Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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Happy Birthday, Helton!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Don and Karen Young in honor of their grandson, Helton Young’s, birthday! Don and Karen have played an integral role in helping to create a sanctuary where the chimpanzees can heal and thrive. They shared this message about today:

“Helton will be 10 years old. He is our only grandson. He loves all animals and misses Emma, our yellow lab. He is an amazing boy with lots of interests, love sports, is on the traveling soccer team, fences, plays baseball, swims, is a voracious reader and is interested in magic. He would love to see CSNW one day.”

Don and Karen, thank you so much for holding the chimpanzees in your heart and including them in your family celebrations. We are thrilled to be celebrating Helton’s special day with you all, he sounds like a special boy.

And Helton, all of us here at the sanctuary wish you the happiest of birthdays filled with adventure and magic! Thanks for sharing your day with the chimpanzees and for seeing how special the animals we share the world with are.

Foxie loves a good adventure:

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Running in the Rain

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It has been pouring rain at the sanctuary all day, and as wonderful as it is, Jamie doesn’t seem particularly thrilled. She insisted that we go for a walk several times early this afternoon, but was deterred by the rain. I could sense her growing frustration, especially as she began tossing trolls and pieces of paper down from the playroom loft. She emphatically gestured toward the cowboy boots again, so I put them on and went to meet her at the bottom of the hill. Again, she was nowhere to be found. I went to the green house to check on her, and as soon as she saw me her eyes opened wide in excitement and she ran out onto the hill! I hurried to catch up with her, and we went for a record speed walk (with intermittent running) around the hill. There’s something exhilarating about running in the rain!

Meanwhile, Annie and Negra kept each other entertained in the playroom:

7.5 Nail-Biting Hours Left

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Today is a big day for eight sanctuaries across North America who are participating in Great Apes Giving Day, including Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Negra Great Apes Giving Day

There’s a bit of cash riding on how well the sanctuaries do with our fundraising efforts, so the next seven and a half hours could induce some nail biting.

The good news is that, whichever sanctuaries end up with the cash prizes, everyone wins because people are giving to all of the sanctuaries and more people are learning about the good work we all do! Plus, in the small sanctuaries category (that’s us), each sanctuary will win at least $1,000!

If you haven’t been closely following today, you may have missed some exciting moments on our page, like when we reached third place in both the most individual donations raised and the most dollars raised so far (BIG NOTE ON THIS: this could all change in a second, but, as it stands, we’re right now in place to win up to $10,000 in money given by sponsors on top of the individual donations we raise).

You may have also missed the $1,000 matching grant that was made by Karen and Don Young and was quickly matched. We have already almost doubled our goal of raising $5,000. This is exciting stuff! If anyone else wants to make a matching donation, get in touch ([email protected]).

Please do follow along, maybe bite some nails, and definitely donate and share our page so we can make the most of this unique day for Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra – and for the future of the sanctuary!

Burrito Great Apes Giving Day

Big thanks to everyone who has donated, and for those who have set up their own pages to fundraise for the seven!

Intrepid Explorers

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Hi everyone! My name is Whitney and I am filling in for Keri as a temporary staff caregiver for the chimpanzees while she is on maternity leave. I began volunteering at CSNW about two years ago, and one of my favorite things about coming here is witnessing the chimpanzees’ confidence grow.

Today was no exception. As background to this story, any time we enter part of the chimpanzees’ enclosure to clean, every staff member, intern, and volunteer present in the building must perform a series of safety checks before the room in question can be unlocked. Part of the checks involve visually identifying all seven chimpanzees in rooms other than the one we want to enter.

This morning I went to identify the chimpanzees so we could enter the playroom for cleaning, and after extensive searching I could only find two of them in the building. Lo and behold, five of the seven were way out on the hill! It took some time, but I eventually saw Burrito, Jody, Missy, Foxie, and Annie as they explored the hill, occasionally appearing between bamboo and climbing up their magnificent climbing structures. I remember that just two years ago it was a delightful surprise to see any of the Seven out exploring the hill, even close to the greenhouse, and now it seems to be a daily occurrence that they are not only on the hill but are now confident enough to explore their home far and wide.

I couldn’t get any pictures while they were out on the hill this morning, but here are a few of my favorites from this afternoon. Some grooming, some lunch, some play time with friends.

Annie (right) grooming her best friend Missy (left):

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Burrito, caught in a rare playful mood (just kidding, he’s almost always in a playful mood):

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Foxie grooming her foot:

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Jamie, ever inventive, enjoyed her lunch at a makeshift table:

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The neighborhood hot spot

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Most neighborhoods have that spot where all the locals like to gather, right? Well, our current neighborhood hot spot is the small orchard on the property, specifically the pear trees. The leaves are glowing orange and yellow with branches hanging heavy with fruit and a carpet of pears below.

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From top to bottom, all of our wild neighbors are stopping by to try and get them while they can, like these robins.

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A quail pair:

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Mr. Coyote diligently stood guard while the Mrs. did her best to retrieve some from under the fence:

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One of our doe neighbors with her growing fawn are frequent visitors:

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And with most neighborhood hot spots, you might know there is going to be some drama at some point. While Jamie might be boss of the chimp house, it seems Ellie fancies herself the boss of the orchard:

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Chimpanzees living in the wild remember the location of favored food as well, particularly fruit trees. With food sources often being unpredictable and dispersed throughout a large area finding the most productive food resources with the most efficient use of energy and time is essential for any species so there is often a lot of competition for high value food. Thankfully, the chimpanzees here have us humans to deliver the goods so they get to avoid the drama at the local hot spot. Or at least keep it between the family.

Jody savoring the ripe pears:

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Negra:

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Missy:

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Great Apes Giving Day – one week away!

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We could really use the help of you devoted blog readers to reach our goal of raising $5,000 for the first ever Great Apes Giving Day on October 14th.

This 24-hour online event, sponsored by the Arcus Foundation, the Greenbaum Foundation and our friends at the the Anti-American Vivisection Society, is aimed at raising awareness and funds for several North American sanctuaries caring for great apes. It’s a pretty cool idea, and we are happy to be participating!

With the friendly competition among the sanctuaries, we are a little nervous because we are one of the smallest and the newest sanctuary participating in the day, but it’s true that our loyal supporters have the biggest hearts!

There are three main ways that you can participate:

  • Make a donation. Your donation today or any day before the 14th will be counted toward our total on giving day. Or you can wait to make your donation on the 14th, which will increase our chances of winning cash prizes (golden tickets) given out each hour. Learn all about prizes and the rules for the day here. If you’d like to make a matching challenge donation to make things more exciting, let us know in the comments below, or email [email protected]. A donation of $100 pays for a month of blog posts – that’s a pretty good deal when you think about 30 days worth of videos and photos and stories of your chimpanzee family, isn’t it? Imagine if every blog reader donated $100!
  • Create your own fundraising page and fundraise for the sanctuary! It’s pretty easy to set up a page (take a look at these tips to get started), and we would be happy to help by answering questions, providing photos, and whatever else you need. Create your page today and start letting your potentials donors know about it!
  • Share the CSNW fundraising page and encourage others to donate. Spread the word via email and social media so more people know about the day and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s participation in this online fundraising event!

Mark your calendars now for October 14th and check our page that day to see how close we are to our goal of raising $5,000!

Thank you, as always, for your support and dedication to Foxie, Annie, Jody, Missy, Jamie, Burrito, and Negra!

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Happy Birthday, Michael!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Arlene Okun in honor of her husband, Michael, on his birthday! Arlene and Michael are good friends of the chimpanzees and we’re so happy to be celebrating with them today. Arlene shared this message:

“It is my husband Michael’s birthday. He is a very generous and compassionate person. Helping others is second nature to him so it is fitting to sponsor a day of sanctuary for the chimps in his honor.”

Arlene, thank you so much for choosing to honor Michael and celebrate his life by making a difference for the chimpanzees. We so appreciate all that you both do to make their lives better.

And Michael, all of us here at CSNW wish you the happiest of days full of all that you most love and enjoy! Burrito, has his priorities straight and knows how to enjoy the simple pleasures each day has to offer. So if you need any ideas on how to celebrate, he might inspire you with some of his favorites:

Food. As much as you can eat. And hold in your hands (and sometimes your feet).

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Be goofy, play, and laugh a lot.

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Spend time with loved ones.

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Go on adventures, even if it’s in your own backyard.

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And nap. Often.

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