justice. It was about four feet wide and beautifully put together. The next morning when we (reluctantly) deconstructed it during cleaning, we counted 23 blankets! It was only four years ago that Negra and the other chimps were sleeping on bare concrete in the lab. To Negra, I think sanctuary means comfort.
Congratulations, Sharon!
Sharon Discorfano has sponsored today to commemorate her graduation from law school at the University of Arizona. While in school, Sharon served as Co-Director of her campus chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. After hearing CSNW’s own Sarah Baeckler and various other primatologists speak about the plight of chimpanzees, Sharon was inspired to write her substantial paper on laws regarding chimpanzees in research (check out a blog post she wrote based on her paper here). After graduation, Sharon will be working in the field of animal law. Sharon wants to thank Sarah, the other sanctuary staff, and the Cle Elum Seven for the inspiration, and we want to thank Sharon for sponsoring today for the chimps and for her continued work on behalf of all chimpanzees!
This photo of Negra worshipping the sun had a particular impact on Sharon (it’s one of my favorites, too):
The endless salad bowl
One of the best things about the hill lately has been the fact that it’s an endless salad bowl of grass. Everyone has a favorite “harvest” spot, but lots of folks are discovering that Missy’s Mound has the best grass. Today I drove the gator around the hill and caught Missy getting some grass from there. As soon as she saw me, she grabbed a huge handful of grass and playfully ran inside. Once I parked the gator and walked in, I found Missy standing in the playroom with her mouthful of grass, and she playfully ran back out to the hill to get me to chase her.
Thank you, Barbara King!
Barbara King has sponsored today in appreciation of the chimpanzees’ caregivers. (Thank you, Barbara!) We’re lucky to have a great team of staff and volunteers who provide direct care to the chimps every day. It’s a demanding job, but I think we’d all agree that the rewards are infinite. After all, we get to look at faces like this each day:
Thank you to Barbara and to all of our supporters who make our jobs that much easier!