Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

csnw

showing off sanctuary merchandise

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Every once in a while supporters send us photos of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest merchandise that they’ve purchased. I love seeing the chimps represented in people’s private homes or office spaces (or, in the case of clothing, on people). Here are a couple of recent images that we’ve received.

Here’s a 2013 calendar in the kitchen of the Edwards all the way in the UK! The calendar was a surprise gift and actually served as an introduction to the sanctuary for both the gifter and the giftee. (In case you’re wondering, we do still have a few 2013 calendars left, so get yours before they’re all gone).

Edwards' CSNW 2013 calendar

And this is from a little while ago, but one of my favorite images because supporter Debbie C. personalized what she purchased. She had one of Jamie’s art prints framed, alongside a photo of Jamie and her artist’s bio that came with the art print. It makes me so happy to think of Debbie seeing Jamie everyday like this.

Jamie print framed

Deep snow

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You may have noticed a lack of Young’s Hill photos and videos over the last month or so. That’s because when the snow gets so deep, it reduces the voltage of the electric fence, making it unsafe to allow the chimpanzees out there. Well, yesterday, J.B., Sarah and I (mostly J.B.) all went out and shoveled around the entire perimeter of the fence (who needs a gym membership?), freeing up those bottom wires covered in snow so that the voltage was sufficient to let the chimps back out! It was very hard work, but the chimps were so excited that it was well worth it! There were lots of hugs and kisses in the chimp house (between the chimps 😉 ) and breathy pants echoed in the greenhouse. Sometimes our job isn’t glamorous but it is certainly rewarding, especially when you see a face like the one below (Jody’s).

Jody was the first one to go back out. She was food grunting (we had lettuce out there, plus look at all that snow!) and had a huge playface!
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow IMG_2195

Annie used Jody’s head for support as she passed her on the log bridge. Jody didn’t seem to mind.
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow Annie arm on head pass on log bridge IMG_2196

Look at the joy in her eyes!
web Jody playface dropped lip happy first day back on YH after snow IMG_2197

The snow was really deep, so J.B. and Diana shoveled paths along the log bridge to the first climbing structure and to Negra’s cabin. Most folks just walked along the paths, but Missy chose to walk on the fire hose.
web Missy walk on fire hose log bridge snow YH IMG_2204

web Missy walk on fire hose look back snow log bridge YH IMG_2203

From left to right, Jamie, Missy, Annie and Jody, enjoying the lettuce forage on top of the first climbing structure.
web Jamie Missy Annie Jody sit on climbing structure eat lettuce forage snow YH IMG_2211

Did I mention the snow was (is) deep? Foxie walked along the paths but she looked so tiny from our vantage point (tinier than she already is, even!).
web Foxie walk through deep snow shoveled path YH IMG_2212

Annie figured walking bipedally made more sense. Gotta say, I agree!
web Annie walk through deep snow bipedal mouthful snow YH IMG_2213

While everyone else foraged for lettuce, Annie climbed up to the top of Negra’s cabin a couple of times.
web Annie sit on top of negra's cabin snow YH IMG_2217

And Missy discovered a TON of lettuce Sarah put in the cabin!
web Missy handful lettuce forage negra's cabin follow annie deep snow YH IMG_2223

I think she was pretty pleased!
web Missy handful of lettuce almost smile walk through deep snow forage YH IMG_2224

web Missy handful lettuce walk on log snow YH IMG_2226

All of the chimps went out at some point, though Negra didn’t leave the comfort of the raceway (and only so she could grab some lettuce and snow) and Burrito was only out for a couple of minutes (also just to grab a little bit of lettuce and snow) and didn’t venture out very far, but everyone seemed very happy to have the option of the hill back! And that’s what sanctuary is all about.

Annie following Missy back to the greenhouse:
web Annie walk along log bridge snow YH IMG_2231

snow, snow, and more snow

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It’s a good thing the Cle Elum Seven like to eat snow so much, because we’ve got a lot of it!

We’ve been putting snow in the kiddie pool and other large tubs and containers on a pretty regular basis, and it keeps the chimps happy for hours. Today, I walked into the chimp area and found that Missy had grabbed a large handful and taken it upstairs to enjoy by the window.

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She may have been sitting in the sunshine, but with eating all that snow she was obviously still cold. She was shivering quite a bit and used this washcloth to dry her hands off.
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Jody was laying next to her in her nest. You can’t tell but she had a mouthful herself.
web Jody eat snow lay in nest window PR IMG_2081

Later, Missy went to enjoy some snow with her best friend Annie
web Missy Annie eat snow bridge PR IMG_2079

and while she was gone, Negra had taken over Missy’s pile of snow

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it wasn’t long before Missy joined her
web Negra eat snow profile missy in background PR IMG_2086

Jamie’s artistic side

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About a month ago we updated our Amazon wishlist and added bright colored pens for Jamie. Several people have sent some (thanks so much!!) and she has been so excited about them!! The other day, she was asking for a pen and I went and got her a couple of the colored ones and a canvas. She was literally jumping up and down when she saw what I had for her and drew a pretty elaborate drawing (albeit on the back of the canvas 🙂 ) She’s not always interested in drawing, though when she is, she’s very meticulous about it. Everything has to be in the right place – not just the lines she draws, but the paper and pens, as well.

Here’s a piece we recovered from the Playroom the other day. Like in the story above, I brought her a piece of canvas to draw on but she found what she thought was a much better medium for her masterpiece. It was a sign I had put on the enrichment to remind the morning crew to put all the troll dolls in piles.

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Thanks so much to all who have re-inspired Jamie’s artistic side!

Some good news + cute Foxie

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If you aren’t subscribed to the Take Action newsletter through Eyes on Apes, you may not have seen yet that we’ve had a victory! Two days ago I sent out an action alert regarding a Great Clips commercial with a chimpanzee, and just a day later Great Clips made a statement to pledge not to use apes in future advertising, and said they were working on pulling the ad. This is all thanks to letters from you guys, so congrats! Please forward this victory on to friends and get them to join you in speaking up for apes in need.

As if that good news wasn’t enough happiness for the day, I thought I’d share some pictures of Foxie eating some snow with juice added to it. She’s pretty cute. I think she can put a smile on anyone’s face.

web Foxie snow in mouth playroom PR IMG_1974

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Take Action Tuesday: Great Clips commercial

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As we’ve mentioned before, despite a growing public awareness about the plight of chimpanzees in entertainment, they are still being exploited for a cheap laugh. Recently, Great Clips (a nationwide hair salon franchise) aired a commercial launching their new feature, “Clip Notes” with a chimpanzee toward the end. The chimpanzee is seen exhibiting a “fear grimace” – a sign that they were likely beaten or abused prior to the commercial’s production.

great clips
Screenshot of Great Clips’ new ad on YouTube

Please write to Great Clips to ask them to pull the commercial from the air and pledge to never work with apes again.

Sample Letter to Great Clips:
[email protected], CEO

Dear Ms. Olsen:

I was shocked and disappointed to hear that Great Clips has a commercial that features a young chimpanzee. You should know that chimpanzees used in entertainment are torn away from their mothers as infants, often repeatedly beaten during training, and then discarded when they become too strong to be managed.

Using a chimpanzee for a cheap laugh sends the message that these amazing beings are simply props. Surely you are aware that chimpanzees are endangered species in critical need of protection? You are exploiting chimpanzees for your own profits and this is an unacceptable business practice.

Please make the compassionate decision to remove the chimpanzee from your commercial, and please consider to never exploit great apes for entertainment purposes again. Thank you for your consideration of my comments on this urgent matter.

You may also submit your comments to their Facebook page, or post Tweets that express your concern, such as: @GreatClips I was disappointed to see a chimp in your ad for #clipnotes. Please remove the ad! www.chimpsnw.org

**If you send a letter, please BCC [email protected] for tracking purposes. Thank you!

Burrito is the big 3-0!

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How do you celebrate food-loving Burrito’s birthday? A day in which the entire focus is on FOOD, of course! This morning we set up a huge forage in the playroom – coconuts, blackberries, pineapple chunks, nuts and seeds, and a pool of snow with blueberry juice drizzled over the top of it. The coconut elicited some of the loudest food squeaks I’ve ever heard and the chimps are still munching on the snow, taking breaks only for the occasional brain freeze. Volunteer Stephanie outdid herself yet again and brought several food-shaped pinatas and tons of decorations, both for the party and for the humans (naturally, we humans have been wearing glittery “happy birthday” hats, sunglasses and tiaras all day). I’m not so sure the chimps are too impressed with the human decor, but they were definitely impressed with the pinatas!

True to form, Jamie was first to go after them:

web jamie pinata forage eat birthday party pr IMG_1819

Annie used her foot to keep her ice cream cone-shaped pinata balanced:
web Annie foot on pinata birthday party forage pr IMG_1709

web Annie foot on pinata birthday party forage pr IMG_1708

Dick and Robbi Brown brought some pretty epic new enrichment, which definitely added to the excitement! Foxie loved a new troll doll:
web foxie new troll on belly coconut in mouth birthday party pr IMG_1739

Naturally, Burrito checked all the bags for food
web burrito go through gift bag birthday party pr IMG_1723some interest in a ukulele a while back and actually played it for a while, so Dick and Robbi (and several other folks) are always on the lookout for another one when they shop at Goodwill or other thrift stores. She was the first to pull the new one out of a gift bag and strummed it a couple of times. But I guess playing a ukulele is more of a thing you do in your spare time because after a few “notes” she went right back to the forage. Missy didn’t play it, but she was curious to see if we maybe hid some food inside (does it seem like everything had to do with food today??).

web missy guitar ukelele birthday party pr IMG_1731

And speaking of food- the coconuts were definitely the focus this morning! And Burrito couldn’t have been happier!

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And the party didn’t end there. Aside from the usual meals, we’ve been serving surprise snacks periodically throughout the day. About 30 minutes ago, we handed out a small handful of blueberries and Elizabeth is now serving gum. Thanks so much to Dick, Robbi, Stephanie, and to everyone that made Mr. B’s day so special! Way to go Team Burrito!!