Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

It’s super hot outside.

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Well, maybe it’s not that hot.

Today’s temperature is actually only a few degrees above Cle Elum’s average for July, and we’ve had much hotter days recently with even more blistering heat ahead. Still, there was something about today’s weather that slowed everyone down by half and made the shady indoor areas feel twice as good.

The chimps spent most of the day alternating among the preferred indoor nesting spots in what seemed to be an odd game of “musical chimps.” The only exceptions were Jamie and Burrito, who made their caregivers playfully chase them for a few minutes at a time. Even they seemed a bit more subdued than usual, though, and each found some creative spots to hunker down for a prolonged afternoon siesta.

To make the chimps’ midsummer naps even sweeter, the staff set up the shiny new electric fans that were kindly donated via our Wish List. These fans may seem trivial, but they’re helping us to keep the chimps healthy. Although the data are still thankfully deficient, it seems likely that captive and free-living chimpanzees are susceptible to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. As we’ve mentioned on the blog, the sanctuary has been closed off from visitors and most volunteers and the essential personnel have been limiting their social interactions while wearing extra personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, scrubs, etc) around the chimps. We’ve also been trying to keep the building well-ventilated to help disperse any respiratory particles that we exhale, but it’s tough to keep such a large space open and cool (especially on days that lack the trademark winds of eastern Washington). Tomorrow, the ambient temperature is expected to approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the chimps will probably appreciate the gentle breeze created by the new appliances.

Here are some snapshots from today.

Annie
Burrito
Foxie
Jamie
Jody (left), Jamie (center) and caregiver Katelyn (right) hang out in front of the fan. Katelyn also used a small handheld fan to help Jamie cool off.
Missy
Negra
Nutmeg
Willy B

snippets of the day

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The video above shows a few things that some of the chimpanzees were up to during random moments of the day.

The willow and the cattails that the chimpanzees were enjoying grow wild on the sanctuary property. The cattle love to browse the willow too – creating some funny-shaped willow trees.

I didn’t get a photo of it, but, to my surprise, Mave really liked the cattails. She ate the brown flower first and then stripped and wadged the stem like Jamie was demonstrating in the video.

I hope everyone reading this had a good Saturday, even if it didn’t include wadging cattails.

Blog Title Under Construction

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There was a lot going on today, meaning there were a lot of distractions. With the construction of Phase 2 underway, the chimpanzees are ever so curious about what is going on right outside of their walls.

When Missy was given access to Young’s Hill, her first order of business was to try to get a better view of what all the commotion was all about.

It was also a hot day today, with today’s high at 92°. So after she got a look at the progress being made around the sanctuary, Missy headed in to cooler locations like the Greenhouse.

The California Three were also given access to their outdoor Chute for the first time since construction began. Though they have a front and center seat to watch everything form their windows in their front rooms, they wanted a full spectrum look from the Chute.

Honey B was the first to inspect the newly excavated area.

And Mave soon joined her.

One area being built as part of Phase 2 is a new playroom for Mave, Honey B, and Willy B. Now that construction has begun on expanding their  home, hopefully time will seem to fly by and they can enjoy their new area.

In Kevin’s memory

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Today was sponsored by the chimpanzees’ dear friend and neighbor, Shelley Winfrey, in honor of her brother, Kevin Clark, who passed away. Shelly graciously sponsors this day each year in Kevin’s memory and in her knowing that he would have loved the chimpanzees as well.

Shelley, thank you, from our hearts, for always including the chimpanzees in your life and family. May this beautiful summer day bring comforting and joyful memories to your heart. We’ll be thinking of Kevin and sending you and your family all the good thoughts.

I’m not sure you could look at this fella, Burrito, and not have a smiling heart. We love him so:

It’s Betsy’s birthday!

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Whew! It’s near triple digits today and not the slightest of breezes. We arrived bright and early to find the construction crew already hard at work, breaking ground on the second phase of our expansion and until about 5 minutes ago, the day hasn’t slowed down once! But the upside of that is I feel fairly confident that the chimpanzees and bovines enjoyed their very decidedly summer day and all it brought their way. How does it get better than that?!

First of all, today we celebrated Betsy’s 13th birthday! This endearing little bovine family of four bring smiles to our hearts every day. They continue to surprise us with their unique, increasingly independent personalities and we’ve been loving watching their wild mountain cattle sides emerge as they explore their summer pastures and even more space to do as they choose.

Chad and Anthony made Betsy a birthday bowl of oats, corn and alfalfa and well, the birthday lady nearly knocked Anthony over to get to it!

Betsy, her son, Nutmeg, and Meredith getting every last bite:

Betsy and Nutmeg:

If you look closely, you can see Jamie in the background. We’ll just go with the thought that Jamie was wishing Betsy a happy day. 😉

Outside of Betsy’s birthday party in the pasture, much of our time was spent thinking of ways to help the chimpanzees feel a little respite from the heat. They had frequent ice cube breaks, buckets of Gatorade, AND! We broke out the snow cone machine! Shaved ice in paper boats with a dash of blue Gatorade and a couple frozen raspberries. The seven are well acquainted with the joy of snow cones, but I’m not sure if Mave, Honey B and Willy B have had them before. They were met with the three’s usual level of suspicion and deadpan looks over what crazy thing the humans may be trying to serve them/poison them with. Once they tentatively tasted them, they seemed to be on board with the idea. Apologies for the lack of photos of the snow cones, but they tend to disappear as fast as we can make and serve them.

Foxie and Orange Blossom waking from a nap in the beyond toasty greenhouse:

This joyful guy makes all our hearts soar. Just because it’s sweltering doesn’t mean he can’t flail about with France Dora while lying down:

The rest of the day was busy humans cleaning and chimpanzees in puddles, resting in cool spots. The chimps are all in their night nests as I type this, but in the cameras I can see Honey B nesting in front of the fan, and Jody, Foxie and Annie with their legs up in the air against the caging. But of course, the boss lady, Jamie, is busy, still enjoying the evening enrichment of peanut butter, seed and raisin pine cones. As I told the chimpanzees goodnight, Jamie asked for her still beloved book of Salmon Sisters Xtratuf boots and without fail, whenever I hand it to her, she hoots with joy and hugs it close. She is holding it with one foot while the other foot and both hands are busy with the pine cones. Some of which she may or may not have stolen. It’s good to be boss.

Intermission… of a Sort

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Today functioned as a brief intermission… of a sort.

Yesterday, the team wrapped up a major facelift of the existing playroom. Yesterday’s blog showed it best, but additional snapshots make it clear that the chimps were just as interested in the demolition, reassembly and repainting as they were in the finished product: a clean and bright playroom.

Tomorrow, we will finally break ground on Phase 2 of the Chimp House expansion. CSNW co-directors J.B. and Diana have been working tirelessly to make sure we have the permits, funding, plans and specialized contractors required to pull off such an endeavor. Thanks to their hard work and the support of selfless donors, this vision is being incrementally converted into a reality. Just after dawn tomorrow morning, a crew will begin digging the foundations of the new playroom- and greenhouse-type enclosures that will enable us to give the sanctuary’s chimpanzee residents some additional spaces to explore, relax, and socialize. Sometime in the hopefully-not-so-distant future, these enclosures may also provide space for other chimps who are also waiting for a permanent sanctuary home.

Of course, there was still a lot on our to-do list today. Early this morning, Dr. Erin and her sons helped J.B. to transfer a few dozen bales of hay to the barn. Around here, hay is a necessary dietary supplement for the cattle in autumn and winter, so we’re starting to stockpile now. By November, the entire barn will be filled with a pyramid of orchard grass, Timothy hay, alfalfa and straw.

After stacking all that hay, J.B. and volunteer Adam made some modifications to the perimeter fence that will allow the contractors to access the Phase 2 area without getting too close to the chimps and staff. Meanwhile, the rest of today’s personnel did the routine cleaning, caught up on some housekeeping, and set the stage for another busy week. Inside the Chimp House, Katelyn (Office Manager), Chad (Enrichment Coordinator) and Lisa (Level III Volunteer) were the supporting caregivers. Together, we made chow bags and enrichment for the upcoming week, organized the kitchen and foyer, cleaned the enclosures, took care of the cattle, and provisioned the chimps with meals, blankets and toys.

Amid all of these projects and tedium, I am feeling incredibly appreciative of our donors who have, per usual, been extremely generous with their timely gifts. Through our Amazon Wish List, amazing people donate some pretty cool items that are subsequently delivered right to our front gate. I’m a dork and tend to geek out over office paraphernalia, organizational tools and miscellaneous supplies, so opening these packages always feels like Christmas morning. This past week, we received some new hose attachments for spraying disinfectant, tape refills for the label-maker, organizing racks for the vet clinic’s pharmacy cabinet, a second whiteboard for the foyer (which J.B. has already graced with one of his informative cartoon drawings), and lots of new toys, puzzles and nesting materials for the chimps.

We look forward to updating you all on the progress of the new construction and all of the related projects!