Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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You are the tomato of my eye

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To say that Missy loves tomatoes is an understatement. When she sees them offered at a meal she shakes her head vigorously, hold out her hand and follows the server relentlessly. She has no problem inserting herself in front of anyone lower in the hierarchy to make sure she receives the maximum amount possible.

Missy, and all the chimpanzees, have been watching their garden grow with increasingly impatience. Missy is very focused on the cherry tomatoes planted right outside one of the playroom windows and they are just starting to ripen. And I know this because Missy wasted no time in letting me know. When she saw me today she immediately ran to the window by the tomatoes, swung back and forth from the caging in excitement, and occasionally looked over her shoulder at me and gestured toward the tomatoes.

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Then when it seemed I was a little slow to catch her drift (humans!), she threw herself onto the caging and shook it with all her might:

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Here she throws me an outstretched arm to further plead her case:

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The chimpanzees’ garden helps supplement the wonderful food donations we receive, but it also provides visual and edible enrichment for the chimpanzees. It’s a wonderful thing for them to look forward to and to be able to request something they see, freshly ripened and still warm from the sun. Thanks largely to volunteer caregiver, Denice, the chimps’ garden is really taking off. This year it’s full of onions, scallions, beets, cherry tomatoes, and carrots to name a few.

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But for Missy, her eye is on these little guys:

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Of course, it didn’t take long for boss lady, Jamie, and everyone else to catch on so staff caregiver, Anna, served up a mid-afternoon garden snack. Here Anna serves Burrito a cherry tomato as Jamie looks on:

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Burrito was very anxious for a green onion, but with Jamie lurking next to him, he was reluctant to take it before receiving the green light from her. So he sat very, very still, hair standing on end (pilo-erect) and waited patiently for her to pass by before taking it from Anna:

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Eventually, the boss gave her OK, but let him know she was watching. Here you can see her hovering over him as he munches his onion:

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Annie loves, loves, loves green onions:

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Missy:

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Jamie keeping a very close eye on Anna, making sure she is serving things correctly during her training:

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I love that the chimpanzees have so many things to look forward to with each passing season.

Today is in honor of Andrea

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Juliette Brush-Hoover in honor of her sister Andrea. Juliette shared this beautiful and touching message about today:

“Andrea was my younger sister who left this world way before her time. She was beautiful, hilarious, generous and creative. She loved to help people. And she loved monkeys. I know that chimps are technically apes but I don’t think this distinction would have mattered to Andrea. In memory of my sister’s birthday I am making this special donation to Chimp Sanctuary NW. Knowing the chimps will have a special day full of treats and surprises seems a fitting tribute to my fun loving sister.”

Juliette, we are so honored that you would think of the chimpanzees in remembering Andrea and celebrating her life today. We will be holding Andrea and you in our thoughts today, grateful for all the compassion you both hold and seeing her kind spirit carrying on in the world.

It sounds like Andrea may have had some things in common with fun-loving Foxie, shown here with sweet, Annie (left):

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The inevitable march of time

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The summers at the sanctuary begin with the grass and plants an almost unnatural neon green. The plant life boastfully emerges from the earth looking impossibly fresh. The photos we take during this period are beautiful with the chimpanzees’ dark hair contrasted against the bright green of the grass on Young’s Hill.

Foxie:

Foxie in the green grass

 

Jody with some wild plant she’s harvested:

Jody in the green grass

 

This period of lush green that comes on so strong, holding the promise of electrified life, sometimes feels like a fleeting moment. As soon as summer begins, the precipitation seems to come to a halt. The grasses release their seeds and begin to fade, but they remain tall and the chimpanzees can hide and explore in this more wild landscape.

Jody:

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Missy:

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Annie:

Annie walking in the tall grass

Annie profile walking in tall grass

 

Jamie in the foreground, Missy in the background:

Jamie and Missy walking in the tall grass

 

Jamie:

Jamie in the tall grass

 

With the threat of wildfire that arrives each summer, and to allow the chimpanzees to navigate the hill a bit easier, we (meaning J.B.) mows pathways that turn to amber streaks across the fading but stubborn green grass.

 

Annie (taken today):

Annie standing tall grass

 

Negra collecting her lunch from a forage set out on the hill (taken today):

Negra forage

Negra mouth full of food

 

While the rich and deep green of early summer imparts a contagious sense of renewed life, there’s definitely a beauty with the changing landscape of each season. Just as the grass turns gold, the established bamboo plants along the irrigation lines have produced ambitious shoots that leaf out and offer greenery for many more months, which Jody clearly appreciates:

Burrito and Jody with bamboo

 

There’s something for every season, and I think that the chimpanzees appreciate what this sanctuary environment has to offer year-round. Yes, even as the seasons inevitable progress into winter:

Jody eating snow

 

Today is for Derek Johnson!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Andrea Ogg in honor of Derek Johnson! Andrea surprised Derek with this special gift last Christmas and shared the following message about today: “Derek has spent a significant portion of his adult life studying, caring for and about chimpanzees. We will be coming to the sanctuary on July 11, 2015. We can’t wait to “meet” your chimps!”

Andrea, what a wonderful gift to give for both Derek and the chimpanzees! That it is complimented with your attendance of our summer visit program makes it even more meaningful and we are so touched that you would think of the chimpanzees in honoring Derek today. Thank you so much for caring about the chimps and making a difference for them.

We look forward to your visit and hope you both have a wonderful day!

Our guy, Burrito:

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Today is for Jeani, Sara, and their family!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Jeani Goodrich and her family! Jeani is a long time volunteer and friend of the primates here. She is such a kind and compassionate soul and is always looking for ways to make the lives of others better, be they human or non. Jeani’s family gave her the wonderful gift of choosing a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees and this is her special message about today:

“In honor of: Deb, John and Adam Mayes, Sean and Sara Curry, and Sean Peter and Brenna Curry.  Deb is my sister, Sara and Adam are my niece and nephew, and Sean Peter and Brenna are my grand-nephew and grand-niece. John and Sean are their wonderful spouses. They are honoring the chimps because they know how much the chimps mean to me. I chose the day, July 5th, because it is my niece Sara’s birthday and we are going to have a “Christmas in July” party for the chimps.”

Happy Birthday, Sara! We hope you have the best one yet! Thank you all, so much, for giving a gift that not only encompasses so many, but surrounds them all, including the chimpanzees, with love. And thank you for giving the chimpanzees another summer party to enjoy!

Jeani’s pal, Foxie:

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Fun on the 4th

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What a day! The chimpanzees had a terrific 4th of July, starting with a party in the morning, set up by caregiver volunteers Patti and Connie and new staff member Anna.

Here are just a few party photo selections.

Burrito licking a smoothie shot glass clean:

Burrito with shot glass

Jamie managed to get both of the piñatas:

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Jamie with star pinata

 

But she shared with Missy:

Missy with star pinata

 

After we finished cleaning the playroom, Patti and Connie put some ice and pomegranate juice in the pool. Jamie dragged the pool around with her as she foraged for the kale that was also thrown about the room, then she and Jody settled in for some ice eating, with other chimps coming by once in a while. Jamie would pick up the ice with her hands, put it in her mouth, dry off her hands, then repeat.

Jamie eating ice and drying her hand

 

Today was our first summer visit day, led by J.B., so we put out a forage on the hill for lunch that included pea shoots from the sanctuary garden, harvested by caregiver volunteer Denice who dropped by just to say hello and do a little gardening. The pea shoots were a hit, as was the corn. It was another hot day, so most of the chimps gathered food from the hill and brought it in to the cooler greenhouse for leisurely snacking.

 

Jody:

Jody carry pea tendrils

 

Annie:

Annie eating corn and pea tendrils

Annie eat corn and pea tendrils

It wasn’t long before Jamie wanted to go back out on the hill to explore and look for more food, and she asked me to tag along after I put on her new pair of favorite boots.

She explored the hill as though it were an obstacle course, definitely appreciating the freedom she is able to have in her sanctuary home:

Jamie walking on fire hose bridge

 

This is the new shaky bridge that connects the two towers:

Jamie walking across the new tower shaky bridge

 

Meanwhile, Burrito took a nap in the playroom:

Burrito sleeping

 

Dinner included a pretty special treat for everyone – Field Roast frankfurters!

 

Foxie:

Foxie with hot dog

 

Jody:

Jody with Field Roast frankfurter

 

Missy:

Missy eat Field Roast frankfurter

 

I didn’t get any good photos of Negra today, but maybe that’s okay, since she was the star of yesterday’s blog post.

 

We hope you all have a great and safe 4th of July!

 

Jamie (and J.B.) get new boots!

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The chimpanzees had some good friends, Nikko and Billy, stop by with special gifts today. These two generous souls drove all the way down from British Columbia specifically to deliver multiple boxes of all but brand new boots from their family business, Stampede Tack and Western Wear in Canada! Many of the boots are men’s sizes and after suffering through wearing Jamie’s smaller boots, J.B. was pretty excited to find a pair that not only fit him, but were comfortable.

J.B. headed in to show Jamie, preparing to head out for a walk and as you may imagine, she was almost as excited as J.B. Jamie’s hair stood on end (pilo-erect), and she stomped her foot in excitement, but instead of heading out for a walk around the hill, Jamie decided she needed to inspect them immediately and demanded that J.B. hand them over. Too bad for J.B., it was almost like he had a birthday present taken away, but Jamie’s the boss around here.

Sometimes when Jamie gets really excited about something new, it’s almost as though she becomes overwhelmed and has to “walk away” to collect herself. After receiving the boots from J.B., Jamie took them into the playroom, softly hooting in excitement, but then she suddenly left them to sit out in the greenhouse momentarily. A few minutes later we found her with them, apparently ready to handle the excitement of her newest acquisitions.

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Nikko, thanks so much to you and your family for such kindness and generosity! You made Jamie’s (and J.B.’s) day!