Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
The chimps often use straws for drinking things that aren’t within reach (such as evening food puzzle drink buckets that we set outside their enclosures).
Sometimes they like to improvise and use straws, just because they can (not because it’s necessary). Annie for instance, likes to bring her own straw along to drink her morning smoothie (that we usually serve straight to her lips from the cup). Here’s Jamie making an interesting tool use choice.
Yesterday we had freezing fog rolling through the sanctuary all day and overnight the sanctuary turned into an icy wonderland. With a wind chill of 20 degrees it’s remained enchanting, if not frigid, but that hasn’t stopped several of the chimpanzees from a quick run around Young’s Hill. But most of the chimps have been enjoying their day indoors, playing constant games of chase and making huge blanket nests.
And boss lady, Jamie, has no problem finding indoor activities to keep her busy in between her frosty runs. She began by taking an after breakfast nap complete with yawns and choosing to wear a hot pink sock with flying pigs in capes on it. Naturally.
We put out a forage of purple cabbage and dried oranges, but Jamie was most interested in what might have been hidden in her kitchenette. And we just love that giant caterpillar:
She later discovered a surprise pair of new boots:
And then she finally settled back into her nest for some reading about her cousins, the Bonobos. Jamie is utterly fascinated by the books she has been given about bonobos, even more so than her chimpanzee books. She spends ages looking at them over and over:
Well these chimps were ready to go this morning! Jody and Foxie sprinted out the raceway onto Young’s Hill this morning. Annie sat and soaked in the crisp winter morning. Missy came rippin’ onto the Hill and had a quick morning hug with Annie and ripped right back inside! Burrito attempted to go out but quickly turned around to wait for everyone to come back inside. And when Jamie came out she was ready to conquer any quest!
Here is Foxie a little pilo out on the Hill:
After a brave attempt to hang with the girls, Burrito patiently waited for them to return to the Green House safely:
Burrito retreated back to the warm front rooms eventually:
Neggie with all her wisdom knew where she wanted to be (on the platform in Front Room 2 with a pile of blankets):
Jamie taking a quick yoga tree stand:
Later, after her Hill adventure she spent her leisurely morning wearing an ankle boot and another boot in her pelvic pocket all while laying on a barrel watching the volunteers clean the Playroom:
It’s a beautiful, snowy day in Cle Elum, and the chimpanzees are cozying up in the warm playroom. I caught Jamie in the middle of making a nest (and doing some repair work on a wagon) in one of her favorite nesting spots.
Every chimpanzee deserves a territory – a home space worth defending. One measure of welfare in a captive chimpanzee is whether they demonstrate territorial behavior. If they take ownership over their home, that’s a sign that they consider it home.
Here at the sanctuary, boss Jamie does the work of defending her family’s home. Every day, often multiple times a day, in all weather conditions, day and night, Jamie takes perimeter walks around the two-acre outdoor habitat to make sure everything is on the up and up. Sometimes she brings friends, and sometimes she goes it alone.
Personally, I think resolutions are made to be broken. And I’m more a follower of seasons, than the calendar. That said, I think New Year’s Eve is another wonderful opportunity we’re given to stand still and breathe for a moment, take stock and revel in the celebration and gratitude of what brought us to this point and the hope and inspiration of what’s to come.
Today was an incredibly beautiful day. This single gorgeous kestrel spent the whole day flying around the sanctuary:
There was some epic breakfast excitement involving whole apples (apples are a hot ticket item because boss lady, Jamie, LOVES them so we usually quarter these for easier serving to everyone). But when Jamie caught sight of a bowl of whole apples headed her way she literally stood up and screamed at the top of her lungs. I’m not talking about the usual hooting or food grunting, but screaming! You would never think something so every day, so simple as an apple would elicit such pure joy in someone. It made our hearts want to leap right out of our chests. And hers as well it seemed.
The morning may have started in the low twenties, but the chimps anxiously tumbled out into the brilliant sunshine together without hesitation. I couldn’t help but admire their loyalty to one another because even as those less tolerant of the cold stopped to shudder and seemingly rethink their decision, when the others encouraged them to continue, they did. They stuck together. They’re family.
Burrito, Annie, Missy, Jody, Jamie and Foxie:
Missy (R) encouraging her reluctant best friend, Annie, up the hill in the cold morning:
Annie’s such a loyal friend:
Even Burrito was sticking with the group:
Foxie had just lapped up the frost on the structure:
Missy is also a loyal friend and though she was cold, she stuck with Jamie, doing her best to hold back the horses that usually send her galloping across the hill:
Jody diligently followed her family onto the hill making sure everyone was safe, as she does, but she tends to be a little more sensitive to the cold (case in point, the sneer face) and decided to head back inside:
But Jody’s not happy until she knows her family is safe and sound so it wasn’t long before she came out again and decided to busy herself looking for ice snacks until everyone returned:
Jody could see Jamie coming down the hill, back toward the greenhouse where Jody was headed, and decided it would be good chimp politics to make sure Jamie was okay with her keeping that amazing chunk of ice:
Luckily for Jody, Jamie isn’t big on ice chunks:
Annie heading inside:
Later in the afternoon, Jamie and I were headed out on a walk when she spotted staff caregiver, Kelsi, and volunteer caregiver, Caroline, coming back from taking care of the cattle. And that’s not all she spotted. Kelsi had a new pair of muck boots with cows on them! Jamie was so pilo with excitement it looked like she grew three sizes as she made Kelsi race her around the hill, Missy hot on their heels:
You may be wondering about Negra by now. She spent much of the day in happy baby pose in the sunshine streaming through her window and grooming with the others. But she declined having any photographic evidence of anything she did all the live long day. I don’t blame her.
The chimps enjoyed a New Year’s Eve forage for dinner complete with sparkling cider and were all happily ensconced in their evening enrichment as we left.
And here we stand on New Year’s Eve, in the middle of the solstice season, looking back, looking forward. I’m convinced there’s magic here, in the just so tilting toward our star, in the darkening and the lightening of our days. I see it in Annie who used to sit in the raceway too frightened to venture onto Young’s Hill with Missy, rocking with anxiety until she returned, who now bravely follows her into the cold. Annie, who is often the one outside on her own these days. I see it in Missy who flies across the hill, her legs barely able to keep up with her now free heart. I see it in Jamie who wants to explode with joy over the sight of whole apples just for her and caregivers with new boots to race around the hill to her heart’s content. I see it in Jody who braves her dislike of cold temperatures to make sure she can keep a watchful eye over her family until everyone returns safely to the chimp house. I see it in each of the chimpanzees every single day. And I see it in all of you.
YOU make all these moments possible for them. You have helped provide the home, the time, the care and the love for them to heal and grow more than we ever thought possible. Because of you and your overwhelming support of our Bring Them Home campaign we now stand here looking to the year ahead and the expansion of home and family that your absolutely incredible generosity, compassion and love is making a reality. So yes, I see magic in that.
From our hearts to yours, thank you. You. Are. Amazing!! Thank you for being part of this chimp family. And thank you for being committed to the caring and connecting that extends far beyond the bounds of this small sanctuary home. We are all wishing you a New Year’s Eve and year ahead as magical, hopeful, and inspiring as you make possible for these seven amazing individuals, the four beautiful bovines we’re so happy to have welcomed to their new home with us, and all the humans here who have the privilege and honor to care for them, as well as the future family members we can’t wait to welcome.
Happy New Year, everyone! And apologies for the late post! We had persnickety internet today! 😉
She’s really smart.
