Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

A Lucky Day

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Winter may officially be at the sanctuary, but that doesn’t stop our celebration train from rollin’ through! Today we got to celebrate Lucky’s birthday. Lucky was born on November 6th, 1991 and is the youngest chimp here at CSNW.

Lucky was born at the the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) and is a full sibling to Cy and half sibling to Rayne and Honey B. Lucky came to CSNW with the Lucky Six in 2021 and is in the newly integrated group of nine.

Lucky might seem aloof to many of our blog readers, since she is often doing her own thing, but she has a goofy side to her as well. She really, really enjoys grooming the scabs off of her caregivers, will make bubbly-sounding raspberry noises with her mouth when she wants something, and is known to scoot across the floor while grasping blankets in front of her (see more here). She is a sweet, sweet lady and we are very lucky to celebrate her!

We also want to take a moment to say thank you to our amazing supporter Paulette Wrisley for sponsoring this day for Our Lucky Star. We couldn’t do the things we do without our amazing supporters and we are so grateful to you!

Cy, enjoying his mango:

A close-up of Dora:

Lucky before her birthday lunch (and Gordo cheesin’ in the background):

Rayne with a mouth full of mango:

Willy B looking very handsome during lunch:

 

Jamie & Burrito’s Day of Friendship

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They really did play for a good amount of time while Anna and I cleaned their playroom. I was very glad to get the clips I did!

As you can see from the video, the snow from yesterday was short-lived. I saw Annie walking up the stairs to the playroom loft with a big handful of snow. It’s good that they love to eat it!

Jamieween 2022

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This year’s iteration of Jamieween was a joyful success!

With the help of our amazing supporters, we caregivers prepared a feast and party to celebrate The Boss’s honorary birthday. The staff collected some video clips and photographs of the event to share with you all. Please be aware that we also recorded the highlights of the other group’s party but haven’t had time to sort through all the files yet. We hope to share additional content from today’s event very soon!

Some of the plentiful treats and toys we served and delivered to the chimps today:

Burrito:

Jamie:

Jody (with the prized pumpkin):

Jamie turned 45 years old this year, but the decades haven’t slowed her down one bit. Yesterday, for the first time in her life, she courageously shimmied her way up into the canopy of a real, living tree. This chimpanzee’s confidence, intelligence and curiosity truly know no bounds, and we’re honored to care for her in her sanctuary home.

Here are some of my favorite photos of Jamie from the past year:

Rainy Day Adventures

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It’s a rainy, cool day here in Cle Elum today. Driving into work this morning through the mist I thought that the chimps would maybe be pretty relaxed and be content to spend the day in comfy nests listening to the rain.

I was wrong. 🙂

When I went to say good morning to Cy’s group, everyone was rearin’ to play chase, groom, or just stare at me for long periods of time without blinking (hi, Honey B). On the other side of the chimp house, everyone was off on their adventures as soon as I gave them access to Young’s Hill! I’m pretty sure Missy spent the whole morning after breakfast out under the trees and everyone else came and went as they pleased. I was cleaning Playroom 1 with one of our awesome volunteers, Patti, when Jamie decided it was time to go for a patrol around the hill. She had me wear one of her new favorite boots and when we made it to the top of the hill, she stopped and hung out for a while. It was a pretty exciting walk- be sure to check out today’s video to see why! 🙂 I might have cried a little bit, but that’s just me.

This afternoon, though, has been quiet as everyone nests in warm, fresh, cozy blankets. All in all, it’s been a pretty darn good rainy day.

Cy:

Gordo, holding his feet, because why not?

Sweet Lucky:

Terry, mid-chew:

Honey B, gazing into my soul… pretty sure she knows my social security number, what I got on my SAT’s in high school, and every other little secret about me:

 

Sanctuary Actually

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There are many different stories that unfold throughout the day in the lives of the chimpanzees. Though caregivers aren’t always around to get footage of each and every story, they happen regardless. One thing that intertwines all these stories together is life in sanctuary.

Some bonus photos:

Negra eating a breakfast pomegranate.

Mave and Dora holding hands.

Burrito making his way up Young’s Hill on the first day after the renovations.

Some photos of Burrito with the rose bush!

Spotted on Young’s Hill: Negra

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Today was a beautiful day for a lunch forage on Young’s Hill! While it is still quite cold, the sun was out which overall made the day more tolerable. The forage included red onions, mini sweet peppers, and tomatoes. Here are some photos from today’s forage! As you will see, Negra was too fast for my rookie camera skills. Enjoy!

Foxie:

Jamie:

Missy:

Burrito:

Here is evidence that Negra did go on the hill… hold the applause for these excellent photos (camera couldn’t focus in time).

Negra:

On Friday, I posted two photos of “Mystery Lips”. Many of you got #2 correct, but #1 appeared to be more difficult. How did you do?!

Mystery Lips #1:

Mystery Lips #1 belong to……. CY!

Mystery Lips #2:

Mystery Lips #2 belongs to…… HONEY B!

A few weeks ago, Jen Feuerstein made a comment suggesting we should have a game where we guess how many blankets are in the very popular hangout spot, aka Room 7. So instead of guessing how many candies are in the jar…

How many blankets do you think are in Room 7? We will post the answer tomorrow!

Let Tree-dom Ring

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Well, we have some exciting news! I am not sure if anyone picked up on Anthony or Chad’s very subtle hints, but today Jamie’s group received access back to the new and improved Young’s Hill! For those who might be wondering about Cy’s group, the Bray Hill isn’t quite ready yet.

This afternoon, watching the seven go back out into their outdoor enclosure was a spectacular event to witness! I will share a few highlights of the day and tomorrow JB will have a video with more details to share!

Annie trying out new structures:

Burrito exploring:

Fearless little Foxie:

Missy and Annie inspecting:

Jody:

Jody and Foxie checking out their new structure:

Chad took this photo of Jamie. To me, this photo is the epitome of sanctuary:

Also this photo of Jamie, she looks so happy:

Maybe one of the best highlights of the day is Missy being the first to climb the trees! We humans and probably Jo were all holding our breath, but also so excited to watch Missy agilely climb a tree for the first time EVER!!!

Jody watching Missy climb a tree:

Jody and Annie monitoring Missy closely from the ground:

“Here I sit beneath a tree. Heartbeat calm. Soul hums free.”

– Angie Weiland-Crosby