Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Missy

Happy Birthday, Julie!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Julie Harding, as a way to celebrate her birthday! Julie has been a long-time volunteer with the sanctuary helping out with everything from processing the chimpanzees’ donated produce and prepping their meals, to making sure they have clean blankets to nest in and interesting enrichment to play with. She even helps out at our events!

Julie shared the following message: “In honor of my 57th trip around the sun, I’m sponsoring this day. Happy birthday to me and I hope to continue to support the CE7 for many years!!”

Julie, thank you so much for wanting to share your day with the chimpanzees and for the variety of ways in which you help to ensure that every day is one of sanctuary for them. All of the primates here wish you the best birthday yet!

These photos are from last summer, but if you’re day is filled with half as much joy as Missy’s days are from just being Missy, it will be a good day!

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Always a reason to play

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The chimp house is full of activity today as we (meaning J.B.) works on the completion of the new bridge in the chimps’ playroom. The chimpanzees are always interested in what is happening in their home, especially if it’s outside of the ordinary.

Annie had been watching J.B. from the greenhouse windows when she decided to run around to the front rooms to get a better view:

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If you know Annie and Missy, you know that these two best friends can typically be found playing chase, wrestling and laughing with one another. So once Annie took off Missy saw this as a prime opportunity to begin a game of chase and was hot on her heels, laughing all the way, and Debbie happened to be there with the camera to catch them mid-air:

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In Search of The Perfect Snow to Eat

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It didn’t take long for the chimpanzees to make their way outside today once the sun came out. Jamie, Jody, Annie, Missy, Foxie and Burrito all made their way onto Young’s Hill. While Jamie continued on to do her first perimeter walk around the hill, the other chimpanzees were more focused on eating the pieces of crusty snow they found. Missy seemed to be on a mission to find the perfect piece.

Missy took her time making her way across the logs, eating chunks of crusty snow along the way.
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Then she moved on to Negra’s cabin in search of more pieces. Of course, as many of you know by now, Missy has a knack for climbing. She climbed up one of the posts and made her way up to the roof of the cabin.

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Lo and behold, there it was, another big piece.

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She took her time enjoying the morsel, taking in the scenery and scoping out where to find the next piece.

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When she finished, she climbed onto the roof of the cabin and then proceeded to check for more crusty snow chunks on the other side.
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After that, she continued up to the top of the cabin.
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Ahhhh, the perfect piece.
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Taking It All In

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Today we’ve been lucky enough to have some mild temperatures and sunshine in Cle Elum. After lunch I headed out to the greenhouse, expecting to find most of the chimpanzees lounging out there (their favorite sunny day spot). I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find everyone except for Burrito and Negra outside on Young’s Hill, their two-acre outdoor habitat.

When it’s cold outside, the chimps would generally rather be indoors. The more determined among them might go out for very short periods, but as a rule, the chimps choose to spend most of the winter inside. On mild days, it’s not uncommon to find some activity on the hill – the chimps know that the nice temperatures won’t last long.

When I stepped outside this afternoon there was a large group of hawks circling over Young’s Hill.

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I started thinking about how before Young’s Hill was built, the chimps had never had an unobstructed view of the sky before. Young’s Hill has expanded the chimps’ world in more ways than one. In addition to giving them more space to explore, it allows them to see more of their surroundings and to participate more in their environment.

Here’s Annie looking out over the valley adjacent to the sanctuary:

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The chimps also have a clear line of sight to the driveway, so they can always check out who’s coming and going. Today Jody was very interested to watch volunteers Pam and T.J. arrive for their shift:

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Missy, on the other hand, had no time to look around. She was fully focused on her acrobatic feats.

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Close-ups

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It’s not often that I take non-blurry, close-up pictures of each of the chimps. There are number of reasons for this, one being operator error. Second, third and fourth reasons are that the chimps are often moving, just out of sight of the camera, or would rather not have their picture taken. So, when the close-up photos actually turn out, I cannot stop looking at them.

Sometimes pictures just convey so much more than words ever can about the beauty, serenity or nature of each of the chimpanzees. These are some of my favorite close-ups of each of the chimps from the past few weeks.

Jamie
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Burrito
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Jody
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Negra
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Foxie
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Missy
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Annie
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Go Hawks!

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Today is Blue Friday, which around the Seattle area means that fans shows their support for the Seahawks by wearing their favorite blue and green Seahawks gear. Since the team will be playing in their first playoff game tomorrow night, we thought we’d join in the spirit and throw a Blue Friday party for the chimps! We had broccoli and grapes for a forage, as well as tea in blue and green champagne flutes, and watered down blue gatorade in Seahawks cups.

The party set-up:

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The blue drinks were a bit hit! Everyone had a taste.

Jamie:
Jamie

Annie:
Annie

Burrito:
Burrito

Burrito

Jody:
Jody

Negra:
Negra

Missy:
Missy

Jamie loved the table we setup with the forage and the decorations:

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Jamie eat broccoli

Jamie Seahawks football

We’re glad we were able to throw a fun party for the chimps in the spirit of camaraderie of the pacific northwest fans. Running a sanctuary is all about teamwork, and we are lucky to have some really great fans of our own!

Jamie