Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum 7

Virtual tour of the chimp house

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All the time we refer to different places in the chimp house on the blog—you’ve probably seen us write about the front rooms, the playroom, the greenhouse, and of course Young’s Hill. I can imagine that it might not make a lot of sense for the majority of our blog readers who have never seen the inside of the sanctuary!

So with this in mind I put together a virtual tour. I am a very visual person, so this sort of thing would help me out a lot and I’m hoping it helps you all too! For an idea of how the normal day goes, read this blog about the daily routine.

I also thought to include a map of the chimp house. You’ll notice a lot of letters and numbers between the rooms—these are the different chimp doors. Since we never enter the enclosures at the same time as the chimpanzees, we have another person check the doors before we unlock for cleaning. It’s nice to have a label for each door when we report our checks to the staff caregiver who is unlocking.

map of chimp area

Chimp ID: Burrito

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This is Part 2 of our series of blog posts on chimpanzee identification. (For last week’s post on Annie’s distinguishing characteristics, click here.)

Burrito is the only male in the Cle Elum Seven, and he is probably the easiest chimp to identify. For one thing, he’s a guy:

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People often comment that Burrito is “fluffier” than the other chimpanzees, and that’s because his hair is often pilo erect (standing on end due to excitement):

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Unlike Annie, Burrito has lots of white coloration on his face:

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He’s missing the top of his right ear:

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And of course you can always tell Burrito by his charm:

web Burrito bite fish toy enrichment look at camera greenhouse GH IMG_7162

One short day

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Today has been busy, busy, busy here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Not unusually but, nevertheless, enough to remark upon. Cleaning, and volunteers, and visitors, oh my! Throughout it all the chimpanzees appear content. The day is sunny and warm, their bellies are full, and life is good. There is nothing quite like the serenity of a late summer afternoon to remind you to take time to enjoy this moment, even amidst the craziness that is every day life.

Thank you, Missy Chimpanzee, for sharing the quiet of the warm, sleepy greenhouse with me today!

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Happy Birthday, Jean!

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Today was sponsored by Carolyn Clarke in honor of Jean Sheldon and the Cle Elum Seven as a gift to Jean on her birthday! Carolyn and Jean, thank you both so much for caring about the chimpanzees and thinking of them today. We wish you the happiest of days, Jean!

And if you need any ideas on how to spend your day, Jody is definitely a lady who knows how to enjoy herself!

web Jody lie in blanket nest birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_1965 resized for Jody Pals

The Last Days of Summer

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We are having a last burst of summer at the sanctuary this week with temperatures back in the 90’s. The flies and wasps are endlessly buzzing and the chimps and humans are all endlessly swatting. The chimp house is completely quiet as I type this. Negra is sound asleep in her window nest. Jamie is in her nest flipping through two new boot catalogs I gave her and filing her nails with an emery board. She is also making the occasional happy groan when she sees something she likes. (For those of you who are new to our blog, Jamie was raised in a human home by a trainer until the age of 9 and sometimes chooses to engage in more human oriented activities). Burrito, Foxie, Jody, and Annie are lying in the greenhouse with their feet propped up on the caging, arms splayed out to their sides. And Missy, always on the move Missy, just raced me through the chimp house to the window by the chimpanzees’ cherry tomato bush and asked me to pick some for her, and I of course was happy to oblige.

Autumn is definitely in the air these days although you wouldn’t know it right now. It’s hard to believe we will all be talking about cold temperatures and snow before long. But for now we can revel in the last lazy days of summer. We hope you are all enjoying the special days that only summertime brings as much as the chimpanzees. Here are a few photos of some of the chimpanzees during a forage on Young’s Hill this week:

Annie:

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Missy:

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Foxie and Dora:

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Burrito:

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Happy Birthday, Shannon!

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Today was sponsored by Janet Henry in honor of her daughter, Shannon Noble’s, birthday! It’s Janet’s wish to celebrate Shannon and her love and compassion for not only the chimpanzees, but for all animals. Janet, what a lovely way to honor your daughter. Thank you both so much for caring about the chimpanzees and including them in your special day. Shannon, on behalf of the chimpanzees, we hope your day is full of pant hoots and food grunts! Happy Birthday!!

jamie opening pinata