Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Sometimes Jamie can be quite destructive, with her great displays that show her domination, and her investigations of enrichment. So in contrast, I really love how delicate she looks with this small cherry tomato in these pictures from the other day. (I also really love the amazingly vibrant green grass in the background!)
If Negra is the Queen of the Cle Elum Seven, Jody is the Queen of Nest Building and Relaxation.
Jody is hands down the best nest builder I know. She is definitely an artist about it, and will often use as many as 20-30 blankets. We put out tons of new straw and alfalfa hay in the greenhouse yesterday, so Jody forewent the blankets and made herself an amazing nest right on the ground.
Today is day 3 of unseasonably gorgeous weather (high 70s!) here in Cle Elum. The chimpanzees have been out on Young’s Hill for a couple of hours now and show no signs of tiring of it. (As I write this, Jody is lying on her belly in a patch of shade munching on some grass.) Here are some photos from this afternoon:
Foxie has collected several of these wine vines to bring into the greenhouse with her:
Annie brought in a blanket she found on the hill for her nest in the greenhouse:
Burrito has been watching the goings-on from his new favorite hangout by the treat rock:
Love a Chimpanzee Day is a much-beloved CSNW holiday invented by longtime supporter Monica Best. Monica sponsors April 23rd each year in memory of her cat Ozzie and in celebration of these chimpanzees and all chimpanzees. This year, she also wants the holiday to honor Emma, Karen and Don Young’s dog who recently passed away. (April 23rd also happens to be Monica’s birthday – happy birthday, Monica!) We had our official celebration a few days early this year (check out the photos here), but we’re still going to be sure to love the chimps just a little extra today. We may be biased, but we can’t think of a more worthy holiday.
Today was Earth Day and thankfully it was an absolutely beautiful, almost summery, day for it! It’s been around 75 degrees this afternoon and very little wind (which we get a lot of around here!) so I gave the chimps Young’s Hill as early in the day as possible. We didn’t have a full-fledged party, but it’s pretty surreal to think that after decades of bars and concrete, finally the chimps truly got to celebrate Earth Day on the grass and with no bars overhead.
Missy and Annie spent some time sitting on the grass in the shade
Foxie climbed up high to enjoy the view
Jamie and volunteer caregiver Stephanie went for a little walk around the perimeter of the hill
And Burrito climbed up a climbing structure he hasn’t explored yet
It must feel so good to have blue skies overhead with no bars!
Today is GORGEOUS! So gorgeous that we set out a party on Young’s Hill complete with new gifts from special friends and fun food. It was an early celebration of Love a Chimpanzee Day (April 23rd), a holiday invented by supporter Monica Best and a day that she sponsors each year.
Jamie passed the food and went right for her new red boots brought by Monica’s friend Sophy. After securing her new red boots, Jamie did manage to get a huge armful of bok choy (not pictured).
Guess what Burrito chose? That’s right – food! Here he is eating cabbage by the treat rock:
Jody first went for the food (she’s eating watermelon in the photo below):
But later she grabbed some clown glasses and a new doll. The photo below is a little blurry because Jody was on the move!
There were three new Dora dolls on the hill, thanks to caregiver Jackie’s thrift store shopping. Foxie quickly gathered them all up:
And later spent some quality time with them:
All in all, it was a delightful early celebration of Love a Chimpanzee Day. Thank you, Monica! And thank you to all supporters who sponsor days and otherwise support the sanctuary.
Today was a special day for me too! Jim, Audrey and Brian worked on the outreach & events stuff shed. Isn’t it beautiful?? I want to move in.
Annie and Missy love to play, whether it be rough-and-tumble wrestling, or like today—playing at the same time as resting. Annie certainly didn’t want Missy to go to sleep, and really, who’s to say you can’t play and lay down at the same time?
