Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum

Not Your Typical Day

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Today was not our typical lazy Sunday at CSNW. After the chimps received access to the Hill everyone was out with Jamie, well everyone except Negra… Foxie was especially gleeful this morning. Foxie invited staff Caregiver Katelyn for a fun game of flip and hang upside down while tickling her with her doll, which I mean who could say no to that! Foxie is always playful and has the craziest moves, but today she put it all out on the dance floor. Check out the video to see Foxie’s moves.

Bonus photos of Foxie on Young’s Hill yesterday (photo credit to Diana, they were just to good to not share):

Fashion Show

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Jamie loves to watch her caregivers model boots for her. Sometimes this process lasts ten or fifteen minutes. Jamie is by no means a passive audience – she lets us know which boot she wants us to put on which foot, and she makes sure we keep the fashion show moving at a steady clip.

Today is in Memory of Bill Clark

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Shelly Winfrey is a neighbor and long-time friend of the Cle Elum Seven and has been sponsoring December 27th in memory of her father, Bill Clark, for the last three years.

Thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness, Shelly, and for allowing us to celebrate the memory of your dad with your support of the sanctuary.

Burrito sends his love!

Jungle Day

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In celebration of today’s winter solstice, we threw a jungle party for the chimpanzees. Why? Because we can!

After the food, the highlight of the party was the giant stuffed animals collected and sent to us by some good friends of the chimps. Stuffed animals this large are a rarity around here – most of the chimps are more interested in destroying them than playing with them. Burrito, however, is a big fan.

Building Trust

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Out of all the humans who work and volunteer at the sanctuary, only a handful have any sort of physical contact with the chimpanzees. Those who do must go through months of safety training first. Chimpanzees are incredibly strong and unpredictable, so we take these safety rules very seriously. Even the chimps’ wonderful local vet, Dr. Erin Zamzow, never touches the chimps unless they are sedated for a medical procedure. (Did I mention that we take our safety rules seriously?)

Dr. Erin has been assisting the sanctuary for years, and has been an integral part of several procedures, but still the chimps primarily know her as the doctor who comes around when something scary happens. So in an effort to demystify her a little, she’s been spending more time at the sanctuary – we want her to be a familiar, non-threatening presence in the chimps’ lives. She is currently going through caregiver training; when she’s done, she’ll be able to serve meals to the chimps, play chase and tug of war, groom, and give back rubs. She’ll be a trusted friend.