Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee

The days are getting warmer…

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The chimpanzees were out and about early this morning, enjoying the cooler air and getting some foraging and exploration done before the day heated up. Negra was waiting at the door and led the group onto Young’s Hill before heading off into a shady spot on her own:

Jody made her way back to the greenhouse with a beautiful pine tree, goat’s beard dandelion bouquet:

Annie braved the tall, potentially snake-filled grass, picking dandelions to snack on along the way. Thankfully for Annie (and any snakes), it was a snake-free day:

Annie and Missy, besties:

It’s been a relaxing Sunday for everyone otherwise. As our weather inches closer to summertime temperatures the chimps have chosen to spend much of their day nesting in the cooler chimp house, grooming each other and generally lolling about trying to stay cool.

The chimps are all in their night nests and just let out nest grunts of goodnight with the exception of Jamie, who is in the greenhouse, anxious for the evening to cool off a bit so she can catch up on her walks for the day. So you know what that means…we’re donning cowboy boots for an evening stroll around the hill with the boss lady.

June is for Negra

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If you have the CSNW 2019 calendar, you get to look at this beautiful photo of Negra all month long:

You’ll also notice (or may already know) that we celebrate Negra’s honorary birthday on June 13th, the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Negra remains the eldest of the group of seven chimpanzees. She dominated our thoughts as we were preparing the sanctuary for the group’s arrival. She had spent the most time in biomedical research and had suffered perhaps more than any of the other chimpanzees, showing the signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder upon her arrival.

We were excited to see all of the chimpanzees fully realize their new sanctuary life, but I for one could not stop thinking about being able to witness Negra experience all of the new comforts, choices, and space at the sanctuary. This video of her in the playroom for the first time captured what will forever be one of my most cherished moments.

The expression on her face today in this photo reminded me of the video:

Which of course led me to think of the most iconic image of Negra that we have: Negra in the Sun

This is the original photo I took in 2008:

Then artist Margaret H. Parkinson created this breathtaking painting based on the photo:

Margaret’s painting then inspired other artists, most recently mosaic artist Lisa Whatne.

Here is a close-up of Lisa’s truly stunning piece:

And guess what!? The Negra in the Sun mosaic is available for bidding in the HOOT! 2019 gala auction on June 15th! Even those who are not able to make it to the event can place an absentee bid on this mosaic as well as most of the other items in the auction! Absentee bidding begins Monday, June 10th at 8:00 a.m. See all items on the auction preview site now (items are still being added).

I can’t wait to find out who the lucky winner of the mosaic is going to be!

Happy Birthday, Carrie!

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Jenara Miller sponsored today for Carrie Miller in honor of her birthday!

Carrie and her family have been longtime friends of the chimpanzees and we are so grateful for all they help make possible for the chimpanzees!

Jenara, thank you for always thinking of the chimps when you think of Carrie and for celebrating her special day in this way. We so appreciate your compassionate and generous heart.

Carrie, we hope you have the best birthday yet! Many pant hoots for joy (and probably food) from your pal, Burrito!

Burrito and the New Veterinary Clinic

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A while back we noticed that a black spot had developed on Burrito’s gums behind one of his upper incisors. He would let us examine the spot during positive reinforcement sessions, but because of its location we were never able to conclusively determine what it was. Unfortunately, that meant we had to get him into the clinic. This time, however, we would be using our brand new clinic in Phase 1 of the new expansion.

Any time a chimpanzee is anesthetized, we try to get as much information on their health as we can, so in addition to enlisting the help of our secondary veterinarians, Jen Wallace, DVM and Erika Nelson, DVM, Dr. Erin also invited some specialists.

Stephanie Moore, CRNA, managed Burrito’s anesthesia throughout the procedure.

Lynn Nelson, DVM, DACVIM came all the way from the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine to do Burrito’s cardiac and abdominal ultrasound. This was her second evaluation of Burrito’s heart.

Diane Carle, DVM, DAVDC and Sara Kessler, LVT from Animal Medical Center of Seattle and Jessica Reed, DVM from Seattle Humane came to take dental x-rays and to do a full dental evaluation and cleaning.

You’ll be glad to hear that everything went great! Dr. Erin removed a small foreign body from Burrito’s gums which should heal in no time. Burrito’s teeth look good and while we’ll have to wait for his full cardiac report, all signs were positive (for a guy of his condition and age, anyway).

The new clinic is larger and better equipped than our mobile unit, and being just steps from the chimps’ indoor enclosures, it is both easier and safer to transport the chimps back and forth.

When procedures are done, we put the chimps back into a recovery room with plenty of blankets to keep them safe and comfortable as the anesthesia wears off. Dr. Erin monitored his heart with a bluetooth stethoscope that records to a phone so that the data can be reviewed and shared.

Curious George kept Burrito company.

Our thanks go out again to everyone who donated to our Phase 1 expansion and to the amazing group of nurses, technicians, and veterinarians who have ensured that Burrito gets the best medical care possible.

The tapestry of sanctuary

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Many humans would probably feel differently, but for most us here, this human for sure, and the chimpanzees, it’s really a perfect Pacific Northwest kind of spring day.

Spring has been subdued this year, running about a month late. Things are lush and green, and though a few flowers are in a superbloom like we’ve not seen in past years, most blooms and birds and bumbles are arriving late and in smaller numbers, if at all. Spring here on this side of the Cascade Mountain foothills usually gifts us with a few weeks in April of charcoal skies, rainy, sometimes-cool-sometimes-balmy days and a world turned lush neon green. You almost feel like you’re in a different habitat, so to speak. And speaking for myself as someone who was born and raised along rivers and sea in the fog of the redwoods, and also the now PNW chimpanzees who live here, it’s pretty heavenly. Especially knowing that in a mere few weeks things will be dry and hot and brown. So for now, we all relish and revel in these beautiful days.

Missy led everyone (well, except Negra who was tucked under her sheet in the greenhouse finishing her breakfast) on a walk around the perimeter this morning!

Jody, Foxie and Annie following Missy:

Annie must have been feeling a little braver re: snakes, and walked part of the way with the group and then opted for higher ground on a structure. I saw her later as she sat watching her best friend, Missy, bounce along the perimeter, kicking her feet in anticipation of Missy’s return:

Surprisingly, it was Jamie bringing up the rear today and following Burrito:

She stopped on the log bridge as the rest of the group went on:

The grass is pretty tall know and the chimps can be hard to spot sometimes, which is really wonderful. All along the top of the hill I could only see Missy’s back with each spring as she bounced through the grass as full speed. But she was sticking close to Jody (while keeping it cool) because Jody had found a prized treat that Missy loves: goat’s beard dandelions. You might be wondering about all that gorgeous lupine. In very large amounts it does have a toxicity, but whether it’s that it doesn’t taste good to the chimps or that they have some inner knowing as to which plants are safe, they don’t eat it. (If we observed otherwise, we’d remove it of course).

Unfortunately for Missy, Jody wasn’t in a sharing her goat’s beard kinda mood, but I did go pick some for Missy. 🙂

There are entire meadows of lupine blooming around the sanctuary right now. It’s the most heavenly scent.

Foxie and friend:

Burrito still bringing up the rear:

We are often lucky to host several species of birds who either stop by briefly during migration or return to the sanctuary year after year to nest and raise their families before moving on. In the something like 8 1/2 years I’ve helped care for the chimps, I have never once seen an Oriole and this spring a pair of Bullock’s Orioles in all their fiery orange, yellow and black glory are paying us a visit. They are super elusive so far, but you can hear their exotic songs floating through the sanctuary all day. And we had this special one stop by, a Western Kingbird!

There are few places where I have seen such a variety of flora, fauna and habitat coming together in one place. Mountains, forest, shrub-steppe, meadow and wetland, all woven together at the edges to create a rich kaleidoscope of life. The more you know this land, the more you see how unique it is and if you travel very far in any direction from the sanctuary it is less varied. We have the honor of caring for this land, this refuge for so many, and watching it grow and become more vibrant with each passing year. While it’s certainly a gift for the humans to experience, the real gift is knowing all it provides for the chimpanzees, one tiny bovine family, and all those we hope will one day, too, call this their sanctuary, their home.

First Swallowtail of the season: