Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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Happy Birthday, Billie Joe!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Susan McKagan in honor of Billie Joe Armstrong for his birthday! Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong, Susan McKagan, and their family and friends, are such amazing friends to the chimpanzees and we’re thrilled to celebrate Billie Joe’s birthday here today!

The Armstrong family and their friends have been part of our chimp family for some time now and when they last visited in October, they worked hard to construct the chimps’ newest structure on Young’s Hill. The chimps love this structure and with the recent melted snow, this was one of the first lookouts they scaled to take in their surroundings after a long winter.

Susan, thank you so very much for thinking of the chimpanzees in your celebration of Billie Joe! What an awesome thing to do!

Billie Joe, from all of the primates here at CSNW, we hope you have the best birthday yet! Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for everything that you all do to make the chimpanzees’ lives better!

Jamie:

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And special birthday hoots to you from the main man, Burrito!:

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Be Still My Heart

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It’s appropriate to get really mushy because it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, right?

I am going to share something I love about each of the chimpanzees below, but first I need to get mushy about you – Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest supporters.

First, a confession: fundraising has not been my life’s ambition. I’ve met people who I might call “born fundraisers,” and I can definitively say that they posses qualities that I  simply do not.

However, the more I do this fundraising thing, the more I appreciate what a unique and special position I am in. I get to make dreams come true – dreams for the chimpanzees, and dreams for donors who support the chimpanzees. We are all very much in this together, with the same goals for the future, and I feel that connection when I talk to those who support the sanctuary.

Not many people have a job that is so fulfilling, and very few people have a job with so much positive feedback. Katelyn and I were talking about this in the office the other day – we regularly have people call or email to not only make a donation, but also to say that they love the work we are doing and appreciate us sharing stories of the chimpanzees, allowing them to feel connected to the chimps as the individuals who they are.

Thank you for being supportive and for sharing your love with the chimpanzees – and with the humans too!

Speaking of which… as I write this, we are just $1,797 away from reaching our $12,000 goal for the Share the Chimp Love fundraiser, which ends at the end of the day tomorrow. UPDATE: big thanks to Julie L. for donating exactly $1,797 after this post was published!

If you are feeling the love, but haven’t yet made a donation, you can share that love now on this page.  You can choose to spread the love even further by donating in honor of someone else for Valentine’s Day, or just make a donation for the love of Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra.

Below are just some of the things that I love about each of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary.

It would be so fun for me if you also shared what you love about Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra in the comments!

 

I love ANNIE’s serenity:

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and her bird noises!

 

I love when BURRITO’s “chimpanzeeness” really comes through (for the full explanation of the video below, see this blog post from 2013 when it was originally published):

 

I love FOXIE’S “happy toes” (video from 2010):

 

I love JAMIE’s brave leadership:

 

I love JODY’ nesting skills:

 

I love MISSY’s ability to entertain herself:

 

I love NEGRA’s playful moments (video from 2011):

 

Thank you again for being a part of Sharing the Chimp Love!

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Thank you, Joanna!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Joanna Morris in honor of the chimpanzees! Joanna shared how much she loves the chimps’ different personalities and today she wants to celebrate each of these amazing beings.

Joanna, thank you so much for not only recognizing and honoring how special and unique each of the chimpanzees are, but for helping to give them the lives they deserve in their sanctuary. We are so grateful to you for your compassion and generosity!

Best friends, Missy and Annie playing chase on Young’s Hill:

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Courageous Foxie exploring with Dora:

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Burrito accompanying Jody on one of her foraging adventures:

Burrito and Jody with bamboo

And of course, Boss Jamie and Queen Negra:

Negra kiss Jamie

What a perfect Sponsor-a-Day to be gifted with as we kick off our Share the Chimp Love fundraiser for Valentine’s Day! See how your support has not only changed the lives of Annie, Missy, Foxie, Burrito, Jody, Jamie and Negra, but has also made it possible for us to begin our Sanctuary Expansion Fund so that other chimpanzees in need may experience the hope, love, home and sanctuary they deserve.

Nap Time

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I love taking photos and video of the chimpanzees running around, being active, and getting into mischief. Active chimpanzees are generally happy chimpanzees, and when I watch them explore and run I think of all of the years they lived in small cages.

There’s also something incredible, though, about watching the chimps truly relax.

Today the sun is streaming into the playroom and seems to be making Jamie and Negra very sleepy.

Jamie, in typical Jamie fashion, is curled up in her nest with boots and toys:

Jamie sleepy

Jamie in her nest

 

Of course, being Jamie, this nap is not going to last very long:

Jamie eyes open close up

 

Negra is in her spot on the catwalk of the playroom in front of the window – feet up in the air:

Negra sleeping

 

Doesn’t this just make you want to join them in relaxing in the sun?

Negra resting

Bold Adventurers

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Jody, ever the forager, harvested some big handfuls of snow this morning:

Jody walking with snow

Jody holding snow 2

 

This is determination:

Jody holding snow 1

 

Meanwhile, Jamie was passing Missy on a structure:

Jamie and Missy

 

It looks like they are hatching some sort of secret plan:

Jamie passing Missy

 

Or maybe Jamie always looks like she’s cooking up something:

Jamie on structure

Jamie background of snow

 

Encouraged by these bold adventurers, the humans (me + Anna, J.B., and interns Courtney and Anthony) headed onto the hill (with the chimps safely indoors) and plowed and shoveled some more pathways.

 

Missy chose a high vantage point:

Missy top of cabin

 

While Jamie immediately checked out the new trail:

Jamie in snow

Jamie disappearing

 

Annie chose to collect some more snow and call it a day:

Annie snow in mouth

Annie following Missy

 

Negra was likely keeping herself cozy indoors:

Negra under blankets Negra in front of window

 

And Burrito and Foxie (sorry, no photos of them today), took quick forays to get snow snacks. All in all, a very nice day at the sanctuary.

 

P.S. The buoy / boat bumper ball lives on! Kathleen and Sherry’s predictions were better than some of us who thought it would be deflated by now.

 

Chimpanzee Strength

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Chimpanzees are naturally incredibly strong. This physical strength, combined with their tendency towards sudden aggression that J.B. touched on in his blog post yesterday, cautions humans who work around chimpanzees to be very, very careful. This is why when you do a quick internet search on “chimpanzee muscle strength,” the resulting articles are often tied to a report on a human who was attacked by a chimpanzee.

The text of this article from 2012 after an attack is particularly helpful in providing information about why chimpanzees are so strong, explaining that the muscle fibers closest to the bones are much longer and more dense in chimpanzees than humans, presumably making those muscles much more powerful.

When the chimpanzees arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in 2008, their muscles were atrophied or had never fully developed from lack of use, but all of the chimpanzees were still stronger (in many ways) than any of us humans could ever hope to be.

Jody Before
Jody on the day she arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

I often wonder what it felt like to use those muscles exploring their new sanctuary home. To feel them engage while running and climbing and displaying, and then to feel their strength building over time.

chimpanzees climbing

 

It must have felt both strange and exhilarating.

 

Here’s a tribute to respecting chimpanzee strength with some muscle shots of each of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary:

 

Annie’s shoulders:

Annie walking

 

We got a clear  view of Burrito’s chest muscles after he was shaved for his medical exam this past summer:

Burrito bare chest

 

Even petite Foxie has incredible upper body strength:

Foxie close-up arm muscles

 

Hanging like this doesn’t take much effort at all by Jamie:

Jamie hanging

 

Jody’s certainly not the most athletic chimpanzee, but, when motivated, she uses those muscles to get her where she wants to go:

Jody climbing

 

Same with Negra – she doesn’t tend to exert any more energy than necessary, but she’s pretty buff even under her more “squishy” parts:

Negra arm

Negra climbing

 

And then there’s Missy, who uses her muscles, particularly her strong legs, as often as she can:

Missy tightrope

Missy's leg

Today is in honor of “Best Buddies”

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by an anonymous supporter on his wife’s birthday in honor of “Best Buddies.” To our anonymous supporters, thank you so much! This is such a lovely sponsorship and in celebrating your best buddy, you honor the chimpanzees and those they hold dear, making it possible for them to experience life as they deserve. And we are immensely grateful for that. All of us here at the sanctuary wish you both a day of joy, comfort and love as you celebrate! And Happy Birthday!

Best buddies come in many forms and are not exclusive to human relationships. Whether on the go, at rest, or even having a disagreement, Annie and Missy are never far from one another’s side:

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Missy chase Annie

Missy Annie running behind

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