Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee sanctuary

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

by

Tracy Headley sponsored today to celebrate her friends on her birthday! Tracy is a dear friend to the chimpanzees and humans alike and we’re so thrilled to celebrate her and her gracious, kind heart today.

Tracy, thank you for all that you bring to the world and to the lives’ of others, including these ten amazing chimps and four amazing bovines. I suspect you make more of a difference than you’ll ever know. May you have the most joyful of days! Happy Birthday from all of us here!

Foxie, of course:

Happy Holidays, Aimee!

by

Chris Haggard sponsored this day of sanctuary for Aimee and the chimpanzees!

“Happy Holidays to Ammie and all her favorite friends from the sanctuary!”

Thank you so much, Chris, for including the chimpanzees in your holiday celebration with Aimee! We truly appreciate all that you help make possible for them.

Aimee, we so appreciate you holding the chimps in your heart and wish you a beautiful day!

Annie:

Annie and Foxie:

Be sure to tune in later today to catch the chimps’ holiday celebration! 🙂

Resilience + Playful Mave Video

by

A few weeks ago, the staff received amazing personalized gift baskets from past and current volunteers as a gesture of support following the emotionally challenging times with the now-failed integration attempts of the two groups of chimpanzees. These surprise gifts were incredible and generous.

Along with the gift baskets was a jar filled with pieces of paper that had typed messages. Many were from interns and volunteers we haven’t seen in years. Some were particularly touching messages from blog readers that had been copied and included with the words from volunteers. Kelsi immediately dubbed it “The Feelings Jar.”

I was pretty overwhelmed by the gesture and could not keep my composure to read the messages that day, or the next day, or the day after that. My composure seemed to be rather elusive, truth be told.

This past weekend, after having the jar at home for over a week, I finally sat down by myself on my couch, tissues nearby, and read each message. My composure disappeared after reading the first words on the first piece of paper and didn’t return until I had finished all of them.

Chimpanzees are known for their resilience.

We see it every day at the sanctuary. It’s easy to forget what the ten chimpanzees at CSNW have been through in their pasts when watching them independently explore the outdoor habitat, wrestle with each other while sporting huge play-faces, or get out-of-their-minds excited about what would appear to be a run-of-the-mill meal. They have each been through a lot of negative experiences, but they carry on with the here-and-now with a determined focus on the good things they can get out of each day.

I can’t say that I always share this same quality with them. I am rather skilled at directing my attention either on all of my errors in the past or the doom that is sure to come in the future.

I’ve heard that one way to improve resilience is to have a support system. These last few months have been some of the most difficult, but I’ve also never felt so bolstered by others. Thank you.

I haven’t been very focused on my main job, fundraising, these last few months, and seeing year-end donations come in the mail and online also provides me with the knowledge that you believe in what the sanctuary is doing and you want to be a part of it’s future.

You know that there is much work to be done to help more chimpanzees. For them, I thank you for helping us humans feel like we can move forward while also focusing on the positives of today.

Which brings me to today!

It’s a bright, sunny day in Cle Elum, and we decided it was perfect timing for Burrito, who was with Jamie and Jody, to get outside on Young’s Hill for the first time since his surgery.

As though this were not enough of a positive to focus on, I found Mave inside this morning being very playful:

Happy Christmas Eve, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Tuesday. Whether you are celebrating or not, I hope you too found some positive things in your day today. Maybe it was this blog post!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve

by

Beautiful Ms. Foxie, working the camera. I have to say, Foxie is pulling off the one-eared look quite well, somehow looking more adorable than ever. But then she is Foxie. She can’t help it, she was just born that way.

As I write this, Burrito is having his first double play date with Foxie and Jamie and not only that, but they are in the greenhouse in the midst of a slow motion game of chase, Burrito laughing and breathy panting his heart out! We are trying to capture photos with the beautiful new camera lens we received (thank you!!!).

The human-side of the chimp house is also a hub of exciting activity right now as we act as the chimps’ elves unpacking all of the amazing gifts that keep arriving for Christmas, thanks to you. It’s a flurry of opening boxes, rifling through paper and the hammering together by Chad of one tiny, pink car that we can just picture Honey B zooming around in.

**As a side note, if you’ve sent gifts via our Amazon Wishlist (or otherwise) you’ll be receiving acknowledgment of your wonderful gifts as soon as this particular staff catches up on that end of things. We don’t always receive supporter information with Amazon gifts so feel free to reach out if you’re wondering and thank you in advance for your kindness (and patience!).

And for all the folks holding fundraisers and donating through Facebook, thank you! Facebook does not share contact information with us unless donors choose to do so, so if you need a receipt please feel to free to reach out to us or the fundraiser coordinator so we can get you one. It’s so important to us to acknowledge each of you and the generous contributions you make to the chimpanzees’ lives so in the meantime, please know how very much we appreciate your generous, heartfelt support in whichever form it is so graciously shared.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve everyone! No matter how, or if, you celebrate, may the magic you bring to the chimpanzees’ lives be cast over your own lives as well.

A Traffic Jam in the Snow

by

Sharing space with other people can be difficult, especially when one of those people is Jamie.

This week, Jamie has been a little bit more irritable than her usual baseline. This may be because we have just finished weaning her off of the contraceptive that we used as a safeguard during social integrations. Jamie’s genitalia have consequently resumed their regular cycle and are presently enlarged, presumably altering her mood. She’s even more dramatic, determined, and dominant than her normal self. She’s even grown possessive over snow despite the fact that it will be practically unlimited over the next few months.

Jamie
Jamie’s swollen genital area acts as a rosy, heart-shaped beacon to male chimpanzees.

The other females have been giving Jamie a wide berth to stay clear of her path. Today, when Chad and I gave the chimpanzees access to Young’s Hill, she was the first one out into the slushy yard. A few of her female peers followed her out at a safe distance. Annie, Missy, and Jody wanted to explore the snow-covered meadow, too.

Annie
Missy
Missy (left) and Annie (right) with Jamie on the structure in the background

The four girls dispersed out onto the wooden structures that watch over the sanctuary. They had been taking in the winter scenery and dining on wet snow for a few minutes when Foxie poked her head out of the Greenhouse and tip-toed out onto Young’s Hill to join them. Chad and I had just seen Foxie playfully twirling and bouncing around the warmer indoor spaces, but we were surprised to see her outside. To be honest, she did not seem to enjoy being outdoors in the cold. Her hair stood out straight and her face contorted into a tense sneer. She was only brave enough to venture out onto the bridge of fallen logs that forms a solid path between the Greenhouse and the closest structures. She sat there quietly for several minutes.

Foxie

Of course the other females did not want to remain outside in the damp mist for very long, either. Missy was the first to make her way back, followed by Annie and Jody. However, Foxie was still perched on the log bridge and seemed to be blocking their path. The ground on either side of the bridge was soggy and cold, so Missy and Annie seemed determined to get around Foxie somehow. Annie even tried to walk with one foot on the fallen logs and the other on the tiny islands of dry earth. Her flexibility and determination were impressive but unsuccessful.

Missy…
… and Annie…
… who tries to use gymnastics to get back down the Hill.

This subtle drama unfolded gradually and quietly, but everyone started to look more panicked when Jamie came trudging down the Hill, hauling an enlarged backside and an inflated attitude along with her. Missy desperately tried to get Foxie to move as if Jamie was a freight train that was about to run them over. Eventually, after some coarse vocalizations and physical pushing, Foxie turned around and the chimpanzee pile-up was cleared just as Jamie arrived. The imminent crisis was averted.

Jamie saunters down the log bridge towards the Greenhouse.
Missy (left) and Annie (behind) try to push past Foxie (right).

Back in the building, we have been provisioning all of the chimpanzees with plenty of fresh snow. Even Willy B and Honey B have been sampling this Washingtonian delicacy and seem to be developing a taste for it. This way, even those who don’t want to brave the cold can still get some of this seasonal treat and partake in the winter fun.

Missy, Annie and Foxie eat snow on Friday
Foxie
Missy
Foxie

Snowy Wonderland

by

As promised, here is a more thorough post to introduce myself to all of you amazing followers of the sanctuary.

I have been with the sanctuary for a couple years now as an intern and volunteer. You may have seen me from such classics as: “You’re Doing It Wrong,” “Chad Grooms Jamie,” and the ever so classic, “Fun Police (Stop What You’re Doing And Pay Attention To Me).” If you couldn’t tell, there is a certain individual who runs my life here at the sanctuary. Even at times, doing chores at home I have that strange feeling Jamie is watching me and going to tell me I missed a spot.

My interest in chimpanzees began a few years ago as an undergraduate student at Arizona State University, where I helped analyze data coming in from Gombe of the Kasakela community (the group made famous by Dr. Jane Goodall). I continued my research at Central Washington University as a graduate student studying chimpanzee gestural communication of other wild chimpanzee communities. Through the certificate program CWU offers, I took the courses on captive primate care taught by J.B., and so began my time at the sanctuary as an intern.

To say I was excited when I was asked to help out as a staff member here is an understatement. I don’t think there is any word or combination of words to describe the exact feelings of excitement and (yes) nervousness I have in being given the opportunity to help provide the best life possible for the Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Honey B, Jamie, Jody, Mave, Missy, Negra, and Willy B, as well as Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg, in a new capacity. I will do the best I can to keep you all informed about the daily happenings at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest during my time as a staff member.

For those of you who commented on my test blog yesterday, thank you all for such a warm welcome! And to answer some of the questions, yes! Anna will return!

Now… On to today’s happening around the sanctuary!

We are preparing for some pretty significant snowfall here in Central Washington. In fact, as I write this, snow has already begun to fall. We attempted to give Willy B, Honey B, and Mave access to the snowfall, but they decided it was not in their plans for the day. Honey B just looked at us like we were crazy for even thinking they would ever go in the snow.

On the other side of the Chimp House, we set up two separate play dates for Burrito. First we allowed Foxie to spend some time with him.

Then Jody.

Overall, it was a pretty quiet day here. The chimpanzees are about to be served dinner and settle in for the night. Until next time, stay warm, friends!