Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum

Happy Birthday, Neggie!

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Today is a very special, albeit emotional, day for all of us. Not only does it mark 3 years since the chimps’ arrived at their sanctuary home, the start of their new life, but it is Negra’s honorary birthday, so celebrations abound!

We started out the day with two of Negra’s favorite things: bread (yummy toasted apple cinnamon bread) and night bags. I don’t think there is a more perfect start of a day for Negra. J.B. hit the nail right on the head with our 3rd Anniversary Post when he said that when Negra receives her night bag, in that moment, everything is right in the world. She blinks her eyes in anticipation and is just so, so happy. I have to say it’s my favorite part of each day, as well. Here she is getting her unexpected “Night” bag this morning:

Supporters Dick and Robbi Brown faithfully brought lots of new toys for the party and we decorated the outdoor area with lots and lots of “Happy Birthday” streamers. We set up a lunch forage which consisted of mini bell peppers, lettuce (another one of Negra’s favorite foods), bananas, cherries, and pomegranates!

Negra went for the lettuce first (she’s got her priorities straight):

but she was also very excited about the mini sweet bell peppers:

Annie with her bananas. She had banana mush all over her face!

Pomegranates were a really exciting treat too, since they are out of season and we haven’t gotten them in a while. Here’s Foxie shoveling one in her mouth:

And Burrito, doing the same:

I love how red his lips get when he eats pomegranates!

Here’s the birthday lady gazing out towards Young’s Hill:

And of course the celebration is not over! Tonight, they are having corn on the cob, sweet potato fries, more bread, juice, and of course, as it has approximately 1,095 times, the day will end with another night bag. Thanks so much to all that contributed to the party!

220 posts adopted on this significant day

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Exactly three years ago today, the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees left their laboratory lives behind and began the journey to the sanctuary.

And today we reached our 3rd anniversary fundraising goal – all 220 fence posts on Young’s Hill have been adopted. We have a LOT to celebrate!

The seven individuals we have cared for these past three years have changed and grown so much, and we’ve been so happy to be able to chronicle these transformations.

As amazed and in awe of the Cle Elum Seven as we are, we are equally amazed by the supporters of this organization.

We are all so grateful to you – the people who read the blog, connect with us on Facebook, send donations, attend events, volunteer, and write emails and letters on behalf of great apes.

There would be no Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest without you.

Here’s the first chimpanzee photo we posted on this blog, taken from this June 10, 2010 blog post.

Jody in her transport cage on the way to sanctuary:

Jody in transport cage in trailer 6-10-08

and here are just a few of my favorite photos of Jody over the last few years:

Jody in profile

jody holding feet

jody smelling rose

jody blue paper

jody with stuffed dog

jody sandbox eyes closed

jody after 4 months

jody logo

 

CSNW’s bundle of energy

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Missy has done nothing but crack me up all day today! I posted a short version of the following story on Missy’s Facebook page this morning, but I thought I would share it here as well. When I arrived this morning, I was first greeted by Negra, who was sitting in her nest in her normal spot on the catwalk. With her blanket over her head, she looked over at me and gave me an approving head nod. At first, I thought everyone else was outside, but then I noticed someone else covered in blankets in the loft. All I could see was the top of their head so I really wasn’t sure who it was, and it was a bright and sunny morning, so it seemed strange that someone would still be in bed. After a couple of attempts at getting them to respond, I asked “Who goes there?” and Missy came flying out of her nest and began a rambunctious chase game with me. We made several laps around the chimp house, and then, just as fast as she jumped out of her nest, she dove face-first back into her nest, and did a headstand. She stayed in her headstand for several minutes laughing and playing with a toy and then jumped out and began chasing me again. And this is how she has been all day long. I couldn’t ask for a better play partner!

Jody’s Birthday Spa Day

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A lot of good people came together to pull off an awesome birthday/mother’s day bash for our Jody Chimpanzee! As always, two of the best chimp shoppers I know, Dick and Robbi Brown, brought gift bags full of new toys and decorations, long-time supporter Tamela sent us a donation to make sure the chimps had lots of yummy food, and volunteers Katelyn and Stephanie topped everything off with their awesome party ideas and additions!

Last week, I did some brainstorming with Katelyn and Stephanie, and we decided to make the day a “Spa Day”. Jody loves to lounge- we even recently caught her doing some serious lounging in the sandbox. She spends a lot of her time making very elaborate nests of 25 blankets or more and dives in them face first with a loud “ahh” sound (you may have heard us call this her dinosaur noise). Katelyn and Stephanie brought all the right ingredients for a spa day, including super-soft robes, magazines, slippers, eye pillows, plastic wine glasses, two big fluffy pillows and blankets. As if that isn’t enough, my new favorite florist, Terra Bella Flowers, an organic florist in Seattle, donated some food-grade quality roses for the chimps’ party. It was a girly, girly day! (sorry, you’re outnumbered, Mr. B!)

The following is a short video of some clips from the party, but see the photos below for the good stuff!

Annie going through a gift bag from Dick and Robbi Brown:

Burrito enjoying his mini bok choy

Foxie sending her mama love to her new troll baby:

Jody LOVED the banana blossoms! I had never heard of them before, but she was thrilled!

Terra Bella Flowers made Jody’s day with the roses they donated! She sat here with me the whole time I passed them out. I was even letting her pick out the ones she wanted out of the bunch. She is the birthday girl and all!

Negra enjoying her Terra Bella Rose:

Katelyn and Stephanie also bought a couple of pillows, which Jody spent some quality time with (once all the food and flowers were gone, of course!)

Thanks so much to volunteers Katelyn, Stephanie, and Grace; Dick and Robbi; Tamela; and Terra Bella Florist for making Jody’s day so special! Happy Mama’s Day to all the mama’s out there!

Party for Love a Chimpanzee Day

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We put the emphasis on delicious fresh food for Love a Chimpanzee Day 2011, brought to the chimps by Monica, who sponsored a day and sent some extra cash and goodies for us to throw a party. (Find out how you can sponsor a day by visiting our donate page or contacting us).

Here is the forage before spreading it out (and a few non-food treats for the chimps):

fresh produce

Here’s Negra traveling with a perfectly ripe avocado – a favorite among all of the chimpanzees:

negra avocado

Here’s Foxie picking peas out of the “garden” that volunteer Connie created in the sandbox

foxie pea picking

Negra even opened a present!

negra opening gift

Annie seemed fond of this new doll:

Annie with doll

Foxie did not seem fond of the same doll, though she did seem to enjoy taking it apart – it’s all part of the fun:

foxie with doll head

It was a beautiful sunny day in Cle Elum and all of the chimps really enjoyed the goodies today. Dinner ended with lots of nuts for Negra and figs. Little do they know they’ll be having another party tomorrow!

 

The chimps’ stuff

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We leave out a lot of toys, blankets and other stuff for the chimps each day, and they pick what they want out of it. It’s interesting to me that there are such individual variations in what the chimps’ choose to hold on to for the day, or sometimes just a moment. I often think of the years and years before they came to the sanctuary when they had nothing.

Here’s Annie staking claim to a couple of clean blankets:

Annie's blankets

and enjoying her spoils:

annie lying on blankets in greenhouse

Jody with a new piece of enrichment – woven and coiled jute from new Canadian friends:

jody with jute

Burrito usually chooses things he can put in his mouth:

burrito toy in mouth in the greenhouse

Burrito toy in mouth upside

and here’s Negra lying in her nest of blankets – Jody’s not the only chimpanzee who does the yoga “happy baby” pose:

Negra happy baby pose