chimpanzee

Happy Birthday, Burrito!

January 6, 2015 by Debbie

For B’s big day we centered everything around his favorites: food, food, and more food! We spread out the meals into many different portions so that about every hour the chimps had a quick snack. We also had a small forage in each of the enclosures, so it was basically Burrito’s dream come true—a way to eat pretty much the entire day away.

Here’s some photos of the birthday guy’s first party in the greenhouse, where we had a chow and tea forage:

Mr. B:

Annie:

Jamie:

Negra:

And then in the playroom we had more tea, some blackberries, and lettuce to snack on:

Annie:

Missy:

Jamie:

Jody:

Thanks to all of Burrito’s pals for helping make this day great for him and again to Tracy and Jenny who sponsored the day!

Low-key play

January 3, 2015 by Debbie

Missy and Annie tend to play rough when they wrestle, but Missy tones it down a little for the elder and slower Negra. Here you can see some quiet low-key play between Negra and Missy, but toward the end Annie steps in and Missy picks up the pace a bit.

Don’s Birthday Party

January 2, 2015 by J.B.

As promised, here are photos and video of today’s party. The chimps enjoyed a forage of leeks, red bananas, broccolini, sweet peppers, lettuce, and corn. We also put out cups of warm herbal tea with almond milk, party hats filled with peanuts, and pinatas stuffed with grapes, as well as a fresh bale of alfalfa (a nest you can eat!).

We’re big on recycling around here, so for today we re-purposed the Christmas tree as a “Birthday tree.” Annie and Burrito took turns picking treats from its branches:

Negra went straight for the corn, while Missy hunted for red bananas:

Foxie guzzled all the tea she could find:

Somehow, Missy got to the party hat pinata first, so all Jamie could do was scrounge for leftovers. Don’t feel sorry for her, though – she ate almost everything else:

Watch the video:

It’s fitting that the chimps enjoyed a forage in the greenhouse today, and that Jamie walked around the hill to her heart’s content. Both the greenhouse and Young’s Hill were made possible in large part by Karen and Don Young.

So Don, thank you (and Karen) for caring so much about these seven chimps. We hope you enjoyed your birthday – the chimps certainly did!

Happy Birthday to Don Young!

January 2, 2015 by Diana

Don Young, of the famed Young’s Hill that the chimpanzees enjoy everyday, has a birthday today! His wife Karen wanted the chimps to have a party in his honor, so she sponsored today and sent a little bit extra for party supplies and food. So be sure to check back later for party photos!

Karen had this to share about sponsoring today:

“In honor of the love of my life, my incredible, generous, supportive husband who will be 76 years old. Without him, his work ethic and decades of dedication to his profession, as well as love and attention to his family, we would not be able to donate to CSNW. What is important to me or to the rest of the family, is important to him. He is an amazing person, and we are all blessed to have him by our sides.”

We couldn’t agree more. The Young’s have done so much for Foxie, Negra, Annie, Missy, Jody, Burrito, and Jamie. Truly, the sanctuary would not be what it is today without their support. So, we too want to extend our heartfelt wishes for a very happy day to Don, with many more birthdays to come.

Karen sponsored this day last year as well, and here’s a photo from the party of Negra enjoying some Brussels sprouts. It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year!

New Year, Same Old Games

January 1, 2015 by Elizabeth

It may be a new year, but Annie and Missy spent their morning in a good old-fashioned play session.

New Year’s Day Sponsored by Diane and Sherri

January 1, 2015 by Diana

Today is certainly a very special day. You, supporters of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, helped us to really ring in 2015 in style by getting us beyond our goal of $65,000 in individual donations in the month of December. Wow!

Two people contributed to this success by making a sponsor-a-day donation and choosing this special day to sponsor. Thank you, Sherri Mudri and Diane Mattis!

Sherri’s gift message for today is “Happy New Year to the Magnificent 7!”

and volunteer Diane shared this lovely thought, “New Year’s Day is the beginning of another year for us all to celebrate what we have and think of what we can do in 2015 to make the world a better place. 2015 will be another year for the Chimps to be loved, kept safe and well and grow because of the dedication, kindness and love each person at the Sanctuary provides freely every day. Happy 2015 to the Chimps and the Humans.”

What more needs to be said?

Here are two photos to celebrate today:

This second photo is featured on the back of our 2015 calendar – hopefully many of you are hanging up your calendars today!

Welcoming in the New Year

December 31, 2014 by Debbie

We are all continuously so amazed by how generous our supporters are—truly, you all keep this sanctuary running! We are able to give Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Annie, Negra, and Jody a cozy warm home, good healthy food, long-lasting friendships with caregivers, and an endless supply of trolls, boots, and other enrichment directly because of YOU.

This year, our family of staff and supporters has grown stronger and our hearts have only gotten bigger from how grateful we are to see these seven special beings live their lives without the fear of being in confined biomedical lab cages—not knowing what would happen next.

Now, you can see in their eyes they trust us. They trust us. It truly amazes me after all they’ve been through, that they not only forgive humans, but learn to build friendships with confidence, trust us with their most prized possessions, and even help us out when needed. It’s because of your support that we can maintain these important relationships with these chimpanzees and provide them with hope, love, home, and sanctuary.

Our goal for year-end giving of individual donations was fairly optimistic, but we’re getting closer and closer every minute that we creep toward welcoming 2015. As I write this, we are just $1,512 short of our goal for year-end giving! In just a few short hours, you can help us make it to our goal for this year (or surpass it!)

Dora and friends got dressed up for the New Year’s Eve bash: