Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Jamie checking out the GoPro

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Seeing the chimps check out the GoPro camera still hasn’t gotten old… especially when it’s the boss who’s checking it out.

Jamie hasn’t inspected the GoPro like many of the other chimps have. It’s unusual because normally, as soon as we add something new to her environment, Jamie immediately does all that she can to try to tear it apart. But the other day, she decided it was time to get down to the bottom of this “strange object we keep putting in the enclosure”.

Young’s Hill Anniversary Forage

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If you were on Facebook this morning, you might have noticed that I posted a link to the video from the chimps’ first day out on Young’s Hill—exactly one year ago today! I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by—I remember that day like it was yesterday. A lot has happened in the last year and we’ve seen so many changes in the chimps. Burrito hasn’t been the most confident in the open air but he is going farther and farther. Missy is a fearless running machine. Annie has gotten to walk through grass that she hadn’t seen since her infancy in Africa. Jody and Foxie were both hesitant in the beginning but will now spend hours exploring the hill. Jamie never showed any hesitation to exploring every inch of the hill, and protecting it from intruders (deer on the other side of the fence). Negra still doesn’t spend too much extended time out there, but she goes out most days first thing and soaks in some sun before heading back in to her favorite spot in the greenhouse or inside the playroom. Today, she was the first one out when I opened the door! She quickly grabbed some forage and went back in before I started filming, so I don’t have any Negra footage, but I caught shots of all the others enjoying their anniversary forage.

I can’t wait to see what changes and growth this next year will bring. Any ideas?

 

Chimpanzees watching “Chimpanzee”

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Supporter Dana Alan Troyer thoughtfully sent the chimps the Disneynature movie “Chimpanzee”. Burrito and Foxie have always been fascinated by movies and they were especially excited about this one! You may notice at one point it looks as though Burrito is “dancing” to the beat of the music, but in reality I suspect he was just generally excited about seeing the chimps on TV. He loves TV but is particularly interested in movies with free-living chimpanzees. His face while watching the movie was just priceless! Thanks, Dana!

The many faces of Foxie

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Chimps, just like humans, have really expressive faces. Here at CSNW, Foxie definitely has one of the most expressive faces, many of which we’ve dubbed “Foxie’s cute face” or “Foxie’s sweet face.” Here’s a compilation of Foxie faces I found today, stretching back a couple of years:

Foxie’s “I got a new troll” face:

Foxie with a mouthful of food:

Foxie’s relaxed face:

Foxie’s “intense face”:

Foxie’s play face: (She is wrestling with Jamie)

Foxie’s sleepy smooshed face:

Foxie’s hoot face:

Foxie’s up close cute face:

“My” cozy nest

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Annie made a cozy nest this morning in the greenhouse. She was so content there, she had no interest in going out on the hill while other chimps were headed out. Instead, she watched them explore from the comfort of her bed.

But after she abandoned her nest, Jamie decided it was the perfect place to take a nap.

Take Action Tuesday: Time is running out for H.R. 1513/S. 810

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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest supports the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act. Watch this newscast from PCRM and, if you agree, Take Action. PCRM has a link at the bottom of the video to find a form you can use to contact your representatives to share your opinion.

Already written your letter? Share this post with everyone you know. Post it on Facebook, Twitter, and send via e-mail. Get the word out that GAPCSA needs more support to move forward in the current session of congress. If this bill passes, it would release all federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries. After going through invasive medical testing (which is mostly unnecessary according to the Institute of Medicine) they deserve to be retired. Just see what sanctuary life can do for chimpanzees like Negra.

Here are a few bullet points that you can include in your letter to congress:

  • Chimpanzees actively used in biomedical research are routinely tested on—undergoing surgeries, infected with deadly viruses, and injected with vaccines. They are very intelligent and suffer from immense psychological distress due to lack of proper socialization, separation from their mothers when infants, and absence of mental stimulation.
  • Evidence has shown that although chimpanzees are indeed genetically very similar to humans, they are a poor research model for many diseases due to basic molecular differences between the two species. For instance, chimpanzees infected with HIV do not acquire AIDS, which makes them a poor medical model for finding an HIV/AIDS vaccine for humans.
  • Many chimpanzees are currently warehoused and are not actively being used in testing, but it is still costing taxpayers millions of dollars to house them. Retiring them to sanctuaries will not only provide higher quality living conditions and care, but it will save taxpayer money.

 

Sleepy chimps

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The chimps have been super mellow today- lots of nesting, grooming, and general quiet time. Elizabeth snapped a couple of really great pictures of Foxie and Negra resting on the catwalk in the playroom this morning. I love seeing the chimps so relaxed and peaceful.

Foxie:

Negra often lets her lips droop to one side when she’s relaxing. It’s almost like she’s so relaxed, she just lets gravity do the work.