Today is the grand finale of our Christmas 2025 celebrations! Come along to see Honey B’s group enjoy the festivities in today’s blog video. In case you missed it, here are links to Jamie and Cy‘s groups’ celebrations, which we shared over the past couple of days. Happy holidays!
Party
A Very CSNW Christmas (Jamie’s Edition)
Today was a Christmas to be remembered! It was such a great party for all the chimpanzees here. So much was happening we had no choice to split up the footage to make two videos. So please enjoy Jamie’s group’s Christmas celebration today, and be sure to come back tomorrow to watch the other groups’ parties! Including George’s first CSNW Christmas! I won’t say much other than he was really, really, really excited!
And please remember to donate! We are getting so close to our $100,000 goal by tomorrow in order to unlock an additional $40,000! Every little bit helps!
Help us reach our end of the year goal here!
Holiday Cheer Starts Now!
It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are coming up and Jamieween is just around the corner!
This year, we’re trying to be more proactive about getting everything we need for the upcoming celebrations: Jamieween, Chimpmas, birthdays, and all the fun enrichment and day-to-day supplies the chimpanzees love and rely on. So please keep your eyes peeled—starting this week, I’ll be adding holiday items to our Amazon Wish List!
While Amazon is a big part of our wish list planning, we also want to highlight Jerrol’s, our amazing local store here in Ellensburg. Jerrol’s has been incredibly supportive and helpful, supplying us with almost all of our cleaning products. However, they also have arts and crafts materials, books, and more! If they don’t have a product we’re looking for, they go out of their way to find it for us. They’ve been such a reliable partner, especially as we continue to have issues with Amazon not shipping certain items to our address. You can support us through our Jerrol’s Wish List, or donate to our bill, which allows us to get exactly what the chimps and the staff need.
As some of you may have noticed, Amazon has been a little difficult lately. If you try to purchase something from our Amazon Wish list and get a message such as:
“This item can’t be shipped to the selected address”
Don’t worry! Here are a couple of options:
- Try using our PO Box address:
- Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
- Po Box 952 Cle Elum, WA 98922
-
OR purchase an Amazon gift card instead and send it to us at [email protected] and we can buy items off the list
I want to express how grateful we are for all of you and say thank you so much for being part of our community. Your support, whether it’s buying something off our list, sending a gift card, or just cheering us on, it helps make every day, and every holiday, special for the chimpanzees! Thank you!
Here are a few teasers of items to look out for on our Wish Lists!
More keys!
Fluffy, soft socks:
Sweatbands and more bouncy balls:
Wooden spoons:
Wood wool:
Toy hammers:
Blankets!
Books:
Celebrating Mave on the Other Side of the Building
Yesterday, you got to see Mave celebrate her 36th birthday! Did you miss it? If so, check it out here!
Today, you get to see what everyone was doing on the other side of the building! Jamie, Missy, Annie, Burrito, Foxie and Negra got to venture out onto Young’s Hill, their 2 acre outdoor habitat, to forage for all of the birthday goodies! They had coconuts, Dole Whip, baby heads of iceberg lettuce, corn and mini peppers. YUM! (No mango for this group due to Annie’s mango allergy. Bummer!)
It was quite windy outside, but most everyone braved the wind gusts to participate in the party treats! Can you guess who DID NOT brave the wind?
Annie’s 51st Birthday!
Today we celebrated Annie’s 51st birthday! Today’s party menu was really fun, all planned by our very own Dr. Erin Zamzow.
- Obviously Sunflowers for Annie!
- Lettuces bowls filled with rice noodles, tofu, green onions, cucumbers, red peppers, purple cabbage, with a drizzle of peanut sauce! (Annie and Foxie loved these bowls)
- Heads of lettuce & bok choy
- Lychee, Dragon fruit, & grapes were in the bowls or spread around as well!
- And sparkling cider, to top it all off!
I honestly can say, I can’t believe Annie is 51, I hope I age as gracefully as she has! I love celebrating Annie because she is a quieter chimp. Annie is the type of chimp that is usually busy with her chimp friends and does not demand a lot from her caregivers. One could say she is a little bit more low key, which is why she deserves a big party to celebrate her. Annie is a genuinely sweet soul, she has many different layers to her, but to her core she is a gentle and kind, unless she is grooming, she is not so gentle then ;). It has been an honor to watch Annie turn 51 and see her flourish in sanctuary. Though she may be lower ranking, every year we watch Annie become more comfortable, a little bolder, and more content.
I also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Paulette for generously sponsoring Annie’s birthday party today!
Jenna went out this morning to get more sunflowers from a local farm, you can never have too many sunflowers! 
Annie and Foxie pretty much had a private party out on Young’s Hill, while everyone else foraged in the Greenhouse. Look out for the party video tomorrow!
Annie:
Bonus of Foxie:
Bray & Play – George Continues to Make Progress!
When rescued chimpanzees arrive at the sanctuary, there’s a lot to be intimidated by: unknown caregivers, wide open spaces, and unfamiliar chimps all around. So we try to take things one step at a time. This morning, George went on the Bray at the same time that his neighbors were outside for the very first time and he handled it like a champ! PLUS: Bonus footage of George’s 2nd meeting with Terry!
We also celebrated the anniversary of Honey B, Willy B, and Mave’s arrival today. Can you believe it’s been six years? Actually, when Willy B wakes us all up in the middle of the night with his cage-rattling displays, it sometimes feels like he’s been here for 60. But for the most part, it seems like they just got here yesterday. The party forages included pasta with veggie sauce, Dixie cups filled with juice-soaked chow, berries, tomatoes, figs, and endives. I wasn’t able to to snap too many photos of the guests of honor, or anyone for that matter, but here are a few.
Terry:
Cy:
Gordo:
Beans (Honey B):
Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4th of July everyone! The chimps here at CSNW had a day full of fun and food!
It was a busy day in the chimp house prepping and throwing parties for the chimps, so today’s video is a just a teaser but be on the lookout the full 4th of July festivities video which will be out tomorrow!
