Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum

Let it snow!

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Yesterday began Cle Elum’s first snow storm of the year. And, to be honest, the chimpanzees did not react to the first flakes. I was thinking, “oh no, what are we going to tell the blog readers! Everyone is anxious to know what the chimps think of snow and they have no reaction!” It snowed more overnight and of course we had the outdoor area closed off to keep it toasty warm in the building. I opened the door to the outdoor area about 11:00 this morning and to my delight and surprise there was food grunting – and lots of it, especially from Jody. Everyone except Burrito took a turn sitting in the doorway and gathering up snow to eat. Burrito hung back and watched – I’m not sure if he was apprehensive or if he just didn’t get what the fuss was about.

Anyway, here are some photos and a video of the Cle Elum Seven ladies’ first experience of snow. What a way to celebrate 6 months in sanctuary!

Behold the shed

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Convenient storage (for blankets, enrichment, etc) is at a serious premium at the sanctuary. So, we are really, really excited about the donated shed being built today! Jim (who donated all of the materials and carpentry skills) and Brian are spending the day working on constructing it right outside the kitchen of the sanctuary building. They couldn’t have picked a nicer day to work outside.

I doubt the chimpanzees were excited about the shed, but they sure were in good moods today – I’ll post some photos of them playing after I serve dinner 🙂

Jim and Brian constructing new shed
Jim and Brian constructing new shed

Foxie and Negra

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Foxie continues to change… on Saturday, J.B. and I saw her display for the first time! She pant-hooted and even banged on the plexiglass window the way that Burrito does when he displays outside. I thought I was seeing things for a moment. Foxie is gaining so much confidence and obviously feeling more comfortable – I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Below is a photo of Foxie outside shortly after her display, with Negra behind her draped in a blanket.

And here is Negra – a photo I recently found and edited. I wish I could put into words how special and beautiful Negra is, but with images like this, maybe I don’t need words.

Two months & a big announcement

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A few days ago we reached a milestone – the chimpanzees have been at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest for two months. Decades in research, and now two months in sanctuary. So much has happened in that short time. We’ve learned so much about each of the chimpanzees, and they seem to be changing every day. Jamie has stopped plucking her hair, Foxie now handles enrichment and has displayed rudimentary nesting behavior, Burrito has been working on some really great displays in his expanded space, Jody’s hair is growing back in and she’s developing some muscle, Missy is playing all of the time, Annie is coming into ‘her own’ and standing up for herself, and Negra is enamored with the views out of the windows.

And now the big announcement – the chimpanzees will be in their outdoor area on August 26th!! I can’t wait to share photos and experiences of the chimps touching ground for the first time. Thank you all for you support – you’ve helped make all of this possible!

Raisin logs

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Volunteer Pam made these raisin logs for the chimps – she drilled holes in the logs and stuffed them with golden raisins. With Jamie’s love of fruit, I’m sure you can guess who got most of the raisins, but the other chimpanzees managed to get some too.

Burrito with raisin log and Jamie pant-hooting in excitement:

Jamie with her collection and Annie looking on:

Here’s a photo of Foxie in front of one of the windows with a raisin log. She managed to get one right away and sequestered herself ‘upstairs’ as Jamie searched for more logs on the floor below (even though you don’t see Trixie in this photo, she’s there – right at Foxie’s feet. Foxie is still carrying her wherever she goes. If you don’t know who Trixie is, you are very behind in the activities of the Cle Elum Seven and you should read some previous posts 🙂

Foxie in window with raisin log