Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jody

Turning the Day Around

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I had a lot of hope for the weather after yesterday’s brief reprieve from the winter weather. As I began to drive to the sanctuary today, that hope began to dwindle. A fresh layer of snow had accumulated overnight and there were grey clouds as far as the eye could see. Earlier in the day, all my plans to shift the chimpanzees from one area to another so we could clean their enclosure was altered multiple times. The chimpanzees just refused to leave certain areas, making it harder for us to clean. I began to accept this day was just an outright bad day. Then our veterinarian Erin arrived. She came by and did a checkup on Burrito to see how his recovery was coming along. When she came back into the foyer area, she gave me the best news of the day. She determined Burrito was well enough to be reunited with his family once again!

It was at this point, the entire day turned around. The clouds had cleared up. The sun came out and melted some of the snow. And the chimpanzees began to cooperate and move into the areas we needed them to so we could clean. It sounds like I’m making this up, but believe me, it happened like this. Our incredible volunteer staff today rolled up their sleeves and really busted their bums to ensure the enclosures were cleaned quickly and thoroughly so we could reunite Burrito with the girls. When it came time, I opened the doors to reunite them and there was excitement. Foxie and Burrito almost immediately engaged in a game of chase, before settling down and starting a very long grooming session.

While Burrito and Foxie were grooming, Annie and Missy shared their excitement by engaging in a silly game of play wrestle.

When they were finished, Annie decided it was time to bask in the sun’s rays through window.

Jamie on the other hand found a new way to relax while watching her neighbors from the Playroom window.

While Jody foraged nearby.

Though today started out sort of rough, seeing Burrito back in the Playroom with the Girl Gang made every bit of today worth it.

Near and Dear

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I recently came across a quote I have seen many times and I am sure you all have too. It’s just a good reminder and always stays near and dear to my heart. Happy Wednesday everyone!

“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” – Jane Goodall

Honey B:

Jody:

Burrito:

Missy:

Better Late than Never

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As promised, but a tad bit late, we have the video of the ten chimps ringing in the New Year! I have to be fully honest, I did not realize how big of a year 2020 was. It totally slipped my mind that we were celebrating a decade! Whoops! Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoy the video and some photos of Burrito!

Burrito had a play date with Jamie, Jody, and Foxie. Foxie and Burrito immediately started grooming one another and continued for a few hours. It was a very sweet moment.

Snowy and Groomy Weather

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Our apologies again! We are still having trouble loading the video from the chimpanzee’s New Year celebration the other day due to an internet outage. (I’m currently posting this blog via my personal hotspot from my phone.) I personally blame the current snowy weather.

In the meantime, please enjoy these photos taken around the sanctuary.

Burrito had a playdate with both Jamie and Jody on this snowy day. He decided to spend most of his time inside grooming with Jody:

Of course, that was only when he wasn’t busy asking his caregivers for snowy treats:

Jamie, on the other hand, decided this snowy weather was the perfect weather to wrap herself up in blankets with her current favorite cowboy boot:

On the other side of the Chimp House, Honey B and Mave found today’s snowy conditions to also be perfect for grooming:

Thank you all for being so patient as we try to find a way to share the New Year Celebration video! We hope that tomorrow is the day the internet will be a top strength to share it with all of you.

Cheers to the New Year!

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Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had a fun New Year’s Eve, filled with people you love. We had an exciting forage to celebrate the new year. As tradition, the chimps had black-eyed peas, sparkling cider, baked squash, and pomegranates. Willy B seemed to really like the black-eyed peas. I prepared a small video, but typical, the internet is being funky. I hope that tomorrow will be better! In the meantime, please enjoy these photos.

The sun came out and I think everyone including Honey B enjoyed a little bit of Vitamin D:

Jamie:

I really like this one of Missy:

Foxie cleaning her plate:

New Year’s Eve Reflection

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Reflecting on 2019, this year has been a huge year and also a bit wild and crazy. We had so many highs and some lows too. I have been reflecting on this year a lot. The most amazing things have happened, like, the arrival of three new chimpanzees Mave, Willy B, and Honey B, we have a new building, we started introductions for the chimps, there was the most epic hug between Burrito and Mave, the potential for new relationships, and still so much more growth here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. CSNW has been waiting so long to bring more chimps home and we did it! I get emotional thinking about it. This alone is a massive accomplishment. So much good change has happened around here, even if it means it’s a tad bit more chaotic. 🙂

With those highs, sadly, came lows. I will say the big fight was one of the scariest moments in my career so far. I think back and I am so grateful for the staff I work with and the people I work for. Without this team of selfless and caring people this would have been an even more difficult process to go through. As you have read in previous blogs, any one of us would drop everything and run out the door for anyone for these chimps. Burrito’s recovery process has been long and incredibly exhausting. But Burrito is alive, he is getting back to his normal self, and that is all we care about! I so badly wanted new relationships for Burrito. And to see him almost have it was so amazing and devastating when it was all over. But, what I want most for Burrito is for his health and wellness. He may not get to make new friends, but we can all remember that hug. He has some very fierce lady friends to help keep him company.

So, I am excited for this new year. I think 2020 will have a lot in store for us! There will be growth, there will be fun, and mischief to be had. We are still getting to know the three and I hope with another year they will allow us to get to know them more and further our relationships with them. We hope to continue finding ways to make their lives better and find more choices for the ten chimpanzees’ future.

Cheers to the New Year!

Lounge into the New Year with Mave:

Snippets and tidbits

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This guy greeted us bright and early this morning as his playful, ol’ Burrito self and we could not have been happier. He’s been taking it pretty easy the past couple of days dealing with an angry belly, most likely the result of his long stint on antibiotics which are, if that pesky foot injury continues to go in the same direction, finally complete! With a couple of days of special diet and rest, he’s feeling immensely better so far. After breakfast he climbed up to take a nap, but even with a full belly and sleepy head it took him a few minutes to stop playing:

Flailing about and laughing in one big Burrito blur:

Later in the afternoon I caught him flailing about again, this time in a Burrito-stuffed-monkey pretzel:

After a spin on Young’s Hill with Jamie and Jody, Burrito entertained Jody (and at varying times, Jamie, Foxie and Annie!) in his recovery pad today and seemed particularly delighted to spend some quality grooming time with sweet Jody:

We can’t figure out what it is about today, but although the temperature is much the same as it has been, it’s been freezing all day! The chimps opted to come inside early today and everyone has been building the coziest, plumpest of nests and taking turns in front of the space heater we have set up in front of one of Burrito’s rooms. Of course the chimp house is kept at about 70 degrees and the floors are heated, but on days like today I suspect the space heater feels rather like a fireplace. They’re getting ready for a dinner of roasted apples, squash and potatoes served in paper boats (trust me, anything served in paper boats takes it to the next level and is EXCITING!). I suspect they will be turning in early in preparation for New Year’s Eve tomorrow. 🙂

In other random, but nevertheless noteworthy news bits, I made tiny baked potatoes for everyone at lunch and after intently watching me blow on hers to cool it off more, Honey B moaned with delight and nearly hugged the potatoes to her once I handed them over. That was pretty cute. Also, Willy B was watching documentaries this morning and stopped dead in the middle of a game of chase to stare, mesmerized, at baby pandas who were on the screen. That was also pretty cute.