Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cy

Quality Time with Mave and Dora

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One of the best parts about this job is watching the chimps spend quality time with each other. A few days ago, I was walking past Dora and Mave grooming and they barely noticed I was filming because they were so engrossed with each other. Watching interactions like this is always a reminder to slow down and savor the time we have with the ones we care about. Click here to watch Mave and Dora groom!

It’s Wednesday so obviously there are bonus photos!

Cy:

Terry:

I wanted to share some photos of Jo, because I am always thinking about her, but especially today. She is always and forever in our hearts.

 

Good Morning Cardio

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Over the course of the years, you may have seen some of the videos posted by other caregivers of them greeting the chimpanzees in the morning. Most of those videos include head nodding, breathy panting, kisses, grooming, etc. Nice slow and calm morning greeting one could expect. But not all caregivers are greeted in the morning the same way. My mornings usually consist of some kind of cardio activity.

Note: The video has been sped up as to not allow the video to stay in it’s nearly 20 minute length it was. I was going to add some music to accompany the video, but I think it’s better with the pitter patters and chimpmunk (see what I did there) voices. And if you’re looking at the time stamps of the footage, the time stamps are different by an hour. This is because there are two security camera systems. From time to time they have to be calibrated so the times can sync up. It was when find this footage I realize I had forgotten to calibrate them after Daylight Savings Time. (They’re sync’d now.)

 

Spring Rocks!

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Today we celebrated spring with the chimpanzees by having a party filled with novel items and foods they love. One of these novel items was a cardboard cutout of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which we hoped Cy would enjoy as he is a fan of bald men (remember his love of Stanley Tucci?!). Well, there were mixed reviews. Today’s blog video is all about the ups and downs of “meeting” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson! We will share more about the rest of the party later, as there is simply too much good stuff to cover all in one day!

Consulting with Honey B

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I thought I would share a crazy story with you all. This is something I had not seen before, however it’s never a dull day here and something is always happening! One morning near the end of February, caregiver Sabrina calls me on the radio to come up the ladder in Greenhouse 2. I was curious why she was so insistent that she needed me to come up there with her. When I stood up there with her, she asked me if the window that is shared with Playroom 2 had looked “like that” since the last time we had worked on that side of the building, perhaps we had missed a message in the work group chat but we had not, this was new! The window was shattered from the inside, luckily not the entire window (see below and in video). The windows we have are bullet proof, they are very sturdy and secure, to quote J.B. in our group chat “It’s a mix of poly-carbonate and glass so the poly is still good and the window should be perfectly safe, but obviously we’ll replace it”. Later, we scoured the security camera footage to find out what happen. Some theories thrown out, but my favorite and by far the most logical was from caregiver Sabrina. Her theory was that Willy B did it with his mind. As you will see in the video, it happens in the middle of the night with a loud popping sound. The chimps weren’t displaying or hitting it, “everyone” was sound asleep.

However, these windows are extremely expensive. So in the meantime JB had Gary and his crew come out to replace a lower window for the broken on and swap in mesh caging for the other. The best part about having Gary and his crew come out is that Honey B got to see her old pals. Honey B enjoyed being apart of the consulting crew and I don’t think anyone would find it surprising that she might have a differing opinion or too. She is a tough boss, but one of the best in her field!

Click here for the video!

Playroom 2 window:

Lower playroom window replaced with mesh, Cy approves:

Honey B managing her crew on-site:

Bonus of Dora!

The Birthday Magazine

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In today’s video, see Cy and Jamie enjoy Cy’s special edition, homemade magazine! We made this magazine for Cy as a present for his recent birthday and continued the festivities today by giving him (and Jamie) another copy. If you’ve been hoping to see this unique magazine, you are in luck today! Cy’s team of human caregivers sent in some pretty amazing pictures, and were graciously willing to share them with us all. Let’s dive right in!

This page requires some explanation. “The Beths” are a doll duo steeped in lore at the sanctuary. Mary Beth (in pink), was introduced to us when J.B. brought her for our white elephant gift exchange in 2022, and Kelsi was the “lucky” recipient. Kelsi somehow unknowingly picked Mary Beth in the gift exchange the next year as well, after having returned her to J.B. and Diana for safekeeping. Mary Beth is suspected to bring bad luck to whoever is housing her, as Kelsi’s car broke down when Mary Beth was riding with her, and Jenna hurt her back when Mary Beth was briefly with her. The doll in blue is Sarah Beth, who joined Mary Beth from an unknown source when she showed up in Kelsi’s clothing drawer at the sanctuary. Dusty got the duo at our latest white elephant exchange in January 2025, and has been updating us on all of their adventures together (Trader Joe’s trips, helping with cattle care, and even a trip to the Department of Corrections..?). Dusty is quite mischievous, so we don’t know where we might find “The Beths” next!