Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

csnw

For Lisa Stuverud

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Today’s day of sanctuary is for Lisa Stuverud from her wonderful husband Richard, who shared this message:

I’d like to sponsor a day in the name of my wife, Lisa Stuverud. April 4th is her birthday and I know how much she loves the chimps and everyone at CSNW. Coincidentally, Lisa and her sister-in-law Linda Vizzare share the same birthday and Lisa had chosen yesterday as a sponsored day in Linda’s name. (Linda recently passed away and was a big Burrito fan especially loving his Happy Dance) I am choosing April 5th, the next best day, to support and share my wife’s love of the chimps and although in the beginning is was Jamie and her Cowboy Boots that that drew her in, it would now be difficult for her to ever pick a favorite if she was asked…I know she loves them all and has sincere admiration for all you do as “their humans”.

Jamie hugging boot 4

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Thank you both for all of your support for the Seven and us humans, Rich and Lisa! Happy Easter and Happy Birthday!

 

The Circle of Caring

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Our primary objectives as caregivers in a sanctuary is continuously improving the well being of those in our care and working to make the world a better place for all chimpanzees. We strive to provide what our tagline says: hope. love. home… sanctuary.

It doesn’t take long to realize that all of this just ends up circling back.

The chimpanzees give me hope everyday.

Sometimes the problems the world is facing seem insurmountable. Sometimes I just want to go back to sleep when I open my eyes in the morning and think of the work that lies ahead. But then there are these seven chimpanzees who lived for most of their lives with no reason for hope, yet they didn’t shut down.

Even Negra, who was ripped from her home and her family as a baby and used as a test tube for over three decades – she survived. And she can now lift her head to the sky and allow the rays of the sun to warm her face, or curl up under a blanket and sleep peacefully.

Negra eyes to sky

Negra under a blanket

Nothing gives me hope more than seeing the chimpanzees thrive at CSNW.

And then there’s love. After what humans have done to them, these chimpanzees should be angry. It would be completely justified for them to rise up Planet of the Apes style and never trust another human. Yet, surprisingly, they do show affection towards humans.

It’s easy to see that Foxie is happiest when she’s making someone else laugh or smile. She often spots me from a distance and runs over just to have a little playtime.

foxie with new trolls

 

Burrito too. Just this morning, in between his a.m. displaying, he was stomping his feet and running through the front rooms to get me to play chase.

Burrito play face

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All the love I try to convey to the Seven just comes right back.

 

These misfit captive chimpanzees could melt the coldest of hearts.

 

Jamie:

Jamie hug stuffed animal

That brings us to home. The sanctuary provides J.B. and me with a physical home, but, far more significantly, the chimpanzees and the people that they bring into their lives through their sheer force of charm has created a more remarkable sense of home than I’ve ever experienced.

I really just can’t get over how amazing it is to be surrounded by such caring, compassionate, funny, and all-around lovely people that make up the staff, volunteers, and supporters. And that includes a lot of people who I’ve never even met in person. The Seven are really quite good at attracting the best people to be a part of their lives.

Sanctuary. It’s a word that is often misused, but it truly applies to this place. And, as I’ve learned, the spirit of true sanctuary is circular. Thank you for being a part of it.

Sweet Annie:

Annie

Adventurous Missy:

Missy leaping

Jody – taken this afternoon:

Jody with eyes closed

 

 

Today in Memory of Linda Vizzare

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Lisa Stuverud has sponsored this day of sanctuary in memory of Linda Vizzare. This is the touching message that Lisa shared:

Linda is my sister-in-law and my “birthday buddy” for the last 37 years. She passed away November 20th, so April 4th is going to be my first birthday without her to celebrate with. I know she knows I miss her very much and one of the things I miss the most is how much she loved Burrito especially when he did his “happy dance” :-). During her illness we often talked about the chimpanzees, the caregivers and the blog, but mostly we drew strength from all that they have overcome to then be able to do a “happy dance”…I know she was strong and didn’t stop fighting until the very end so I hope she is now doing her own “happy dance.”

The best example of Burrito’s “dance” where he stands bipedally, clutching his thighs with his hands and moving from foot to foot is in the Emmy award winning video put together by KOMO 4 of the chimpanzees’ first moments on Young’s Hill. You can see the video here – Burrito’s dance is at 3:30.

And here are a few photos of Mr. B.

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Thank you, Lisa, for being such a good friend to the chimpanzees, for sharing this day with them, and for sharing your touching memories of your time with Linda during her illness.

Display

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As we’ve mentioned before, chimpanzees are very territorial and it’s within their nature to defend their home against strangers. In order to be intimidating, they will usually stand up on their legs, swagger, and their hair will stand on end (pilo-erect). Then, they usually bang something, vocalize, or otherwise make some sort of threatening noise. Threat displays are just that—displays. It’s all just to show how scary they could be, if you don’t watch out.

Sometimes, dominant chimpanzees want to show the others in their group that they could be pretty scary if they want to be. It helps solidify their role as the leader in the group—the intimidation aspect strengthens their control. A dominant chimpanzee will occasionally display their dominance with no provocation at all (or at least, nothing immediately observable).

Here’s a video of exactly that, a display just for the sake of displaying. It doesn’t mean that Jamie is angry or upset about anything, it’s just something she does to remind everyone (chimpanzees and humans) that she’s the boss around here.

Today is for mom Amy Simpson!

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Today is Julia Simpson’s birthday, and she chose to sponsor a day of sanctuary in honor of her mother because Julia is grateful to have Amy for a mom. How incredibly sweet is that?

Maybe this sweet?

Negra kissing Jamie’s brow

Negra kiss Jamie

 

Foxie kissing a troll doll

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Happy birthday, Julia! Thanks for all you do for the chimpanzees, and thanks to Amy for being such a great mom!

Dinnertime lounging

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Yesterday during dinner, Jody decided to relax a little in between courses. She would go out to the greenhouse, get her serving, and then take it to the front rooms to enjoy her meal without any distractions.

Sometimes the chimpanzees prefer to eat with more privacy, and will take their servings off to their own corner. Part of that might be to avoid getting their food taken by someone more dominant (which is completely normal in chimp society) — but partially I think some chimps just enjoy eating away from the hub-bub of the meal.

Still, some chimps will park themselves in one spot during a meal and stay there until everything has been served. Just another example of how great it is that in sanctuary, they can choose how and where to spend their time.

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Spring is in the air

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Spring is here, which for this region means the weather is predictably unpredictable. Yesterday, we had a beautiful 70 degree slightly cloudy day—the chimpanzees and the humans were loving it! We had the windows open, we did some work outside, Jamie went on lots of walks, and it felt like summer was just around the corner.

Annie enjoying some of the nice spring weather lately:
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Today is, well, not as nice. We have had some very blustery winds with a slight drizzle, but that hasn’t stopped Jamie from making her daily patrols! Most of the other chimps have preferred to stay in the warm wind-protected greenhouse, soaking in the spring sunlight.

What will tomorrow bring? No matter what, I’m sure Jamie will still make her patrols and require her caregivers to come along as well. And maybe Burrito will join and do his new “hop.” Or who knows—maybe even Foxie will come along.

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