Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
A very Happy Birthday to the one-and-only Honey B! As Orwell didn’t quite say: All animals are unique but some animals are more unique than others. And no one is more unique than Honey B.
And a very Happy Animal Sanctuary Caregiver’s Day, as well, to our friends and colleagues around the world and especially to our very own dedicated and caring staff and volunteers. The chimps and bovines couldn’t ask for a better crew.
Don’t forget to join us for the Queen’s Brunch this Sunday!
Sometimes I curse the invention of smartphones, but there’s something to be said about having a camera in your pocket at all times – especially when you spend your days with chimpanzees. So here’s a random collection of clips I recorded today.
While we’re at it, here’s a smartphone photo of Mave from last week.
Nicolas Santos, an 8th grade student at St. Luke School, recently collected fire hose for the chimpanzees. Nicolas’ parents, Erica (a former CSNW board member) and Enjay (a former CSNW volunteer), gathered up the family to help deliver it to the sanctuary.
The response to his project was so overwhelming that they had to rent a U-Haul trailer.
Already, Chad and I have began to hang some of it up in the new greenhouses, which are just weeks away from completion.
By the way – we’re very grateful to the donors who purchased the safety harness and lifeline from our wish list. Look at the view from up top! Just don’t look down.
As Nicolas mentioned in his flyer, chimpanzees use fire hose in a number of different ways.
They walk across it:
They climb across it:
They sit on it:
They swing on it:
They lounge on it:
They…do whatever this is:
Occasionally, they even wear it:
Thanks, Nicolas, for helping us enrich the chimps’ home! Honey B, Mave, Willy B, and the “Lucky Six” are going to love it.
We’re enjoying another day of much-needed rain showers here in Central Washington. As I write this, the chimps have retreated into the playrooms to build nests or groom with friends while they wait out another storm. This morning, however, was sunny and warm and the chimps took the opportunity to get some exercise on the hill.
As we opened up the hill this morning, the chimps scampered off in different directions.
They harvested plants from across the hill and stuffed their mouths with grass, dandelions, and prickly lettuce.
By the time breakfast was ready, the chimps were nowhere to be found.
With the exception of Negra, that is. So as we called and food grunted in vain to notify the others, Negra enjoyed her own private breakfast service in the greenhouse. I’m pretty sure she has been waiting for this moment her entire life.
After cleaning was over, I went to see if any of the Seven were still outside. I could hear laughter coming from the greenhouse.
Jamie and Burrito were wrestling.
The group has been squabbling a lot lately, as you can see from the abrasion and patch of missing hair on Jamie’s arm.
But today it was all play and grooming.
This is how chimps work.
There will always be fights.
So you just have to make the happy moments outnumber the bad ones.
I hope you experience the same vicarious joy that I do when watching the cows race to their spring pastures each year.
Who is your favorite chewer from the video? And why is it that non-humans animals chewing is charming, but hearing the same from our own species drives some of us up the wall?
