• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

  • Our Family
    • The Chimpanzees
    • The Cattle
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Visiting the Sanctuary
    • Philosophy
      • FAQs
      • Mission, Vision & Goals
      • Privacy Policy
    • The Humans
      • Staff
      • Board of Directors
      • Founder
    • Annual Reports
    • The Future of CSNW
    • CSNW In The News
  • You can help
    • Donate
      • Become a Chimpanzee Pal
      • Sponsor A Day
      • Transfer Stock
      • Be A Produce Patron
      • Be a Bovine Buddy
      • Give from your IRA
      • Personalized Stones
      • Bring Them Home Campaign
    • Leave A Legacy
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Volunteer
    • See Our Wish List
    • Events
  • Resources
    • About Chimpanzees
    • Enrichment Database
    • Advocacy
      • Apes in Entertainment
        • Trainers
        • Role of the AHA
        • Greeting Cards
      • Chimpanzees as Pets
      • Roadside Zoos
      • Chimpanzees in Biomedical Research
      • Conservation
        • African Apes
        • Orangutans
  • Shop
    • Merchandise Store
  • Contact
  • DONATE NOW

close up

Ageless Beauty

February 23, 2025 by Diana

I have always looked somewhat young for my age, which was annoying when I was a kid, especially as a teenager when I was in a hurry to be an adult.

I’m sure this has played a part in my not really dwelling about my appearance as I aged. Until 50 came along. That’s when I found myself noticing wrinkles that I swear had appeared overnight.

and hairs on my face that were going grey and seemed to be reproducing.

I pondered what my eyebrows were doing. They seemed to have concocted a mission of their own.

The ever-darkening bags under my eyes became a not-very-pleasant surprise every morning.

old scars that I had forgotten about made themselves known again.

 

None of the faces above are mine, of course.

The faces of Missy, Annie, Lucky, and Burrito, and those of all chimpanzees, are so full of character. Each one unique; different and special.

Their appearance too has changed in the time I’ve known them. They have more gray hair, deeper wrinkles, more scars, sometimes lumps and bumps that were not always there.

I could examine their faces all day – the delicate folds under their eyes, the wrinkles around their mouths that are even more noticeable when they purse their lips for a kiss or to make a raspberry sound. The tiny hairs on their lips and in their noses. They are all beautiful.

I’m glad that the chimpanzees don’t have our human vanities and insecurities. They are who they are today. They are who they are tomorrow. They don’t need calendars. They don’t count and compare the length of time they’ve been alive. They don’t need to spend time contemplating the passage of time and how that shows up on their faces and bodies.

They focus on the important aspects of their lives, like the sound a jolly ball makes when you bounce on it and the fresh pineapple on the menu at lunch.

Filed Under: Annie, Burrito, Lucky, Missy Tagged With: aging, close up, faces, wrinkles

the privilege of being a caregiver

June 3, 2017 by Diana

I first started working with chimpanzees in 1998, and I have been with the Cle Elum Seven for the entirety of their life at the sanctuary, even meeting them before they arrived on June 13, 2008.

And I still can’t believe that I have the privilege of caring for these amazing, playful, temperamental, intelligent, sensitive, wild, unpredictable, joyful, unique people.

Filed Under: Intelligence, Jamie Tagged With: Animal Welfare, chimp, chimpanzee, chimpanzee rescue, chimpanzee retirement, chimpanzee sanctuary, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum Seven, close up, photos, rescue, Sanctuary, shelter

The Eyes Have It

January 21, 2017 by Diana

I took some photos of Burrito this morning that caused me to admire his face and think about the chimpanzee facial features that I love.

burrito sitting

The top of my personal “awesome chimpanzee facial features” list is the brow ridge (also known as supraorbital torus, ridge, or arch).

Though much less pronounced in chimpanzees, humans have a supraorbital ridge too – our eyebrows normally sit near the bottom of our arches.

Each chimpanzee has a somewhat unique brow ridge – I wonder if you could identify a chimpanzee by a brow ridge “print” like a fingerprint.

I will never say that I have a favorite chimpanzee, but I will admit that I have a favorite brow ridge: Jody’s. I like how deeply arched it is with lots of wrinkles, giving it a decidedly heart-shaped appearance:

Jody eyes

 

Here’s a look at everyone else’s supraorbital tori:

 

Missy:

Missy

 

Negra:

Negra close-up

 

Foxie:

Foxie looking down

 

Jamie (that’s also her profile in the 2nd photo in this post):

 

Annie:

Annie close-up

 

Burrito:

Burrito upside down

 

Filed Under: Sanctuary Tagged With: arch, brow ridge, chimp, chimpanzee, close up, csnw, photo, profile, rescue, Sanctuary, shelter, supraorbital, torus

JODY!

August 6, 2016 by Diana

I woke up thinking that I should feature Jody on the blog today. She’s a bit more elusive than some of the other chimpanzees, so we don’t get as many photos and videos of her.

She does have her routines, though.

Today, we spread a forage on the hill at lunch, and Jody, true to form, collected the food she wanted, came back inside, and emptied it on the deck while she sat on the lower part of the platform in the greenhouse.

Jody collecting food on the hill

Jody eating

Jody eating

 

Then, she spent some time relaxing – we often see her in this position:

Jody hanging out

 

She did a little self-grooming:

Jody self-groom

 

Graciously allowed me to take some close-up photos of her beautiful face:

Jody close-up

 

Volunteer Lynn and I were talking about Jody’s very round eyes that often appear to be hopeful or excited about something:

Jody profile

 

Jody eyes

Jody eyes

 

She soon retired to the cooler playroom for a post-meal siesta:

Jody resting

Save

Filed Under: Chimpanzee Behavior, Food, Nesting Tagged With: chimp, chimpanzee, close up, forage, Jody, nest, northwest, photo, rescue, Sanctuary, second chance, shelter

Chimpanzees: Always Curious

September 13, 2014 by Diana

It’s important to have priorities in life, and the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are good at deciding what is top priority (usually food) and what is a close ranking second, as you’ll see in the video below.

Here’s what the back of the lower mount for the GoPro camera looks like. I caught this photo last week of Annie standing next to it. The steel mount, custom made by J.B., has a hinge and opens up to slip the camera in and then has a padlock to secure it.

Annie looking at GoPro mount

Filed Under: Burrito, Chimpanzee Behavior, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Sanctuary, Young's Hill Tagged With: animal protection, animal rescue, Animal Welfare, camera, chimp, chimpanzee, chimpanzee retirement, Cle Elum 7, Cle Elum Seven, close up, csnw, gopro, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, shelter

Annie Chimpanzee Close-Up

June 14, 2014 by Diana

Annie gets more beautiful with each year that passes at the sanctuary. She is also more likely to be in a quiet moment where she doesn’t mind her human friends taking photos, so I was able to get a few very close-up photos of her beauty this afternoon. Which photo below is your favorite?

Annie in greenhouse

Annie eyes

Annie right

Annie left

Annie mouth

Annie hand

Annie looking down

Filed Under: Annie Tagged With: Annie, beauty, chimp, chimpanzee, close up, csnw, photo, rescue, Sanctuary, shelter

Breakfast in the rain

March 15, 2013 by J.B.

Negra was enjoying this morning’s breakfast forage on the hill:

web negra forage YH IMG_4717

But she soon found herself caught in a spring rain shower, so she headed for the greenhouse and grabbed as much food as she could along the way:

web Negra in rain YH IMG_4730

Jody and Annie took their sweet time, since they were already hanging out in the cabin:

web Jody Annie in Negra's Cabin YH rain IMG_4731

Even though the rain didn’t last very long, most of the chimps spent the day in the greenhouse, where they knew they would remain warm and dry. Burrito was kind enough to let me take some close up photos:

web Burrito reflection in eyes GH IMG_4758

web Burrito foot GH IMG_4783

web Burrito laying down GH IMG_4779

web Burrito upside down finger in mouth GH IMG_4794

Jamie can’t sit still all day so she ventured out and made Diana walk a few laps around the perimeter of Young’s Hill with her. Every time Diana got back down to the building and thought she was done, there was Jamie waiting for her to go again. How could you say no to Jamie?

web Jamie look at camera YH IMG_4773

Filed Under: Annie, Burrito, Jamie, Jody, Negra, Young's Hill Tagged With: Annie, Burrito, chmpanzee, close up, forage, Jamie, Jody, northwest, rain, rescue, Sanctuary

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe To the Blog and Get Notified of New Posts First!

Archives

Calendar of Blog Posts

July 2025
S M T W T F S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Jun    

Categories

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Footer

PO Box 952
Cle Elum, WA 98922
[email protected]
509-699-0728
501c3 registered charity
EIN: 68-0552915

Official DDAF Grantee

Menu

  • The Chimpanzees
  • Blog
  • About Us
  • You can help
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Donate

Proud Member of

Connect With Us

Search

Copyright © 2024 Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. All Rights Reserved. Site by Vegan Web Design