Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

For Carlene

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Joseph Garza sponsored this special day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in memory of his lovely wife, Carlene Olsen-Garza:

“My late wife Carlene, became an admirer of CSNW in 2010 with hope of one day being a part of the movement to save and support these noble creatures. Unfortunately her life was taken from us in 2014. So on what would have been her 63rd birthday, we honor her by helping our friends at the Sanctuary do what they do best.”

Joseph, you and Carlene are a permanent part of our chimpanzee family and we’re honored to be part of her beautiful legacy that you continue to share so graciously and generously. We are so thankful to you both for the lasting difference you’ve made, and continue to make, in the lives of these amazing chimpanzee people. We’re sending you and your family all the good thoughts and wishing you comfort and peace as you celebrate Carlene’s life and memory.

Jamie:

Burrito:

Foxie:

Jody, Foxie and Annie taking in the view from “Carlene’s Tower”:

Stop Thief!

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Let’s start with today’s Burrito update. Things continue to look good – he is eating, taking his meds, and playing with his caregivers constantly. As far as he’s concerned, he’s ready to go back with the group. Unfortunately for him, he needs to remain on restricted activity for another week or so. Our main concern at this point is excessive bleeding, a potential complication of envenomation that can persist for up to two weeks after the bite. While in isolation, the staff are keeping Burrito’s toes thoroughly tickled and tomorrow we hope to provide him with a low-key visitor like Jody. Though I’m sure he is starting to feel frustrated at being cooped up, he doesn’t need to be in the middle of any family squabbles right now.

As you may have seen, the rest of his family has returned to Young’s Hill. Last Sunday we did a thorough sweep of the enclosure to ensure that there weren’t any more snakes out there. Both the main building and Young’s Hill are surrounded by about a 1/4 mile of rattlesnake exclusion fencing. The fence is composed of 36″-tall galvanized hardware cloth that is partially buried in the ground, and it’s based on a fairly well-tested design. We knew that it wasn’t foolproof, however, as it is particularly difficult to execute around entrance gates and there were a couple of small sections next to the building that had to be temporarily taken down to allow for the new construction. We don’t know where the snake got through, but we have already begun implementing alternative ways to reinforce those areas.

While we’d be happy if the chimps gained a healthier fear of snakes, we’re relieved that they weren’t too scared by the incident to continue enjoying the outdoors. Even Annie is back out there, though she is justifiably more cautious around bushes and logs. Here are a few photos of Annie’s birthday party that didn’t make it into yesterday’s post.

Jamie:

Foxie:

Missy:

Before I end I should tell you about a bit if thievery I witnessed this morning. As I was shifting the chimps to the greenhouse for breakfast, I noticed Jody walking in the opposite direction from the rest of her family with her head held low. While Missy and Jamie lined up for smoothie and Annie and Foxie blew raspberries at the staff to demand their share of fruit, Jody quietly but swiftly skulked back inside from the greenhouse. And soon I could see why. In her mouth was a huge stalk of Brussels sprouts that she must have found on the hill, an unnoticed leftover from yesterday’s birthday bash. It was the perfect plan: While the others were distracted with breakfast, she would savor her sprouts in the privacy of the playroom and no one would be the wiser. And she nearly pulled it off. But as she rounded the final corner from the front rooms to the playroom, she ran straight into the last person you want to see when you are guarding a precious treat: The Melon Mugger. The Romaine Robber. The Potato Pilferer. The Strawberry Swindler.

THE BRUSSELS BURGLAR.

Each let out a silent scream, their teeth bared in fear grimaces. But there would be no conflict. Negra pulled rank and Jody had no choice but to relinquish her prize. At least there was still breakfast to look forward to.

See you tomorrow at Hoot!

Happiest Birthday, Keri!

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Today was sponsored by our wonderful and dear friend, former staff and current volunteer caregiver (on hold due to the pandemic), Keri Heniff, along with her husband, Bob Mark, and their sons, Cody and Skyler. Keri shared this beautiful, heartfelt message about her gift:

“I wanted to sponsor today in celebration of my next trip around the sun and to celebrate what has been and look forward to what will be.

The chimpanzees at CSNW have reminded me I’m never to old to explore new things; to continue to be resilient in the face of adversity; to have courage enough to grow and try new things; to relax and soak in the moments of the day; to trust in spite of fear; that it’s okay to snuggle up in a blanket (or 20) and enjoy the comfort it brings; to play like it’s the only mission of the day; and to squeak and moan at the sight of exciting food; and so, so much more. These chimps have brought so much joy into my life, for which I will always treasure.

And all of the human primates associated with the sanctuary; staff, volunteers, donors, followers old and new, continue to remind me what determination, humility, generosity, sincerity and a genuine concern for the well-being of these chimps (and bovines too) can do to bring together complete strangers. The common goal to support and love these beings unifies us and there’s nothing more that I could ask for in my upcoming trip around the sun.

So, cheers to today and the year ahead!”

Keri, we miss you every day and no doubt the chimpanzees feel the same. Know that you are part of our chimpanzee family, always, and we are so happy to celebrate this special day with you! You are a gift of a being and we humans and chimpanzees all, are so lucky to call you friend. And thanks for helping to remind us of all there is, even in these times – especially in these times, to celebrate in life. We hope you have the most beautiful day, one to remember in all the best ways.

Happy Birthday, Keri!!

Jamie:

Missy:

Burrito:

Negra:

Foxie:

Jody:

Willy B:

Honey B:

Relaxation, Recreation, Recovery

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There seemed to be a different theme to various parts of the Chimp House today. Depending on what area you happened to find yourself in, you either found chimpanzee people relaxing and taking in the nicer weather we’ve had today, thrilled with a new enrichment item, or recovering from a recent injury.

For the Girl Gang, today was all about Relaxation!

Though Foxie was playing with Orange Blossom and Blueberry Muffin, it was such a relaxing play session.

Jamie also spent most of the day relaxing, though always prepared to lift herself up if there was some supervising to do around the property.

Jody decided to spend most of the day as close to Burrito as she could. She even decided to nap in the room adjacent to his to ensure optimal closeness.

On the other side of the building, today was about Recreation!

Willy B, Honey B, and Mave received Boomer Balls as an afternoon enrichment puzzle.

Right after they finished their lunch, we brought the Boomer Balls out and showed them. They became really excited! Especially Mave! When Mave saw the basket which contained this puzzle inside, she stopped what she was doing and raced for the door. She waited patiently as we set up the Mezzanine. Once we gave her access, she bolted in and immediately claimed hers.

Any time Honey B or Willy B came even remotely close to her and her prizes, she would gather her things up, and move to a new location.

When Willy B finished his puzzle, he set off to search the entire Mezzanine for any potential missed food. Though he seemed as though he wished a magician appeared to alakazam him some more nuts, he in turn looked like a magician himself.

Finally, Recovery!

Burrito is still recovering from his difficult day.

To help lift his spirits, caregiver Kelsi brought him a whole pomegranate.

The rest of the day, Burrito was slowly becoming more like his old self again. While in his recovery room, he let out a mini-display and then demanded to be let into the other front room. We obliged with his demands since we needed to get into the room he was in to clean it. Once in that room, it was playtime for him.

Before that though, we had to get some medicine in. As shared on Facebook and Instagram, Burrito has been taking his medication in little grape juice bottles, usually with the use of a straw. He decided which straw he wants to use, usually a regular paper straw or one of the long plastic tubes. Today, the choice was mostly the long plastic tube. Initially he grabbed the straw to play tug-o-war and had no interest in taking his medication! So I made a deal with him. If he drank his medicine, we would play! After every sip was gone, he grabbed the tube and passed the end to me for tug-o-war.

When he was tired of the tube, the game still continued, but this time with a blanket.

We are all cautiously optimistic about Burrito’s recovery. The more and more we research the venom and some of the long lasting effects it can leave, the more we realize we are still not out of the woods yet in his recovery. We are, however, completely enthralled by Burrito’s resiliency. We are also completely over the moon at the amount of support Burrito has received from around the world. We have received messages far and wide on how people could help Burrito. Yesterday, we added a special page to our Virtual Hoot! 2020 site specifically to help the costs of Burrito’s recovery. We cannot thank each and everyone of you enough for all your kind words, donations, and support. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

A more easeful evening

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As you might imagine, it’s been an extra, extra busy day in the chimp house! Hopefully you’ve had a chance to check out the very endearing and very encouraging update Diana and J.B. shared earlier today of Burrito’s continued progress toward healing from the recent rattlesnake bite he received. We will continue to closely monitor him for potential complications over the next several days, so while he isn’t out of the woods yet, each day that passes with his steady progress allows us to breathe a little deeper.

As we mentioned earlier today, many of you have been asking how you can help and so we’ve added a medical fund to our upcoming HOOT! 2020 online auction to help cover the cost of Burrito’s antivenin treatment. We’ve seen your donations coming in these past days in his name and please know how deeply we appreciate your support, in all it’s many and varied forms. The love, support and well wishes that’s been wrapped around Burrito from near and far is felt by us all. And I believe, most importantly, by him. We are profoundly grateful to you for that.

I wasn’t able to capture a dang thing for photos today, but Chad came to the rescue again and has graciously shared photos he captured of these two lovely ladies:

Cute Honey B eating a beet:

Beautiful Jody eating some foraged wild-greens:

I did manage this one a few moments ago. After a full day of visiting and playing with his chimpanzee and human family from his recovery room, working ever so hard at healing, his paper boat emptied of grape snacks, Burrito has tucked himself in and is out for the night:

May we all rest just a little easier as we hold him in our hearts tonight.

Morning Greetings

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Burrito ate a late-night snack of baked apple slices and a banana and took some medication in grape juice, then he slept soundly all night.

This morning he woke up a bit brighter-eyed and had enough energy to greet Jamie, Jody, and Foxie who all wanted to inspect and groom his still slightly swollen hand and his face (if you haven’t been following the last few days, here’s why Mr. B is in recovery). When J.B. came in early,  Burrito scooted over to play poke/tickle while still lying down.

Things are all trending in the right direction!

My mental energy has been focused on Burrito these last few days and some of my plans for HOOT! outreach have gone by the wayside. If things continue to look good, and after getting some sleep, I plan to work some more on that event which is coming up in just a few days now!

It turns out that rattlesnake antivenin, which we sourced from the nearest human ER, is extremely expensive, so I might be adding a fundraising page to help pay for Burrito’s medical expenses (so far $12,000) on the virtual auction/event site later today.

Thank you to those who have already inquired about making donations towards his care!