Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
These eyes have seen a lot in their 39 years:
These arms have had babies torn from them:
This body has been viewed and treated as nothing more than a tool to experiment with:
This face is now loved by hundreds of people:
This post is for the love of Foxie in recognition of where she came from and how far away from that life she is now, thanks to everyone who has cared. Learn more about Foxie on her web page and in this post.
Last year, we waited until October to plant the chimps’ potted Christmas tree. Since Jody has been steadily devouring that one, I thought we’d get this one planted sooner. Missy was the first to check it out, but only because Anna decorated it with apple slices.
Today has been another beautiful, summer-like day. Perfect for walking around the hill with friends, both real and imaginary.
Also perfect for enjoying breakfast and lunch forages that included chive flowers, beets and greens, and Negra’s favorite, lettuce.
And when the food was all gone, the chimps took a moment to enjoy the amazing views from Young’s Hill.
Did you know that Dora the Explorer has friends? Foxie knows, and she seems particularly fond of Kate, a red-haired friend who has a “flair for the dramatic and the heart of an artist” according to Fisher Price…
This must be that flair for the dramatic:
Speaking of dramatic, did you hear about the sanctuary’s seriously good news? If you are on the e-news list, you should have received this email last night, which linked to this story in the Ellensburg Daily Record.
We have a lot of work and fundraising yet to do, but the $50,000 matching grant from the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Fund is the first big step in bringing new friends for Foxie and the rest of the Cle Elum Seven – actual chimpanzee friends! Read more in the announcement if you didn’t get a copy in your inbox.
Thanks to donors in the last several hours, we are now over halfway to a $5,000 match from an anonymous couple and Karen and Don Young to be raised prior to HOOT! – if you haven’t donated, there’s still time to have your donation matched!
In other news, I promised to update everyone on the bumper ball. It exceeded almost everyone’s expectations by surviving a few months, but, sadly, it is no longer. Sherry Rogers certainly won the bet on its longevity! Part of the fun for the chimpanzees was trying to destroy it, for sure. We have one more waiting in the wings that we hope to introduce if we can inflate it to its fullest.
Negra has spent more time outside today than any of the other chimps. Here at CSNW, that marks the official start of spring.
That’s because Negra is always the first to realize that the spring grass is ready to eat. A rainy March followed by a week of sun and unseasonably warm temperatures turned Young’s Hill once again into a 2-acre salad buffet. The moment Negra decides that the shoots are long enough and sweet enough to pick, she plants her butt down and eats to her heart’s content. And when the other chimps see her eating grass, they start digging in too.
But no one loves spring grass as much as Negra.
Of course, Missy can’t just sit around eating grass all day.
But she took a break long enough to pick a few of the finest blades of grass on the hill.
Chimpanzees are not known for being delicate, but Annie somehow manages to be graceful and elegant, particularly when she is having a quiet moment to herself.
Jamie was raised as a performer and then spent two decades in a laboratory. Here at the sanctuary, she is finally free to be a chimpanzee, but more importantly, she is free to be whoever she wants to be.
The chimpanzees have had many bell peppers donated from a local grocery store lately, so today we did an exciting whole pepper forage on the hill!
Missy made a play for two of the peppers:
Jody made an attempt to force a turnover:
But Missy drove to the end zone:
Once the play was complete, she checked for injuries:
And then sat back and enjoyed her touchdown:
This post was inspired by one of the new personalized stones that is part of the Dr. Mel Richardson Memorial Walkway!
Thanks Jordan Hill!
