Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

Remembering Bill

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Nicki Walters sponsored this special Christmas Eve day of sanctuary in memory of her beloved husband, Bill, and she shared this touching message about today:

“This is my Christmas Present to my Sweet Willy Twist who is greatly missed. The Magnificent 7 always brought us so much joy and helped us find our smiles and give us reasons to laugh during several dark days. Even though he isn’t here to enjoy this day, I like to think he still looks on and watches them climb and romp around on his Twister! Merry Christmas to the Chimpazees and all who take such good care of them!”

Nicki, all of the primates here at the sanctuary are so fortunate to call you and Bill our friends. From our hearts, thank you for all you have, and continue, to contribute to making the chimps’ home a true sanctuary. Your amazing gift of Twister has brought so much joy and adventure to the chimps’ lives. It’s given boss lady, Jamie, a perfect vantage point from which to view her queendom and all the happenings in all the land:

It’s encouraged others to reach new heights of courage and daring (Burrito being VERY brave):

Foxie, Dora and Kate:

Foxie climb twister

Jody:

Inspired chimpanzee shenanigans (Missy top, Annie below):

Annie and Missy top of Twister

Missy chasing Annie:

And is a daily reminder of all the love that surrounds the chimps and all the good people we get to call part of our chimp family.

Nicki, you and Bill are in our hearts and thoughts and we are sending you all the good thoughts for a season full of love, comfort and peace.

Keeping Traditions

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Judy and Thom Nash in honor of their family! Judy shared this beautiful message about their gift:

“Last year we sponsored a day as our gift to our four grown daughters and grandchildren and want to continue that tradition. We believe it’s extremely important to care for our earth and all inhabitants. These seven chimps have found a special place in my heart and I feel ashamed as humans that we treated them so horrible. I am eternally grateful for the sanctuary and the wonderful people that take special care of these seven beautiful beings.”

Judy and Thom, this is such a lovely, heartfelt day of sanctuary in honor of your daughters and grandchildren and the chimps! Thank you for holding the chimps in your hearts and for making a lasting difference in their lives. Happiest of holidays and winter seasons to you and your family from all of the primates at CSNW!

On this first day of winter we’ve had happily nowhere near the snow we had last year yet (knock on wood), but chimp family snowdays are nevertheless a sight to behold. Here are Jamie and Missy ingeniously avoiding the snow from last year:

Jamie:

Missy:


Jody bringing in a snow treat:

Jody holding snow 2

Jamie and Annie improving upon the humans’ shoveling skills:

Foxie and Burrito:

Of course, snowdays call for plenty of warm tea and cozy nests:

Negra:

A model chimpanzee

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Foxie has been incredibly playful ALL day. She is a joyful spirit, but for whatever the reason she’s been exceptionally exuberant and happy today. I caught her in our so called portrait studio this afternoon and she graciously allowed me to take some photos. But not without adding her signature Foxie Flair to each one. Every time I would put the camera down and look at her she’d smile at me, nod her head and laugh, and as soon as I’d bring the camera up she strike another pose. She’s pretty spectacular.

Readying for winter

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We are continuing to luck out with dry winter weather so far, but that doesn’t mean it’s warm. We have a wind chill in the low twenties today so the chimps have been going from nesting to grooming to playing like wild indoors for most of the day.

Burrito took a brief respite as he waited for a human friend to resume their rambunctious game of chase:

After building up to it all day, Jamie decided to take a run, I mean a RUN, around the hill and everyone except Foxie and Negra decided to join in! Everyone was running every which way in the cold, hair standing on end, and then quickly scurried back to the chimp house for some warm tea.

After tea service, Jamie requested the remaining tea and the entire jug. Naturally. It didn’t take her long to realize it was going to be too awkward to inch the jug up the caging to drink so she decided to use a plastic tube as a giant straw:

With a belly of warm tea, Foxie decided to curl up on the heated floor with her many dolls du jour for a nap:

The Queen also partook of the tea service and then returned to her nest wrapped up and cozy with a “Do Not Disturb Until Dinner” aura about her:

The chimps aren’t the only ones getting ready for winter. Walking the property earlier today I ran into several of our deer neighbors. They are so beautiful in all their winter finery and it’s really good to see them heading into winter in great shape. We are so fortunate to share this property with some of the same mamas year after year and get to see their children grow over the course of the seasons. Last spring I was able to capture one of our neighborhood mamas with one of her newborn twins:

And here they are today:

What Did the Chimps Do Today?

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We had a lot of playful chimps today! When the humans arrived this morning we found Missy and Annie chasing each other, Burrito with a toy in his mouth ready to play chase, Foxie throwing dolls, Jody breathy panting, Negra giving kisses, and Jamie ready with a grooming tool for boots. Throughout the day there has been quite a bit of napping and nesting because it was really cold today. However, do not fret, the chimps have been very busy! Burrito has been running around with his scooter and Jamie has been reading books and stuffing trolls into paper bags. Check out the video to see a few more of today’s activities!