Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Donna and Doreen Hughes are celebrating their birthday today, and they have sponsored the day for the Cle Elum Seven. Donna and Doreen have been consistently warm and enthusiastic supporters of the chimpanzees since the year they arrived at CSNW. In particular, they’re two of Foxie’s biggest fans!
Thanks, Donna and Doreen. Happy birthday from CSNW!
You may have noticed a lack of Young’s Hill photos and videos over the last month or so. That’s because when the snow gets so deep, it reduces the voltage of the electric fence, making it unsafe to allow the chimpanzees out there. Well, yesterday, J.B., Sarah and I (mostly J.B.) all went out and shoveled around the entire perimeter of the fence (who needs a gym membership?), freeing up those bottom wires covered in snow so that the voltage was sufficient to let the chimps back out! It was very hard work, but the chimps were so excited that it was well worth it! There were lots of hugs and kisses in the chimp house (between the chimps 😉 ) and breathy pants echoed in the greenhouse. Sometimes our job isn’t glamorous but it is certainly rewarding, especially when you see a face like the one below (Jody’s).
Jody was the first one to go back out. She was food grunting (we had lettuce out there, plus look at all that snow!) and had a huge playface!
Annie used Jody’s head for support as she passed her on the log bridge. Jody didn’t seem to mind.
Look at the joy in her eyes!
The snow was really deep, so J.B. and Diana shoveled paths along the log bridge to the first climbing structure and to Negra’s cabin. Most folks just walked along the paths, but Missy chose to walk on the fire hose.
From left to right, Jamie, Missy, Annie and Jody, enjoying the lettuce forage on top of the first climbing structure.
Did I mention the snow was (is) deep? Foxie walked along the paths but she looked so tiny from our vantage point (tinier than she already is, even!).
Annie figured walking bipedally made more sense. Gotta say, I agree!
While everyone else foraged for lettuce, Annie climbed up to the top of Negra’s cabin a couple of times.
And Missy discovered a TON of lettuce Sarah put in the cabin!
I think she was pretty pleased!
All of the chimps went out at some point, though Negra didn’t leave the comfort of the raceway (and only so she could grab some lettuce and snow) and Burrito was only out for a couple of minutes (also just to grab a little bit of lettuce and snow) and didn’t venture out very far, but everyone seemed very happy to have the option of the hill back! And that’s what sanctuary is all about.
Annie following Missy back to the greenhouse:
If you aren’t subscribed to the Take Action newsletter through Eyes on Apes, you may not have seen yet that we’ve had a victory! Two days ago I sent out an action alert regarding a Great Clips commercial with a chimpanzee, and just a day later Great Clips made a statement to pledge not to use apes in future advertising, and said they were working on pulling the ad. This is all thanks to letters from you guys, so congrats! Please forward this victory on to friends and get them to join you in speaking up for apes in need.
As if that good news wasn’t enough happiness for the day, I thought I’d share some pictures of Foxie eating some snow with juice added to it. She’s pretty cute. I think she can put a smile on anyone’s face.
Chimpanzees are quiet most of the time. In fact, as I write this it’s completely silent in the playroom. In times of excitement, though, chimps can be quite vocal. The Cle Elum Seven often pant hoot in anticipation of mealtime, or right after they’ve been given access to an area that had been closed off. Today there was lots of displaying and pant hooting when the chimps re-entered the playroom after lunch. Everyone except for Negra got in on the action (Negra likes to stay out of drama). Here are a few photos of Jody pant hooting during the excitement.
In the video below you’ll see Jamie and Foxie displaying. You’ll notice that they have somewhat different styles. Jamie likes to drum on a barrel to raise the noise level, but even petite Foxie makes an impression.
How do you celebrate food-loving Burrito’s birthday? A day in which the entire focus is on FOOD, of course! This morning we set up a huge forage in the playroom – coconuts, blackberries, pineapple chunks, nuts and seeds, and a pool of snow with blueberry juice drizzled over the top of it. The coconut elicited some of the loudest food squeaks I’ve ever heard and the chimps are still munching on the snow, taking breaks only for the occasional brain freeze. Volunteer Stephanie outdid herself yet again and brought several food-shaped pinatas and tons of decorations, both for the party and for the humans (naturally, we humans have been wearing glittery “happy birthday” hats, sunglasses and tiaras all day). I’m not so sure the chimps are too impressed with the human decor, but they were definitely impressed with the pinatas!
True to form, Jamie was first to go after them:
Annie used her foot to keep her ice cream cone-shaped pinata balanced:
Dick and Robbi Brown brought some pretty epic new enrichment, which definitely added to the excitement! Foxie loved a new troll doll:
Naturally, Burrito checked all the bags for food
some interest in a ukulele a while back and actually played it for a while, so Dick and Robbi (and several other folks) are always on the lookout for another one when they shop at Goodwill or other thrift stores. She was the first to pull the new one out of a gift bag and strummed it a couple of times. But I guess playing a ukulele is more of a thing you do in your spare time because after a few “notes” she went right back to the forage. Missy didn’t play it, but she was curious to see if we maybe hid some food inside (does it seem like everything had to do with food today??).
And speaking of food- the coconuts were definitely the focus this morning! And Burrito couldn’t have been happier!
And the party didn’t end there. Aside from the usual meals, we’ve been serving surprise snacks periodically throughout the day. About 30 minutes ago, we handed out a small handful of blueberries and Elizabeth is now serving gum. Thanks so much to Dick, Robbi, Stephanie, and to everyone that made Mr. B’s day so special! Way to go Team Burrito!!
Foxie still shows the most affinity for trolls and Dora dolls, but occasionally she will try something new.
Today was sponsored by Elizabeth Porter as a gift to her daughter, Tracy Headley. Tracy is a fan of Foxie, so I found a few photos of Foxie to go with the blog post.
Tracy will be happy to know that Foxie had a really great day today. I put a big bucket of snow in one of the front rooms and Foxie snacked from the bucket all afternoon (troll dolls in hand, of course). At one point, Foxie noticed that the cover of the television was partially removed. When I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie and moved toward the t.v., Foxie became really excited. So I put in a dvd that included some Dora the Explorer episodes. She was so immersed in the cartoons, that she barely noticed lunch being served by volunteer caregiver Connie. Foxie also played chase with Jamie and Missy.
All in all, I’d say Foxie had a great day. We hope you did too, Tracy! Thank you and your mom for being such great supporters of Foxie and her friends. Happy Birthday!
