Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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Case Files

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Name: Jamie
Nicknames: James, Boss Lady
Age: 39
Birthday: October 31st
Role: The Boss
Personality: intense, smart, watchful
What She Would Save in a Fire: her cowboy boot collection
Likes: law and order, long walks, pears
Dislikes: disobedience, boredom, unpredictability

Name: Foxie
Nicknames: Fox, Tiny
Age: 41
Birthday: August 8th
Role: The Peacekeeper
Personality: cautious, joyful, silly
What She Would Save in a Fire: her doll collection
Likes: fruit smoothies, backflips, bubblegum pop songs
Dislikes: green veggies, conflict, anything new

Name: Burrito
Nicknames: B, Mr. B, Bub
Age: 34
Birthday: January 6th
Role: The Obnoxious Little Brother
Personality: goofy, playful, socially awkward
What He Would Save in a Fire: all of the food in the fridge
Likes: eating, playing with caregivers, causing mischief
Dislikes: non-mealtimes, getting in trouble with the other chimps for causing mischief

And the bravery award goes to…

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September 20, 2011 was a big day for the chimpanzees at the sanctuary. On that day, a physical door opened for the first time, but the door was also a symbol. The physical door allowed the chimpanzees onto the two-acre habitat that we call Young’s Hill, named after donors Karen and Don Young. It’s opening symbolized the greatest measure of freedom than the chimpanzees had possibly ever experienced.

Freedom, wide-open spaces, nothing overhead, and being out in the elements came with a palpable amount of fear, along with the incredible excitement that the chimpanzees and the humans watching them were all feeling.

All of the chimpanzees went onto the hill that day. But in the days and weeks following, some of them were hesitant to venture out again. Their fears and uncertainty got the best of them. Jody and Foxie, as you’ll see in the October, 2011 video below, needed a little encouragement from Jamie even two weeks after the hill was available to them on a daily basis.

 

 

Jody and Foxie have both found their courage and now often seem nonchalant on the hill these days. But it’s still a different space than the familiar safety of walls and bars. The hill is nature – it transforms on a daily basis with the weather and the cycles of life that are constantly in play. It’s less predictable. When there’s snow on the ground like there is now, it can present very real physical challenges getting from one place to another.

Today I watched Jody traverse the snow-covered hill with grace, following and sometimes even leading her friends. Jody is a different chimpanzee than the Jody I met in 2008 and even the Jody that I knew last year.

I happened by a quote attributed to Nelson Mandela that I believe speaks to Jody’s continually evolving bravery. I changed it slightly:

 

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave are not those who do not feel afraid, but those who conquer that fear.

 

Jody against the snow

 

Today’s bravery award goes to Jody.

Jody standing on metal pole

 

Jody with snow in her mouth

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

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A day of sanctuary was sponsored for the chimpanzees and Sarah Sweeney today by Brynn Edwards! Brynn shared this message for Sarah:

“This is to celebrate Sarah’s birthday! She is one of the most generous people and all she wanted for her birthday is to help these chimps. Thank you Sarah!”

Sarah, thank you so much for wanting to celebrate the chimpanzees for your own birthday! We are so grateful to both you and Brynn for choosing to share your generosity with the chimps and for being part of filling their lives with love, comfort, joy and care. Have a beautiful day and we hope it’s the best birthday yet!

One of my favorite series of photos of these two friends, Burrito and Foxie:

Remembering Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty

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Each year Joan O’Flaherty sponsors this day in loving tribute to the memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty. Though born in different years, Ned and Noreen, shared the same birthdate. Joan shared this message about today:

“This is in memory of my parents’ birthday, they loved animals and supported conservation. They would have admired the work CSNW is doing.” 

Joan, it’s so beautiful that you honor your parents memory and compassion each year. And it means so much to us that you would choose to do so by making so much possible for the chimps. Thank you! We are thinking of you today and we’ll be celebrating your parents memory right along with you.

Jamie and Missy shenanigans:

To Each Her Own

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One of the most important things we offer to the chimpanzees here at the sanctuary is the freedom of choice. We provide the ingredients for a happy, healthy life, and the chimps take what they want and leave what they don’t.

Blankets are one of those ingredients. We put out so many blankets each day that there are plenty for everyone who wants them. Surprisingly, though, not everyone does.

Most of the chimps use the blankets we offer to build big, soft nests. The process of building the nest is just as important as the end result. They painstakingly wrap each blanket around their bodies or spread them out underneath them in just the right configuration. Sometimes they weave the blankets through or around other objects or structures.

This morning Jamie and Foxie were each “nesting” in their own way just a few feet from each other in the playroom, and the difference in their styles was apparent. They do have one thing in common: they like to have their favorite things nearby.

Foxie and a troll doll:

Jamie and a boot:

But that’s where the similarities end. Jamie likes to gather as many blankets as she can and twist and wrap them into a big, cushy circle.

Foxie, though, prefers the heated floor.

As much as it might make our own bones ache a little to see her lying on the bare floor, we appreciate that everyone has their own idea of comfort. Foxie makes her own choices, and we’ll always celebrate her in all her quirky glory.