chimpanzee sanctuary

A Festival for Willy B

March 1, 2020 by Anthony

Willy B Chimpanzee is a heck of a guy with a unique way of doing things. Although he often chooses to remain reserved and observant, he’s been letting loose quite often during the past few weeks. This shift in behavior has led to many bouts of stomping playfully around the building, wrestling with his chimp friends, and busting out some mind-blowing slinky moves. In short, Willy has revealed the goofy side of his multifaceted personality.

Today, we celebrated Willy’s first birthday as a resident of CSNW with the support of two heartwarming Sponsor-a-Day donations (which you can read about here and here). To commemorate the special occasion, Willy and his companions were treated to a crazy lineup of enrichment activities that I started to refer to as “Willyfest“. Of course, we made sure that the lineup included all of Willy’s favorite things (including giant slinkies, plush toys, and avocados). As a firsthand witness, I can proudly say that this year’s party absolutely slapped, and I already have the date marked on my calendar for 2021.

I’m also preparing a video so that you can all see highlights from this year’s festival, but it might take a day or two to refine. To hold you over, I’ll reveal the day’s featured menu item: Chimp Taco Salad.

This dish was designed, crafted, plated and served by Chad, one of the sanctuary’s creative and dedicated caregivers. Each serving featured a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce topped with a dollop of fresh guacamole. The guac, which was mashed on-site, consisted of buttery California avocados, diced Roma tomatoes, chopped red onion, and a squirt of zesty citrus juice from fresh limes. All of these ingredients were plated on a paper serving tray which Chad delicately topped with Zupreme biscuit crumbles (also known as around here simply as “chow”). Each chimp was treated to several of these “boats” along with a side of russet potato wedges. For dessert, the chimpanzees all received a complementary Night Bag filled with dried fruit, white popcorn, sunflower seeds and peanuts. Willy, of course, was also rewarded with a whole apple for not stealing anyone else’s food.

You’ll be able to see how the chimps reacted once I finish the video and share it on our social media channels (i.e. the blog, Facebook and YouTube). Until then, thank you all for helping to make Willy’s birthday a special one!

Happy Birthday, Willy B!

March 1, 2020 by Katelyn

This special day of sanctuary was sponsored by Willy B’s pals, Mrs. Souers’ third grade class!

“Mrs. Souers’ third grade class recently became pals with Willy B. The students noticed that March 1st is Willy B’s birthday so they wanted to help him celebrate!”

Willy B turns 30 today!! As we celebrate Willy B’s first birthday here at his new sanctuary home, we have so much to be grateful for. Not least of all his many wonderful friends. Heartfelt thanks, Mrs. Souers’ and your amazing third grade class, for loving Willy B and helping us celebrate how very special he is and how very grateful and honored we are to have him as part of our chimp family. We love this big, handsome guy and his quirky self more with each passing day. And thank you to each of you for being a part of Willy B’s family and for making a lasting difference in his life.

Happy Birthday, Willy B!!

In memory of Voyo “Joe” Jovanovich

February 29, 2020 by Katelyn

Today was sponsored by Linda Jovanovich in memory of her dad, Voyo “Joe” Jovanovich (2/29/1920 – 5/22/2010).

“Remembering my favorite Leap Year Baby, my dad, who left us at age 23 1/2 and would have celebrated his 25th (!) today. Love you always, Dad!”

Linda, thank you so much for such a sweet remembrance of your dad and for making a difference in the chimps’ lives as you celebrate him. May today be full of comforting and joyful memories.

Honey B and Willy B:

Burrito and Foxie:

Burrito and Jody:

Chimpy Business

February 27, 2020 by Chad de Bree

It felt like Spring today. The sun was out and there were virtually no clouds in the sky. Just like in Spring, Jamie and her group wanted onto Young’s Hill right away to finish their breakfast chow outside.

Jamie was really happy to enjoy her chow outside.

She really, really, really seemed to enjoy her chow outside.

But after her last bit of chow was finished, it was back to business. Jamie, Foxie, Annie, Missy, Jody, and Burrito patrolled their outdoor enclosure. On their way back, they were greeted by Negra, who was waiting for them on one of the platforms.

Though patrolling can be serious business, Missy and Annie chased each other all the way down.

As the others made their way back to the indoor enclosures, Foxie decided to get some alone time.

Burrito, on the other hand, was on a mission to find the last snow patch on Young’s Hill.

As they were heading inside, Missy tried to get a peek on her neighbors.

Unfortunately for Missy, her neighbors decided to be inside at the time. Honey B was grooming Willy B. It seemed like it was a sweet, tender moment between two friends. But as you know, these chimpanzees can rarely contain their shenanigans. This is demonstrated in this photo series:

Grooming

Thinking about tickling Willy B.

Commence tickling!

Personally, my favorite part of capturing this sequence of events is you can almost see the shift in Honey B’s thought process. This tickle session lasted for a couple minutes before it turned into a pretty epic game of chase.

From our family to yours, we hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Nancy and Darrell!

February 27, 2020 by Katelyn

This day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees was sponsored by Krissy Brasfield, one of our amazing chimp house volunteers, in honor of her parents, Nancy and Darrell Brasfield! Krissy shared this lovely note about her gift:

“I’m sponsoring this day in honor of my folks’ 75th birthdays! Mom’s is today, the 27th, dad’s was on the 25th. My folks are both very compassionate animal lovers, and passed that love on to me. Now, they are living vicariously through my volunteer experience at CSNW – reading the blog, watching the videos, and listening to me yammer on incessantly about every little detail about my new chimpanzee friends! I hope that they get the opportunity to visit the sanctuary some day! I love you, mom and dad! Happy Birthday!”

Krissy, you so clearly hold the chimpanzees in your heart and consistently think of ways to contribute to their lives. From our hearts, thank you for all you do.

Nancy and Darrell, happiest of birthdays to you both from all of the primates here at CSNW! We’re so glad to be able to celebrate your special days with you!

The boss of Krissy (and us all), beautiful Jamie:

On one occasion this winter when we were running low on snow at the sanctuary, Krissy made a special snow delivery for Burrito from the next town over!

Annie, Missy and Foxie:

The Elusive Honey B

February 26, 2020 by Anthony

Honey B is anything but shy.

This bright, enigmatic chimp seemed to arrive at the sanctuary with one setting: investigate.

For example, Honey B constantly inspects human personnel for new cuts, scrapes, bruises, hangnails, freckles, accessories and even tattoos, which she then insists on eagerly grooming. Her first reaction to new volunteers is to spit water on them, measure their reaction, and then stare at them as if they were a peculiar piece of art in a museum. This not-so-warm welcome seems to make people feel a bit uneasy at first. To quote volunteer Becca’s reaction after meeting Honey B last fall, “I feel like she knows my SAT scores.”

Honey B tends to be the first chimpanzee to enter new areas after they have been cleaned and provisioned with enrichment materials, and she was the first to figure out the drinking fountains in her new home. Even when meeting new chimps, her strategy seemed built around a framework of testing boundaries and pushing buttons. Curiosity may proverbially kill felines but it somehow hasn’t gotten Honey B yet.

Her apparent rule that everything needs to be investigated in depth also applies to cameras and phones. While other chimps may be more curious about the reflective camera lens (like Willy B) or nervous about having their photo taken (like Mave), Honey B seems intent on somehow obtaining the camera. Her immediate reaction is to charge forward, get as close to the camera as possible, and ask the caregivers to let her groom the camera body. On rare occasions, she has asked me to drop a camera or phone in the food chute (which is not going to happen). We can only imagine what she would do with a camera, but it’s not impossible that she would actually attempt to take photographs with it. She’s learned how to clean by observing humans, so maybe the visual arts are next.

This tendency of hers to hover by the camera makes capturing portraits of her a challenge. Today, I got lucky. When I unlocked the wing of the building where Honey B and her two companions now reside, the three of them were sitting by the window in a beam of morning sunlight. I coincidentally had the camera by my side (armed with a groovy Canon lens that was generously donated by a supporter who saw it on our Wish List), making it a truly serendipitous moment. Honey B held still for a quick photo shoot as Mave lazily picked through her hair and groomed her shoulder. Perhaps I have Mave to thank for that whole moment.

Anyway, you’re all being treated to a rare portrait of Honey B as the cornerstone of today’s blog post. Enjoy.