Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Foxie

Cuckoo for Coconuts Pt. 2

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Just the other day you got to see Burrito enjoy a coconut!  If you missed the blog post, you can see it here.

Today we get to see Foxie, Annie and Negra enjoy their coconuts.

Foxie and Annie visited Negra in the greenhouse, so it was a good opportunity to let them have whole coconuts without the stress of group drama.  Because Foxie and Annie are considered low ranking chimps in their social group, they don’t always get to fully participate in extra special treats and enrichment without some stress.  It was so nice to see them fully enjoy their coconuts!

It was a beautiful, warm summer afternoon.  Perfect for a special treat with special friends!

 

World Chimpanzee Day 2026

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Happy World Chimpanzee Day, everybody!

World Chimpanzee Day is celebrated every July 14th to honor the day Dr. Jane Goodall first stepped foot in the Gombe forest to begin her studies of one of our closest living relatives. That landing in Tanzania marked the beginning of what has been an incredible adventure in our knowledge and understanding of chimpanzees.

One aspect of her studies I will kind of focus on today is the her method of naming the chimpanzees within the Gombe chimpanzee communities. Before her studies, it was common practice to not name the individuals she was studying. The old thought process behind that was to separate feeling and emotion from the study as to not get attached to them. Please remember it was a different time and the mentality wasn’t what it is today. We had to work up to where we are today in our way of thinking, and Dr. Goodall had a role in that shift.

I could not imagine working here and not seeing them as individuals. It’s unfathomable to me to think they each wouldn’t have their own likes and dislikes, or run through a gauntlet of emotions in the split of a second. They aren’t just mindless creatures you can just throw food and water at and call it a day. They are highly intelligent and need the proper care the reflects so. Hence why chimpanzees, or any primate for that matter, are not and should not be pets among a plethora of other ethical reasons.

So this World Chimpanzee Day, please become that advocate for them! Preach about the perils the face in the wild like poaching and deforestation! Donate to your favorite sanctuary! Politely inform people when the dreaded “I want a pet chimpanzee” comes up in conversation! Advocate! Advocate! Advocate!

Here are some photos from today!

Annie standing bipedally to search for food during a breakfast forage on Young’s Hill.
Jamie climbing up a structure to get a better vantage point than Annie!
Willy B excited for his ear of corn for dinner!

Burrito drinking his breakfast smoothie…
Before going onto Young’s Hill to gather food.
Rayne enjoying her dinner corn!

Foxie returning from foraging for her food!
Negra is hoping somebody forgot about the peanut butter in their peanut butter magazine from last night.
And then there was George!

Georgie boy!

The Baby Bartender

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Sometimes we just don’t know how the chimps are going to react to new modifications introduced into their home. If you have been following for a while, you may remember a device that was installed onto the outside of the caging. This was supposed to be used to allowed the chimps to put an extremity such as a hand or foot inside of it so the humans can take an x-ray without the use of anesthesia or any other drug. If you read that blog from six years ago(!), then you may remember initially that box was used for another purpose; a storage area known as the doll/Troll/storage cubby.

There have been modifications that have occurred since then.The most recent and ongoing is the installation more firehose lines and handlebars to help assist Negra get around with her limited mobility. Just like last time, Foxie was the one who found a different use for the new modifications around her areas.

May I introduce: The Baby Bar!

Yesterday when I was working in the kitchen, I had passed by the door that leads into the chimp area and caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. It was Foxie as she is in the above photo! What I had not noticed initially was she was carrying around a few dolls!

It was just a fun thing to see her use her imagination like this with something new. I watched as she would replace one doll for another as they were lined up. This may not have been what was going through her mind, and I can almost guarantee it wasn’t, but I was saying the Foxie was playing Baby Bartender. Waiting for caregivers pass by so she could pick the right doll for them, like a bartender. “Oh! You had a rough day at work? Orange Blossom will cure what ails ya!” “Broken heart? Here! Try a red-haired Troll!”

Foxie: The Baby Bartender! Ready to take your order!

Favorite Photos

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Sometimes caregivers go through their phones and realize they have so many pictures that they took and never used for our blog that they end up going to our staff folders and being forgotten. So instead I’m leaving some of my favorite photos from the last week here for you all to enjoy!

Annie and Negra having a relaxing day together in the greenhouse:

Foxie, relaxing in the greenhouse with friends:

Dora, enjoying her cherry tomatoes:

The Gatorade Heist

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Today was one of those rare quiet and peaceful days where the chimps were all busy doing their own thing. However, I was able to snag a few photos!

Annie ever-so slyly got Negra’s Gatorade bucket that she didn’t finish. Miraculously, Jamie didn’t even get mad once she realized Annie had it. But Burrito and Foxie intensely supervised Annie drinking the bucket of Gatorade. Annie also declined the opportunity to offer or share any.

Missy quickly came to Negra’s side to groom her while nesting.

And Dora had an especially nice morning eating her apples!

Negra enjoying some wild roses and chives on a breezy afternoon.

 

 

Mental Health Awareness Month

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As May ends and June starts to usher in summer, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight Mental Awareness Month. This is by no means the most in depth history about the recognized month. In fact, I will be honest that most of the information I got is from Wikipedia.

Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to raise awareness around individual’s suffering from conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and suicide. Every year there is a theme to help boost awareness. This year’s theme is “More Good Days, Together.” Mental Health America, the organization who established the awareness then known as National Association for Mental Health, chose this year’s theme to encourage everybody to reflect on what a “good” day means to them and their communities. The way I interpret that is we know what a good day looks like for us individually, but what does a good day look like to everybody else and how can we help others achieve their good day.

Jamie looking up toward the sky back in 2022 after getting access to the newly expanded Young’s Hill. One thing Jamie adores is her time outside. After living in a windowless basement at the Buckshire Corporation to be used as a test subject, the chimpanzees, especially Jamie, cherish being able to look up to the sky and feel the breeze flow through their hair.

This year’s theme really made me think: what does a good day look like to everyone else here. I know what a good day here looks like to me. To me a good day is everybody shifts without hesitation, they eat all of their meals, there were no fights, the cattle took their own meds and I didn’t have to fight someone off of someone else’s, and Bruce allowed me to love him. There are some other small minor things, but those are the big ones. Now admittedly, I really don’t know what a good day to the other caregivers looks like. 😬 I think I just assumed theirs looked identical to mine. But in the spirit of theme, it’s really making me think about that.

Also, playing with the chimps is a HUGE plus in the ingredients for a good to for me. Like going around Young’s Hill with Burrito.

Mental health is such an important topic in the caregiver world. Burnout is one cause of the low attrition rate in this career field, and burnout hits fast and hard. Most of what I say next is just based on my own observations and personal experience. If I had to guess why the burnout rate is high is just due to the multitude of things we are responsible for. I know for me, this job is always on the top of my mind. Whether I’m on site, at home, on vacation, it doesn’t matter. Every worry, whether it be a fight, some social tension, upcoming procedure, etc., all those things follow me everywhere I go. No matter what I’m doing or where I am, I have chimps on the brain.

George went on the Bray to finish eating his breakfast. When Since the moment we as staff were told we would be rescuing George, everything that came with that has been at the forefront. The rescue, the legal proceedings, and probably the biggest topic, the integration. Though the integration has subsided a little because he has adapted incredibly well.

Though George’s situation has “cooled down” from what it was for me, now Negra occupies most of my thoughts. So as you can see, this job is a one thing right after another kind of job.

This job is one that keeps you on your toes… 24/7! For me, even though this is pretty much a 24/7 type of job, I get great gratification seeing the chimps playful and happy. That, regardless of how long it lasts, is what gets me out of bed in the morning. There are the hard times, but going through the storm to feel levitated like that is 1000% worth it.

Cy and George eating the primate chow on the Bray during breakfast. The relationship between Cy and George is one that gives me hope. For them obviously, but also just the kindness that the current state of the world covers up.
Terry also took his chow out onto the Bray for breakfast. It actually ended up in a fun little run between him and Burrito on the Young’s Hill side.

For years, Mental Health America has tried to rip down the curtain of stigma that surrounds mental health for some reason. I tend to be as open and honest with mine in case it can be of any help to anybody else going through it. And it thrills me that stigma seems to be waning for now, which is why I think they chose the theme that they did for this year: to help others in need.

Burrito and Foxie being silly with one another on Young’s Hill back in January. Foxie used to rely pretty heavily on Jody for support. Since Jody’s passing, Foxie has had a whirlwind of a time trying to refind her place. Luckily, Burrito has recently taken a big step in providing more physical and emotional support to Foxie.

Be sure to check Mental Health America’s resource page of a lot of different resources out there to help you or someone you know in a crisis. The world is a better place with you in it because you help better the world.

Mave and Dora hugging after Dora got scared of something. Mave has been a huge support system to Dora and vice versa.
Burrito hugging Foxie in the early days of the sanctuary.