Foxie

A Day for Foxie!

August 8, 2023 by Grace

Today was a busy, fun, crazy, happy day here at CSNW! We celebrated sweet and sassy Foxie’s 47th birthday- can you believe it?

She makes 47 look pretty darn great. 🙂

And we’d like to give our heartfelt thanks to Paulette Wrisley for sponsoring Foxie’s special day of celebration! It means so much to us to be able to honor Foxie, and each of the chimpanzees, for the amazingly special individuals they are.

We kicked off the celebrations with a delicious smoothie for the birthday girl, who loves smoothies and holds her own cup every morning. She got new dolls throughout the day, enjoyed a pre-party party, and then had a forage on Young’s Hill complete with Pineapple Bowls (!) full of yummy fruit, bok choy, cucumber, and cabbage. Despite the weather being quite warm, everyone went out on the Hill and was able to grab at least one pineapple bowl. Cy’s group also enjoyed pineapple bowls with lots of fresh goodies! Be sure to check out the video for more.

If you are new to following us, Foxie was born on August 8th, 1976 at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research. According to our records her mother, Winny, passed away at the Alamogordo Primate Facility in 2013. Foxie was used in hepatitis vaccine research and as a breeder while living in the lab. She had four babies- all of whom were taken from her when they were very, very young. In the wild, chimpanzees rely heavily on their mothers for many years and live with them through their adolescence. The practice of taking infants from their mothers in laboratories has long-term harmful impacts on both the mother and the offspring- I, personally, cannot imagine this sort of trauma.

When she came to sanctuary, she adopted a doll within the first month here. This single doll has turned into quite a collection and she has one, if not two, babies with her all the time. She enjoys games of troll toss and will often give one of her caregivers a doll to ‘babysit’ for her. She lets us know when she’s ready to have them back by blowing raspberries in the loft of the playroom by the human kitchen. 🙂 When she really gets going and is playing chase with a caregiver, she is known to do these amazing spins across the floor from one end of the room to the other. Or she will climb up the caging and flip so she hangs upside down. After all she has been through, her resiliency and silly nature is truly awe-inspiring.

Foxie is a sweet, spunky, forgiving, and absolutely precious soul who I feel lucky to know. Happy birthday, Fox. <3

Photos from the day:

Foxie allowed a mini photo-shoot in the front rooms this morning:

Negra scored a pineapple bowl during the forage:

Jamie, looking as regal as ever:

Jamie, winning the ‘How-Many-Pineapples-Can-I-Carry-At-Once’ Award:

Annie looking very sweet during the pre-party party in their greenhouse:

And on the hill:

Burrito decided to enjoy his pineapple bowl on Young’s Hill:

Burrito also enjoyed the Gatorade pools:

Birthday girl enjoying her pineapple bowl on Young’s Hill:

And a fresh green onion:

Sheets & Giggles

August 2, 2023 by Kelsi

Thank you to everyone who donated new or gently used top bed sheets. I promise it has been non-stop play and nesting since they have arrived! This blog is a part II for all the fans who loved watching the chimps, mostly Honey B and Rayne, play with the sheets! For those who may have missed all the fun a few weeks ago, there is a blog about how fun sheets can be. Not all sheet fun was able to be captured over the weeks, but Honey B sure is enjoying them! I hope you get a few giggles out of this one. 🙂

Rayne nesting with a beautiful lavender sheet (might be her favorite):

Bonus photos! This morning as I let Foxie’s group out onto Young’s Hill and caregiver Jenna let Lucky’s group out onto the Bray, I was able to capture some photos from both sides.

Foxie was the first out to greet the day and found a little leftover forage along her way:

Lucky set out for the hammock this morning:

Eventually, she climbed up higher for a better view:

Gordo went out this morning too (maybe to get a glimpse of a tiny little chimp across the way):

After a little while he sat down and took in the view:

Jamie was very focus on listening to her noisy neighbors:

Later, I found one of my favorite versions of Jamie, upside down Jamie! Upside down Jamie is goofy and usually very playful (note the HOOT! Book in her pocket):

Jamie is still holding on to her HOOT! Boot Book very tight:

And the handsome devil, Burrito napping in the window:

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop (Playin’)

July 26, 2023 by Grace

We are really appreciating the break from the intense summer heat here in Cle Elum and the chimps seem to be enjoying it too. Both groups enjoyed a lunch forage today that included strawberries, blackberries, fingerling potatoes, bell peppers, and whole heads of baby Iceberg lettuce! All day today the chimps have been grooming and playing (mostly playing) with each other- so it’s been a pretty good day. Check out the video for more. 🙂

Two days ago, J.B. wrote about Willy B’s procedure. We’re happy to report that he went back with his group first thing yesterday morning and is doing great! We are so grateful to Dr. Erin and the team of professionals she brought together to help us ensure that we are giving Willy B the best possible care he can receive.

Photos from Today

Annie, looking out to Young’s Hill before breakfast this morning:

Burrito during the lunch forage on Young’s Hill:

The cattle are also enjoying this weather in their extended summer pasture!

Gordo, before a game of chase:

Jamie really putting in work during the lunch forage:

Rayne looking out through the Riverview Greenhouse:

All Around the Raspberry Bush

July 25, 2023 by Chad de Bree

When caregivers are assigned to be the lead caregiver on a certain day, one of our first tasks is to “open up” the Chimp House. For me, this is one of the best times of day because it’s still early in the morning and some residents are still not fully awake. Case in point: Negra

To walk in the morning to see Negra still in bed, you kind of watch in real time what kind of mood she will be in that particular day. And yes. She has been in a really good mood today.

Since she was in a good mood upon awakening, and because today’s high temperature in Central Washington is 70º, it was a perfect day for a lunch forage on Young’s Hill. As of this typing (almost dinner time), they have been going on and off Young’s Hill looking for anything they may have missed. On today’s forage menu was: baby iceberg lettuce heads, prickly pears, and sweet potatoes.

Foxie

Burrito (and Foxie) enjoying some baby iceberg lettuce

Missy does the same

Negra: (Iceberg) Head Hunter

With everybody in high spirits, it was also a great day to set up a browse of raspberry branches! Jamie could not have been more content!

And just like the chimpanzees’ night bags, here is a final treat of bonus photos to end today’s blog!

Rayne fishing for cherry tomatoes yesterday

Gordo keeping an eye on the medical staff during a tour after Willy B’s procedure yesterday

And finally, this guy! If you look carefully, you can find an “Easter egg” within this photo

Life

July 16, 2023 by Diana

I’ve had this thought for awhile that is really just a vague notion in my head. More of a feeling, really. I haven’t been able to articulate it even for it to make a lot of sense to me, but I going to give it a try. Maybe someone who reads the blog can take the notion and form it into something more solid and eloquent.

Our sanctuary if fortunate to have loyal and long-term supporters. People who have been following the stories of the chimpanzees for years. People who feel a genuine connection to the individuals in our care. This blog, as we’ve said many times, is a labor of love. It helps us process events, articulate feelings and ideas (sometimes poorly, like now), and share the personalities of the sanctuary residents in a personalized way. It’s been a gift for me, and I’m so grateful for those who tune in – whether on an everyday basis or just from time to time.

I often wonder what it is that keeps people engaged, including myself.

I think it’s because what we really write about and share is just… life. Life, with it’s ups and downs, challenges and celebrations. In life you never know what the next moment will bring.

We have the unique privilege of seeing and sharing life through the lens of these amazing beings who are so incredibly resilient, who surprise us every day and help us grow and understand our own lives from a different perspective.

That’s it. It’s a simple idea, but somehow profound in my mind.

Here’s Rayne climbing to the top of Ryan’s lookout with Gordo below early this morning:

Today, we put out a few buckets with watered down Gatorade as part of the forage on the hill. Foxie went right for a bucket and drank it in one sitting:

Missy did the same:

While Foxie, Missy, and their group were foraging on Young’s Hill, Rayne, Lucky, and Gordo were hanging out watching them on the Bray:

Currant Events

July 11, 2023 by Chad de Bree

In today’s blog, we will do something a little different. Sprinkled within the blog will be some exciting announcements we have! Be sure to find out what they are as you read along!

This morning as I was driving in, there was a mother deer and her fawns in the sanctuary driveway.

Just a sign summer is really here! Another sign is the currant bush is full of berries. If you didn’t know, Jamie is a BIG fan of currants. It has been well documented that Jamie will always gesture for caregivers to give her some when they walk by the bush. She even has eagle eyes to spot a single berry hidden in the grass.

As a part of our browse program, today we decided to bring parts of the bush to her. Parts of the currant branches were placed in the braided firehose feeder and some berries were put into pools of water for them to fish out.

Burrito

Jamie

Before I continue onto the next event from today, we want to announce some exciting news! HOOT! 2023 early bird tickets are now on sale! We have re-imagined our annual fundraising event to be more mission-focused (and appetizer forward). You can join us in-person in Seattle on September 9th or you can participate remotely from the comfort of your own home. We can’t wait to see you in September to celebrate all things sanctuary! Read more about the event and get your tickets with early bird pricing here: https://onecau.se/chimp .

After lunch, the chimpanzees were given a treat! In honor of today’s date (7-11), the chimpanzees were given icy treats with blueberries for Slurpee® Day!

Terry

Burrito

Jamie

Honey B

Negra

For today’s second announcement, we are about a week away from Gordo’s 35th Birthday! Some new items were added to our Amazon Wish List to try to make it very special! I’m not going to spoil the theme for anybody, but you can kind of get a hint of where it’s going by seeing the items! We, especially Gordo, would greatly appreciate it!

As a bonus, here are some other photos taken from around the sanctuary!

Cy inspecting his hands

Foxie watching caregivers clean her playroom

This might as well be a sign that says “Missy was here!”

For some context, Missy is a highly intelligent chimp! To figure out the best way to extract some peanuts from her food puzzle, she did a trial and error session. She started of with the stick. After realizing the stick was much too big, she set off to find another tool. She found one of Burrito’s toy hammers. It did the job! All Missy left behind was evidence of her work!

Burrito wondering why I’m taking photos and not playing

Speaking of birthdays, next week is also this lovely young lady’s 16th birthday! Betsy!

Growth

July 5, 2023 by Kelsi

I know I have mentioned this many times, but being able to witness Mave and Dora’s group grow into this integrated family that has provided them more social opportunities and friendships, plus the ability to work through interpersonal relationships has absolutely been one of the highlights of my career! It is really easy to forget how stressful the introduction process was, especially since they have grown so much and worked so hard to become this group of nine! However, I can still remember the feelings of uncertainty and stress about whether the integration would actually work. It almost feels silly to think about about how stressed we all were. I just remember thinking that Mave, Willy B, and Honey B needed more friends, especially the social butterfly Mave. That was the motivation- more friends and more opportunities.

Now a year and some months later, Dora’s group is flourishing! As predicted, eventually, Mave loved making new friends and Willy B finally has some male friends to hangout with. But the real surprise, the real social butterfly is Honey B. Honey B always seems to be in the middle of a grooming train, mall walking with friends, or playing with a friend like Dora! It goes to show that in sanctuary providing more opportunities and choices really does make their lives all the better.

Bonus photos!

Jenna took this photo and was kind enough to share it with me! A sweet photo Honey B, Mave, and Dora all nesting together: