Yahooo! $7,200 raised last night at Sippin’ for the Seven wine tasting event in Roslyn. Lots of people to thank, which I will do tomorrow. For now – THANK YOU EVERYONE! It was a blast. Save the date for next year – Saturday, February 26, 2011.
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Foxie is so cool.
Foxie has a way of making everything she does look cool, whether it’s eating a carrot, watching TV, or tossing a troll doll head around.
Sarah on the subject of healing
A few weeks ago, two very special people from Seattle’s NPR station visited the sanctuary and interviewed Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s Executive Director, Sarah Baeckler. The interview and audio from their visit will air on KUOW Presents on 94.9 FM tomorrow at 2:06pm. Please listen to it live if you’re in the area.
You can also listen to it, subscribe to the KUOW Presents podcast, or download the interview from their website right now. It’s a very moving piece, and I hope you’ll be inspired to contact KUOW to comment, and encourage them to re-air it as frequently as they can. You will learn a lot about Sarah in the interview and why she does what she does for chimpanzees.
Self treatment
Chimpanzees spend a lot of time grooming injuries on themselves and others. In fact, we rely heavily on observation of their behavior towards one another to monitor their health. For example, a chimpanzee may develop a small abscess from a bite or scratch during a fight. Depending on the location of the injury, the caregivers may not notice it at first. But the chimpanzees sure do, and this will often alert us to its presence. And while we tend to be a bit overly cautious and provide oral antibiotics, the chimpanzees do a pretty good job of grooming and draining injuries to promote healing on their own. This makes sense, of course, because free-living chimpanzees often suffer injuries and do not rely on humans for treatment. But it is fascinating to watch. Missy seems to be the most adept at using tools (in this case a piece of grape vine) to groom herself.
Jamie’s latest boots
Jamie can never have enough shoes….
Missy’s Day of Play
Missy has been especially playful today (even by Missy standards). Jody and Annie have been good about humoring her (as you’ll see in the video), but even during those moments when no one else is up to a game, Missy has found a way to entertain herself. At various times today, we’ve caught her taking a flying leap from the deck outside wearing a huge playface or playing chase with an invisible partner.
Jody’s giant nest
One of our volunteers brought a giant roll of paper for the chimps (thanks David!), and with it, Jody created one of the greatest nests of all time.




