Party

Hanukkah and Christmas Eve

December 24, 2016 by Diana

Anna and I decided to give the chimps some treats today to celebrate both the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve. You may have noticed that we are pretty strict with the chimpanzees’ diet – nothing with added sugar, very little salt, and rarely any processed foods. Most of their diet consists of raw (sometimes cooked) fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts, and a bit of commercially made primate chow, which is like a protein biscuit.

Even when we treat the chimps to something they don’t get very often, we try to stick to our dietary goals. It keeps them healthy, and they still love the food they get everyday!

In celebration of Christmas Eve, we set out “milk and cookies” (watered down warm almond milk + primate chow). I’d say it was a hit:

Burrito:

Jamie:

Foxie:

Missy:

Negra:

Jody looking pretty happy:

For the Hanukkah part of the celebration, Anna made some delicious looking (and delicious tasting – we had to try them for ourselves) salt-free potato latkes and I made some sugar-free chunky applesauce to go on top.

The chimps ate the latkes so fast, we weren’t able to get many photos.

Foxie brought France Dora to the meal, because she’s cosmopolitan like that:

Jamie being served by Anna with Burrito on the right:

Missy being served with Burrito looking on (I promise Burrito got at least his fair share too):

Annie took her latkes to the doorway to savor:

Definitely a win for fun food today!

In between the treats we humans came up with, they found some of their own…

And made some time to rest too:

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and holiday wishes to everyone! There will be even more treats for the chimps tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who supports the sanctuary – you make EVERY day a celebration.

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Thanksgiving 2016

November 24, 2016 by Elizabeth

Today we’re thankful for delicious feasts, for food squeaks, for volunteers who spend their holiday spreading joy to the chimps, and for all of you who have so much love for seven chimpanzees you probably haven’t met. It’s been a good day.

Annie:

Missy:

Negra:

Foxie:

Jamie:

Foxie and Jody resting after the party:

Most of the video footage we ended up with after today’s party happened to feature Burrito stuffing his face:

To all of you friends, supporters, volunteers, and well-wishers, thanks for giving Annie, Missy, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, Jamie, and Negra so much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Jamie-ween 2016, Told in Twenty-one Spooky Photos and One Terrifying Video

October 31, 2016 by Elizabeth

Jamie, the birthday girl:

Negra:

Missy:

Jody:

Foxie:

Annie:

Burrito:

A little more Birthday footage

September 11, 2016 by Anna

Yesterday we celebrated Annie’s 42nd birthday! Today we bring you a bonus video from the bird themed breakfast forage party we put together in the greenhouse. Keep a lookout for an owl pinata, delicious fresh coconut, and a book about animals!

Annie Bird’s Birthday

September 10, 2016 by Diana

Today we celebrate Beautiful Annie’s birthday. For the breakfast party in the greenhouse, we chose to have a bird theme because of the bird noises that she, uniquely, makes when she is relaxing.

The theme turned tropical with coconut, watermelon (that’s tropical, right?), pineapple, and fruit smoothie. Plus some primate chow, which Annie is fond of:

Also included were headbands (on the decorative slinky below) because of Annie’s sense of fashion.

Her friend Francoise even sent a book from Canada for us to interact with Annie (I did, later in the day, but didn’t get any photos – we’ll continue to have fun with this book, I can tell – Foxie and Jamie were very interested in it too!)

Later in the day, for the lunch forage, we had some of Annie’s favorite foods: green onions, leeks, cattails, and romaine lettuce. And we included some roses from the garden, mini-peppers, and more primate chow.

Let’s get down to the chimp pics. You decide if Annie enjoyed our efforts:

Of course the other chimpanzees appreciated Annie’s celebration too.

Burrito on a mission to find more food:

The coconut was a special treat:

Foxie:

Missy:

Negra:

Jody:

But there were plenty of other treats to enjoy throughout the day:

Negra foraging:

Jody with leeks:

Missy with a mouthful of chow:

Jamie’s hand getting the plate of food from under the tub:

Jamie with a leek and cattail:

The day ended with more treats – baked sweet potatoes and beets:

Annie thanks everyone for making her 42nd birthday a day of celebrating her favorite things and honoring how much we love her!

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The Christmas in July Celebration

July 29, 2016 by J.B.

I have to admit, with temperatures pushing 100 degrees it’s hard to get into the Christmas spirit. But after receiving dozens of items from our wish list over the past week, you can’t help but feel the spirit of giving in the air.

We’re so grateful for the support you’ve shown us – you helped stock our shelves with office and cleaning supplies; you gave us new medical equipment so that we can keep the chimps healthy; you sent food and treats for the chimps to enjoy and toys and enrichment to keep them occupied; and you gave us two gently used GoPro cameras so that we can give you a different perspective on life at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We are truly humbled and grateful for your generosity.

This morning, we collected many of the items we’ve received so far and threw a little party for the chimps. I hope you can see the difference you make in their lives.

By the way, if you sent an item from our wish list and you don’t hear from us in a reasonable amount of time, please drop us a note. Packages from Amazon don’t always include information about the donor and we’d love to be able to thank you!

Merry Christmas in July!

Two reasons to celebrate

May 8, 2016 by Keri

Today is a day for dual celebration. Not only is it Mother’s Day, but it’s also the day we celebrate Jody’s birthday. We don’t know her actual birthday, (she may have been born in the wild.) What we do know is that Jody spent decades as a test subject in biomedical research before coming to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. During those years in the lab, she gave birth to nine babies, so we chose Mother’s Day to celebrate her and to honor her as a mother.

It’s hard to fathom Jody never having had the chance to raise any of her babies. It’s equally hard to imagine that she was not able to learn and grow under the guidance of her own mother in the wild. Wrapping my brain around the reality of her past is heartbreaking. And knowing that there are so many other captive chimpanzees that share a similar story brings tears to my eyes. But, today is a day to celebrate; to celebrate Jody, her life and all that she has become since her new beginning at CSNW.

Because we have two very special reasons to celebrate, we set up two parties…one in the Greenhouse….

…and one in the Playroom.

Today, we honor the mother that Jody is by showering her with love and giving her some of her most favorite things…extra blankets for building huge nests, good food, flowers and alfalfa cubes. You can read more about Jody here.

Jody