Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Jamie

Thank you, Manda!

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Manda Crawford sponsored this day of sanctuary: “In honor of Burrito, Jamie, Jody, Annie, Missy, Foxie, Negra, Honey B, Willy B, and Mave. The best day ever! Independence Day!”

Thank you so much, Manda, for helping to ensure the chimpanzees (and cattle) have as much freedom, independence and choice as possible, for all their days forward. We’re so grateful to be able to celebrate these things in the chimps’ lives. Happy Fourth of July!

Independence means different things to different people. Our personal and collective versions of freedom can be found in the broader sense of the word, yes, but also sometimes in the smallest of places. For the chimpanzees, while the freedom of living the natural lives they were meant to was taken from them, a home in sanctuary where they can just be themselves and are able to make as many choices as possible about their day, is the closest to freedom they’ll know.

Here at the sanctuary, in a way, we get to celebrate a kind of Independence Day every day, in one form or another. It’s a profound joy, a privilege and an inspiration to witness each of the chimpanzees explore both their inner and outer independence each and every day because of what you make possible for them. And while we celebrate and hold profound gratitude for these experiences in the chimps’ lives, we hold a space of honor and support for all those still waiting for their Independence Day, in whatever form that may take. Ultimately, all any living being wants and deserves is the freedom to live their lives as they’re meant to, to follow their hearts and make their own choices with the same dignity and respect afforded anyone else.

Whether it’s in taking the first tentative steps outside of not only your comfort zone, but all you’ve known, like Willy B:

To express the joy of being ourselves, like Honey B and Mave:

To rest in comfort, like Negra….

…and be at ease when you need to, or just because you feel like it, like Jody:

We see it when Missy runs to her heart’s content for no other reason than her sheer joy of running:

In Jamie’s freedom to express her wants and needs (and know she’ll be heard):

In the freedom to choose who you spend your time with and how:

In the ability to raise your children and live your lives with your family, like Betsy and Nutmeg:

and Honey and Meredith:

To walk your own path as you choose, like Annie:

To simply love who you love, like Foxie:

To dream, hope, and imagine (Jamie).

And to just be (Burrito):

Fingerprints

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Chimpanzee hands are remarkably similar to our own, from their ability to grasp and use tools to their unique fingerprints. While the exact function of a fingerprint’s various whirls, loops, and arches is still unclear, it’s thought that they might increase grip on some surfaces or improve tactile perception. Scientists have yet to specifically examine the grooming-with-a-chopstick origin theory. As far as I know, koalas are the only animals other than primates to have them – a cool example of convergent evolution.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Amy!

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Today was sponsored by Amy Adams, who is celebrating her birthday by giving a day of sanctuary to the chimpanzees! Amy has also generously requested that her friends and loved ones make a difference in the chimps’ lives in honor of her birthday!

Amy, thank you so much for using your own special day as a way to celebrate the chimpanzees and make a difference in their lives. All of us here appreciate your kind heart so much and wish you the happiest birthday yet!

Jamie:

Foxie and Strawberry Shortcake:

Jody:

Mave:

Where the Wild Honey B’s Are

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We often jokingly refer to the chimpanzees as Pacific Northwest chimps due to their love of our often quintessential cloudy, on the cool side days. Though such weather is much less common here on the eastern side of Washington state, we relish our stormy springs. Well, most of us. Okay, maybe just me and the chimpanzees. 😉 Having been born and raised in the foggy coastal redwoods, I understand the chimps’ joy completely. And despite the rainy morning, the chimpanzees didn’t hesitate to rush out to Young’s Hill, hair standing on end with excitement, still clutching their breakfast, to head off on a walk or just enjoy their pineapple outdoors:

Burrito:

Missy and Jody conferring about their neighbors:

Missy wasted no time heading off to run around the perimeter in the rain, chow bag in mouth. She kept stopping to see who was joining her and finally took off at full zoom on her own:

Foxie and her apples:

Cuuuute!:

Burrito is not a fan of walking in the grass or walking in the rain. I mean, tall, wet grass?? Ugh. But he braved it all to come along on a walk with Jamie and Missy and I. Why on earth he took the route full of tall, wet grass vs. the cleared path, only he knows. But he’s just the most endearing guy, sneer face and all:

Burrito, Jamie and Missy:

Nutmeg, Betsy, Honey and Meredith chose to take cover under the Ponderosas in the rain and seemed to think the chimps were kooky for being out in it:

Burrito as it began raining in earnest:

Meanwhile, there’s Honey B. As an enrichment item for the big celebration on Saturday for Queen Negra’s birthday and the chimps’ twelve year anniversary in sanctuary, a knit crown was tossed in the mix of party stuff. The Queen didn’t take an interest in it, but who do you think we found sporting it around her neck today?! Of course! Honey B! Creative person that she is. It’s a little hard to make out as she had been ripping and running and zooming, but it really reminds me of the crown Max in “Where the Wild Things Are” wears.

Here she is enjoying a snack while sitting on her new birthday skateboard:

Happy Birthday to our Queen Negra!

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To know Negra is a true honor. She is unapologetically herself. To know who you are is a very important life skill. To have the ability to express yourself is also very important. Negra’s life has not been easy. However, Negra is a chimp who knows how she likes things and what she wants. Negra knows she loves pine-coco juice, lettuce, and chow. Negra as many of us know is the queen of comfort, she loves to make people dance for her, and when she wants to play she is not afraid to initiate it. When she feels like it, she gives the best kisses. Negra also gets to make those choices. She gets to choose where and how to make her nest, if she wants to go out on Young’s Hill, and she gets to express herself how she chooses. If Negra feels annoyed with her caregivers she can show her feelings, and trust us Negra is not afraid of holding back :).

June 13th, 2008 changed many lives. Most importantly everyday for 12 years seven chimps’ lives have gotten better each and everyday. And seven chimps became ten chimps. While our family may be growing, our visions and goals as a sanctuary have not. As Leslie Knope once asked in a TV show called Parks and Rec, “Are you better off now than you were a year ago?”. The answer is ABSOLUTELY and Negra is the perfect example of that. Happy Birthday to our Queen Negra. You are so very special to us.

If you missed the The Queen’s Brunch today you can still donate on our auction page. There are still a few second chance items left. Don’t miss out!

The Queen laying on her throne.

We had a huge forage out on Young’s Hill for lunch. Jody had arms full of cattails and a mouth full of roses. She also scored a big chunk of coconut. However, Jody got a little distracted near Negra. Negra looked over and to her dismay there was an abandoned coconut! Negra looked to be the happiest person in the world!

Negra with the coconut.

Missy zipped around the whole forage. I literally never saw her walking.

Jamie with arms and a foot full of lettuce.

Bubba enjoying his peppers.

Negra loving her lettuce too.

We hope you all had as much fun with the virtual auction and brunch as we did! I will leave you with these two images of Negra.

An Xtratuf Book

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Jamie loves books. She enjoys flipping through anything from larger bodied apes, to architecture, to a national geographic about mummies, a classic cowboy boot book, and her new favorite Xtratuf boot book. It has all of her favorite boots in one book! The book idea came about when Jamie’s love for Xtratuf boots happened. As many of you know, the chimps can’t have our cleaning boots because they are made of rubber, which they will sometimes eat. At night we always offer Jamie a pair, or two, or three of her favorite boots or a book before we lock up and leave for the night. Every night instead she would need to groom her favorite Xtratuf boots before bed. These grooming sessions could last anywhere from 25-40 minutes or forever in Jamie’s mind :). Some nights grooming was never enough. As a caregiver, you never want to leave until all the chimps are content. It can be very distressing to see someone like Jamie knowing she wants something she can’t have and then having to say sorry but know she is unhappy when you leave, even if you leave her with another favorite pair of boots she can have. I decided maybe if we made a book off something like, Shutterfly with everyone wearing their Xtratuf boots, maybe that would help her at night!

Well, what I didn’t know was how much she would love it. I knew she would like it, but if you read Katelyn’s blog on Monday, it was very apparent she approved of the book. And that the book evolved into her being able to communicate which boots she wanted right in that moment! On Saturday when I gave Jamie the book, I barely got to page two before she was pilo and running over gesturing for the book! Jamie took the book into the Playroom with a low groan of approval and quietly started flipped through the book. It felt like Jamie was saying, finally!

I only purchased one book because I had no idea how she would respond to it. Sometimes we humans get so excited to give the chimps something. We think “oh Jamie is going to love this” or “Jody is definitely going to use this” and then it’s a flop. Chimps are funny that way. While Anna and I were cleaning the other day we were thinking of different ideas like making a blanket with the boot pictures, or a pillow, or a new book with current and old volunteers shoes that she loved! Now, of course these could all be flops too, but you have to try to find out! If anyone would like to find out, I have put a Shutterfly gift card on the wish list so we can get another 2 or 4 copies of this book for Jamie. Or so we can make a new book for her!

Jamie nesting with the book.

Today I found her book with some pages bookmarked. This could be by chance. But, if we know Jamie she was probably folding those piece over to come back too.


This photo was taken pre-Xtratuf boot book! The other night Diana and I could not figure out what boots Jamie wanted to look at. So we brought her collection out. It turned out later she wanted completely different boots, but she had fun looking.

This book is now always an arms reach away from her.


Jamie up close grooming.


Don’t forget about The Queen’s Brunch. The online auction is going on now! I have been bidding on the Negra painting and keep getting out bid and I am currently in a bidding war for a beautiful Jody colored pencil drawing. Look out for me 😉 Please join us live on Facebook, June 13th for the brunch, it’s going to be so much fun. We hope to see you there!