Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Close-ups

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It’s not often that I take non-blurry, close-up pictures of each of the chimps. There are number of reasons for this, one being operator error. Second, third and fourth reasons are that the chimps are often moving, just out of sight of the camera, or would rather not have their picture taken. So, when the close-up photos actually turn out, I cannot stop looking at them.

Sometimes pictures just convey so much more than words ever can about the beauty, serenity or nature of each of the chimpanzees. These are some of my favorite close-ups of each of the chimps from the past few weeks.

Jamie
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Burrito
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Jody
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Negra
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Foxie
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Missy
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Annie
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Morning Play

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This morning, Foxie was clearly feeling playful – stomping around the playroom and doing somersaults. Jamie noticed this, approached Foxie, and swiped one of Foxie’s beloved dolls. (Jamie knows this is a surefire strategy for initiating play with Foxie.) Jamie’s move kicked off a long game of wrestling and doll keep-away.)

Welcoming in the New Year

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We are all continuously so amazed by how generous our supporters are—truly, you all keep this sanctuary running! We are able to give Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Annie, Negra, and Jody a cozy warm home, good healthy food, long-lasting friendships with caregivers, and an endless supply of trolls, boots, and other enrichment directly because of YOU.

This year, our family of staff and supporters has grown stronger and our hearts have only gotten bigger from how grateful we are to see these seven special beings live their lives without the fear of being in confined biomedical lab cages—not knowing what would happen next.

Now, you can see in their eyes they trust us. They trust us. It truly amazes me after all they’ve been through, that they not only forgive humans, but learn to build friendships with confidence, trust us with their most prized possessions, and even help us out when needed. It’s because of your support that we can maintain these important relationships with these chimpanzees and provide them with hope, love, home, and sanctuary.

Our goal for year-end giving of individual donations was fairly optimistic, but we’re getting closer and closer every minute that we creep toward welcoming 2015. As I write this, we are just $1,512 short of our goal for year-end giving! In just a few short hours, you can help us make it to our goal for this year (or surpass it!)

Dora and friends got dressed up for the New Year’s Eve bash:
Dora the Explorer on NYE

Everyone enjoyed a sparkling apple cider forage, especially Jamie:
jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

jamie drink cider

Missy had her own technique:
missy drink cider

Everyone else was busy collecting the nuts and coconut flakes we scattered around like confetti:

Foxie:
foxie

Annie:
annie

Jody:
jody forage

Negra:
negra forage

negra forage

Cheers to you and yours, and Happy New Year from all of us at
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!

Today’s Highlights

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Today is sunny but very cold in Cle Elum – tonight’s low is predicted to be 0 degrees Fahrenheit – and the chimpanzees are having a quiet afternoon in the warm playroom. Here are our favorite photos from the day; let us know which is your favorite!

Negra in her nest:

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Missy checking out the blanket fort built by caregiver Keri:

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Foxie carrying the remnants of a wooden spoon that she broke earlier in the day:

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Jody with green lips after munching on an alfalfa cube:

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Burrito searching the playroom for leftover food after lunch:

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Annie grooming her arm and basking in the sun:

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Jamie looking peaceful:

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Happy Birthday, Tracy Headley!

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Tracy Headley sponsored today with this message, “I celebrate my friends at CSNW on my 50th birthday.”

Tracy is an impressive supporter of the sanctuary. You may recognize her name because she has sponsored several days, has had days sponsored in her honor, is a Chimpanzee Pal to more than one of the chimpanzees, and donates literally whenever we have any kind of donation opportunity, including sponsoring the HOOT! gala.

Tracy is clearly an incredibly giving person and a friend to all of the primates at the sanctuary. I was so excited when she and her husband Bruce signed up for a Summer Visitor day this past summer and got to see Foxie’s birthday party – – because there’s not much that tops seeing a party thrown for the chimpanzees.

Here’s a photo of Foxie from that day as she scrapes every bit of watermelon out of its skin:

Foxie's face in watermelon

and here’s a bonus photo of Burrito, who’s always up for a party:

Burrito eating apples

Thank you for all of your generous support, Tracy, including sponsoring today.

Foxie, Burrito, and crew wish you the best of all birthdays today and we hope you are throwing yourself a big party!

I know Tracy would want everyone to know that we need only five more sponsored days to reach our goal of 50 new sponsored days before the end of the year. Help us get there by picking a day to sponsor for yourself or a loved one.

 

A wonderful Christmas time

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The chimps (and the humans!) have been having a really great Christmas, thanks to all our amazing supporters! We had five people sponsor the day for the chimps today, so we owe a big thank you again to Laurel H., Kathleen K., Molly W., Michael H., and Janine B.

Also a huge shout out to Lisa S. and Jayne R. for their decorations that we were able to spread across yesterday‘s and today’s parties! Carol M. sent us seven adorable chimpiñatas which we added to the decor, too. More thank-yous are in order for everyone that sent in new toys which became presents for today’s celebration, including Sharon & Larry C., Diana M., Lisa S., Jayne R., and Helen K. Here’s part of the haul in front of Santa’s sleigh:

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Volunteer Patti and supporter Anne also picked up a lot of yummy fresh produce for the party and Patti made amazing roasted pumpkins with quinoa, wild rice, and veggies.

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The day began with a small forage of tomatoes, pistachios, and shaved coconut in the tree. Negra was the first out to see what we had set up under (and in) the tree.

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Missy snagged most of the tomatoes, and went through the presents, too:

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The party then moved into the playroom, where all the food and presents from our friends near and far brought a lot of joy to the chimpanzees!

Annie:

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Jamie:

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Foxie:

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Missy:

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Negra:

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Jody:

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Burrito

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As if those photos weren’t enough, here’s a video of the festivities of the day. Thank you again to everyone who has helped bring such happiness to the chimpanzees this Christmas and every day!