Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Missy

The Birthday Tomato Queen

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Today we celebrated Missy’s 42nd birthday and the amazing chimp woman she is, so naturally we’ve been partying all day long!

If you know Missy, you know that she thinks tomatoes are the.best.thing.ever! So naturally, we bought more tomatoes than we thought one small chimp woman could possibly eat. $42 worth to be exact. Missy was beside herself when she saw them all this morning! These are of course meant to stretch out for a couple days (our plan, not hers), but we still served tomatoes with every meal. And she still thought it wasn’t enough.

We planned an indoor/outdoor forage brunch party with fresh fruits, veggies, and primate chow to compliment the tomatoes along with sparkling cider and pineapple coconut juice and everyone seemed pretty pleased with the festivities. Though I didn’t include a photo of her, Jamie was on the go drinking up all the juice.

Missy with a mouthful of cherry tomatoes:

Missy’s bestie, Annie, with a treat bag:

Negra with a mouthful of corn:

Missy on the go, foraging:

Burrito:

Jody:

We also scattered forage with lots of tomatoes on Young’s Hill with some special hothouse tomatoes still on the vine high up on the shaky bridge – a classic Missy spot – in the hopes she’d be the one to find them. Foxie is right up there with Missy as far as tomato connoisseurs go and they ended up being the only two who decided to venture onto the hill for the outdoor portion of the forage. They headed out together and played it cool so as not to attract the attention of the others.

Foxie found a whole tomato and quietly looked around to make sure no one was watching before popping the entire thing in her mouth. And you may not be able to see, but she’s rubbing her toes together which is Foxie speak for pure happiness and contentment:

Here she is hiding behind a post as she enjoys her secret tomatoes:

Missy searched high and low (and she did find the tomatoes on the vine!):

The Birthday Tomato Queen herself. We love you Miss! Happy Birthday and sweet tomato dreams. Rest up! There’s more tomatoes to eat tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Missy!

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We have two wonderful people to celebrate today! The first is Missy!! Unbelievably, Missy turns 42 today and naturally that means party in the chimp house! Ramona Isbell kindly sponsored this special day wishing Missy “a wonderful day with her playmates.”

Ramona, thank you so very much for thinking of Missy and wanting to celebrate her on her special day! It means so much to us all.

Missy. She’s a loyal, courageous, beautiful person and she’s got her friends’ backs no questions asked. She’s brave and daring and a bit of a thug. She is mother to Honey B and Josh (who reside at Wildlife Waystation in California), best friend to Annie, and trusted backup to boss lady, Jamie. She is an athlete extraordinaire and loves nothing more than spending her days zipping, zooming, swinging, tight-rope walking and tumbling around for the sheer joy of it and she thinks tomatoes are the.best.thing.ever. She never hesitates to use her “medical expertise” to doctor her families or her own wounds and she sometimes puts on socks when she’s ready for some serious games. Despite all she’s been through and endured, Missy is the kind of person who opens the door to life and runs toward it, arms open. And when I watch her my heart is zooming right alongside her, I love her so.

Beloved Missy, happiest of birthdays yet to you!! We could not have more love and admiration for you and we can’t wait to celebrate all the amazingness and beauty that is you.

missy running on youngs hill

Stay tuned for Missy’s tomato lovin’ festivities and our second Sponsor a Day!

Never Assume

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When training new volunteers and staff, learning to identify the chimps is very important. The chimps all have distinguishing features about them. Staff will try to give helpful pointers to help figure out who is who. For example, Foxie has what looks like a bow tie on her swelling, some chimps have defined brow ridges like Jody, and Missy is petite and has a short neck. Some have freckles, permanently crazy bed hair, different body types, and others have scars or pieces of ears or toes missing. There is also the way that they carry themselves. Jamie often walks with confidence and always looks like she is 3 steps ahead of you. You can often find certain chimps in a particular area that they like or holding specific enrichment they are fond of. For example, Negra loves to make a nest on the second floor in the corner of the playroom. However, this is where it gets tricky and why we tell staff and volunteers to judge only by physical characteristics and not by what we know they like or where “their spot” is. I have also seen little Miss nesting in the same spot as Negra! Jamie loves boots and Foxie always has a doll with her, but they like to throw us curve balls! I often find someone else holding a doll like Jamie or even today I spotted Negra holding a troll doll and putting it in her pelvic pocket. We train our staff and volunteers to take their time identifying the chimps, get to know the chimps, and especially their physical characteristics!

Negra: Holding a troll doll

Happy Birthday, Arlene!

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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?

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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.

Happy Birthday, Erin!

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Erin Yuhas! Erin has been a friend to the chimps and the sanctuary for a long time and she shared this beautiful message about today:

“When I make my wish and blow out my candles I would know my wish came true if I were suddenly there with these chimps. I would give anything to spend every day with these chimps and with those of you who do all you do to help them to be free, happy, and healthy. I enjoy your photos and stories every day and can think of no better way to spend my birthday than partying with my friends, no matter what species they are. I would love to spend the day with all of you. Thank you for sharing their stories with me.”

Erin, we are so touched by your lovely message. Thank you so much for giving us all the opportunity to celebrate your special day with you and for making a lasting difference in the lives of the chimps! You are definitely here in spirit! And since you share a birthday month with Foxie and Missy, maybe if you do some flips, carry some trolls and Dora dolls around, drink smoothies and eat copious amounts of tomatoes all day long, it will help bring the spirit of these birthday ladies to you! 😉

Happy Birthday, Erin! All of us are wishing you a fantastic day of celebration, joy and love!

Foxie:

Missy: