Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

pant hoot

Why HOOT!?

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If you are on our physical mailing list, you should have received a Save the Date announcement for HOOT! 2026 in the last week or so.

All the information contained in the postcard about this exciting event is below. But first, I thought I’d talk about the name HOOT!

For those who may not know, chimpanzees make a vocalization called a pant-hoot, often when they are excited. With lips trumpeted, they vocalize on both the inhale and the exhale, building to a crescendo that ends in a scream. It’s really their signature vocalization, and pant-hoots tend to be contagious. Here’s a throwback video from 2011 with a montage of pant-hoots from Negra, Jamie, and Foxie.

That’s why our signature event has the name HOOT! and why Co-Director J.B. traditionally kicks things off by leading a pant-hoot at the beginning of the event.

So, start practicing now!

It contained this basic information:

HOOT! is coming to you on Friday, October 2, 2026 and we want you there whether you’re joining in person in Seattle or tuning in from your living room.

Get full event details, purchase tickets, and RSVP now here: hoot2026.afrogs.org

 

Join us in one of two ways:

TOGETHER AT BLOCK 41

115 Bell St, Seattle, WA

Doors open at 5PM | Program begins at 6:30PM

Tickets required to attend. hoot2026.afrogs.org

 

TOGETHER ONLINE

Broadcast begins at 6:30PM Pacific

Free to RSVP and tune in from home. hoot2026.afrogs.org

 

Whether you’re joining us in person or tuning in from home, HOOT! is your invitation to celebrate the community that keeps Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest thriving.

Let’s HOOT! together!

 

WE WANT YOUR INPUT!

This year, YOU get to help choose which chimpanzee will be featured on the sweater for the raffle drawing. Vote here: bit.ly/csnwpoll

 

Big thanks to Kathleen Corby for designing the logo and materials for HOOT! once again this year! Pant-hoots to Kathleen!

The design came from a photo of George that I took that was not a technically good photo at all.

But it turned into a great design! I just love George’s profile while pant-hooting. I think it captures his excitement and the promise of things to come at the event. I hope you all can join us!

Pumpkin Season

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Pumpkin season is finally here! As a Fall-lovin’ girl, this is my favorite time of year. I love watching the PNW trees change color, the air gradually getting colder, and having to unpack my sweatshirts from storage bags. It’s the best!

Today, despite it being in the 60’s, it was a beautiful day for a forage on Young’s Hill and The Bray. Along with vegetables, the chimps enjoyed pineapple as well as mini pumpkins! We don’t usually have pumpkins ahead of Jamieween, so they were extra amped to see them on the menu. Even Queen Negra left her warm cozy nest to venture out to score one of the pumpkins, food squeaks and all.

I’d also like to give a special shout out to Caregiver Chad for snapping these photos for me! I knew he’d be my best bet to get some quality shots of the chimps grabbing the pumpkins. Enjoy!

Annie foraging:

Burrito:

Foxie pant hooting:

Jamie (left) and Burrito (right):

Jamie:

Missy:

Neggie:

Sounds of Sanctuary. LOUD Edition

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Just like humans, chimpanzees have a variety of decibels in which they vocalize, though when they are loud, they are LOUD.

Portrait of a Pant Hoot

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The day started out on the warm side, considering that we are well into the month of December. The chimps’ greenhouse spaces were cozy all morning.

A storm came through in the afternoon, making the most delightful sound as the droplets hit the greenhouse roof panels.

Just as the rain began, Dora went into her greenhouse, looking up towards the sound:

glancing at me:

and then beginning a glorious chimpanzee response to the rain – a classic pant-hoot (for a classic video of pant-hoots, go here):

Her display was short-lived. She calmly retreated to a windowsill:

A VERY Special Message

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Bidding for HOOT! 2020 opened this morning! If your breath stops for a minute and then your eyes water a little watching the video above, I get it – the same thing happened to me.

Jane Goodall has always been a voice for HOPE even when sharing the desperate reality of what chimpanzees face in captivity and as a species in the wild.

Hope for the future, with a plan to help, is what the chimpanzees and the whole world needs right now, so I hope you will join Dr. Goodall in her support of HOOT! as we work to help more chimpanzees and care for the ten already at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Bidding ends during the virtual event on September 12th. Auction items are still being added over the next few days, so visit frequently. You can still enter the pant-hoot contest and register for the virtual happy hour too!

Big thanks to Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute for making and sending us that video.

 

And big thanks to all HOOT! 2020 Sponsors, including:

EVENT SPONSOR: 

SANDRA SHARP

 

HAPPY HOUR SPONSORS:

Poppoff Logo

 

CHIMPANZEE CHAMPIONS:

Marya Barey

Pam Lehnert & Marc Warner

Krissy Brasfield of

 

Never too old to play

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If Burrito and Negra in today’s video do not put a smile on your face and a desire in your heart to help support them and the sanctuary, well I just don’t know what will.

HOOT! is coming up fast! I’ll be spending the next few days madly uploading more auction items – there are some really fun and beautiful things to bid on, and there are a lot of reasons to give. Hope for the future!

P.S. I’m still waiting on your pant-hoot submissions – don’t forget!

Pant-Hoot Tutorial for Virtual HOOT! 2020

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If you received our e-newsletter last week, the phrase “pant-hoot tutorial” might be something you recognize as one of the survey questions asked to get a sense of how you want to participate in the Virtual HOOT! gala event. If you didn’t receive the e-news, you can sign up on our home page or on this page – just scroll down to the brown block where it says “subscribe to newsletter”.

While 50% of respondents replied that they would not participate in a pant-hoot contest, there seemed to me to be enough interest to force, I mean, encourage, J.B. to film himself pant-hooting (see video above).

We would really love your submissions – it would be super fun to show the videos to the chimps for their reactions. Maybe they should be the judges! You can check out what the winner will receive and the details for easy submission on the Pant-Hoot Contest page of Virtual HOOT! 2020.

Another interesting finding from the survey so far is 60% of respondents voted that we should set our fundraising goal for the virtual event at the same amount we had for the in-person gala, which was $200,000. I love that enthusiasm, and I hope we can get close to that amount! Our auction committee decided to be a bit more cautious, though still incredibly hopeful, with a goal of $150,000. That would go a long way towards funding care for the year and could even add to our expansion funds so we can continue building the greenhouses into the winter.

We’re just starting to add auction items, and we have a lot more things in store, so keep going back to the site to check out what’s new in the coming days!

The date of the actual virtual event is September 12th and is free for anyone to watch and participate. Bidding on auction items is also open to anyone and begins September 2nd.

We are going to hold a Zoom Happy Hour for a limited number of people who will get to join the chimpanzees live for a drink before the virtual event begins. Registration for the happy hour just opened, so register today!

Okay, stop reading and watch the tutorial a few more times, then send us your best, funniest, or most creative pant-hoot!