Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming!

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As the year comes to a close we are thick in the heart of the holiday season enjoying all that this can entail: friends, family, food and fun. Here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest the trick to celebrating the holidays is creating engaging and chimpanzee friendly traditions. Now, for myself, this will be my first year to enjoy the holidays as a member of the CSNW family but they’ve been at this for a while and are definitely pros. You can check out previous year’s party posts to read about ghosts of Christmas past:

2012 – Merry Christmas!
2011 – Best Christmas Ever
2010 – Happy Holiday!
2009 – Party in the morning . . .
2008 – Holiday celebration with the Cle Elum Seven

Or, if you just need a little seasonal cheer to tide you over until Christmas morning check this out!

Sugarplums

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While today was more like spring than winter outside, inside the chimp house is looking pretty Christmasy. Volunteer Denice decorated the Christmas tree with lights, the boot ornaments that Karen Young gave us last year, holiday photo ornaments of each chimpanzee, monogrammed stockings from Jayne R. (one for each chimpanzee), and some toys. The troll doll elf tree-topper is not pictured, because it didn’t last long – as soon as Foxie spotted it, she wanted to hold it.

christmas tree 2013

Jamie was quite interested in the decorating process, and we’ve been removing and showing the ornaments to all of the chimps over the last few days. They gaze for a long time at the photo ornaments, and Jamie loves the little cowboy boots, of course.

Jamie watching Denice decorate the tree

Jamie looking on as Denice decorates the tree

Holiday songs and sayings have been making frequent appearances in my thoughts all week long (you too?), and today I was thinking about ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and sugar plums dancing through sleeping heads.

It reminded me that I have been wanting to explain one of my favorite times of day at the chimp house when I’m Lead Caregiver. It’s when the day is over.

All of the chimpanzees have contentedly-full bellies from their dinner and night bags, they’ve gathered up all of their blankets and made their cozy nests for the night, the caregivers have said goodnight, and, if we’re lucky, we’ve gotten a nest grunt in return. The rest of the staff and volunteers have left for the evening, and I’m alone in the quiet.

I feel satisfied after doing a day of physical work – cleaning and, quite literally, running around. I can glance around the kitchen and see what’s been accomplished during the day.

I think about the last several hours with the chimpanzees and reflect on the many endearing, amazing, surprising moments that have occurred. I think about the chimps on the other side of the kitchen door sleeping soundly, and I feel so gratified that we were able to provide them with yet another day of sanctuary where their needs are the main focus.

Even with a job you love, it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of everyday tasks or looming deadlines. And, to be frank, it can be stressful to rely on donations – to be thinking about money and fundraising all the time (perhaps now would be a good time to mention the Holiday Pal Fundraising Contest). But being able to experience the profound peace at the end of the day in the chimp house and know that this exists because of the work and support of thousands of caring people is a giant gift – for the chimps and for my own motivation to continue to provide the best care we possibly can for them.

So, here’s to  sugar plums or whatever other treats or happy thoughts we want dancing through heads tonight and every night.

Negra sleeping

Let the sun shine

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The sky is blue and all the leaves are, well, on the ground, but the sun is warmish and the wind is certainly not freezing today. In fact, if I didn’t know better I might be convinced that the worst that winter had to offer was on it’s way out and Spring was just around the corner! Sadly, I realize that this is not the case but that’s not going to ruin such a delightfully warm day in the middle of this otherwise frozen wasteland for me. And while it’s just a little too blustery for the chimpanzees’ taste I can tell that the spirit of Spring is affecting them as well since everyone (including the boss) is full of fun and play today!

Jamie and challenges

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You may have figured out by now that Jamie is a tough chimp to enrich. Her mind is so active and she requires a lot to keep engaged. Part of our job as caregivers is to come up with new ways to keep the chimpanzees enriched, and in particular, keeping Jamie busy.

Though raisin boards are already a puzzle in themselves (the chimps usually have to use tools to get the raisins out), it’s even more so when they are just out of reach. Jamie prefers the challenges. She will go right past the raisin boards that are hidden under a blanket and aim for the ones that are harder puzzles to solve.

Here you see she even learns from her own mistakes—the first board she dropped too quickly and it went too far for her to reach. At first she looks around for a tool to grab the raisin board but decides to work on the more accessible one and leave the other project for later (don’t worry—she got that one eventually, too).

After seeing this video (and likely even without watching you know already) I think you will agree that Jamie is amazing.

Take Action Tuesday: Chance in Wolf of Wall Street

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EOA take action tuesday

This action alert went out earlier today. Not on the mailing list? Sign up for Eyes on Apes Take Action list today to get these alerts straight to your inbox!

In the upcoming movie Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio is seen holding an infant chimpanzee, Chance. It is especially disappointing because Mr. DiCaprio is known for his passion for animal conservation—most recently he supported conservation efforts to save tigers in Nepal.

Animal advocacy groups have contacted Mr. DiCaprio and the movie producers, however our efforts to reach out have not resulted in Chance’s scenes getting removed from the movie. Now it is time for the public to speak up!

wolf-of-wall-st-screen-shot

Chance was once a pet, and his previous owners discarded him to a pseudo-sanctuary called the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary. The animal attraction claims to be a reserve for animals, but they regularly exploit their residents for entertainment purposes. In fact, Chance’s owners (the Rosaire-Zoppe family) are the only remaining trainers that continue to use chimpanzees in circuses. No respectable reserve or animal sanctuary would lease out their animals for media productions such as this movie.

Even if the AHA was present for filming, they have no authority over Chance’s treatment off-set, making the “no animals were harmed” disclaimer misleading.

Portraying chimpanzees as cute and cuddly attractions seriously misinforms the public on the true nature of these beings and perpetuates the pet and entertainment industries. Studies have shown that showing chimpanzees alongside humans in film and TV mask their endangered status, and these scenes hurt conservation efforts.

Despite hearing these facts from advocacy groups, the Wolf of Wall Street producers have not removed Chance’s scenes from the movie, which will be released on December 25. We encourage you to please post on the movie’s poster on their Facebook page and Twitter to let them know that because of the issues with Chance’s scenes you will not be going to see the movie, and you will tell all your friends to boycott it with you.

Sample Facebook Post:

I’m boycotting Wolf of Wall Street because of the chimpanzee scenes! Even Hollywood knows that abuse occurs when animals are used in movies (hollywoodreporter.com/feature). Chimpanzees don’t belong in movies unless they are CGI. Chimpanzees are an endangered species and showing them as cute and cuddly props hurts conservation efforts and perpetuates the pet trade.

Sample Tweets:

Pls RT! Join @EyesOnApes and tell @LeoDiCaprio chimps should not be in movies & you won’t see @TheWolfofWallSt!

RT! @LeoDiCaprio I will boycott @TheWolfofWallSt because of Chance’s scenes. Chimps do not belong in movies! EyesOnApes.org

Don’t support animal abuse. Refuse to see @LeoDiCaprio in @TheWolfofWallSt and tell all your friends. EyesOnApes.org Pls RT!

The final thing you can do to help Chance is to spread the word! Please share this alert on social media and encourage your friends to boycott the movie with you.

Reflecting on Sanctuary

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In yesterday’s blog post Elizabeth talked about what sanctuary means to the chimpanzees of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, particularly Negra. As caregivers we try to provide an environment that allows individuals the opportunity to enjoy the life that sanctuary provides in the manner that most appeals to each.

For Negra, that can mean her night bags or her naps on the catwalk.
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For Jamie, cowboy boots and daily walks around Young’s Hill seem to be it.
web_jamie nest with boot valentines day party enrichment PR IMG_3391

For Missy, maybe it’s a fulfilling friendship with Annie or a satisfying run through the grass.
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For Annie there is always Missy, but did you know she also likes bare feet?
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For Burrito, good food and good friends are often the pleasures of his day although he also enjoys wooden toys quite a lot!
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For Foxie, Doras and Trolls claim her heart.
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And for Jody, bamboo forages and warm fluffy blankets for her to nest in are always welcome.
web_Jody lie on back nest birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_1980

These are just a few of the many different favorite things of the chimpanzees, just a few of the ways they each make sanctuary their own. If I ask Google to define sanctuary here is the result:

sanc·tu·ar·y ?saNG(k)CHo?o?er?/ noun

1. a place of refuge or safety.

2. a nature reserve.

3. a holy place; a temple or church

I don’t know about you, but I think that Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest has got this definition down.