Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Missy

Good friends, good times

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Mornings here at the sanctuary are busy times. The caregivers arrive, prepare breakfast for the chimpanzees, and, then, are usually engaged in quite a lot of cleaning. I love cleaning, it’s like having my own personal workout regimen that does wonders for my arms! My absolute favorite part of the day though is after we’ve accomplished some work and we can enjoy the company of good friends. Grooming and play are the most frequent forms of social enrichment for the humans as well as the chimpanzees. A quiet afternoon, hanging out with chimpanzee friends is the best way I know of to while away time in this heat!

Learn more about the function of chimpanzees grooming from previous posts.

Celebrating Freedom

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The Cle Elum Seven are celebrating freedom today! Not long ago, they spent their holidays in lab cages. Today they foraged on Young’s Hill, lounged in the warm greenhouse, and played with friends.

We kicked off the day with a party in the greenhouse this morning. Volunteer caregivers Denice and Patti brought food and decorations. Fruit smoothie was set out in tiny plastic shot glasses, and we put out paper trays of apples, grapes, berries, and melon.

Burrito:

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Negra:

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Jody:

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Annie:

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Missy:

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Jamie:

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Later we served a special holiday lunch of vegan hot dogs, dill pickles, and bell peppers stuffed with pasta salad. We do our best to keep the chimpanzees healthy by limiting their diet almost entirely to fresh produce, but we thought we’d splurge a little today.

Everyone gathered as Patti got ready to serve:

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Foxie:

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Negra:

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Annie:

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Missy:

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Burrito:

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Thanks again to Jody Maxey for thinking of the chimps and sponsoring today. Happy 4th, everyone!

In memory of Lassen Pig

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Today was sponsored by Kerrie Wooten, in memory of her friend, Lassen Pig.  Kerrie shared a very touching story about Lassen:

“I first met Lassen Pig on July 1, 2004 when I interned at Farm Sanctuary in Orland, CA. He was a young, happy, sometimes cranky, spoiled pig and I grew to love and appreciate his personality. In 2006 I began working at the sanctuary and I was thrilled to be helping to take care of Lassen every day. Last year, on October 4, 2012 (the day after my birthday) we said goodbye to Lassen – he was a little old man, but I still saw the young, spry pig I’d first met years before. My wish is to honor the memory of my dear friend by helping the chimps, who deserve to have a joyous, fulfilling, carefree life the way Lassen did.” 

Kerrie, this is such a sweet and generous gift!  Thank you so much for helping to give Lassen, and the chimps, wonderful lives.

Missy chase Annie

 

Missy in motion and at rest

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It often seems as if Missy vibrates with kinetic energy. Whether exploring Young’s Hill or playing with her friends, Missy’s athleticism is certainly nothing to scoff at; I have seen some amazing acrobatic feats! Every good athlete knows, though, that there is a time for action and a time for rest. Although you might not believe it, Missy is just as good as resting she is at running. Really, Missy is just one of those individuals who is good at whatever she puts her mind to!

When I watch Missy in motion and at rest I am reminded of one of my favorite translations of the word “aloha” which is “I see the spirit in your earthly form.” I am in awe of Missy’s spirit and am so glad she has a place where it can shine.

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Celebrating 5 years of sanctuary and a very special birthday

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Today has been an incredible day. We’re so moved to see all the love for the Cle Elum Seven as the Give Five donations keep rolling in. As of right now, we’ve raised $10,550 toward our summer goal of $35,000! We’re asking for just $5 as a pledge of support for the chimps and the sanctuary (and as a happy birthday wish for Negra!).

It wouldn’t be a CSNW holiday without a party, of course, and the chimpanzees are expert partiers with five years of practice under their belts. Volunteer caregivers Denice, Seana, and Patti came this morning to help the chimps celebrate. Denice dressed up the morning fruit smoothie and put it in festive plastic shot glasses.

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Patti brought several pinatas, including this one to honor Negra’s birthday.

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Seana setting up the party in the greenhouse:

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Denice:

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Patti:

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Missy was very interested in the pinata, but she had some nuts to eat first, so she held on to it.

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Missy drinking smoothie:

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Jamie:

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Foxie enjoying some raspberries:

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Annie with a pinata:

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As for the birthday girl, she has had a pretty great day. Here she is with some fruit smoothie:

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And with a tiara pinata (she is the Queen, after all):

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After the party Negra explored Young’s Hill, venturing so high up the hill that we lost sight of her for awhile.

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And after all that activity, she took a well-deserved nap.

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We really can’t say what all of your support means to us. You enable us to do what we do. Here’s to another five years!

Missy’s story

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Missy cracks us up every day.

She is super active, but at times can be calm, gentle and is very intense and serious about grooming sessions. She also likes to use tools to groom herself. She doesn’t sit still for long though—every day she runs so fast around the playroom chasing Annie or on the hill just for the fun of it. Like Burrito and Foxie, she’s pretty goofy, has a great sense of humor, and will even sometimes crack herself up. She’s very energetic and has the ability to get just about anyone to play with her.

On Young’s Hill she seems to prefer to be an acrobat, and often times will walk along the firehoses like a tight rope rather than the structures themselves. To her that probably is just more fun. It’s awesome so see her enjoying herself so much.

Missy’s birthday is unknown but it’s estimated she was born in 1975, and Buckshire purchased her from a private breeder. Missy has two tattoos: “CH504” on her chest, which was from LEMSIP; and “#133” which is from another lab, possibly White Sands. We only have a few records from Buckshire and LEMSIP, and nothing prior to 1987, though it is likely she was either at LEMSIP or another lab previously. While at LEMSIP she was used in hepatitis vaccine trials and used as a breeder. In 1987 she gave birth to her first infant on record:

April 25, 1987: Male infant live born Day 229 of gestation. Showed a great deal of affection towards the infant but did not know now to carry him to breast or suckle him. Her behavior did not improve over the following week, during which time nutritional maintenance was given, and the baby was removed permanently to the nursery for rearing. 

December 12, 1987: Small amount of placental tissue aborted, accompanied by uterine bleeding (very early gestation.)

June 11, 1989: Female infant born Day 229 of gestation. Did not pick up infant at all, which was therefore removed to the nursery for rearing.

July 14, 1991: Stillborn female infant Day 225 of gestation.

In Late 1992 she moved back to Buckshire, where she lived, warehoused, until being rescued by Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in 2008. Though her records do not indicate she was being used in any active biomedical research protocols during these years at Buckshire, just like the other chimpanzees there, Missy was routinely knocked down for blood draws, physicals, and tuberculosis tests.

Missy arriving at CSNW in 2008:
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Missy and her best friend Annie playing in the early sanctuary days:
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Today Missy is brave, easy-going, playful, and full of energy. It’s very hard to think of her stuck in small cages no bigger than a coat closet when she runs, full speed, across the open-air enclosure of Young’s Hill and scrambles up tall posts without a second thought.

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Annie and Missy now get to play with no cage above their head:

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And at the end of the day, she can relax in peace:

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Give Five for Missy. $5 pays for one meal, and Missy loves fresh produce that provides her the calories she needs to keep her speed up!

Sunny sanctuary days

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Last week Katelyn posted about Jamie’s reaction to a relief from the rainy days of May. I have to admit, I’m right there with her! I, too, have anxiously been awaiting the warmth of the central Washington summer. Working here brings an added satisfaction to each sunny day as I have the pleasure of anticipating and watching the joy of the chimpanzees as they forage and spend time on Young’s Hill. Never having been deprived of the sky, the wind, the grass, and the sun I simply can not imagine what an amazing contrast this is to the chimpanzees today but I appreciate every opportunity, every day that gives them one more gift of freedom. Here is Missy, enjoying Young’s Hill in the sun.

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