Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

freedom

Today is for Don Young

by

A giant Happy Birthday to Don Young today! Don’s wife Karen is sponsoring today in honor of Don’s 75th birthday and shared these sentiments: “Happy 75th to my wonderful husband, Don, who has so generously supported my chimp passion so that it is now his passion as well! Here is to you and a chimp party in your honor! Love, Karen.”

The chimpanzees celebrate Don and Karen every day when they step onto Young’s Hill – the two acre habitat that the Youngs helped to fund. They also funded the greenhouse project, the termite mound on Young’s Hill, and contributed generously towards the medical clinic.

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest simply wouldn’t be what it is without their help, and we can’t thank them enough.

We’ll be throwing a BIG party for Don today – check back on the blog later for photos, or get the blog posts in your inbox by subscribing – just scroll down on this page below all of the announcements, etc., put your email address in the box below the words, “Subscribe to Blog via Email,” and then click “subscribe.”

In the meantime, watch the video below of the chimpanzees first day on Young’s Hill:

Happy Birthday, Don!

Negra’s Journey

by

In celebration of Negra’s 39th birthday and the 4th anniversary of the chimps’ arrival at the sanctuary, we take a look back on the journey that brought Negra to us.

Thank you for all that you do to help us provide a home for Negra and her family.

(This video is narrated so you will need to turn your volume up)

KOMO 4 News Broadcast

by

Watch the broadcast footage that was aired on Seattle’s KOMO News last night and will air again tonight at 6pm: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/130546448.html

Thanks to Eric Johnson for reporting and Eric Jensen and Sara Givens for filming!

 

P.S. J.B. Mulcahy hasn’t changed his last name – it was just a little mistake. We are married, but have different last names.

Watch Seattle’s KOMO 4 Sunday

by

The national broadcast of the chimps’ going onto the hill is still up in the air, but I did receive confirmation from Eric Johnson of KOMO 4 that they will air the story Sunday night at 11:00pm and it will re-air Monday at 6pm. So, for those in the Seattle area, set your DVRs and come to the blog after you watch it to tell us your impressions.

It was a pretty emotional day and we were lucky that the film crews were gracious, understanding and also really excited to witness the chimpanzees taking their first steps onto Young’s Hill.

Here’s a photo of 2/3 of the Young’s Hill clique. Maybe tomorrow someone else will join Burrito, Missy and Jamie in exploring the wide-open part of their home.

jamie and missy climbing structure on young's hill

 

Today is the day

by

I can’t believe today is the day we get to see our chimpanzee friends step on grass for the first time.

Yesterday I looked at the 5′ x 3′ cage we have on the property. They lived in cages that size for decades. It’s impossible to put into words the sadness that small cage evokes. Then I looked at the 2 acre hill.

It might be a little scary for them at first, but the chimps are definitely ready for us to open the doors to the next chapter in their lives and put their pasts further behind them. We plan to set up a large lunch forage for them and open the doors around 11:00 (pacific time).

Its been heartwarming to see all of the posts that people have been sharing about the news on Facebook. It’s a privilege to be part of such a great community of people who care about chimpanzees and are as excited as we are to see the Cle Elum Seven step onto that hill.

A lot of people have been sharing the Young’s Hill video that Jonathan Houser made just a year ago when we were raising funds for the hill at our 2010 auction. I’ve included it below.

Young’s Hill – The Dream from Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on Vimeo.

 

Thank you all.

Twas the Night Before Freedom

by

It’s 8pm on Thursday night, and I’m so excited to share the latest report on the “Freedom Van,” as one of our favorite people is calling it. We expect them to pull in tomorrow morning around 8:30am PT.

Things are so exciting around here! Amidst all the preparations for the chimpanzees (like sorting enrichment, chopping fruit, and organizing the kitchen) I keep thinking about what a new beginning tomorrow will be. It holds a lot of potential firsts for our seven new friends: first blankets, first smoothies, first oatmeal, first view of the beautiful Yakima River! But most importantly, the first day of freedom. We hope our new friends will never look back. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to tell them what’s in store? Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Sarah