Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
It is such an incredible joy to see Missy on Young’s Hill using all of the structures for climbing and leaping and balancing and just sitting up high. She does not waste any opportunity to get the most out of the chance to move and explore.
J.B.’s description of Missy as, “a spring that was coiled up for decades, just waiting to be released” remains perfect. Just see for yourself in the photos that J.B. took this morning during a forage on the hill. Go, Missy, Go!
Jamie takes life pretty seriously. She likes to work on her projects, eat meals, take walks, and interact very intensely. Her focus can certainly be intimidating but it’s one of the traits I really admire, probably because it resonates. Today we set up a cabbage forage in the playroom after morning cleaning. In the series of photos that I snapped of Jamie enjoying the cabbage you can see how intently she was savoring each bite. What is even more unusual about this series is that Jamie was so absorbed with her snack that I was able to get in a number of shots before her focus turned to the camera!
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?
Today’s very special day of sanctuary was sponsored by Tracy Dunham! Tracy shared the following message:
“On this special anniversary I would like to sponsor the day in honor of Jane Goodall. She has long been an inspiration to me and I am sure of many others. I admire her tireless advocacy on behalf of not just chimps. Her eloquent letter to Vancouver Aquarium on behalf of belugas and dolphins has no doubt made an impact. She is a visionary, a teacher, an environmentalist and I am sure no one would be happier to celebrate the new life that the chimps have made for themselves.”
As you may be aware, today is not only Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s sixth anniversary, but it is also the honorary 41st birthday of beloved Queen Negra! Negra was captured from the wild, presumably in 1973, although she could be even older. While we do not know the exact date of Negra’s birth we felt what better day to celebrate her and the birth of a new life than June 13th, the day the chimpanzees arrived at their sanctuary home after decades in biomedical research. A new life filled with choices, comfort, dignity and love.
Tracy, thank you so much for all you do for the chimpanzees and for contributing to their (and our!) day of celebration!
And thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to all of our supporters who have made the last six years of hope, love, home and sanctuary possible for Negra and her chimpanzee family. We could not do it without you.
Be sure to check back later today for the chimpanzees’ festivities! And it’s not too late to contribute to our day of celebration! Learn more about our future plans and please consider a donation supporting the next six years and beyond, making this the Luckiest Friday the 13th ever!
The pace of life in central Washington is different from what you might be used to experiencing on a daily basis. Slower, warmer, and quieter certainly come to mind, pastoral, if you will. In this context, the peaceful ease that the chimpanzees share with one another can be taken for granted. But their ability to relax with as much abandon as they do everything else is remarkable and, truly, a joy to behold. No matter what kind of day you may have had, take a moment to stop and relax with the Cle Elum Seven. They’ll show you how it’s done!
I recorded several clips of happy nesting today. Like wadging, which was the subject of yesterday’s blog post, nesting is a fundamental behavior for chimpanzees both in the wild and in captivity, which is why we make sure that the chimps always have lots of materials (blankets and straw are favorites) so they can choose to create their beds no matter where they are. Watch the video below!
Humans, like chimpanzees, are very visually oriented. I think one of the most powerful ways we can show people how important sanctuary is, is by showing the “before and after” comparisons.
After decades in research, the chimps looked like ghosts of themselves. For some of them, coming to CSNW was the first time they’d ever been outside and felt fresh air and sunshine.
In just a few months, we saw dramatic changes in their appearance. Their hair and skin darkened and they began to look (and I imagine, feel) much more healthy. As our sixth anniversary approaches (next week!) I like to look back and see how far they’ve come in six years of sanctuary.
Yesterday’s post of Burrito looking especially handsome reminded me of that same spot we took many of the “before” photos in. There’s a window right by that bench, so for their first few days here, they would sit and look out the window at the surroundings of their new home. I can’t imagine what they must have been thinking—the fear of the unknown. We know that now they have nothing to be afraid of, and everything to look forward to.
I love showing people those first photos of the chimps compared to them now out on Young’s Hill, surrounded by beautiful grass, with the sun on their backs and the view of the valley below. This time, however, I want to show a more direct comparison—the chimps sitting in the same exact spot as they did the first couple days they were here. Most if not all of the “after” photos have been posted before on the blog, but I thought it’d be nice to see them all together.
Annie before:
Annie now:
Burrito before:
Burrito now:
Foxie before:
Foxie now:
Jamie before:
Jamie now:
Jody before:
Jody now:
Negra before:
Negra now:
We haven’t gotten a portrait of Missy in the same spot as the others, perhaps because she is always on the move. 🙂
