Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

Honoring the past, present and future

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Long-time friends of the sanctuary, Kery Shaw and Terran Baylor, sponsored this New Year’s Eve day of sanctuary and shared this special message about their gift:

“As I write this, my partner and I pass by a transportation vehicle filled with cows. It’s hard to imagine living in a world where animals still endure so much suffering. I’m grateful for CSNW, a place that provides sanctuary for all beings, not just Chimpanzees and Bovines. I’m grateful for such an incredible organization that fights hard to advocate for animals. Here’s to the past, may we never forget where they came from. To the present, for the chimps, bovine and staff/care givers. To the future, the supporters/donors/ & animal lovers, let’s continue to working hard on making animal cruelty history!!! THANK YOU to all of you for your hard work, generosity & compassion.”

Kery and Terran, thank you so much for always holding the chimps, and all of us, in your hearts and for all you do to bring light to, and relieve the suffering of, all our fellow animals.

Burrito:

Nutmeg and his mama, Betsy:

Honey B:

Snippets and tidbits

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This guy greeted us bright and early this morning as his playful, ol’ Burrito self and we could not have been happier. He’s been taking it pretty easy the past couple of days dealing with an angry belly, most likely the result of his long stint on antibiotics which are, if that pesky foot injury continues to go in the same direction, finally complete! With a couple of days of special diet and rest, he’s feeling immensely better so far. After breakfast he climbed up to take a nap, but even with a full belly and sleepy head it took him a few minutes to stop playing:

Flailing about and laughing in one big Burrito blur:

Later in the afternoon I caught him flailing about again, this time in a Burrito-stuffed-monkey pretzel:

After a spin on Young’s Hill with Jamie and Jody, Burrito entertained Jody (and at varying times, Jamie, Foxie and Annie!) in his recovery pad today and seemed particularly delighted to spend some quality grooming time with sweet Jody:

We can’t figure out what it is about today, but although the temperature is much the same as it has been, it’s been freezing all day! The chimps opted to come inside early today and everyone has been building the coziest, plumpest of nests and taking turns in front of the space heater we have set up in front of one of Burrito’s rooms. Of course the chimp house is kept at about 70 degrees and the floors are heated, but on days like today I suspect the space heater feels rather like a fireplace. They’re getting ready for a dinner of roasted apples, squash and potatoes served in paper boats (trust me, anything served in paper boats takes it to the next level and is EXCITING!). I suspect they will be turning in early in preparation for New Year’s Eve tomorrow. 🙂

In other random, but nevertheless noteworthy news bits, I made tiny baked potatoes for everyone at lunch and after intently watching me blow on hers to cool it off more, Honey B moaned with delight and nearly hugged the potatoes to her once I handed them over. That was pretty cute. Also, Willy B was watching documentaries this morning and stopped dead in the middle of a game of chase to stare, mesmerized, at baby pandas who were on the screen. That was also pretty cute.

What’s Your Favorite (Nonhuman) Animal?

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Texas, of course, is a long way away from Washington state. Heck, West Texas is a long way away from East Texas. (In case you were wondering, Cuba, Guatemala, Idaho and Michigan are all closer to the nearest point in Texas than that location is from the farthest point in Texas. Let that simmer, folks.)

That piece of geographic knowledge is one of the reasons why we caregivers were both impressed and thrilled to receive holiday cards from some very thoughtful elementary students who live, of all places, on the plains of Odessa, Texas.

None of these amazing young people in Mrs. Bille’s fifth grade class at Travis Magnet Elementary have ever been to the sanctuary. I’m not sure if any of them have ever seen a chimpanzee. Still, they have enabled us to decorate our veterinary whiteboard with colorful cards filled with holiday cheer, encouragement, and kindness. Their messages really warm up the foyer. For example, students wished that Missy enjoys lots of tomatoes this year, that Honey B. stays brave about all the new things in her new home, and that Burrito has lots of fun playing tug-of-war with J.B. With their help, we will do our best to make these things happen.

In my opinion, Mrs. Bille deserves some sort of award for organizing such an exceptional gift to the sanctuary (and for being one of our biggest supporters and fans, year after year).

All of the messages are directed towards individual chimpanzees and demonstrate how each student is familiar with the personalities and backgrounds of their respective favorites. It’s comforting to see young people from far away expressing empathy for and interest in the chimps, and it amazes me how much individual students seem to identify with individual chimps. It seems that they are well on their way to becoming bright and responsible adults, and I’m sure they would all make amazing chimpanzee caregivers someday.

When I was their age, I used to pester my parents constantly because I was so interested in animals, nature and science. Luckily, my family was supportive. They bought me used zoology textbooks and atlases, took me to educational programs at the local zoo, purchased a subscription to National Geographic and even sponsored sanctuary animals for my annual Christmas gift. My parents still love to joke about the night almost three decades ago when I tiptoed into their bedroom, opened my father’s eyelids with my stubby toddler fingers, and barked “Dad, what’s your favorite jungle animal?!” When he responded that he liked lions and instructed me to go back to bed, I informed him that lions inhabit open savannas and aren’t adapted to live in jungles. I didn’t go back to my room until he changed his answer to tigers.

Perhaps this is why one holiday card in particular made me smile. The bright red, glittery card reads:

To: Betsy
From: Isabelle
Have a happy mooadays.

Dear Betsy, I love your name. And I love cows. They’re my 6th favorite animal. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Well, Isabelle, you should know that Betsy had an outstanding Christmas. She and the other cattle got alfalfa and minerals, two of their favorite winter treats. She held still while I brushed her fuzzy winter coat, and then licked all of the salty minerals off of my sleeves. We’re excited for the new year because Betsy and the others will get a huge new pasture with lots of green grass after the snow melts. It’s because of people like you and your classmates that cows, chimpanzees, and all the other nonhuman animals out there have a chance at a good life after being wrongfully used by humans. Keep up the good work, Isabelle.

Betsy.

Also, Isabelle, I am shocked that cows are only your 6th favorite animal. Why are they so low on the list? Which animals are ranked 1-5? Feel free to send us another card with your faves.

Here are my zoological power rankings:

  1. Spider monkeys. They’re a lot like chimpanzees AND they have amazing tails.
  2. Cows, obviously. This includes all cattle because Nutmeg is a steer, not a cow.
  3. Chimpanzees. They would be higher on my list if I didn’t have to clean up their messy playroom every morning.
  4. Trash pandas (also known as raccoons).
  5. Goats.
  6. Quahogs (a type of clam). They live longer than any other animal and they remind me of the place where I grew up, by the ocean.
  7. Wolverines. Their scientific name means “the gluttonous glutton” and I identify with that. They’re also stocky, athletic and fierce, like Missy.
  8. Spotted hyenas. They got a bad reputation from the Lion King, but they’re very smart and have an interesting society. The female hyenas are in charge of the whole group.
  9. Red pandas. They’re super chill. If taking care of primates ever becomes too stressful, a friend and I plan to start Red Panda Sanctuary Northwest (RPSNW). Stay tuned.
  10. Leaf-cutter ants.

Thank you all for your support and for loving the chimps (and cows).

Happy Mooadays to all of you and a Happy Moo Year to everyone! Feel free to comment with your favorite nonhuman animal species.

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

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Tracy Headley sponsored today to celebrate her friends on her birthday! Tracy is a dear friend to the chimpanzees and humans alike and we’re so thrilled to celebrate her and her gracious, kind heart today.

Tracy, thank you for all that you bring to the world and to the lives’ of others, including these ten amazing chimps and four amazing bovines. I suspect you make more of a difference than you’ll ever know. May you have the most joyful of days! Happy Birthday from all of us here!

Foxie, of course:

What’s in the bag?

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Yesterday, we found Mave playing with the bag that had wrapped Honey B’s car up, which she still loves. I found Honey B playing with it today by herself. Mave, however, really liked that bag. Mave liked it so much that she would put it over her head and walk around. She almost ran into the play set! It reminded me of those holiday commercials, the one where the kids open a present and instead of playing with the toy, they find more joy from the box!

Resilience + Playful Mave Video

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A few weeks ago, the staff received amazing personalized gift baskets from past and current volunteers as a gesture of support following the emotionally challenging times with the now-failed integration attempts of the two groups of chimpanzees. These surprise gifts were incredible and generous.

Along with the gift baskets was a jar filled with pieces of paper that had typed messages. Many were from interns and volunteers we haven’t seen in years. Some were particularly touching messages from blog readers that had been copied and included with the words from volunteers. Kelsi immediately dubbed it “The Feelings Jar.”

I was pretty overwhelmed by the gesture and could not keep my composure to read the messages that day, or the next day, or the day after that. My composure seemed to be rather elusive, truth be told.

This past weekend, after having the jar at home for over a week, I finally sat down by myself on my couch, tissues nearby, and read each message. My composure disappeared after reading the first words on the first piece of paper and didn’t return until I had finished all of them.

Chimpanzees are known for their resilience.

We see it every day at the sanctuary. It’s easy to forget what the ten chimpanzees at CSNW have been through in their pasts when watching them independently explore the outdoor habitat, wrestle with each other while sporting huge play-faces, or get out-of-their-minds excited about what would appear to be a run-of-the-mill meal. They have each been through a lot of negative experiences, but they carry on with the here-and-now with a determined focus on the good things they can get out of each day.

I can’t say that I always share this same quality with them. I am rather skilled at directing my attention either on all of my errors in the past or the doom that is sure to come in the future.

I’ve heard that one way to improve resilience is to have a support system. These last few months have been some of the most difficult, but I’ve also never felt so bolstered by others. Thank you.

I haven’t been very focused on my main job, fundraising, these last few months, and seeing year-end donations come in the mail and online also provides me with the knowledge that you believe in what the sanctuary is doing and you want to be a part of it’s future.

You know that there is much work to be done to help more chimpanzees. For them, I thank you for helping us humans feel like we can move forward while also focusing on the positives of today.

Which brings me to today!

It’s a bright, sunny day in Cle Elum, and we decided it was perfect timing for Burrito, who was with Jamie and Jody, to get outside on Young’s Hill for the first time since his surgery.

As though this were not enough of a positive to focus on, I found Mave inside this morning being very playful:

Happy Christmas Eve, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Tuesday. Whether you are celebrating or not, I hope you too found some positive things in your day today. Maybe it was this blog post!