Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Early morning activity

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It’s always interesting to see what the chimpanzees are doing when we arrive first thing in the morning. On a typical day, Jamie might be doing headstands in one of the front rooms; Foxie, Jody and a troll or two are play wrestling; Burrito is up and ready for breakfast; Annie and Missy are playing a lazy game of chase in the playroom; and Negra is still cuddled in bed. This morning when I arrived, however, Jamie was the only person up. She was enjoying a beverage in the front rooms while everyone else slept in. A few minutes later, Foxie had gotten out of bed and Jamie served as accomplice while Foxie tried her best to demolish one of the overhead lights in the playroom. (Don’t worry — they’re well protected.)

Four Days, $1565 – can we do it?

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Thanks to really awesome supporter-fundraisers, we have raised $5,435 on our Firstgiving pages towards the goal of $7,000 by the end of June. I have been amazed at the success of the supporters of the Cle Elum Seven, and can’t thank you all enough!!

We’re still $1565 away from reaching our goal, and there are only four days left. So, I’m writing this post while I’m on vacation and way past the time when I should be sleeping because I’m wondering if we’ll be able to do it.

I know we can.

Please donate to Negra’s page today or take a look at the other wonderful pages set up by supporters. Margaret is still offering to paint a portrait of the chimpanzee of your choice in exchange for a donation (her paintings are absolutely amazing), Grace is still offering cards with animal illustrations by artist Colin Redmon (who is uber-talented), and Tamela is still offering to make chimpanzee footprint pendants (I have one and it is really cool!). Plus there are many other people who have pages set up and are offering fabulous things in exchange for a donation (including simply the good feeling you get when you support a friend and a good cause) – check them all out, give, and help me sleep easy knowing we’ve reached our goal.

Hanging out with Foxie

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People sometimes ask how we interact with the chimpanzees through the fencing. While there are plenty of things to do that don’t involve any physical contact at all (chase!), there are safe methods of physical contact that allow us to tickle or groom — or be tickled or groomed by — the chimps. To make sure everyone stays safe, our fingers never penetrate the plane of the fencing. In this video, Jackie, our newest caregiver, uses a decapitated troll head (!!!) and a piece of bark to groom and tickle Foxie.