Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

It’s Gabriela LaChappelle’s Birthday!

by

Keith‘s daughter, Gabriela, is turning 17 today! I can hardly believe it!! Keith is the founder of CSNW, so I’ve known Gabby since 2003 when I first moved to Washington and started working with the chimps at Central Washington University. She’s a beautiful girl (woman!?) with a silly spirit and always has a smile on her face (and if there’s not one, I can make it happen :). I love her and her brother Teddy so much, and think of all of the LaChappelle family as part of my west coast family. So, the happiest of birthdays to you, Gabby! Hope you come visit your friends in Cle Elum soon!

Here’s a photo of one of my favorite moments with Gabby’s favorite chimp, Foxie:

Foxie nest

by

It was a rainy gloomy day today so I put a video on for the chimps to watch. Foxie, Negra, Annie, and Burrito were all watching at one point or another. I noticed that Foxie was “nesting” with her trolls so I thought I’d grab a few blankets to see if she wanted them. She took about 10 (which is rare for Foxie!). I didn’t catch it, but she sat in the nest and watched TV for a few minutes. When I came back with the camera she was sitting beside it (see below – still watching TV). It was a nice big cozy nest!

Foxie, up close

by

Not only do we have an awesome camera (thanks to our awesome board of directors), but we also have some really photogenic chimps! Here’s an up close photo of Foxie, who was keeping a close eye on the boss, Jamie.

In addition to keeping her eye on her boss, she’s also been keeping her eye on this troll doll for the last two days:

“Diane and Syd Marcus are awesome” Party

by

Diane and Syd Marcus sent us some fabulous goodies for Jody’s Birthday Party, but unfortunately we didn’t get them until after the big day. As a compromise, today we held a “Diane and Syd are awesome” Party. Let me explain:

Diane and Syd frequently send the chimps goodies and each time there is one hand-picked and individually wrapped thing for each chimp, along with a note to whom it belongs to. Among the gifts this time– a stuffed animal for Jody, a popper toy for Burrito, a silky scarf for Annie, a toolbox for Jamie, socks and a beaded necklace for Missy, a troll doll for Foxie, and both Foxie and Negra got something extra special– several months ago, Diane and Syd sent a monogrammed Winnie the Pooh blanket for Negra. It was adorable and Negra actually seems to like it! This time, Diane and Syd had a king sized blanket monogrammed for her! They also sent a small monogrammed blanket for Foxie. Here’s their note to Foxie:

Darling Foxie,
We were overjoyed to see you reaching for blankets. You are not only a troll collectrice extraordinaire, but also a nest maker par excellence. And a beautiful peacekeeper. What a girl!!

We chose this blanket because it is a girlie girl blanket- which is what you are. Red and pink are your colors. Snuggle with it when you wish– you can do a few lovely flips.

Of course, we have also enclosed something else. No present to you would be complete without one.

You are a very special and lovely girl.

We are so fortunate to have such lovely supporters like Diane and Syd Marcus who light up the chimps’ day. The party was excellent, as always!

First, a video:

Negra was super happy about the rice cakes Diane and Syd sent:

They also sent some blueberry tea, which was a big hit. Here’s Missy enjoying a glass:

Jody checking out the beaded necklaces:

Jamie and her tools:

A super relaxed, post-party Burrito:

Thanks so much to Diane and Syd for the lovely gifts, and for all of you who send such wonderful enrichment for the chimps!

Playful Negra

by

We don’t know exactly how old Negra is. Our records say she was captured in Africa in 1973, other records indicate 1968. As far as we know, she was immediately placed in a biomedical research facility in the United States after her capture. She remained the property of the biomedical industry until 2008.

We celebrate Negra’s birthday on June 13th, the day the chimpanzees arrived to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. The 3rd anniversary of the chimps’ arrival and Negra’s 38th (or so) birthday is just one month away!

Regardless of her exact age, Negra is not a young chimpanzee, and it’s always a joy to see breaking out into play. She and Foxie had been playing for several minutes before I could get to the camera. When I did start filming, Jamie was banging on the fencing and didn’t seem very pleased, but she soon decided to give up on reprimanding me and instead joined in on the play.

My favorite part of the video below is Negra’s foot stomp towards Jamie. Foot stomping is a common chimpanzee play behavior, but this is one of the very few times I’ve witnessed Negra do it.