Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Happy Birthday, Jim!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored for the chimpanzees by Jim Thompson! Jim is a long-time Chimpanzee Pal with Burrito and wanted to celebrate his special day by gifting B and his chimp family with their own special day!

Jim, we can’t thank you enough for your continued support of Burrito! Your gifts have helped make it possible for Burrito to expand his boundaries, inside and out, and we so appreciate you including him in your celebration! All of us here at CSNW wish you the happiest of birthdays! And Burrito would probably hope that your day is filled with more good food than you could possibly eat. (Although, I’m not sure he would believe there is such as thing as more food than one could possibly eat). 🙂

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Burrito with chow in mouth

Water and Ice Enrichment on a Hot Day

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There’s a whole crew of people here building a new structure on Young’s Hill today! We will do a big reveal on Monday, so start making your predictions as to what the structure will look like.

Because there are humans on the hill, the chimpanzees don’t have access. And today is HOT! It feels like summer. With these two circumstances combined, we needed to come up with something cooling and time-occupying for the chimpanzees. We decided on water and ice enrichment.

 

I’d say it was a hit.

 

Annie:

Annie drinking from table

 

Missy:

Missy picking up ice

Missy eating ice

Missy eating ice while looking at camera

 

Burrito:

Burrito next to table

Burrito chilling out

Burrito drinking water

 

Foxie:

Foxie with water

 

Jamie making up her own enrichment (of course):

Jamie with toothbrush and water 1

Jamie with toothbrush and water 2

Jamie with toothbrush and water 3

 

JAMIE and friendship on the 5th Day of HOOT!

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I had a realization not long ago. It occurred to me that Jamie is one of my best friends. We have mutual interests (shoes, being outdoors, eating grapes), we’re generally happy to see each other, we have routines that have developed over time, and I think we’ve established a mutual respect for one another over the years, which has been heightened by the two of us working on Positive Reinforcement Training this last year.

You may have gathered from previous posts, that Jamie is not exactly obvious best friend material… but that’s part of what makes our friendship all the more meaningful to me.

For this 5th day of HOOT! with just two days left before the big event, I share with you this photo of my friend Jamie:

Jamie contempative

I have another friend that I would like to acknowledge today. Pam Lehnert and her husband Marc Warner. I am indebted to them both for helping to make HOOT! 2016 not just your average event, but a beautiful and (literally) heart-filled one.

Pam has been an event volunteer since our very first gala in 2009 and there is no way I would be organizing this level of event without her help.

Pam and Marc not only gave their time and labor towards HOOT!, they also are Chimpanzee Champion Sponsors of the event!

A big thanks to them and to all volunteers who helped plan and will be working on Saturday!

 

JODY for the 4th Day of HOOT!

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HOOT! 2016 really is just around the corner! That means that we are working out the last details with multiple check-lists and lots of phone calls, texts, and emails flying back and forth among gala committee members, attendees, board members, and volunteers.

It’s times like these that I think about Jody and her managerial skills.

While most of the time Jody is quite independent and content to do her own thing, when there are group “projects” to do – like moving from one area to another for meals – Jody can always be counted on to make sure the other chimpanzees are on task. She’s not pushy; she always encourages “compliance” in the gentlest of ways, sometimes even using play to encourage a lagging friend to follow the group.

 

Jody urging Foxie inside

 

Jody is also the only chimpanzee of the group of seven who will lend a hand simply when we ask for it, just so that we can continue with the routine of the day.

 

It’s pretty difficult to choose, but I think this image of Jody is my favorite of the seven images that will be available for bidding on during the event’s Happy Hour.

jody hoot image

 

I’ve chosen Jody to inspire me today to get through my to-do list and remember the teamwork that it takes to accomplish just about everything in life. Maybe she’ll inspire you too.

Speaking of teamwork, today’s countdown is thanks to these generous Chimpanzee Champion Corporate Sponsors, who not only support HOOT! but are good friends to the sanctuary throughout the year.

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Karen Ducy Photography

 

ANNIE and Family for the 3rd day of HOOT!

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J.B. and I met Annie eight and a half years ago, along with the rest of the chimpanzees who were to become The Cle Elum Seven.

From the very first blog post we wrote about her (read it here), when we talked about Annie, we talked about her friendship with Missy. Her clear love for and reliance on her friend Missy was her defining characteristic.

But Annie is coming into her own.

While some of the chimpanzees are taking advantage of the sanctuary and living out the childhood that they never had (notably Foxie – just watch the video re-posted to the blog yesterday), I think Annie has been experiencing a bit of a rebellious adolescence lately.

It was clear from day one that Annie was at the bottom of the hierarchy of the seven chimpanzees. We’ve written about her anxiety and lack of confidence in social situations many times. And we’ve told you that her confidence has skyrocketed in the last few years. What we might not have mentioned is that she’s moved beyond confidence to downright moxie.

As a general rule, timidity is not a trait that is revered in the chimpanzee social world. Chimpanzees can be a rough bunch, and if you’re not prepared to walk your talk (or would that be walk your pant-hoot?), you might find yourself in a perilous situation.

While Annie remains sweet and soulful, she is learning that she can be just as tough as the other ladies and gent, and she is much less likely to back down during conflicts now. In fact, sometimes she is the one starting them. If she feels wronged, she won’t just have a self-directed anxiety-laden outburst as she did in the past, she will let the group know she’s not only upset, but she’s not putting up with it.

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On Saturday, we will be raising funds at HOOT! for our Expansion Fund. We have some big dreams for the future of the sanctuary, and we will be sharing these, including a surprise announcement, at the gala.

We have received a matching grant pledge from the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund for $50,000. Laura Bonar, Fund Advisor for the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund and Chief Program & Policy Officer at Animal Protection of New Mexico, will be one of our special guests at the event!

That grant and the matching funds that we will raise on Saturday will go towards our first phase of expansion. This means that we will be adding more chimpanzees to the group in the near future.

We are still seeing the individual personalities and the group dynamics of the Cle Elum Seven change after almost eight years, and this will be a whole new and thrilling chapter in the lives of Annie and her six family members.

Who knows how we will be describing Annie’s position three or four years from now. What I do know is all of the chimpanzees will continue to change and grow and experience life in new ways.

I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Annie hoot image

On the First Day of HOOT!

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We are counting down to the HOOT! gala, just seven days away on April 30th.

This first day of HOOT! is thanks to Martha Faulkner Real Estate for being the Seattle Met Photo Booth Sponsor and thanks to Iain Moffat and Mohamed Jantan for being the Program Sponsor.

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HOOT! includes an in-person live auction, but shhhh – anyone can take a peek at what attendees will be bidding on this Saturday via the auction preview site (note this is a preview site only, there will be no online bidding available). However, if you aren’t able to attend, but are seriously interested in bidding on an item, get in touch ([email protected]).

In addition to the live auction items, guests will have the opportunity to bid on unique photo prints of each of the chimpanzees. This First Day of HOOT! is for Burrito:

burrito with hoot logo

 

Burrito seemed appropriate for day one because graphic designer Lori Kiers used his hooting face to promote the event this year:

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Thanks to everyone for already making this event a success! I am so looking forward to celebrating with you! Share your love of Burrito today if you’re excited too!

 

Curiously Sweet

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Annie has changed in many ways since arriving at the sanctuary eight years ago. As the chimpanzee who occupies the lowest position in the hierarchy, Annie has plenty of reasons to be cautious. When she first moved here from the lab, she was anxious, shy, and prone to panic attacks. Nowadays, we see a much more confident and outgoing Annie.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is that Annie remains possibly the sweetest chimp you’ll ever meet. Chimpanzees are not known for being gentle. Any chimp caregiver will tell you that they’ve been poked, spit on, or worse by the chimps they take care of countless times. That’s all normal chimp behavior – particularly among captive chimps who have limited power over their environment – and we see those behaviors every day from the Cle Elum Seven. All except for Annie, that is, who doesn’t seem to have an aggressive bone in her body.

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