Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Sanctuary

The One With Jamie & Foxie

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Let’s just ignore the fact that summer is almost over, because I am in pure denial and enjoy the weather. I mean take a look at Foxie and Jamie!

Foxie was enjoying the warm breezy morning lounging with a tiny troll doll:




Jamie had work to do before she could relax this morning. She beat the heat and did some patrolling on the Hill:



Bonus photos…

Willy B, he makes my heart feel so full:

Willy B also likes his photo taken!

Honey B, seriously she is so amazing:

Honey B (right) being groomed by Mave (left):

Happiest day to you, Arlene!

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Our dear supporters, Michael and Arlene, are celebrating Arlene’s birthday today and Michael sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in her honor. These two humans have the biggest hearts and we’re so grateful to have them as part of our chimp (growing!) family.

Michael and Arlene, thank you so very much for always holding the chimps in your thoughts and your hearts and for the lasting difference you’ve made in their lives.

Arlene, we hope you’ve had the best of birthdays and that your heart is full. Happiest of days from all of us here!

Negra:

Annie and Missy:

Foxie and Burrito:

And hoots from Mave, Willy B and Honey B, too!

Taking it all in

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It’s been an extra busy day in the chimp house as chimpanzees and humans alike adjust to new surroundings, new people and new routines. The chimps are very aware of one another on opposite sides of the “howdy” door and doing the seven are doing their best to try to catch glimpses of their new neighbors through the door. But for the most part everyone spent the relaxing in the summertime glory.

Beautiful Annie in her breezy greenhouse nest:

Snoozy Burrito:

Foxie and Kate:

I could not love this photo of Jamie (or Jamie) more! She donned her troll scarf while gazing at the tomato plants in the chimps’ mini garden while her wild bedhead blew in the breeze.

Handsome B:

Mave, Honey B, and Willy B continue to adjust well to their new surroundings and home. It’s a lot to take in, as one can imagine, and being surrounded by new sights and sounds, new humans and a new home can take time. So we’re all just taking cues from them as we all get to know one another. We are so incredibly happy they are here and so grateful to their former caregivers for helping to make their transition as easeful as we can.

Honey B, who so looks like a long, tall version of her mama, Missy, seems to enjoy spending time in the mezzanine taking in the view of the valley and the sunshine:

Willy B is an incredibly handsome guy and he’s often on the move right now. We found he seems to enjoy having the doorways to all the human areas and outside open so he can watch the comings and goings and passings by. He did find some time after a selfie or two with Mave and I to stop for a bit to enjoy some grooming from Honey B:

And Mave, well, she’s just settled right in and spent most of her day in her various nests, legs in the air, breathy panting and hooting quietly with her new caregivers. She is a delight:

She loves to see images on the iPhone, taking “selfies” and watching her image in the camera. We’ve spent some time the past couple of days showing both Mave and Willy B photos of their seven next door neighbors and they’ve seemed quite intrigued.

We are so incredibly happy and honored to have these three beautiful, intelligent chimp people here with us and we are so grateful to their former caregivers for helping to make their transition as easeful as they could. And we’re so grateful to you for making this possible for them. We can’t wait to share everything ahead with you all.

Big Welcome to Honey B, Willy B, and Mave!

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Honey B, Willy B, and Mave arrived at the sanctuary this morning and are getting to know their brand new facility right now as you read this post!

These three chimpanzees came from Wildlife Waystation in California which recently announced that it is closing and, with the help of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is transferring the animals living there to other organizations.

Honey B is the adult daughter of Missy, who has lived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest since 2008. Missy gave birth to Honey B at a laboratory and they were separated when Honey B was less than 24 hours old.

The three are settling in quite well after their journey and are very curious about the new friendly faces and interesting views at their new home.

Honey B:

Willy B:

Mave:

They will be in quarantine for 30 days before they have any contact with the seven, but the two groups will be able to see each other at a bit of a distance once the above ground tunnel is complete.

We’ve had quite a few additional expenses lately with the construction of the archway tunnel that will connect the new space to the outdoor habitat and all the costs we just incurred transporting the chimpanzees to the sanctuary this weekend. So please consider making a “Welcome to your new home” donation in honor of Honey B, Willy B, and Mave!

We will update you all soon with videos and more, but we didn’t want to wait any longer before sharing this good news.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest over the years, enabling the sanctuary to be in a position to help these three chimpanzees (and more in the future)! And thanks to those who have directly cared for and advocated for the chimpanzees at Wildlife Waystation.

Structural Enrichment

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I have occasionally heard the word “enrichment” defined as items that are given to animals once their basic needs have been met.

In contrast, I think of enrichment as an entire philosophy, not just something extra that we do when our other work is done. For these chimpanzees and all other captive animals, enrichment is a basic need. Although survival would be possible without enrichment, thriving would not. Here at the sanctuary, every aspect of our daily routine, from meal preparation to cleaning, is done with the ultimate goal of keeping the chimpanzees happy and healthy. There is no easy way to group items or activities into “enrichment” or “not enrichment.” We just enrich everything.

In addition to distributing troll dolls, cowboy boots and slinkies, our team designs and builds new structures for the chimpanzees. The way in which we design and furnish the facility is considerate of the chimpanzee’s physical and emotional needs, and we often add or change components of the enclosures to keep the surroundings interesting and functional for the chimps. A great example is the network of firehose “vines” that transects the Playroom, Greenhouse, Hill, and new wing of enclosures. The video posted above shows how Jamie gets to use the firehose however she wants, giving her a greater degree of choice in addition to the obvious security and stability that such additions provide.

We’re also excited to share a photo of a new firehose hammock, modeled by Level III volunteer and CWU graduate student Chad. Several volunteers and interns helped staff and contractors to furnish the chimpanzee areas of the Phase 1 expansion with benches, firehose, hammocks, and ladders. The new hammock is hanging in the upstairs mezzanine enclosure, and will hopefully be enjoyed by the sanctuary’s newest residents once they arrive!

Foxie is Here to Play!

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Happy Friday! Finally, you’ve made it to the weekend! I thought I would help us all slide into this weekend with a fun video of Foxie playing. Foxie loves to interact with her chimp & human friends! She knows how to loosen individuals up and get them to relax and be silly. Foxie can even get Jamie to stop monitoring the humans and play! Foxie really does enjoy seeking out her human caregivers. As you will see in the video Foxie’s play style allows her to be perfectly happy playing with chimps, humans, or even just enjoying alone time with her dolls!

Photos from the vault

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There are a lot of lovely moments we capture on the camera that might not fit with the day’s blog or are too close to a photo we have just used.  We each keep a set of moments we haven’t had a chance to share in a file on the Chimp House computer’s desktop.  Here’s an assortment of some unseen moments of sanctuary!

This photo was taken just a few weeks ago. We love all these sightings of our tiny wild neighbors:

Foxie and a quiet moment with a troll doll last spring:

A portrait of Jamie:

Jamie using a chopstick as a tool to get some peanut butter out of an enrichment tube:

Missy enjoying last winter’s snow bounty:

And lastly Negra enjoying the green bounty on Young’s Hill (two? years ago).