Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Missy

Young’s Hill party forage

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I mentioned earlier on the blog that today is the second anniversary of the opening of Young’s Hill. Watch the video of their first day out here and check out the previous post for some photos of the chimps on that very emotional and moving day!

Today we wanted to celebrate the anniversary in the best way we know how for chimps—a big food forage! The chimps usually are served their meals (so we know that everyone is getting appropriate portions) but a few times a week we do put out a forage for them to do what chimps would do in the wild. In order to scatter the food around and make the forages last for awhile, we usually cut up the food into small chunks so it takes some time for them to find everything.

This time, we not only included a fruit salad of some chopped peaches, raspberries, and grapes, as well as baby carrots and green onions—but we also included WHOLE apples and tomatoes. The chimps were so excited as we headed out to spread the food around! Mixing things up like that keeps the chimps super enriched and happy.

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Everyone really loved all the whole apples and tomatoes! Jody was the first to get a hand (and mouth) full!

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Jamie collected at least four apples:

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Annie:

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Burrito searching for goodies:

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And then taking a quick rest:

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Foxie:

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Missy:

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Thank you so much to everyone who helped with Young’s Hill, and to everyone who has helped the Cle Elum Seven along this amazing and considerable journey!

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One short day

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Today has been busy, busy, busy here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Not unusually but, nevertheless, enough to remark upon. Cleaning, and volunteers, and visitors, oh my! Throughout it all the chimpanzees appear content. The day is sunny and warm, their bellies are full, and life is good. There is nothing quite like the serenity of a late summer afternoon to remind you to take time to enjoy this moment, even amidst the craziness that is every day life.

Thank you, Missy Chimpanzee, for sharing the quiet of the warm, sleepy greenhouse with me today!

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The Last Days of Summer

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We are having a last burst of summer at the sanctuary this week with temperatures back in the 90’s. The flies and wasps are endlessly buzzing and the chimps and humans are all endlessly swatting. The chimp house is completely quiet as I type this. Negra is sound asleep in her window nest. Jamie is in her nest flipping through two new boot catalogs I gave her and filing her nails with an emery board. She is also making the occasional happy groan when she sees something she likes. (For those of you who are new to our blog, Jamie was raised in a human home by a trainer until the age of 9 and sometimes chooses to engage in more human oriented activities). Burrito, Foxie, Jody, and Annie are lying in the greenhouse with their feet propped up on the caging, arms splayed out to their sides. And Missy, always on the move Missy, just raced me through the chimp house to the window by the chimpanzees’ cherry tomato bush and asked me to pick some for her, and I of course was happy to oblige.

Autumn is definitely in the air these days although you wouldn’t know it right now. It’s hard to believe we will all be talking about cold temperatures and snow before long. But for now we can revel in the last lazy days of summer. We hope you are all enjoying the special days that only summertime brings as much as the chimpanzees. Here are a few photos of some of the chimpanzees during a forage on Young’s Hill this week:

Annie:

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Missy:

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Foxie and Dora:

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Burrito:

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Annie’s 39th birthday

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Wow. I can’t believe Annie is 39 today! It’s an honorary birthday, because we don’t know exactly when Annie was born. She was captured from Africa and used in biomedical testing for over three decades before coming to CSNW.

Today, we celebrated her freedom from the lab by throwing two parties—first in the greenhouse, we set up a small forage of peanuts and primate chow along with perfect party decor including a cupcake piñata. Then at lunch, volunteers Denice and Joel and myself set up a pretty cool forage on the hill… we dug holes in the ground and “planted” whole veggies—carrots with the greens, whole cabbage plants, beets, and some green onions (Annie’s favorite)!

I never tire of seeing all the chimps out on Young’s Hill, knowing that now they have the chance to have grass under their feet and sun on their backs. It’s something that Annie hadn’t experienced since her infancy before coming to the sanctuary. And today they not only got to forage for their food like chimps do in the wild, but they also got to “harvest” their own plants to enjoy!

Party #1 – in the greenhouse

Annie’s cupcake piñata:

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Jamie grabbed it first:

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But quickly moved on, leaving it for Annie!

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Burrito found a sock with a box of nuts in it:

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Party #2 – garden forage on Young’s Hill

Volunteers Denice and Joel helped with the planting:

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Jody really loved the garden forage. She cleaned up! Here she’s carrying her bounty with her:

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And enjoying cabbage in the greenhouse:

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Foxie found some chow pieces to munch on:

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Missy collected a bunch of food:

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She enjoyed some on the shaky bridge, but then took the rest into the greenhouse with her. Negra didn’t come out for the forage (she was much more comfortable in her nest!) but Missy, being such a good friend, brought some carrots and green onions for Negra to enjoy. Negra also picked up some cabbage scraps, so she got basically the same food at the harvesters outside. Why should the Queen have to go work in the garden anyway, when others will just bring her the goods? 🙂

And Annie grabbed all the beets:

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Which gave her “beet lipstick”

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Help keep the birthday celebrations going on all week! FLOAT (For Love of All Things) has created a unique clothing design, and for this week only, for every sale they make they will donate $8 to Annie and everyone else at CSNW. Please share the site on Facebook and forward to your friends! The proceeds for CSNW only last until the end of the day on Sunday, September 15th. So hurry and get your shopping in now!

In memory of Robert C. Thompson

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Today was sponsored by Madelaine Thompson in memory of her dad, Robert C. Thompson. Madelaine shared the following sentiments:

“My dad and mom welcomed strays and rescue pets into our household from the time I was a baby. At times, pets outnumbered humans – and there were nine kids! I am ever grateful for his compassion and sense of humor in dealing with the challenges and rewards of a chaotic, loving household.”

Madelaine, thank you so much for including the chimpanzees with such lovely memories of your family. What a generous and compassionate way to honor your dad. Something tells me he would have appreciated the chimpanzees’ household!

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Play and laughter

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Everyone needs a good laugh… sometimes it takes friends to get a smile out of us, and other times we can make ourselves crack up.

Boots

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Jamie isn’t the only chimp that loves boots here at the sanctuary! Every once in awhile, we notice someone else inspecting the boots when Jamie sets them down for a moment.

Jody:
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Negra:
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Missy: (and Diana)
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