Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum Seven

Keeping your friends company

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One of my favorite things about the Cle Elum Seven is how almost everyone is really good friends. We tend to focus on BFF’s Annie and Missy a lot because they are pretty much inseparable, but there are lots of other people that seem to be pretty close, based on the amount of time they play with one another, groom, or have other interactions. If I had to guess based on my observations, I would say (aside from the Annie/Missy duo), Missy is good friends with Negra, Foxie and Burrito; Burrito is good friends with Foxie, Negra, and Missy; Negra is good friends with Foxie, Missy, and Burrito; Jamie is good friends with Foxie; and Jody is good friends with Foxie and Negra (I’ve seen a lot of play between Negra and Jody lately!). Annie’s world still revolves around Missy, but she does occasionally play with Foxie and Negra, so I think she would probably call them good friends too. If you haven’t noticed, Ms. Foxie is a popular lady!

Today I caught Foxie being super goofy all by herself (which is really not all that uncommon) but it wasn’t long before someone had to join in.

Happy birthday, Donna and Doreen!

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Donna and Doreen Hughes are celebrating their birthday today, and they have sponsored the day for the Cle Elum Seven.  Donna and Doreen have been consistently warm and enthusiastic supporters of the chimpanzees since the year they arrived at CSNW.  In particular, they’re two of Foxie’s biggest fans!

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Thanks, Donna and Doreen.  Happy birthday from CSNW!

Deep snow

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You may have noticed a lack of Young’s Hill photos and videos over the last month or so. That’s because when the snow gets so deep, it reduces the voltage of the electric fence, making it unsafe to allow the chimpanzees out there. Well, yesterday, J.B., Sarah and I (mostly J.B.) all went out and shoveled around the entire perimeter of the fence (who needs a gym membership?), freeing up those bottom wires covered in snow so that the voltage was sufficient to let the chimps back out! It was very hard work, but the chimps were so excited that it was well worth it! There were lots of hugs and kisses in the chimp house (between the chimps 😉 ) and breathy pants echoed in the greenhouse. Sometimes our job isn’t glamorous but it is certainly rewarding, especially when you see a face like the one below (Jody’s).

Jody was the first one to go back out. She was food grunting (we had lettuce out there, plus look at all that snow!) and had a huge playface!
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Annie used Jody’s head for support as she passed her on the log bridge. Jody didn’t seem to mind.
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Look at the joy in her eyes!
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The snow was really deep, so J.B. and Diana shoveled paths along the log bridge to the first climbing structure and to Negra’s cabin. Most folks just walked along the paths, but Missy chose to walk on the fire hose.
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From left to right, Jamie, Missy, Annie and Jody, enjoying the lettuce forage on top of the first climbing structure.
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Did I mention the snow was (is) deep? Foxie walked along the paths but she looked so tiny from our vantage point (tinier than she already is, even!).
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Annie figured walking bipedally made more sense. Gotta say, I agree!
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While everyone else foraged for lettuce, Annie climbed up to the top of Negra’s cabin a couple of times.
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And Missy discovered a TON of lettuce Sarah put in the cabin!
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I think she was pretty pleased!
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All of the chimps went out at some point, though Negra didn’t leave the comfort of the raceway (and only so she could grab some lettuce and snow) and Burrito was only out for a couple of minutes (also just to grab a little bit of lettuce and snow) and didn’t venture out very far, but everyone seemed very happy to have the option of the hill back! And that’s what sanctuary is all about.

Annie following Missy back to the greenhouse:
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Enriching Jamie

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Recently I was looking back at some old blog posts written by Diana and J.B. before the chimpanzees arrived in Washington. In this post, Diana describes Jamie after meeting her for the first time during a visit to the laboratory. It struck me how accurate Diana’s first impressions turned out to be. Five years later, Jamie still demands our time, energy, and creativity to keep her satisfied. It is sometimes hard to know what she’s going to like, but choice is essential. Diana also correctly predicted that we’re always happy to indulge.

After we clean the playroom each morning, we put out clean blankets and a heaping basket of enrichment. Jamie’s routine is to first gather any boots, then stroll around checking out the rest of the toys to see if anything is of interest. Today she came across this loofah and gave her face a quick scrub.

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Some good news + cute Foxie

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If you aren’t subscribed to the Take Action newsletter through Eyes on Apes, you may not have seen yet that we’ve had a victory! Two days ago I sent out an action alert regarding a Great Clips commercial with a chimpanzee, and just a day later Great Clips made a statement to pledge not to use apes in future advertising, and said they were working on pulling the ad. This is all thanks to letters from you guys, so congrats! Please forward this victory on to friends and get them to join you in speaking up for apes in need.

As if that good news wasn’t enough happiness for the day, I thought I’d share some pictures of Foxie eating some snow with juice added to it. She’s pretty cute. I think she can put a smile on anyone’s face.

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Happy birthday, Lynn Williamson!

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Frank Williamson has sponsored today for Lynn’s birthday, with this message:

“Dear Lynnie, happy birthday and great work with the chimps and all the other animal causes you take so seriously!  Your family loves you!”

Lynn has been a volunteer in the chimp house for a few years now, and she is consistently lovely to be around.  She always shows up with a smile on her face, ready to work hard for the chimpanzees.  We’re so lucky to know her.  Happy birthday, Lynn!

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Jamie’s choice

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We’ve mentioned it 1000 times I’m sure but Jamie is one of the most intelligent people we know. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult and frustrating it must be for her to be stuck behind bars. Captivity would be difficult for anyone, but Jamie has a tendency to get very bored, antsy, and even demanding sometimes – especially during the cold, cabin-fever months. It’s completely understandable (check out this fantastic post from Diana from a couple of years ago reflecting on Jamie’s personality, both prior to CSNW and after her arrival here). We caregivers are completely dedicated to provide a stimulating environment for her and all of the Cle Elum Seven. Each day we do all that we can to give them interesting things to do and exciting enrichment they love, which in Jamie’s case always includes boots.

Jamie has a huge boot collection:
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But nothing gets her more excited than a new (to her) pair of boots. Who can blame her? Don’t we all get excited when we get a new pair of shoes? But, she tends to ‘love them to death’, so to speak, so they often don’t last very long. We’ve had to throw several pairs away lately and I noticed yesterday that our supply is dwindling. It occurred to me that this might be the perfect time to seek some help from you Jamie-lovers. Maybe you got a new pair of boots for Christmas and have an older pair you would like to get rid of? Or maybe you’ve been finding yourself at thrift stores lately trying to catch good deals and just hadn’t thought to be on the lookout for Jamie’s favorite thing? We certainly don’t want anyone to spend a ton of money on boots (see statement above about ‘loving them to death’) but if you happen to have an old pair or come across one, you really would make Jamie’s day.

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