Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

Early Christmas!

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With the success of the Fill the Fridge for the Holidays fund in our Comfort & Joy 2024 online auction, we thought we’d bring Christmas to the sanctuary a little early. Grace and Kelsi ordered some extra special treats along with our usual produce delivery and the staff set about decorating the trees on the Hill and Bray with edible ornaments! As you can see, there are many ways to pluck treats out of a prickly tree—and many ways not to! It’s always fun to watch the chimps work through challenges like this.

Many, many thanks to the Fill the Fridge donors: Shelley W., Jamie R., Sherry P., Jayne R., Melody W., Jackie P., Penelope A., Teresa C., Tricia M., Dusty C., Molly N., Frances B., Rebecca M., and Winifred G.!

 

(Un)Serious Business

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For Jamie, territorial patrols are serious business. For her ragtag crew? Not so much.

Giving Tuesday is tomorrow, but thanks to a special early bird offer, you can double your gift now! In addition to the generous year-end matching donor, a couple came forward with a $5,000 match specific for Giving Tuesday!

Double your gift for Giving Tuesday!

Distractions

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Sometimes, while cleaning, I can hear George Costanza saying, “We’re making incredible time!” Patting myself on the back, I begin to think about all of the things we can get done with a few extra minutes before lunch all the snacks I could eat from the snack cupboard while taking a leisurely break. But then I hear the faint sound of breathy laughter. I leave my bucket and scrub brush to investigate…

Chimps playing! I’ll just film a minute or two for the blog.

Forty minutes later, I return to my half-cleaned enclosure, snackless, and running behind on lunch prep once again.

After Lunch Activities

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Primate chow always tastes best after a long walk.

The chimps in Jamie’s group often take a stroll around Young’s Hill just after lunch. Many will take their chow bags—paper lunch bags filled with primate biscuits that are given out after their fruits, veggies, and nuts—and eat them outside. But Jamie saves hers until she returns to the chimp house. Getting to enjoy your food at the time of your choosing without fear of someone stealing it from you is one of the perks of being the boss.

Nowhere to Hide

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There’s a drive-up window in Burrito’s playroom where he can order up play partners any time he wants. Even if no one is in the kitchen we’ll catch a glimpse of him on the security monitor, so he knows we won’t leave him waiting long. It certainly makes getting things done difficult at times but what could be more important that keeping Bubba entertained?

As I followed him out to the hill, I was happy to see Honey B and Terry hanging out together on the Bray—and even happier to catch Terry doing not one but two of his patented gorilla displays! He was really feeling his oats this afternoon. As he should, now that he is the (temporary) dominant male in his group.

Have you checked on our Comfort & Joy Online Auction lately? You can pick up some cool stuff for yourself or bid on items that we can give to the chimps and cows, like this cool Easy Swing Cow Brush!

The Matchmaker

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We often describe Rayne as being socially savvy. She seems to have a special ability to understand the needs of her group mates—in particular, to recognize their limitations and vulnerabilities and adjust to them. This is especially evident in her interactions with Willy B but it’s true of all of her relationships to varying degrees. Rayne was the first to be added to the reintroduction group after Cy and Willy B’s week together in part because of this skill.

I share the video below to give you a sense of what this kind of social intelligence looks like in practice. I want to make it clear that interpreting chimp behavior is always a fraught exercise. We simply can’t get in their heads and thus I really don’t know what Rayne intended, if she intended anything at all. Perhaps I’m just telling myself, and now you, a story.

But it’s notable that since Rayne was added to the group, Cy and Willy B have been spending a lot more time grooming one another. Mr. Aloof and Mr. Awkward, brought together by a common interest in dominance, a shared fondness for female swellings, and a good friend that, subtle though she may be, seems to know what she’s doing.

Don’t forget about our Comfort & Joy Online Auction, going on now! You can bid on dozens of items to bring comfort and joy to the chimps and to yourself. Do you know what would bring me comfort? And maybe even a little joy? Replacing the components to our driveway entrance gate that were recently stolen and installing additional security measures to prevent future thefts. We’re about a third of the way there as I write this—thank you!

Happy Jamieween!

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It was a day filled with boots, books, food, friends, and long walks with rag dolls come to life—a chilly but otherwise perfectly spooky day to celebrate the birth of our favorite now-47-year-old trickster, Jamie.

Happy Jamieween, everyone! Can you guess who the pumpkin thief was this year?

Don’t forget that today is the last day for you to vote for our 2025 CSNW Calendar Cover Photo! Voting ends at 11:59pm PT tonight—be sure to click here to vote for your favorite!

Jamieween also means that our annual Comfort & Joy Quid Pro Throw online auction is LIVE! Register for the auction and you will be invited to join us on November 6th for a live zoom event of Lucky’s birthday event! Place bids on one-of-a-kind items for yourself (or a loved one- who says it’s too early for holiday shopping?) AND bid on items to gift the chimps! The event will run through November 20th and we will be adding new items throughout, so be sure to keep checking back. Happy bidding!