Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
There’s just something about a warm, sunny day in the middle of winter that makes you appreciate the great outdoors a little bit more. Last Monday, as people all over the Pacific Northwest were putting on shorts and flip flops and laying out in the sun, the chimps were enjoying the day in their own way.
Jamie, Foxie, and Dora the Explorer:
Missy and Annie:
Foxie:
Missy:
Today I have for you a video of the chimpanzees enjoying food. Now, we all know that Burrito is pretty irresistible, especially when he’s excited about food (see exhibits A and B photos below):
But I think my favorite part of the video is Jamie’s look when she’s enjoying the last bit of smoothie from a dixie cup. See for yourself:
It’s cold and foggy here in Cle Elum, but that didn’t stop Missy, Jamie, and volunteer Becca from going on a few walks this morning.
Jamie likes to walk slowly and steadily, while Missy tends to run full speed until she catches up. Then she waits for Jamie and Becca to get ahead so she can run and catch up again.
But there’s something about the last downhill stretch that gets everybody running…even Jamie.
Missy is smooth and graceful when she’s running, while Jamie lumbers along awkwardly.
In fact, I sometimes worry that she’ll just run out of control with her head down until she crashes into the fence at the bottom of the hill.
But she always manages to stop.
And then it’s time to go around again.
I really like black and white photos. I think it lends a more intimate feeling to portraits – you can really concentrate on the person’s facial features and wonder about their personalities and their pasts without the distraction of color.
We’ve been getting some great close-up photos of the chimpanzees lately plus I found a few that we hadn’t posted before, so I thought I would render some in black and white and sepia.
What do you think?
This is a close up of Annie’s eyes:
Annie:
Foxie:
Jamie (I just love this photo that Katelyn took – it’s great in color and sepia):
Jody:
Burrito:
Missy:
Last, but never least, Negra:
We haven’t really had much snow here in Central Washington this winter. This is sort of a mixed blessing for the chimps. On the one hand, the lack of snow allows them to spend more time outside during the winter, which is great. But on the other hand, snow to a chimpanzee is like an endless supply of food falling magically from the sky. And who wouldn’t want that?
Today we had the best of both worlds. We woke up to some fresh snow, which kept the chimps thoroughly enriched all morning. By afternoon, the snow was gone, and the chimps were back on the hill getting their exercise.
So that was fun. Now we’re ready for spring.
As promised, here are photos and video of today’s party. The chimps enjoyed a forage of leeks, red bananas, broccolini, sweet peppers, lettuce, and corn. We also put out cups of warm herbal tea with almond milk, party hats filled with peanuts, and pinatas stuffed with grapes, as well as a fresh bale of alfalfa (a nest you can eat!).
We’re big on recycling around here, so for today we re-purposed the Christmas tree as a “Birthday tree.” Annie and Burrito took turns picking treats from its branches:
Negra went straight for the corn, while Missy hunted for red bananas:
Foxie guzzled all the tea she could find:
Somehow, Missy got to the party hat pinata first, so all Jamie could do was scrounge for leftovers. Don’t feel sorry for her, though – she ate almost everything else:
Watch the video:
It’s fitting that the chimps enjoyed a forage in the greenhouse today, and that Jamie walked around the hill to her heart’s content. Both the greenhouse and Young’s Hill were made possible in large part by Karen and Don Young.
So Don, thank you (and Karen) for caring so much about these seven chimps. We hope you enjoyed your birthday – the chimps certainly did!
Don Young, of the famed Young’s Hill that the chimpanzees enjoy everyday, has a birthday today! His wife Karen wanted the chimps to have a party in his honor, so she sponsored today and sent a little bit extra for party supplies and food. So be sure to check back later for party photos!
Karen had this to share about sponsoring today:
“In honor of the love of my life, my incredible, generous, supportive husband who will be 76 years old. Without him, his work ethic and decades of dedication to his profession, as well as love and attention to his family, we would not be able to donate to CSNW. What is important to me or to the rest of the family, is important to him. He is an amazing person, and we are all blessed to have him by our sides.”
We couldn’t agree more. The Young’s have done so much for Foxie, Negra, Annie, Missy, Jody, Burrito, and Jamie. Truly, the sanctuary would not be what it is today without their support. So, we too want to extend our heartfelt wishes for a very happy day to Don, with many more birthdays to come.
Karen sponsored this day last year as well, and here’s a photo from the party of Negra enjoying some Brussels sprouts. It’s hard to believe it’s been a whole year!
