Cle Elum 7

Taking time to appreciate the roses

May 12, 2014 by Lisa

There were so many amazing pictures from Jody’s birthday celebration that it was hard to choose just a few to feature the highlights. In fact, I got so many good pictures of the chimpanzees foraging for the roses that I just had to share a few more today. Jody wasn’t the only one to savor the treat. Although she did end up with the lion’s share almost everyone got the opportunity to enjoy a flowery breakfast snack. What I find particularly intriguing is that I observed more than one chimpanzee looking at and smelling the flowers as part of the process of eating them. Now, this isn’t necessarily different from food as they often observe it and smell it before deciding whether or not it seems good enough to eat. It does seem a reasonable habit to get into if you’re going to be taking gastronomic risks. However, I still found it to be a captivating behavior to observe in my friends and certainly one that provokes further thought, if you go in for that kind of thing.

Annie

Missy

Jamie

Negra

Burrito (Okay, he’s not actually foraging for roses here but for chow instead!)

Jody’s Big Day

May 11, 2014 by Lisa

In celebration of Jody’s birthday we set up a fabulous breakfast party in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill. The weather proved amenable with gorgeous skies and little to no wind, the spread was provided by volunteer, Patti, and the party set up was made possible by the hard work of volunteers, Sandra & Katie (in addition to Patti, of course!). Breakfast consisted of pears, watermelon, and pineapple along with the fruit smoothie, all set out in grande style in the greenhouse for the chimpanzees to enjoy. We also showered flowers (lilacs & roses) on Young’s Hill, along with chow, watermelon and lettuce for an exciting forage. What better way to honor Jody than with flowers? Not only are they as beautiful as she is but they are also an edible, delectable treat for the chimpanzees! Special thanks to Terra Bella Flowers for donating the roses the chimpanzees relished today.

I had a difficult time choosing photos today, there were so many great ones. Here is the scene from the party in the greenhouse:

Missy

Jamie

Negra

Foxie

Annie

Burrito

You don’t see much of Jody in the greenhouse and that’s because she was busy making out like a bandit in the flower forage.

After such an engaging breakfast a little down time is in order.

May your Mother’s Day be full of joy and light in the company of those you love whether in spirit or in life. Happy birthday, Jody Chimpanzee!

Green Grass

May 8, 2014 by Elizabeth

Each year around this time, the grass on Young’s Hill turns from brown and brittle to soft and green seemingly overnight. The chimpanzees love it, and I love how at home they look out there.

Annie:

Jody:

Foxie and Dora…

…and Ellie the elk spying:

Negra:

Burrito, enjoying the spring grass for the delicacy it is:

The Day After

May 4, 2014 by Elizabeth

Aside from working directly with and for the chimpanzees every day, the thing I love most about working for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is seeing how deeply people near and far care about the chimps – not just in the abstract, but as individuals. After decades of being treated as little more than faceless numbers, it’s incredibly heartwarming that people across the country and across the world love and appreciate Foxie for her love of troll dolls, Burrito for his epic food squeaks, and so on.

Last night’s Hoot! gala in Seattle was an amazing success and an absolute joy. People came to celebrate and support the chimps they love, or to acquaint themselves with the Cle Elum Seven for the first time. Check out the e-newsletter about the event that Diana sent out this morning here. (If you’re not yet signed up for our email list, you can do that here.) And be sure to watch the video that gala attendees saw at the event last night.

If you weren’t able to make it last night, you can still show your love for the chimps by donating here.

Today the chimpanzees are celebrating by enjoying the green grass and sunshine on Young’s Hill. After picking a couple of dandelions, Jody spent some time overseeing the unloading of the event supplies from the U-Haul.

A million thanks to everyone who helps us continue to care for the chimps we love so much.

Play initiation and Hoot!

May 3, 2014 by Debbie

Tonight is our very first Hoot! gala event and I’m so excited to see everyone. I hope you all are ready to Give a Hoot! tonight! And don’t worry, for those of you that aren’t able to make it to the gala, we are going to have an online auction later this summer so everyone can participate.

Yesterday I posted about Jamie’s huge paper nest, but I left out a couple photos that Elizabeth took that day. She captured Annie initiating some play by biting on the handrail of the stairs in the playroom, right above where Jamie was nesting. Missy couldn’t resist her invitation and of course started play slapping and wrestling immediately. They didn’t seem to mind that Jamie was trying to perfect her nest just inches away—and luckily, Jamie didn’t seem to be disturbed, either.

Lots and lots of paper

May 2, 2014 by Debbie

We’ve posted about the enrichment theme “lots of paper” before, but it never gets old with the chimps. They love it, so we try to work that theme into each month—so long as we have extra paper to spare. Yesterday we had plenty, including a bunch of paper from some boxes that were shipped from Amazon when people sent us supplies we needed from our wishlist. You probably didn’t know you were helping us stock the shelves AND enriching the chimps at the same time did you? 🙂

Jamie definitely appreciated the extra paper, and we threw in some crepe paper, toilet paper, and a big roll of red paper for additional nesting materials. She built the biggest paper nest I’ve seen! It was an all day project that she returned to a few times to perfect her comfy spot.

First, she started with the brown paper from the Amazon boxes and added the giant roll of red paper.

She abandoned it at one point (probably to go on a perimeter walk of Young’s Hill) and you can see just how elaborate it is:

Later she returned and added some toilet paper, which she reportedly had wrapped around her like a mummy but when the paparazzi (Elizabeth) arrived she quickly brushed it off herself. The toilet paper added a nice softness to the nest and she curled up with some boots to take a mid-day nap.

Pictures of Contentment

May 1, 2014 by Elizabeth

If there’s one thing that consistently makes for happy chimpanzees, it’s beautiful weather. We’re enjoying temperatures in the mid-70s in Cle Elum today, and everyone’s feeling carefree.

Foxie: