Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jody

Congratulations, Heather and Matt!

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Stephanie Voss sponsored this day of sanctuary in honor of Heather Voss with “Congratulations to Heather & Matt on their wedding day.”

What a joyful day for the chimpanzees to be included in, Stephanie, thank you!

Heather and Matt, may your special day be a joyful, hope-filled, beautiful celebration! Thank you for helping to ensure the chimpanzees’ lives are filled with love and joy for all their days forward. Congratulations from all of us at CSNW!

Missy:

Mave and Willy B:

Honey B and Mave:

Annie and Missy:

The blanket shredder strikes again!

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As we welcome Autumn to the sanctuary, we also welcome the days of cozy nests. Negra in particular is usually found on top of a mountain of fabric,  with a nice big blanket pulled all the way up to her chin.

And then there’s Jody…  Jody loves a big nest… but she also loves to alter hers in a certain way.

You might notice how Jody’s “shred until comfortable” nesting technique interferes a bit with Negra’s “big blankets are best” nesting technique.  This shredding behavior really came to a head last year and Kelsi had to put out a call for blankets to refresh our supply.  Well that time has come again, we need more blankets!

This time around, we are on the hunt for some heavier duty blankets that are still easy to wash/dry but are less easy to tear in half (in addition to our usual polar fleece blankets).  We think some thicker faux minky type blankets might be what we’re looking for. We need thick blankets with a solid strong edge seam! Check out our Amazon Wishlist for some of the blankets we’ve added so we can keep all the chimps as cozy as can be this year.

Jamie:

Burrito:

Annie:

Willy B:

Mave:

Honey B:

Missy:

 

Blame it on the Computer

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Okay, so I had this whole blog planned out! However, the computer has told us that it is tired and does not want to load my video right now. All good things come to those who wait, right? So please look out for a video of Honey B this weekend. For now, I hope that these photos will appease you until then.

I have no photos of Honey B, Willy B, or Mave because they have been very preoccupied with the construction going on lately. And as Chad mentioned yesterday they have poured the concrete! Yay! But, the three have been busy managing the construction workers.

Negra and Jody spending some quality time grooming each other in the Green House.

Jamie having a mellow day.

Burrito trying to wait patiently while I gather photos.

Eventually, one person can only wait so long! Burrito popped up while I was taking a photo. I had to laugh because I wasn’t expecting it.

And then there is sweet, beautiful Annie. I could look at this photo all day.

Rainy Day Play and Birthdays

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This blog was not quite what I had planned today. In my head, I thought I would talk about our infamous blanket shredder(s). As a person who tries to keep up on inventory in the chimp house, I’ve found that we can’t seem to catch up on blankets. So, if you have ever desired to purchase blankets for the chimps there are plenty on our wish list!

Then the blog was going to be all about Meredith, because it’s her birthday today! Happy birthday Meredith! To celebrate, caregiver Chad brought the cattle some willow tree branches and cob to go with their hay. But, Meredith and friends had other plans. The cattle just wanted hay, which they made very clear when they bombarded the gator! So, because Meredith only wanted to celebrate her day with hay and her three closest friends. I was able to capture some very silly chimps on a pretty rainy day.

In the video you will watch Jamie hanging upside down like a bat stomping around upside down and making one caregiver very out of breath (that would be me). Minutes before the seven were about to go back into their freshly clean playroom, Negra, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, and even Jamie joined in to play slap, bite, tickle, & toe grab! Now, it may look like they where playing rough with Negra. But I will warn you Negra created that term! Please enjoy the bloopers were Jody attempts to stab me with a tube and Foxie tries to poke the camera :).

Happy Birthday to the beautiful Meredith!

Nurse Jody

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We sometimes refer to Missy as “Dr Missy” because she is the go to groomer for keeping any wounds open and draining. She is quick to investigate any scab or stitch her friends might have and remove them (stat!).  While having a doctor on hand is a valuable asset, we also need a nurse to perform the daily care and keep our patients’ spirits up. Jody would definitely more than qualify for this position. She has been spending her afternoons with Burrito grooming and playing with him as he finishes his recovery from his rattlesnake bite. As you might be able to tell from the video, Burrito is back to his usual silly self and will hopefully be getting a clean bill of health this weekend.

In honor of everyone who is helping the chimps

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Darcy Collart sponsored this really lovely day of sanctuary for, well, us all!

“Thank you to all the people who work so hard to rescue, take care of, and support these wonderful and deserving chimps! This includes all the rescuers, caregivers, donors, and/or defenders. You are so needed and appreciated!”

Darcy, this is such a kind, uplifting thing to do! Thank you!! As you stated so beautifully, there are a myriad of ways to care for each of these amazing chimpanzee people, none of which would be possible without the incredible support, dedication and love of so many amazing humans. We couldn’t do it without you all. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making the chimps’ lives here in their sanctuary home possible.

Honey B:

Foxie:

Mave and Willy B:

Jody and Burrito:

Jamie:

Jamie, Foxie, Missy, Annie and Burrito::

Digital Field Trip

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Last Thursday we hosted a digital field trip with Northwest VEG. They are an amazing non-profit that offers all kinds of education, they create positive change, and help to build a stronger community and environment. I mean who doesn’t want to be a part of something like that! Please check out their website to see what they are up to!

We feel so lucky to have collaborated with them. Northwest VEG really understands the importance of sanctuaries and how crucial it is to educate people of all ages about the values that sanctuaries hold. I personally really loved working with them because they are such kind people, they’re respectful of the chimps, their needs, and our boundaries. As a sanctuary we rarely have public visits, especially now with COVID-19 we are not doing any visits. If you are not familiar with our philosophy on visits you can check out our website. This opportunity was very special and the participants asked a lot of hard questions and fun ones too.

My favorite question asked was, “What is the best part of the sanctuary?”. This may sound like an easy question. However, this was a hard question that I don’t think I gave justice to. There is so much that goes into that answer. Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest allows for the chimps to have freedom and choices, which are two things that humans took away. We all know humans took so much and that this is not their natural life, nor should it be. So I guess we could start there. They get to have choices. Another aspect is to see the chimps’ resiliency and watch the chimps grow as individuals. For example, Annie is now a much more bold and confident chimp. She sometimes swipes food from the other chimps and isn’t as afraid to test the waters and see if she can climb the social ladder. Foxie, for all the things she is unsure of, has become more brave than ever. She climbs and explores unfamiliar structures, and though blankets are one thing she won’t conform to, her love for dolls has expanded. One example that makes my heart happy and hurt all at the same time is Willy B going outside onto the new courtyard, an extension of Young’s Hill. He is getting more comfortable every day! It is something to celebrate and also if you think about it, that is something he should have never had to fear. Though we can never give them the life they should have had in the wild, we hope this is close.

If you want to have an experience like this one look out for our online auction, HOOT! 2020 on Saturday, September 12th, where you will be able to bid on a virtual tour of CSNW!

Most of my photos today are of Jamie. I hope you enjoy!

Jamie was having a very good day. I received my new cleaning boots yesterday from a very kind donor! They are the same pattern, octopus, just with less holes. Jamie, being the encyclopedia of boots noticed right away!

And Jamie approved. Though, her favorites are still Diana’s blue whale ones.

She is a very observant individual.

<3

Then there was Burrito.

A few days ago this is how I found Burrito nesting.v

This is a photo of Jody and her sweet heart shaped brow ridge.

Willy B has been nesting on the ground with some very plush blankets lately.

Mave nesting under the food chute.

Honey B. I just love this photo. You can see the intensity in her eyes.

I thought I would share some cattle pictures, just because.

Betsy.

Meredith.

Nutmeg.

And Honey.

I will leave you all with a photo I just took before closing up the chimp house for the night. It is a photo of Burrito and Jody nesting next to each other on a bench in the front rooms. Jody spent 15 minutes making her nest perfect. Burrito gathered 3 blankets and put one over his head. Goodnight everyone!