Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
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!
Here in Chimpanzee Sanctuary, we have a member of true chimpanzee royalty. Negra, first of her name, Queen of the Chimp House. The first 30 years of Negra’s life, after being captured in the wild, were filled with laboratory procedures, an unjustified prolonged period of isolation time, and general despair. Since 2008 Negra has been ruling the Chimp House with an iron fist, determination and self assurance. That said, in this Queendom, there is room for two queens. In the past, Jody was crowned Queen of Nest Building and Relaxation for her love of building amazingly intricate nests to rest in, and then carrying them around the Chimp House. But today, I want to officially add another tittle.
Humans, I here present unto you Queen Jody, your undoubted Queen of Nest Building, Relaxation, and BUBBLES.
There is enough space for these two queens. Negra in the back, Jody in the front.
Queen Negra herself.
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
Most of us grew up having a nickname or two. Here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we have quite a few nicknames for the chimps! We have shared their nicknames over the years, but with new chimps comes new names! I have gathered what I think are most of the nicknames from staff that we call the chimps. Some names are cute while others are silly, I know I am missing a few, but here they are!
Terry: Terrance, Sir Terrance, Tare Bear, T, Terry the Tongue, Teeny Tiny Terry (it’s funny because he is not tiny, but is a gentle giant)
Honey B: Little Bean, Bean, Chickpea, Chicky, Chickabee, Honey Badger, B, BB, HB, Beezus.
Gordo: Gordy, Gordito, G, Gordis, Flash Gordo
Lucky: Luck, Lucky Loo, Lady Lucky Love
Willy B: William, Sir William, WB, William Bones, Willard
Cy: Cy Guy, Sir Cy, CyCy, Cyrus, Sir
Rayne: Raynie
Dora: Dorie, Kanzi (the bonobo, she looks a lot like Kanzi!)
Mave: Mavie, Mavis, Mavereen, Mavie Baby
Mave+Dora=Mora
Burrito: Bubba, Bubs, Bubbie, Bubbert, Bubbalicious, Bub a lub a dub dub, Mr. B
Jamie: The Boss, Friend, James, J, Lady
Jody: Jo, Joji, JoJo, Farmer Jo
Negra: The Queen, Queen Negra, Neggie, Negalina, Eggy, Myyy Neggie
Foxie: Tiny, Fox, Fox, Eens (as in eensy), Fox-a-licious
Missy: Little Miss, Miss, Miss-Miss, Missidy
Annie: Miss Annie, Annie-bo-bannie, Annie Bird, Sweet Lady
Wow! We raised $46,035 in yesterday’s Giving Day for Apes! We are so grateful to all of our amazing donors!
If you are wondering about other ways to help support the sanctuary, check out our Amazon Wish List! Jamie’s birthday boots are still on the list!
Meals are always an exciting time of the day around here! The chimps get fresh fruits and vegetables for all three meals of the day, along with forages and food puzzles throughout the day and evening. Everyone has their favorites, of course, and today Caregiver Katelyn prepared tomatoes, mini sweet peppers, and avocados for lunch!
Join us for lunchtime with the Cle Elum Seven on this beautiful October day. 🙂
Terry, inspecting his own hand:
Terry, noticing me taking photos:
Negra during a meal last week:
Missy, watching Foxie play with Caregiver Katelyn:
Lucky hanging out with me earlier this morning:
A thread of Burrito photos, because he’s handsome and I couldn’t pick just one:
For once there wasn’t a lot going on today for the chimps or the humans. That happens very rarely in this chimp house now a days! The chimps spent most of their day napping, grooming, lazily playing, or working on some enrichment.
Jody grooming a pile of blankets… oops I mean Negra!
Jamie and Missy spent most of the day coaxing their caregivers over to the small garden where the tomatoes and grape vines were ready to be picked! Of course, we had to oblige!
Terry was a hot commodity today! As I walked by with the camera, Lucky and Terry began grooming.
I took a series of photos of Terry Bronx Cheering (or blowing raspberries) when he and Lucky were grooming. Terry is always Bronx Cheering- whether he is grooming, trying to get our attention, and he even does it when he is working up into a display.
A few minutes later Rayne passed by to join the party. Terry began grooming her and then Rayne reciprocated the grooming.
I found Honey B relaxing on one of the tree leaves. She looked content, but also up to no good all at the same time.
Jamie also found sometime in the day to kick back and relax too.
Sweet sweet Lucky lounging in Oakwood.
Burrito had a pretty busy day! It seemed like everyone wanted to play with him, which for Burrito is the perfect kind of day! It was fun to see that even Annie wanted to join in! Burrito and Annie do play and interact with one another. However, they tend to have some miscommunications with each other as well, so to catch a small moment of them having a good time is always a treasure.
It’s hard to decide whether or not to film these fun moments the chimps are having with one another. Pulling out our phones or camera can often distract or stop them from engaging in the interaction with each other, and there are times when it feels like they should just have the time to play and interact without us disrupting them. There are other times when we decide that maybe they are in the moment enough to not notice and we go for it. We never want to interrupt, but we also want to be able to share it! Today was a day I was able to capture these moments without bothering the chimps!
Bonus! Today was a warm one, so what better way to cool down than with a Popsicle!
Foxie approved!
