Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Captured Moments

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It’s the day after the 2015 HOOT! Gala fundraising event and we couldn’t be more thrilled! The event was such a huge success and we cannot possibly begin to thank all of you enough for your continued support for the Cle Elum Seven!! It is truly a blessing to know there are so many people that make up this sanctuary family! It’s clear that people near and far have fallen in love with these seven chimpanzees! I’ll leave the details of the event for Diana to write about on the blog later this week. Be sure to tune in for highlights from the big event!

Here are some moments we captured of each of the chimps from today.

Negra sat on the bridge in the Playroom looking toward the window that overlooks the neighbor’s farm.

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Jamie photo bombed this picture of Negra, as she made her way down the railing to where I was standing taking photos (I didn’t notice she had done that until reviewing the pictures).

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Jamie on her way down the railing.

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Jamie checked out her surroundings on Young’s Hill.

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Annie spent some time grooming her leg while in the Greenhouse this afternoon before walking in the tall grass on Young’s Hill.

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Missy enjoyed a cup of water…

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…and then groomed herself.

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Jody took full advantage of the quite afternoon and warm temperature to rest before going back out on Young’s Hill.

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Foxie lounged with one of her troll dolls on her belly before making her way up to the new climbing structure on Young’s Hill.

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Burrito made his way back toward the Greenhouse from the newest climbing structure by walking bipedal in the tall grass.

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Foxie’s in charge now!

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The chimpanzees were ready and waiting for the door to Young’s Hill to be opened this morning after breakfast. With chow bags in hand, they all filed out of the raceway and headed straight for their new climbing structure. And Foxie was leading the way, with purpose and intent in every step! Everyone else just fell in behind her, even boss lady, Jamie.

Foxie, followed by Annie, Burrito, Missy:

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Jamie catches up (crossing over the log):

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Look at these chimps! Jody joins the troop in the lower right corner:

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And today, Negra brought up the rear! She remained a rebel and chose not the follow the others initially, instead sticking closer to the greenhouse to forage in the grass:

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Foxie was the first to climb the tower as well, and all except Negra joined her under the roof as they ate their chow together. I can’t express how amazing it was seeing them all sitting together in perfect calm and peace, taking in their new view. Unfortunately, by the time I reached them with the camera, all had started heading back down the hill except Jamie:

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Once again, even the boss was following Foxie:

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But who do you think I spotted walking out from under the new structure? Oh, just Negra! Today she decided to see what all the fuss was about I guess and although she didn’t climb the structure, the fact that she walked all the way to the top of the hill to see it was incredible. As she calmly ambled back down the hill she was beside herself at finding a huge patch of wild mustard to eat:

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I could barely see her, but she finally peeked out at me:

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The chimps have spent the entire day traipsing all the way up to the new structure, hanging out on the towers, and then coming back down and cooling off with a nap in the cooler play room. I think they may be adjusting to the additional exercise! Once rested they would all head back up again. And so it was all day. Play, repeat, play, repeat.

At the end of the day we had a gorgeous thunderstorm roll through. I went out to check on the chimpanzees as they typically head for the chimp house at the first sound of thunder. Almost everyone was back in the greenhouse, even Jamie, but when I looked up at the towers I spotted Foxie, Annie and Missy, showing no fear or nervousness, seemingly watching the storm in awe. I couldn’t believe it!

Annie and Missy chose the covered tower to observe from:

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And Foxie? Out in the open, all on her own, braving a thunder clap as she peeked over the edge of the railing. I adore this photo:

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My heart has been full to bursting all day at the sight of the chimpanzees embracing their new options with such courage, determination, security and joy. I keep thinking about the contrast their view of the world held seven years ago, living in a windowless basement in cages no bigger than a bathroom stall. Imagine the awe and wonder they must feel now.

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New views, new perspectives

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What an amazing day we’ve had here at the sanctuary! Everyone worked so hard to complete the chimpanzees’ new structure on Young’s Hill early and even had it ready in time for a chimpanzee inspection and lunch forage.

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The chimps were SO excited as we opened the raceway to the hill, pant-hooting, food grunting, and hugging each other in excitement and reassurance. Everyone filed out and quickly made their way to the top of the hill to check things out. Surprisingly, Missy wasn’t the first person on the structure, but she wasn’t far behind Jody, Annie, and Jamie who led the way. And just to warn you, you may have to look a little harder to see the chimps in some of these photos, but we hope it gives you an idea of their new perspective on things!

The new structure is the highest on the hill at about 16 feet high and the chimps’ view is incredible! Annie was one of the first to go up and take it in. She looks so small!:

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Annie looking below the tower:

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Jody was fearless and explored the entire structure with confidence and her new found athletic skills (she is on the shaky bridge as Annie watches from the platform):

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Burrito foraged in the gorgeous new bamboo below the structure initially:

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But it wasn’t long before he joined Annie and Missy (walking on the hand railing, naturally) up top:

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Jamie on the bridge:

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As we’ve previously written on the blog, it wasn’t that long ago that Foxie wouldn’t have felt comfortable exploring this new structure right away. She initially foraged and assessed the situation from below with her troll. But it didn’t take her long to climb right up and explore:

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Never one to take the easy way, Missy climbs one of the posts:

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Those six small, black, specks on the structure are all of the chimps except Negra. This view is from the top of Young’s Hill looking toward the chimp house and the roof in the lower left hand corner is the barn:

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It took a bit for Negra to decide to leave her comfy nest and venture onto the hill to see what all the excitement was about. Being the clever woman she is, she chose to enjoy the forage closer to the greenhouse, which really was pretty smart given that she had it to herself. This was one of the only sightings of the Queen as she disappeared in the tall grass and shade:

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And you can probably guess who the speck of a fearless woman in the following photos is…Missy, of course, had to test out tightrope options. After all, why be boring and take the bridge between the towers when you can walk across on the fire hose? (Honestly, I think we all had to remind ourselves today that even though we shuddered seeing them so far off the ground, they were doing what chimps are meant to do!):

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Her best friend, Annie, waiting to greet her at the other end:

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If you look closely, that tiny looking chimp walking on the hand railing of the tower is the boss lady, Jamie:

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Jamie takes in the view of her kingdom:

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In two weeks time we will be celebrating not only Negra’s birthday (June 13th), but the chimpanzees’ 7th year in sanctuary. It’s hard to believe how far they’ve come since they arrived. The ghosts of themselves they arrived as, the fears, anxieties, and uncertainties they carried, are shadows of who they’ve become. Shadows that grower fainter by the day. We are profoundly thankful to all of you who have made this possible for the chimpanzees and can’t wait to share all that lies ahead with you.

New heights to scale

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Construction began this week on the chimpanzees new climbing structures on Young’s Hill and they are amazing! You may recall our Share the Chimp Love fundraiser last February, in which we asked you to help us meet our goal of raising $12,000 to go toward the direct care of the chimpanzees, as well as keeping our savings on track to meet our future goals. Thanks to your incredible generosity in helping us not only reach, but surpass (!), our goal, we were also able to meet our goal of building a new structure for the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill.

The sanctuary’s founder, Keith LaChappelle, has been here all week working with J.B. and he brought reinforcements. Long time friend of the chimps, Nick (who travels from out of state each year just to volunteer his time with projects for the chimps), has also been here, along with Josh, John, Bill, and Marc. These guys have been working tirelessly in the heat to get things ready for the chimpanzees to enjoy as soon as possible.

The structure, situated at the very top of Young’s Hill, is the highest yet and comprised of two climbing towers which are connected by an amazing swinging bridge. From the chimp’s view in the greenhouse, this is the left side of the structure:

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Here’s the right side:

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And the entire structure:

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And thanks to the generosity of Provitro Biosciences, we have been gifted with even more beautiful bamboo to add to the chimpanzees outdoor enclosure. Here’s J.B. bringing some in:

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I’m not sure who is more excited, the chimpanzees, or the humans in anticipation of seeing the chimpanzees check things out. If all goes as planned, everything should be complete tomorrow and ready for chimpanzee inspection after that. Such an amazing way to end the week as we are all looking forward to our annual gala, Hoot!, this weekend.

The kindness, compassion and love you consistently show the chimpanzees often overwhelms us. We are immensely grateful to you to be in the position to continually improve the chimpanzees’ home and lives with each passing season. To be able to ensure their well being not only in the present, but also in the future, is something we could never fully express our gratitude for. And none of this would be possible without you.

The chimpanzees have spent the day relaxing in the hot greenhouse, keeping a close eye on the activity on the hill. Here are a few photos I caught of Foxie and troll, resting up for their new adventures ahead:

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As part of our Share the Love fundraiser, two wonderful and generous families won the naming rights to the chimps’ new structure and they will each be naming the two towers. We will be holding a naming ceremony in the coming weeks and can’t wait to share it with you so stay tuned!

Today is for Denise and Denis

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Denise Hathaway-Larsen in honor of her and her brother, Denis’, birthday. Denise shared this touching message about today:

“This is my and my twin brother’s 59th birthday. My twin brother passed away in a motorcycle accident in 2007. My family had the honor of visiting CSNW last summer. We have followed the chimpanzees there for several years and adore them AND their caregivers.”

Denise, it means so much that you would think of giving the chimpanzees a special day as a way to celebrate your and Denis’ lives. We are so sorry for your loss and hope you find much comfort and joy in remembering your brother and your lives together today. Happy Birthday from all of us here at CSNW!

Good friends, Burrito and Foxie:

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Coconut crackin’

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As part of the chimpanzees’ enrichment theme for the day, they have been enjoying forages all day! In the wild, chimpanzees spend most of their waking hours foraging for food, often traveling many miles. We try to offer forages as often as we can not only to encourage their natural foraging behavior, but to give them something exciting and interesting to do.

It’s probably the warmest day of the year here so far and we were able to put breakfast and lunch forages on Young’s Hill. What’s also great about Young’s Hill forages is that it keeps the chimpanzees engaged for much of the day as they frequently venture out throughout the day to see if they missed anything.

Dinner forage was set up in the playroom which included sweet potatoes, roasted squash, tomatoes, the best smelling yellow roses from Diana and J.B’s yard, and, the piece de resistance? The chimps’ friend and supporter, Pat C., gifted them with whole coconuts today! As we were setting the forage up I think it was the “food squeaking heard ’round the world.” We broke up a few to make sure everyone would find some and then hid a couple of whole ones as special treats for a couple people to find. Well, let’s be serious, for Jamie to find, and hopefully someone else.

As predicted, Jamie found the first whole coconut and made sure to hang onto it while foraging for everything else:

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Thank goodness for those opposable toes:

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Foxie found a cup of tomato juice and seemed to enjoy licking spilled coconut milk off the floor:

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Negra enjoying her coconut:

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Everyone got plenty of coconut pieces, but we couldn’t see who found the other whole coconut. Then we heard someone cracking it on the floor and found Missy looking pretty pleased:

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Thanks so much to Pat C. for bringing the chimpanzees such a special treat! Jamie carried her coconut around in a box with her until she finished all the other forage options she wanted. The chimp house is closed up for the evening and most of the chimps are making their nests for the night as they snack on the last bits of the forage. As I type this, I’m smiling because I can hear Jamie finally trying to break that coconut open. Crack…crack…crack…

Good Clean Fun

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Today after cleaning the playroom, we put a small drop of non-toxic dish soap in the pool and filled it up with water. The chimpanzees all enjoy soapy water. Jamie sometimes uses it to scrub the floor, while others like to take big mouthfuls of it. They seem to like the sensation of the foamy bubbles in their mouths. There’s no denying it – bubbles are just fun.

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Annie:

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Foxie:

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Jody:

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