Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Goofballs. Goobers. Dorks. Clowns. Weirdos. Free spirits.
Whatever you call them, there’s no doubt that Honey B, Mave and Willy B know how to have fun. We’ve been focusing so much lately on Willy B’s exciting forays “into the great outdoors” that I decided to share some clips of his group being playful and rowdy earlier today.
Please enjoy the video, everyone!
This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Suzanne Van Ness in memory of Barbara Beck.
Suzanne, thank you so much for choosing to honor Barbara and her memory by making a difference for the chimpanzees. We hope your heart is full of joyful and comforting memories.
Negra:
What with Willy B venturing outside and Honey B really loosening up to be the unique and silly chimpanzee she is, perhaps we haven’t been highlighting Mave as much as the other two members of her trio lately.
Have no doubts, Mave continues to be marvelous.
We will be celebrating Honey B’s birthday on June 11th and Queen Negra’s on June 13th as part of The Queen’s Brunch virtual celebration and online auction.
I should pause here to mention that you should all go register (or log in if you’ve participated in past online auctions) RIGHT NOW to receive updates about the event.
I’ve just begun adding items to the site, including this original 16″ x 16″ oil painting of the one and only Mave by the one and only Margaret Parkinson!
More items will be uploaded in the coming weeks. You can pre-buy a VIP Party Box today with a chance to win something special, so definitely check that out!
Ok, back to Mave. We will be celebrating her birthday this Wednesday (May 27th)! This will be her first birthday at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, and we can’t wait to honor her.
Speaking of honor, here are some photos that Mave allowed me to take of her today:
Today was sponsored by two long-time friends of the chimpanzees, Thyra and David Rutter, in celebration of the five year anniversary of Arte for Elephants!
Thyra and David are the founders of this wonderful organization which was created out of their desire to do whatever they can to help elephants who are suffering in captivity. Five years ago they sold most of their belongings and set out in an RV, traveling to raise awareness of the issues captive and wild elephants face, selling artwork, donating funds and inspiring other artists to take action. Since that time they’ve donated over $45,000 dollars to support sanctuaries around the world that are rescuing and appropriately caring for captive elephants. They also work with those communities to create programs which promote humane and ethical travel and tourism opportunities, as well as an educational scholarship program. In 2019, Arte for Elephants was able to award their first two Big Elephant Magic Scholarships which are paying for a full year of education for two young girls in northern Thailand and subsequently, have expanded to include three young girls in Kenya.
If there were ever a time when reading something inspiring, hopeful, and community-centered was much appreciated, it’s certainly now. Thanks so much, Thyra and David, for the impassioned work you do and for including the chimpanzees in that good magic.
If anyone can attest to the intrinsic value of living a life of dignity, respect and love for exactly who they are, particularly after decades of use in the entertainment and biomedical research industries, it’s Jamie:
Jamie leading Missy, Jody and Foxie on a perimeter check around Young’s Hill:
A throwback to Jamie and her elephant friend napping by the old barn doors of the playroom (pre-expansion) in the springtime breeze:
Chimpanzees are known for their ability to evaluate situations and find some pretty novel ways to handle the task at hand. Everyday, the chimpanzees are provided with numerous items throughout the day as enrichment. One of these items is a long, plastic tube. Jamie generally uses it to reach items just beyond her reach, or to groom the human caregivers. Burrito uses it to play tug-o-war. And every body uses it as a straw when we provide them with buckets of diluted Gatorade. At the end of each dinner service, we also provide the chimpanzees with nighttime food puzzles. The purpose of these puzzles is to exercise their cognitive functions, help promote natural behaviors, and to try to alleviate boredom. And every so often, they surprise us when two-and-two are put together.
Last night’s evening food puzzle were small PVC tubes. The purpose of this puzzle is to promote one of chimpanzees’ natural behaviors: fishing. In the wild, chimpanzees have been found to fish for termites, grubs, and honey. They will find a stick and modify it to suite the situation. They will adjust the length, girth, and the leaves depending on what they are fishing for, and where it is hidden. Here, caregivers put a smear of peanut butter, smashed fruit (bananas, avocados, etc) applesauce, or honey in PVC tubes for the chimpanzees to fish out. The chimpanzee’s are also provided a tool in the form of a chopstick. Some just use their fingers, while others use the chopstick they are provided. Last night, we were pretty amazed that Honey B decided she had an even better tool: the long plastic tube. It was so efficient, she waited patiently for Willy B and Mave (who were using chopsticks and fingers) to be done with theirs, collected them up, and got the peanut butter missed by both of them.
As mentioned before, the chimpanzees use these tubes as straws as well. Usually for buckets of diluted Gatorade or sometimes for their breakfast smoothie. Annie is one who is more likely to use a straw for her smoothie. That is, until caregiver Anthony witnessed her using the tube to siphon smoothie from Jamie’s cup as Jamie was drinking from it!
These chimpanzee people never cease to amaze and surprise us with their actions!
Lastly, an update on Jody. Jody was recovering so well and wanted nothing more to be back with her group, we decided she was well enough to be brought back into the group. She flew into the playroom and was greeted with a sincere hug by Annie.
Cori Price sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees today in honor of Jessie Crosier’s birthday!
“Happy Birthday, Jess!”
Cori, thanks so much for thinking of the chimps and Jessie in such a lovely way!
Jessie, we hope this is a birthday to remember, full of all you love most! Thank you for adding to the chimps’ lives and Happy Birthday from all of us here at CSNW!
Mave and Honey B:
Honey B:
Annie and Missy:
Foxie and Strawberry Shortcake:
Mondays have that stigma of always being a bad day. For humans, it usually signals the end of the weekend and the beginning of the work week. For the chimpanzees, though, it’s another day. Though some bad things can happen on Monday, there is always a silver lining to bad days.
Honey B and Mave seemed completely oblivious to what the stigma of Monday is. They played and laughed nearly all day.
While with the Group of Seven, when the chimpanzees went on their morning patrol, Foxie marched out onto Young’s Hill on a mission.
With Dora there with her every step of the way, she climbed the Twister.
But stopping at where the firehose ladder ends wasn’t enough for Foxie this day.
She wanted to be on the top platform. And the top platform was where she went.
Some of you may remember the last time Foxie climbed all the way to the top of the Twister, she was accompanied by Jody. Unfortunately, Jody was not with Foxie today.
Today, Jody went through a medical procedure. Last week, her foot became swollen and after careful monitoring we decided that diagnostics were in order. Jody readily cooperated with x-rays using the foot box, which thankfully revealed no bone involvement, but further evaluation was required so the decision was made to put Jody under anesthesia for a full exam. Our veterinarian, Dr. Erin Zamzow, also arranged for Dr. Tyler Sugerman, an emergency surgical veterinarian, to come to the sanctuary and perform an ultrasound on Jody to ensure she was in overall good health.
We are happy to say that preliminary testing showed Jody to be in great health and the swelling on her foot was due to a large hematoma, which after being drained and cleaned by Dr. Erin, should not be a concern. She is currently recovering in the front rooms on a big pile of blankets and waiting to be reunited with her family.
And yes. Foxie’s first priority when she received access back to the rooms adjacent to Jody was to pay her a visit.
