Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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The Morning After Jubilee

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After yesterdays festivities, today has been pretty low-key for everyone. I think both chimps and humans are exhausted from such an awesome day of nonstop partying! If you didn’t see yesterdays blog, STOP EVERYTHING you are doing and look now! And if you missed Diana talking about Negra’s story, be sure to check that out too! Don’t forget that until the end of June all donations will be doubled until we reach $30,000. Follow this link to learn more about how you can help us reach our goal!

Cy on the Bray:

Lucky hanging out by the hammock:

Gordo heading back from exploring:

Willy B:

Guess who!

It’s Rayne!

How did we get so lucky to have such a sweet and kind soul like Terry?! It has been so fun to watch Terry grow in just the few years he has been at CSNW and watch him make new friends. I am not sure if we share this often, but he is quietly good friends with Honey B (maybe don’t tell Honey B). I often will see them on the cameras grooming or hanging out in the same area together. She even grooms with him from time to time! And I don’t know if I have ever met a gentler chimp than him. What I am trying to say is that Terry is just such a nice guy with a really good heart <3.

Another Day on the Bray

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Despite this being one of the hotter days this year, the chimps in Terry’s group spent a considerable amount of time on the Bray. One of Terry’s favorite spots is on Ryan’s Lookout, where he is often joined by Rayne and Gordo. Cy even made the trek out to the Lookout the other day! Here’s Terry:

Lucky continues to enjoy her time outdoors but she prefers to stay off the grass whenever possible, which somewhat limits how far she will go. Today she found a way to sit near the ground without actually sitting on the ground.

Foraging for nuts is a little more difficult when you can’t touch the ground but she found a way. She then climbed up to crack them open with Terry and Rayne.

Rayne was reluctant to part with her new favorite book so she took it with her as she hiked around the Bray.

Eventually she set it down and took a walk with me to to the top of the hill.

She’s very interested in the Young’s Hill side of the things…I’m sure she will be excited when both groups are outside at the same time. As far as that goes, we’re just giving Dora a little time to see if she wants to explore the outdoors further without the added pressure of six chimps hooting and hollering at her from the other side of the fences.

Gordo likes to tag along when Rayne explores the Bray. He gets a little nervous when they venture to the farther reaches of the enclosure.

When they reached the top of the hill, Rayne spent some time taking in the view. Gordo waited restlessly for her to head back.

This was, for me, the closest I’ve come to joining any of the new group on a patrol. Once the groups are in their outdoor enclosures at the same time, I’m guessing that Rayne, Gordo, and Terry will do this more regularly. And I’m hoping that Cy will put his magazines down long enough the join them—you know, him being the alpha and all…

Or maybe, as it is on the other side of the fences, the girls will just have to take the lead.

Defending the Title

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While Anna and I deep cleaned Playroom 1, we heard some laughing (breathy panting) coming from Front Room 4. We knew our usual suspect would be Burrito, which was true, but we assumed he would be playing with Jamie or Foxie. To our surprise, when we peered over it was Burrito and Negra playing! As many of you may know, Negra can get rough when she decides to wrestle and let me tell you, it may have turned into a game of Foxie and Burrito vs. Negra, but she was holding her own and Negra was NOT going easy on them. In all the years that I have been working at CSNW, it was been such an honor to watch Negra get to decide what she wants to do every day. Negra gets to make choices- going on Young’s Hill to forage for grass, napping all day if she desires, playing with Burrito, or even the choice of interacting with humans (besides meals and medical intervention, of course). It’s kind of crazy to think that our 15th anniversary of the Cle Elum Seven arriving to CSNW is just around the corner (6 days to be exact) and with that we will be celebrating our dear friend Negra’s 50th birthday! Let’s not forget our very sweet friend Terry shares the same birthday as Negra and is turning 33! This coming week is going to be a trifecta jubilee!

Speaking of the Trifecta Jubilee, we have some exciting news to share! Because we are hitting big milestones this year, we are also hoping to reach big fundraising goals! An anonymous donor has pledged $30,000 matching donations through the month of June! All donations given now until the end of June will be doubled until we reach $30,000. Follow the link to learn more about how you can help us reach our goal!

As we celebrate the Trifecta Jubilee, don’t forget to sign up for the special opportunity to, Sit Down with the Co-Directors, on Saturday, June 10th at 2 pm. Join J.B. and Diana as they discuss the joys of running a sanctuary and working with chimps, the difficult aspects of working with chimps in captivity, and any of your burning questions you might have for them! J.B. and Diana have dedicated their lives to these chimps and are truly incredible people to work for, it’s an honor to get to work along side them. So I hope you all take advantage of this amazing opportunity! 🙂

I wanted to take a moment to say that I think we all wish that in celebrating, Jody would have been with us on June 13th, we will leave room for acknowledgement for her absence on that day, but Jody was able to have 15 amazing years in sanctuary, which is more than we could have hoped for! We know that Jody would have wanted us to have a giant party for Negra filled with all of Negra’s favorite foods, like Hawaiian rolls, which of course will be on the menu!

Neggie this morning greeting us with sweet kisses:

Silly Foxie:

Gordo with a mouth full of grapefruit and peanuts:

Sweet laid back Mave:

The Boss and Her Rules

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Yesterday, Sabrina wrote about the walk she took with Rayne around the Bray. It’s so exciting to see Cy’s group explore their new habitat- if there’s anything we’ve learned from Jamie’s group and Young’s Hill, it’s that seeing them explore outside truly never gets old.

So, earlier today (and every day, really), when Jamie wanted to go for a walk, I was pumped! While I was trying to figure out what she needed for the walk, I realized I had my blog topic for the day. Jamie has rules when it comes to her walks, naturally, and we have to abide!

Today, we were cleaning the front rooms when Jamie popped up in the loft of the playroom. I was walking into the chimp area from the kitchen and she started pointing, so I stopped cleaning and tried to figure out what she wanted. First, I tried showing her a few different boots to see if one was what she wanted. She didn’t stop pointing (aggressively) so I knew I hadn’t gotten it right yet. Her short, black boot had been drying on the kitchen boot dryer so I snagged that and she nodded at me, but still pointed towards me. I was getting closer, but wasn’t quite there yet, so I put the boot on and grabbed her favorite bonobo books and she was gone! I met her outside the greenhouse and off we went. Almost everyone joined us today, but Negra opted to remain in the super comfy nest she had made in the greenhouse.

After walking with Jamie, she will usually want one or all of the items she asked you to bring around the hill. Since it’s chimp approved enrichment, we give it to her! Today she wanted her three bonobo books, but didn’t want her boot, so I put it aside to give to her before closing up the chimp house this evening.

After you have successfully navigated the pre-walk steps of figuring out what exactly you need to bring, done the actual walk itself, and given her the things from the walk she wanted- then she will often want to sit and groom for a bit. 🙂 These are all ways to build your relationship with her and, when the day can get so busy, they’re also nice quiet moments that we can spend with her.

We don’t always get it all right when we try and figure out what the chimps want, but it is one of the most important parts of our work here so we always try… Even if it means disappearing from cleaning for a little while (thanks, Lizz and Courtney!)

BONUS PHOTOS:

Jamie’s group wasn’t the only side to explore outside today! Rayne, Gordo, Cy, Willy B, and Lucky all enjoyed some time out on the Bray this afternoon.

Rayne and Gordo going all the way to the top:

Your eyes didn’t deceive you- Rayne was rockin’ some Sporty Spice fashion on the Bray today!

Willy B enjoying the sunshine:

Terry being his handsome self:

 

Foxie enjoying lunch:

 

Girl Time and Happy Birthday, Carrie!

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For today’s blog, I wanted to share a peaceful little moment while everyone else was out exploring The Bray. Though Mave, Honey B, and Dora may not be quite comfortable enough to go outside yet, at least they are spending some quality time together! Sometimes our days get hectic and busy, this video was a great reminder to slow down and enjoy the company of good friends. I hope this video brings you as much peace as it brought me.

We also want to give many thanks to Jenara Miller for sponsoring a day of sanctuary today in celebration of long-time friend of the chimps and bovines, Carrie Miller, on her birthday! From everyone at the sanctuary, we hope you have an amazing birthday Carrie!

Honey B:

Bubba:

Honey cow:

 

 

 

The Most Popular Girl on the Bray

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Lucky is one of the less social members of her group. While the others play and groom together, Lucky can often be found quietly perched on a bench overlooking it all or scooting across the floor in what we call her “blanket car.” Just like humans, some chimps tend towards introversion.

But on the 6th day of her group getting access to their new outdoor habitat, called the Bray, Lucky decided that she would make herself at home out there. And that has earned her a lot of attention from some of her group mates.

In fact, grooming Lucky is the hot new trend on the Bray. In typical Lucky fashion, she doesn’t reciprocate all that much, but she does however allow herself to be thoroughly groomed. This afternoon, she was joined by both Rayne and Gordo for a grooming session in the shade of the first platform.

Rayne inspected her arms.

And her feet.

Her back.

And inside the ears.

This amount of attention must be overwhelming for Lucky. Hopefully she can find a quiet place to nest overnight so that she can recharge and prepare for another day in her newly busy social calendar.

Mornings In The Chimp House

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Mornings in the chimp house are often super busy! The to-do list is impressive and as soon as we arrive we get started on breakfast prep, enrichment, laundry, and other morning tasks. Then, after breakfast is served to both groups and we’ve finished shifting, we start cleaning the enclosures. Despite the long to-do list, there are often sweet moments to catch all morning. Whether it’s the precious greetings the chimps offer us when we first arrive or little goofy moments between friends as we scrub and squeegee, there’s always something to make you smile.

Today was no exception! As we cleaned, chimps in both groups enjoyed the beautiful summer day. Check out today’s video for more! 🙂

BONUS PHOTOS:

Cy, looking on as his family explores the Bray:

Gordo, getting more and more comfortable on the structures:

Honey B enjoying the sunshine:

Jamie, resting after lunch with one of her cowboy boots:

Rayne, exploring the Bray: