Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee sanctuary

Happy Birthday, Helton!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Don and Karen Young in honor of their grandson, Helton Young’s, birthday! Don and Karen have played an integral role in helping to create a sanctuary where the chimpanzees can heal and thrive. They shared this message about today:

“Helton will be 10 years old. He is our only grandson. He loves all animals and misses Emma, our yellow lab. He is an amazing boy with lots of interests, love sports, is on the traveling soccer team, fences, plays baseball, swims, is a voracious reader and is interested in magic. He would love to see CSNW one day.”

Don and Karen, thank you so much for holding the chimpanzees in your heart and including them in your family celebrations. We are thrilled to be celebrating Helton’s special day with you all, he sounds like a special boy.

And Helton, all of us here at the sanctuary wish you the happiest of birthdays filled with adventure and magic! Thanks for sharing your day with the chimpanzees and for seeing how special the animals we share the world with are.

Foxie loves a good adventure:

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Running in the Rain

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It has been pouring rain at the sanctuary all day, and as wonderful as it is, Jamie doesn’t seem particularly thrilled. She insisted that we go for a walk several times early this afternoon, but was deterred by the rain. I could sense her growing frustration, especially as she began tossing trolls and pieces of paper down from the playroom loft. She emphatically gestured toward the cowboy boots again, so I put them on and went to meet her at the bottom of the hill. Again, she was nowhere to be found. I went to the green house to check on her, and as soon as she saw me her eyes opened wide in excitement and she ran out onto the hill! I hurried to catch up with her, and we went for a record speed walk (with intermittent running) around the hill. There’s something exhilarating about running in the rain!

Meanwhile, Annie and Negra kept each other entertained in the playroom:

Snoozin’

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On this quintessential autumn afternoon most of the chimpanzees are baking in sunny spots while Jamie is walking her caregivers ragged. It’s the most gorgeous day. As I walked up the stairs to the greenhouse it was so quiet and appeared empty so I didn’t expect to find anyone. But just as I rounded the corner I spotted someone on the top platform, where it’s warmest. It’s rare to come upon the chimps when they are sound asleep as they always seem to hear us coming so I was pleasantly surprised to find sweet Annie, fast asleep and hopefully dreaming of all good things. It didn’t take long for her chimp senses to kick in and wake up, but she took her time, enjoying the warm sun and afternoon breeze.

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In other news, we are nearing the end of Great Apes Giving Day with a little less than 3 hours and 15 minutes to go!! As of this posting, thanks to our amazing supporters we have nearly reached our goal of $15,000 with an amazing $13,830!! For all of you who have contributed, thank you SO much!! As one of the smaller sanctuaries participating in this event, this will mean so much for our chimpanzee family. And if you’d still like to participate in support of Annie, Missy, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody and Negra, we’d so appreciate it. Every donation really does make a difference in their lives.

Intrepid Explorers

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Hi everyone! My name is Whitney and I am filling in for Keri as a temporary staff caregiver for the chimpanzees while she is on maternity leave. I began volunteering at CSNW about two years ago, and one of my favorite things about coming here is witnessing the chimpanzees’ confidence grow.

Today was no exception. As background to this story, any time we enter part of the chimpanzees’ enclosure to clean, every staff member, intern, and volunteer present in the building must perform a series of safety checks before the room in question can be unlocked. Part of the checks involve visually identifying all seven chimpanzees in rooms other than the one we want to enter.

This morning I went to identify the chimpanzees so we could enter the playroom for cleaning, and after extensive searching I could only find two of them in the building. Lo and behold, five of the seven were way out on the hill! It took some time, but I eventually saw Burrito, Jody, Missy, Foxie, and Annie as they explored the hill, occasionally appearing between bamboo and climbing up their magnificent climbing structures. I remember that just two years ago it was a delightful surprise to see any of the Seven out exploring the hill, even close to the greenhouse, and now it seems to be a daily occurrence that they are not only on the hill but are now confident enough to explore their home far and wide.

I couldn’t get any pictures while they were out on the hill this morning, but here are a few of my favorites from this afternoon. Some grooming, some lunch, some play time with friends.

Annie (right) grooming her best friend Missy (left):

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Burrito, caught in a rare playful mood (just kidding, he’s almost always in a playful mood):

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Foxie grooming her foot:

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Jamie, ever inventive, enjoyed her lunch at a makeshift table:

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The neighborhood hot spot

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Most neighborhoods have that spot where all the locals like to gather, right? Well, our current neighborhood hot spot is the small orchard on the property, specifically the pear trees. The leaves are glowing orange and yellow with branches hanging heavy with fruit and a carpet of pears below.

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From top to bottom, all of our wild neighbors are stopping by to try and get them while they can, like these robins.

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A quail pair:

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Mr. Coyote diligently stood guard while the Mrs. did her best to retrieve some from under the fence:

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One of our doe neighbors with her growing fawn are frequent visitors:

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And with most neighborhood hot spots, you might know there is going to be some drama at some point. While Jamie might be boss of the chimp house, it seems Ellie fancies herself the boss of the orchard:

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Chimpanzees living in the wild remember the location of favored food as well, particularly fruit trees. With food sources often being unpredictable and dispersed throughout a large area finding the most productive food resources with the most efficient use of energy and time is essential for any species so there is often a lot of competition for high value food. Thankfully, the chimpanzees here have us humans to deliver the goods so they get to avoid the drama at the local hot spot. Or at least keep it between the family.

Jody savoring the ripe pears:

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Negra:

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Missy:

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“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”

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“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile.”
-William Cullen

Yesterday was an exciting day at the sanctuary as we had some of our first fall quarter interns from Central Washington University come for part of the day. The chimpanzees were interested in all this activity and staff were busy training the new recruits. Today is a more typical quiet day with grey skies and lots of napping. Here are just a few scenes from this peaceful afternoon.

Missy
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Burrito
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Missy (foreground) Burrito (background)
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Foxie
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