Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee

Young’s Hill getting closer one pole at a time

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Last week Keith, CSNW’s founder, and volunteer Laura helped J.B. set some poles for the fence around Young’s Hill. We are building a double fence system with a total of 220 poles, so J.B.’s going to need a lot of help in the coming weeks! If you are interested in doing some physical labor volunteering now or in the future, please contact J.B. – he’d love to hear from you.

Here’s a photo of the first set of poles that went up:

first double poles

Today Denice and some terrific volunteers from Seattle University’s Animal Advocates and the Seattle Animal Defense League are setting more poles. As a big bonus to all of us, they brought vegan donuts from Mighty O in Seattle!! Mighty O donated donuts for last year’s Out of the Box auction Dessert Dash and they were recently crowned the Food Network’s Donut Champions, so this is no small treat for us humans.

Anyway, enough about delicious vegan donuts. Back to the hill. Below is a photo of today’s volunteers setting posts.

volunteers setting posts

And here’s a photo of Negra and Annie. Negra was watching the poles going up. With the two greenhouse panels off, the chimps can see all the work being done on the hill.

Negra Annie looking to Young's Hill

It’s not all about poles, either. If you received our recent e-newsletter, you know that all of the topsoil left over from digging the trench for the primary fence was utilized to make some mounds on the hill. To put these mounds in perspective, here’s a photo of J.B. and Jackie on one set (imagine them as chimps!):

JB Jackie on mounds

Conflict and Reassurance

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Foxie and Burrito are very good friends. But even best friends fight from time to time.

This morning, as we were preparing to serve breakfast, Burrito launched into a display in the outdoor area. He had been on edge all morning and his display was probably a little more aggressive than usual. I couldn’t see what happened, but in an instant there was a lot of screaming and Burrito was tearing back into the playroom with Foxie hot on his heels. A few seconds later, the girls had him cornered, and Foxie tackled him from behind.

When chimps fight, everything happens so quickly that it’s difficult to make out what exactly happened. But after the fight had ended, Burrito was left with a cut above his eye, a cut on his back, and a huge bruise to his ego.

The rest of the day was uneventful but tense, as Burrito’s conflict with Foxie and the other girls still had not been resolved. Chimps seek out reassurance, often immediately after a fight, but Burrito and Foxie had not yet made up. So later in the afternoon, Burrito launched into a brief display and then dove into Foxie’s arms. They hugged momentarily and then spent 15 minutes quietly grooming one another. Burrito found the reassurance he was looking for.

 

Cinco de Mayo Party

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The ladies at the Tacoma chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs sure know how to help us put on a party! As mentioned in the post earlier today, they sponsored today and sent us enrichment for a Cinco de Mayo party. And a party we had!

Along with some beach/summer-themed enrichment, the ladies sent us a Safeway gift card so that we could get some yummy produce for the party. So, on the Mexicali menu was tortillas, avocados, tomatoes, cabbage, and leeks (a chimp favorite!). In addition, we juiced some limes and added Key Lime Sparkling Water for our own version of virgin margaritas, poured into tiny plastic shot glasses, of course.

The margaritas smelled just like the real thing! In my opinion, they tasted WAY too tart, but the chimps loved them!! Here’s Jamie going for as many “shots” as possible:

And Annie, relaxing with the last drop of hers:

The tortillas were a big hit, too. I unfortunately didn’t get any photos of her, but bread-loving Negra was SO excited!

Jody:

Missy:

The ladies sent lots of festive beach bags and towels. We added a few beach appropriate things to the bags to fit the theme, such as magazines, combs (for when your hair gets messy after swimming), mirrors, hair clips, plastic shovels for the kids, an extra pair of sandals, etc…

Here’s Missy checking one out:

And how could this possibly be a real party if Foxie didn’t get some new trolls:


Thanks so much, ladies!! We’ve had a great day– and it’s not over! On tonight’s menu is beans and rice with corn on the cob! YUM!

Bamboo

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We have a couple of small bamboo plants that we have been keeping in the human area of the greenhouse, and we’ve discovered that the chimps, especially Annie, love it just as much as grass! Annie will make raspberry sounds and point to it, just begging for us to give her more!

The other day she discovered that not only is it fun to eat:

…but it’s also fun to watch yourself eat it:

I can’t wait to see this girl on Young’s Hill!

A Royal Party

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I promised generous friends and family who gave through my Facebook birthday wish that I would throw a party for the chimpanzees today on my birthday. Thanks to Derek, Stephanie M., Jessica, Anika, Jen, David, Audrey, Linda, Donna, Laura, Stephanie P., Susan & Jack, Ryan, Gay & Mike, Kathy, Anna, Suzanne, Margaret & Karen and big thanks to Bruce and Deborah for helping me surpass my birthday wish goal!

We thought it would be fun to make the party a British high tea since William and Kate’s wedding was just yesterday.

We made some fancy food, put out some crazy hats, and let the chimps enjoy.

In case you’re wondering about the cake, I modified this recipe for raw birthday cake. I believe the video shows that the chimps approved. Burrito and Missy also enjoyed the cake, but they were off camera when I filmed. Debbie was serving at the barn doors to entice the chimps into the playroom so I could close off the greenhouse and volunteer Erin and I could set up the rest of the party.

The sandwiches were Erin’s creation: lettuce and English cucumbers with a layer of mashed bananas between slices of apple.

Happy High Tea, everyone!

After the party, Burrito kicked back with a macadamia nut

Burrito with macadamia nut

 

Sad news about Annie’s son Damien

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Damien, one of Annie‘s sons who was at the wonderful Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida, recently passed away. Damien’s death was due to kidney failure that developed after an injury.

Please visit the Save the Chimps site to learn more about Damien as well as Ted, another chimpanzee who also recently passed away.

We were all very sad to learn of Damien and Ted’s passing, and our hearts go out to their caregivers. Save the Chimps is the word’s largest sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees, and the staff are faced with the deaths of loved ones too frequently.

Here is a quote from the notice about Damien’s death: “He grew into a magnificent adult, and was one of the few chimpanzees at Save the Chimps who spent more of his life in sanctuary than in a research lab.”

Thank you to all at Save the Chimps who gave Damien a sanctuary life.

damien