Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

Burrito in the greenhouse

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Although the girls have been spending the majority of the daylight hours playing, grooming, nesting, and resting in the greenhouse since it was completed, Burrito has been much more hesitant to go out. He usually has the indoors to himself during the day while everyone else enjoys the 75 degree weather outside. Even the lure of food hasn’t been enough to tempt him outside for more than a couple of very nervous minutes (and everybody knows how much Burrito loves food!).

He’s making remarkable progress, though. In the last few days, he has begun to come out into the greenhouse for a few minutes at a time (even with no food incentive). This morning, he spent about 20 minutes in the sun grooming Jody and playing with his human friends. I don’t think I can express how happy we all are to see him gaining so much confidence!

[Read more…] about Burrito in the greenhouse

Jamie shares her boots

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The other day, Jamie got yet another pair of cowboy boots from volunteer Jennifer Douglas. It seems that any pair of cowboy boots will make her day. Notice towards the end of the video how Jody approaches Jamie, seeks reassurance, and once she gets it, she snags one of Jamie’s boots. Excellent chimp work!

For all you Negra fans

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Another great greenhouse day. The ladies groomed and played out there all day, switching partners frequently.

Negra hanging out in the greenhouse sun:

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Missy grooming Negra while Annie groomed Jody nearby:

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Missy starting to turn the hand grooming into a little game:

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Negra responding by playing back:

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Missy sticking both of her feet up for Negra to play bite:

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Negra taking a mid-morning nap:

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It’s been said before, but each day I am amazed at how the greenhouse has transformed the Cle Elum Seven’s lives. Thank you again to Karen and Don Young and all who made the greenhouse possible!

St. Patrick’s Day Party

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As promised, here is some video of the chimpanzees’ fun and festive party yesterday. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed and made the party possible. You truly made the chimps’ day!

Anniversary Fundraising Day One

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I swear that I just now came across the photo below, which we posted Oct. 27th when we replaced the cage door with the window.  It must be a sign that we picked the right day to start our anniversary fundraising!! Our ultimate goal is to raise $45,000 and replace three caged windows with chimp-proof glass. It seems that Foxie has known our plan all along…

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We’re off to a good start, thanks to Theresa, Gayle, Brandon, Pam and Marc, Jenny, and a pledge from Barbara! Today we raised $475. We need to raise an average of $512 per day to reach our ultimate goal of $45,000 by the chimpanzees’ second year anniversary in sanctuary and Negra’s birthday.  Get some ideas on how to help by visiting the Help Us Fundraise page. Thanks everyone!

P.S. Tomorrow – video of the chimpanzees celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!

Luck of the Cle Elum Seven

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Today, on Lucky St. Patrick’s Day, we are launching a big fundraising drive that will end on the chimpanzees’ 2nd anniversary in sanctuary and Negra’s honorary birthday – June 13, 2011. We’re announcing it to blog readers first so you can be the first to participate.

Thanks to LUSH and the blog drive initiated by Anna K., we will soon be replacing three caged windows with chimp-proof glass. We want to be able to replace three more for Negra and all of the Cle Elum Seven, but we need to make sure we cover our operating expenses first.

We do everything we can to keep our costs low, including making use of our incredible volunteer community and a great network of in-kind donations. This helps us spend 90 cents out of every dollar donated directly on our programs! The first $30,00 of the donations we receive over the next three months will go toward the day-to-day costs of caring for the chimpanzees, but we’d like to raise even more for some extra sunshine for the Cle Elum Seven. So, between today and June 13th, if we raise $35,000, we’ll replace one window, $40,000 two windows, and $45,000 three caged windows with chimpanzee-proof glass. You all know how much the chimps love the glass windows, so I know you’ll be motivated to help us reach our ultimate goal.

The first $4500 in donations will be matched by a pledge from our board of directors and staff, so we’re well on our way already! Perhaps blog readers can take on this initial challenge before we announce the fundraising to a wider audience next week. We are including income from all sources starting today – online, checks sent through the mail, facebook donations, money raised through Firstgiving, new Chimpanzee Pals, Sponsor-a-Day donations, etc. Even if you don’t have the funds to donate yourself, you can participate. Start a Firstgiving page and recruit others to donate – they are easy to set up and include fundraising tips when you sign up for your page. You could also have a fundraising dinner at your house, hold a garage sale, sell your wares on ebay, or do whatever is in your heart to raise funds for your chimpanzee friends. Let us know what you’re planning by emailing. We’d be happy to send you brochures or anything else you might need to share with others.

We will be awarding prizes to those who raise the most money, both through personal donations and through recruiting others to donate. We will provide regular updates on the blog, and you can also check out the progress and get more details on our Help Us Fundraise page.

Please join the fun in providing for the Cle Elum Seven and celebrating two years in sanctuary and give today!