Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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In memory of Lassen Pig

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Today was sponsored by Kerrie Wooten, in memory of her friend, Lassen Pig.  Kerrie shared a very touching story about Lassen:

“I first met Lassen Pig on July 1, 2004 when I interned at Farm Sanctuary in Orland, CA. He was a young, happy, sometimes cranky, spoiled pig and I grew to love and appreciate his personality. In 2006 I began working at the sanctuary and I was thrilled to be helping to take care of Lassen every day. Last year, on October 4, 2012 (the day after my birthday) we said goodbye to Lassen – he was a little old man, but I still saw the young, spry pig I’d first met years before. My wish is to honor the memory of my dear friend by helping the chimps, who deserve to have a joyous, fulfilling, carefree life the way Lassen did.” 

Kerrie, this is such a sweet and generous gift!  Thank you so much for helping to give Lassen, and the chimps, wonderful lives.

Missy chase Annie

 

Too hot

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Cle Elum is in the middle of a heatwave, and the high temperatures are sapping everyone’s energy (we couldn’t even convince Jamie to walk around Young’s Hill with us, and that’s usually a many-times-a-day activity). I think Burrito speaks for all of us in these photos taken in the greenhouse this afternoon.

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Olympic Games, New Products, and an Evening Stroll

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This is a blog post full of information! Today is the beginning of a heat wave in our area, and we decided to keep things open longer tonight so the chimps could enjoy the cooling-off period of the evening. Most of the chimpanzees followed their normal routine and went to bed after dinner, but Jamie and Missy took advantage of the extra time on the hill. I just got back from my second evening walk around the hill with Jamie. Missy joined us for the first one.

jamie missy diana walking around young's hill

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Hey – did you know that the The Roslyn Olympics are only three weeks away!? If you are within a 3-hour radius of Roslyn, WA, you need to attend this event. It’s a combination of the Troll Olympics and ARRF Animal Rescue‘s Doggie Olympics – it really is fun for the whole family. In fact, it might the highlight of your summer. This year, you could even win a visit to the sanctuary following the games! The video below explains what the Roslyn Games are all about:

 

The other news of the day is that we have some new stuff in our merchandise store! We just got some brand-new items from Hydro Flask – water bottles and travel mugs / thermoses with flip-top lids.

18 oz hydro flask

24 oz hydro flask water bottles

I am getting ready for the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest booth at Seattle’s PrideFest on Sunday and have been making some special love buttons, so I thought I’d add those to the store too!

love buttons

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Don’t forget to RSVP for the Roslyn Olympics and buy some stuff in our store – it helps the chimps!

 

Happy Birthday, Ellen!

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Today was sponsored by Margaret Lunnum in honor of her mother, Ellen’s, birthday.  Margaret shared the following sentiments for her mother:  “I would like to thank my mom, Ellen, who turns 90 today for putting up with me for 66 years. She has been my best listener and advice giver. She counts my four legged and two winged critters as her grandchildren. She also appreciates my interest in and love for the Cle Elum Seven.”  Margaret and Ellen, thank you so much for sharing such a special day with the chimpanzees!  Have a wonderful day, Ellen!

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Big Step

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A big step forward for chimpanzees today. The NIH has decided to accept most of the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations proposed in January that include the retirement of the vast majority of chimpanzees supported by the federal government. Read the NIH press release here and the full report here.

Jody before and today

It is unfortunate that the NIH plans to hold fifty chimpanzees for possible continued research, as recommended by the IOM. We don’t see fifty as a generic number – we know that each of those fifty chimpanzees is an individual who should live out the rest of their life in sanctuary, but, overall, today represents  a leap forward for chimpanzees.  There will be no immediate breeding within that group of fifty and the NIH will revisit whether they believe it’s necessary to maintain that group in five years. The NIH also did not accept the  recommendation to provide 1,000 square of space per chimp for those chimpanzees who do remain in research – the NIH will be gathering more information on that recommendation.

Foxie and her dolls

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Foxie is usually never without a troll doll or Dora the Explorer doll. But there’s been some occasions where she differs from the usual and pick dolls or enrichment that are entirely different, and sometimes—shockingly—she’s been seen walking around Young’s Hill without any doll along for the ride. As endearing as Foxie’s doll love is, I think it’s really good to see her varying a bit in her choices for enrichment.

Sometimes she picks a troll AND a Dora:

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Sometimes it’s something totally different (in this case, a “My Little Pony” pink horse head)

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Sometimes we can’t be for sure if she’s carrying one or not… but she sure looks good with that beautiful forest background!

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And sometimes she’s interested in enjoying the sunshine with her chimpanzee friends and leaves the dolls to wait for her inside:

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Foraging

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We provide food to the chimps in a variety of ways. Sometimes we serve them individually, either hand to mouth or hand to hand through the caging. This ensures that everyone is getting their fair share and gives us a great opportunity to monitor and evaluate the chimps’ health up close. Other times we put food in puzzles like the termite mound or raisin boards, giving the chimps a chance to use tools and their incredible problem-solving abilities. But my (and Burrito’s) favorite method is the forage. For a forage, we cut the food into small pieces and spread it throughout the enclosure while the chimps are locked out. Then we let them back in and they proceed to search for their meal. Foraging encourages activity and usually discourages stress and aggression because it’s difficult to steal or hoard food when it is spread out over such a large area, though Jamie sometimes tries her best.

The GoPro camera provides an interesting glimpse into a forage on the hill and it also allows us to hear all the groans and food squeaks that we would otherwise miss.