Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum 7

The most unique cc in your wallet

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Give the sanctuary $50 right now without spending a dime, and continue to help every time you use one of five just unveiled credit cards: http://www.cardpartner.com/app/csnwburrito card.ashx

Bonus for you – you’ll be earning accelerated points (up to 15 points per dollar) at hundreds of national merchants, which can be redeemed for merchandise, account credits and free tickets on over 175 airlines, with no blackout dates!

Choose and use the only card that supports Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and earns you valuable rewards at the same time. Go to http://www.cardpartner.com/app/csnw – request your card today.

I’m really excited thinking about everyone carrying around CSNW credit cards. Let me know which one you like best!

CSNW featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine

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Really great article: http://www.seattlemet.com/issues/archives/articles/chimpanzee-sanctuary-northwest-1209/

It’s hot off the presses (or at least recently uploaded to the world wide web) and the print version should be all over the Seattle area soon. Please share on your Facebook and Twitter pages and send to all of your contacts (you can do that by clicking “Email” or “Share This” at the top of the article when you go to the link). It not only tells the story of CSNW, but also the broader plight of chimpanzees in captivity.

I only wish Jamie knew how famous she is.

Negra and “night bags”

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Each night after dinner, we give the chimpanzees treats in the form of “night bags.” These are brown paper bags with a small amount of sugar-free cereal, dried fruit, salt-free nuts, seeds and sometimes dried pasta or other goodies. Our beloved volunteers make these bags up 21 or so at a time to ensure we have a supply for a few nights. Negra in particular likes this snack and sometimes asks for her night bag before dinner is even over. She asks by loudly clapping and sometimes extending an arm out. One night last week when J.B. was serving dinner, I snapped a few photos of Negra making her request, then enjoying her night bag.

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For the love of cowboy boots

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Quick Jamie story of the day: I had picked up the front rooms to prepare for cleaning and brought the enrichment over to the washing tub. Jamie saw me from the playroom and started gesturing emphatically. I knew just what she was trying to tell me – I had one of her cowboy boots among the enrichment items and she wanted it back.

I did a brief cleaning job and offered to throw the boot up to her in the space above the big human doors to the playroom. Instead, she looked at me and ran outside. I came around and threw the boot on the roof. She climbed up and got the boot down and carried it with her most of the day. I’ve never seen Jamie ask for something specific that wasn’t food – she REALLY likes her new birthday cowboy boots. Thanks, Stephanie P.!

Happy Halloween-Birthday, Jamie!

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You can give both Jamie and her caregiver Elizabeth a birthday gift through Elizabeth’s birthday wish on Facebook!

Below are a few photos of Jamie (and her special pumpkin) from the morning/afternoon party. Jamie thanks Robbi, Stephanie P., Tamela, Margaret, Cari and Jeanie for the birthday goodies.

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Stephanie brought Jamie a pair of cowboy boots for her birthday and she loves them! She picked one up right away and has been carrying it around with her all day. You can see the sole of the boot in the photo above – it’s tucked into Jamie’s groin pocket. It’s very windy today, but Jamie and I just played chase outside for a couple of minutes – a sign that she is in a great mood! J.B. will post a video in just a bit showing more of the party. Happy Halloween everyone!

Smiling?

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For me, going to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video to look for a movie is always an interesting experience. It never fails- I will see a movie with a chimp on the cover “smiling”. This facial expression that we, as humans, understand as a happy face is not a happy face for a chimpanzee. A “human smile” displayed by a chimpanzee is actually a “fear grimace” and is displayed when a chimp is afraid or excited. When a chimpanzee is used for entertainment purposes, they are trained to fear grimace for the camera. I thought, in this regard, I would post some pictures to demonstrate the difference between a fear grimace and a chimpanzee smile.

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Below is an older picture of Jody displaying a fear grimace. If I had to guess, I would say she was afraid someone might steal her watermelon…
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Here is a picture of Jody with a playface or a chimpanzee smile. THIS is a happy chimpanzee:
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and a happy Foxie:
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New view

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The chimpanzees got to check out the new window today. The window replaced an extra door that went from the playroom to the outdoor area. J.B. still had some work to do on the outdoor area side, so we went out to say hello to the chimps through the window. In the meantime, the Poppoff crew was still hard at work in the mud (but no rain today) getting things ready for the foundation that will be part of the greenhouse structure going over the outdoor area. Workin workin again!

Jamie, of course, was the first to inspect the window

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Jody was also very curious

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It’s difficult to see, but Jamie and J.B. are “touching” hands through the glass in the photo below

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For context – here is a zoomed-out view. The new window is to the left, the chimp door that we use from the playroom to the outdoor area is to the right. The two windows on top are just above the catwalk in the playroom.

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Foxie likes the new window too

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Many of the chimps watched J.B. working all day. Below is Jamie making sure J.B. is doing a good job (or maybe seeing how things come apart!)

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