Jody

Happy Birthday, Arlene!

August 20, 2017 by Katelyn

A weekend of celebration has been sponsored for the chimpanzees by Michael in honor of his wife, Arlene, for her birthday! Michael and Arlene are such wonderful friends to the chimps and we’re so happy to celebrate with them! Michael shared this sweet message about today:

“This is for Arlene’s birthday weekend!! I would like to sponsor today and tomorrow to my beautiful wife!! As this is all she wanted was to help the chimps.”

Michael and Arlene, thank you so very much for including the chimpanzees in your special celebration! We’re so grateful to have you as part of our chimp family. Your kind and compassionate hearts are a gift to them and make a lasting difference not only in their lives, but the world in general.

Arlene, all of us at CSNW hope your birthday weekend has been filled with all that brings you joy, comfort and love and wish you the happiest of birthdays yet! The chimps wishes might look something like this…

Annie and Missy wish you the love and companionship of friends and family (and stylish birthday fashion accessories):

Foxie wishes you adventures as often as possible:

Burrito, of course, wishes you all the good food you can possibly eat:

Jamie wishes you well, whatever you want:

Jody wishes you lots of lounging time:

And Negra wishes you a peaceful heart:

What’s in a Kiss?

August 17, 2017 by Elizabeth

You may have seen the video we posted the other day of Foxie giving kisses to some of the other chimpanzees to reassure them after a brief conflict broke out during her birthday party.

If you’re a chimp, a kiss can say a few different things: “Everything’s okay. Please calm down.” Or “I’m feeling a little nervous.” Or “Isn’t this exciting?!”

Today we set out a lunch forage on Young’s Hill. Jody and Missy both have the same foraging strategy. They make one big sweep of the area, gather as much food as they can carry, and then head back into the greenhouse to sit down and enjoy it. Missy was on her way to the greenhouse, trying not to spill any of her spoils, when Jody met up with her, also heading to the greenhouse. They stopped briefly for a kiss and breathy pant, which in this case was part: “This is great! I can’t wait to eat this food!” and part: “I have food. You have food. Everything’s okay.”

Thus reassured, they completed the trek to the greenhouse where they ate in peace.

Moments of comfort

August 7, 2017 by Katelyn

After experiencing over 30 years of deprivation, it never ceases to amaze me (or make my heart burst) to see the chimpanzees so fully embrace a life of comfort in their own unique ways. It physically hurts my heart to think of all they went without for so long and makes each moment of joy and comfort for them all the more meaningful.

The chimps recently received some new SUPER fluffy fleece blankets and they adore them. They look as though they are floating on clouds sitting in their nests, the blankets sometimes as high as their chests. We found two super voluptuous nests this morning while cleaning the playroom. Despite Jamie’s aversion to snakes, she really loves to incorporate the stuffed toy snakes into her nests:

Jamie (we assume) decided to use a chopstick to remove a washer from somewhere yet to be discovered. She is far too smart for our own good:

This beauty was spread out over the catwalk:

Beautiful Annie lounging:

Jody in particular loved the new blankets (naturally) and frequently rubbed her head and face against them:

Jody’s sweet feet in a cloud of fluff as she napped this morning:

Seeing the chimps surrounding themselves in comfort will never grow old.

Highly prized

July 29, 2017 by Anna

There are a few foods that a lot of caregivers mildly dread serving to the chimpanzees. One of these foods is corn on the cob. Corn is a hot commodity for the chimps and with its distinguished deliciousness, comes a wave of competitive desire from a few of the dominant individuals (namely Jamie and Jody) to try and steal as many pieces of corn as possible from the other chimps. This as you might imagine, is not seen as a popular tactic and can cause chaos and screams to ring through the sanctuary. We rarely serve whole pieces of corn any more because it causes so much drama, and instead will break the cobs in half, or cut them into many tiny pieces for play room forages. Today however, we decided to spread whole corn far and wide out on Young’s Hill. There is something about having all that extra space for foraging out on the hill that the chimps seem genuinely satisfied and lose a little bit of that competitive tension.

Of course there are some chimps that are a bit more successful…
Jody:

Negra seemed so pleased with her one large corn that she headed right back inside with it to enjoy:

Burrito needed a lot of reassurance from Foxie because he was so thrilled (note how “fluffy” he looks with his hair standing on end). Foxie was perfectly happy to pick up a bunch of primate chow that we also scattered with the corn.

Jamie and Missy were moving and eating quickly, but I promise they got lots of lunch too!

Annie ate all of her corn while she was outside:

Happy Birthday, Reilly and Eamonn!

July 29, 2017 by Katelyn

Today Reilly and Eamonn Coyne are turning 7 years old! Kate O’Keefe chose to celebrate her twin grandchildrens’ special day by sponsoring this day of sanctuary in their honor! Kate shared this lovely message about today:

“We are sponsoring this day in honor of our twin grandchildren, Reilly and Eamonn Coyne.They are turning 7 on July 29th! Thank you for all your wonderful work. It is a joy to see your posts of the chimps happy and thriving.”

Kate, we are so touched that you thought of the chimpanzees in celebrating Reilly and Eamonn and their birthday. It’s lovely to know your compassion and your grandchildrens’ lives are making a difference in the chimps’ lives. We are so happy to celebrate with you all today.

Happy Birthday, Reilly and Eamonn!! Here at the sanctuary we think the number 7 is a pretty big deal. These seven chimpanzees have brought more joy, love, fun, laughter and hope into all our lives and we hope your special day is full of all the same. Thank you for caring about Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra and sharing your big day with them!

Burrito:

Foxie:

Jamie:

Jody:

Annie and Missy:

Negra:

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

July 28, 2017 by Katelyn

Rachel Ruggeri sponsored this day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees as a wonderful way to celebrate life! She shared this really beautiful message about today:

“This day is in honor of my 48th birthday! The sanctuary gives me hope that we can create a better world where all living creatures have some sense of freedom and happiness. And it is that hope that I look forward to with each passing year…”

Rachel, you are an amazing friend to the chimpanzees. From our hearts, thank you for all you do for them, for helping us care for them and give them lives their unique and special selves deserve, and for being part of their family. Holding your touching message in our hearts, we are all wishing you the happiest of birthdays yet and many, many more to come. Have a fantastic day!