Missy has been a complete goofball today. Every time I make eye contact with her, she darts off and starts laughing – suggesting she wants me to chase her. I’ve seen her playing with almost everyone today – so if you’ve got some energy and you’re feeling playful and extremely goofy, I know who you need to call! Ok, so maybe you can’t actually play with her, but you can donate to her team. After weeks of being in the lead, she is now in LAST place! And if my little spill doesn’t convince you, check out this adorable scene I caught between her and Negra this morning:
chimpanzee sanctuary
Icicles
The chimpanzees really love snow, which is great because it just keeps falling and they never get sick of it! Check out the newsletter that was sent out today that also includes a video of the chimps enjoying snow.
Anyway, with snow comes icicles. Today J.B. noticed that there were quite a few on the building, and the sun is out now so they are melting fast.
I knocked down a few and passed them out to the chimps, but found that it was pretty tricky to pass them out AND get photos before either the chimps ran off to a hard-to-see spot with their icicle, or the icicles melted. My solution: I placed some icicles delicately on the caging so the chimpanzees would have to pull them through on their own. Missy was the first to come over, and she grabbed most of them before they melted. The other chimps were happily munching away on the ones I passed out earlier.
I know you can’t see her whole face in the picture below, but I just love how you can see her drooped lip, which means she’s relaxed and happy.
Annie eating snow
Annie loves snow:
Negra in the snow
Just 3 days ago, Debbie mentioned how we haven’t really had that much snow this year. She even said “I don’t want to jinx it”. Well, it’s been snowing almost constantly since Friday, so I think we can consider it jinxed! The humans may not be 100% excited about it, but the chimps are! Even Negra has been spending time on the hill eating snow.
Back scratching
It’s snowing right now at the sanctuary, but this morning the sun was out for a bit and five of the chimps were hanging out on Young’s Hill. JB got some photos of Burrito giving himself a back massage on top of the platform:
Cute Burrito
The other day I caught Burrito sitting by himself in the greenhouse with a pasta spoon in his mouth. He was just casually hanging out, minding his own business, and I snapped this photo:
Then he caught me taking pictures, and started being ridiculously cute:
Take Action Tuesday: Share our petition!
Have you signed the petition to help retire the 110 NIH chimps that are slated for relocation from New Iberia Research Center to Texas Biomedical Research Institute? Though they are no longer going to be used in any invasive research, they should be able to live out the rest of their lives in a sanctuary where they can receive lifetime quality care. Those 110 chimpanzees deserve the same retirement that the Cle Elum Seven now have after decades in labs. Something that I always find haunting are the pictures of the chimps before they came to CSNW or when they first arrived, compared to just a few months in a sanctuary and especially after a few years. Look at this before and after comparison of Jamie, who is also in the photo below. For others like her, please sign the petition and if you have already, share it with your friends!
Chimp Haven is hoping to raise funds in order to take those 110 chimpanzees. They need to add housing space and are running a drive to get donations for doing so. When you share the petition, let your family and friends also know here is how you can help build a better home for these deserving chimpanzees: The Road to Chimp Haven. Remember, every signature helps!
