Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum

Winter Adventures

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The sun came out this morning and the chimpanzees eagerly ventured outside for some snow.

I’m pretty sure that Jody was feeling the love from her new Chimpanzee Pals!

Jody

Jody

Jody

Thank you to everyone who is an existing or new Chimpanzee Pal and to everyone who has made a Share the Chimp Love donation so far!

 

Here’s Missy with Jody behind her:

Missy

 

And here’s Foxie with Annie behind her. The path through the snow makes it a single file adventure:

Foxie and Annie

Foxie & Annie

 

We understand that Dr. Elliott Sumers, whose birthday is tomorrow, and his family are experiencing their own winter adventures. We hope they had fun in the snow today too!

 

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The Gift That Keeps On Giving

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It’s hard to predict how the chimpanzees will interact with the enrichment we offer each day. For Jamie, the absolute highlight of this week has been the new sand table featured in Tuesday’s blog post. Jamie continues to be thoroughly captivated by it. Yesterday we added some buckets of soapy water to the mix.

The Boss

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Most of the chimpanzees here at the sanctuary are pretty “low-maintenance”. Give Foxie some dolls and she can entertain herself for hours. Jody’s thrilled with a huge pile of blankets. All Negra wants is some peace and quiet and a patch of sun.

But Jamie is not easy to please. It would be fair to say that all Jamie requires is the unceasing, devoted attention of her caregivers almost every moment of the day. She might demand more of us – more time, more attention – than the other six chimps combined.

It’s hard to imagine someone with a personality like Jamie’s surviving decades in a research lab, where she wasn’t in a position to demand anything of anyone. The chimps experienced a lot of firsts when they moved here: fresh air, sunshine, good food, warm blankets, friends. But I think for Jamie, the ability to make humans do things for her is just as important.

It’s our honor to be bossed around by her.

More snow adventures & thanks to volunteers!

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Annie is continuing to show her newfound adventurous nature.

annie in snow

annie standing on snow

The other chimpanzees (well, most of them) were inspired to follow her out into the snowy expanse of Young’s Hill this afternoon.

The pair of photos below of Annie and Jody are my favorite! It’s so uplifting to see the chimpanzees support one another and share in adventures big and small:

jody and annie in snow

profiles of jody and annie

 

Foxie and Missy were 3rd and 4th out. The photo below is of Foxie giving Missy a quick hug before continuing along the path:

foxie hugging missy

 

Foxie didn’t have to go very far to find a snack:

foxie sitting with snow

 

Nor did Missy:

missy gathering snow

missy holding snow

 

Jody seemed to be in awe of the snow:

jody profile close-up

 

and dove right in for a taste:

jody eating snow

jody eating snow

 

Jamie came out after a few minutes and headed straight for a structure. She often takes the lead in adventures, but not today.

jamie sitting on structure

 

Though she did win points for her acrobatics once outside:

jamie tightrope

jamie swing

jamie swing 2

jamie swing 3

 

She also found some big chunks of snow to bring back into the building to savor:

jamie smell snow

jamie carry snow

 

Negra and Burrito didn’t follow these adventurers, but I did see Negra coming in later in the day, and I have no doubt Burrito at least reached an arm out to get a taste.

 

Before ending this post, I have to express our gratitude for volunteers and interns. This week we have really relied on you!

After being sick for a week herself, Katelyn has been the only healthy full time staff member this week. We’re very deliberate about staying away from the chimp house when we are feeling under the weather because we don’t want the chimpanzees to catch our bugs, so volunteers and interns have been life savers!

Today I’m much better but still not at 100%. I was able to don a mask and gloves to operate doors but luckily had an incredible crew of volunteers and Central Washington University interns who did the (literal) dirty work all day.

rachel

josephine

kyle

lars

 

Thank you to all of you who give your free time to the sanctuary – it makes a huge difference to all of the primates here!

 

Annie’s Adventure Part II

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Picking up where we left off on yesterday’s blog, you’ll know that Annie’s heart was full of adventure yesterday as she raced out on a solo trip to a snow-covered Young’s Hill. After making it up the snowy path which caregivers had shoveled for the chimps earlier in the week, Annie made a beeline for the first structure and climbed up to enjoy the view.

Annie seems to particularly relish such cold, sunny days and the solitude she finds by venturing onto the hill on her own. When we call to her she’ll often simply turn her back to us, content to stay where she’s at. And who can blame her? So yesterday, when Jody became excited at seeing Annie out there and made her way toward her, Annie wasn’t in the mood for company apparently and quickly made her way back down the structure before Jody could reach her.

I thought she must be heading back inside, but she stopped and gazed out over the expanse of the hill. And then much to my surprise headed out across the sparkling field before her to see what she could see.

I could not love this one (or Annie) more!

Cold feet!

Curiosity satisfied, Annie finally decided to head back to the chimp house where she asked me to grab her some snow snacks to enjoy (she was too busy adventuring in the snow to grab any herself) while she warmed up those fabulous chimpanzee feet on the heated floor.

It’s hard to reconcile the Annie from merely a couple of years ago with the Annie we see new sides of each day now. I have a very vivid and heart-wrenching memory of her sitting in the raceway to Young’s Hill rocking with anxiety as she watched her best friend, Missy, ripping and running across the green fields. She was visibly distressed being separated from her beloved friend whose side she rarely left, but was too uncertain and fearful to follow her. It makes my heart sing to see the Annie we know today, courageous, curious, joyful, more comfortable, and full to the brim with moxie and spirit in every step she takes. But I think this was always Annie. Your support of her and her family gave them something even more powerful than their lives in sanctuary. You gave them a path back to themselves. And for that we are eternally grateful.

Troll Scarves + Negra Update

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Troll scarves are a uniquely CSNW phenomenon (as far as we know), and they are a strange one. They’re just what they sound like: trolls (and other dolls) tied to scarves. They’re a huge hit here at the sanctuary. Foxie likes them because they’re an economical way to transport as many dolls as possible; many of the chimps love playing tug of war with them; and Jamie likes to wear them, as you can see from this photo Diana snapped this morning.

In other news, Negra is so happy to be reunited with the group and back snoozing in her favorite spot on the playroom catwalk. Her toe is looking great and we’re sharing all your well wishes with her!