I sometimes think it is really interesting to look back at the photos of the chimps’ first few days in sanctuary. It’s shocking how much they have changed. Here is a picture of Missy in June 2008:
And here is one from earlier this month:
Sanctuary
Foxie, Missy, and Dora
Foxie is almost never without a troll or Dora the Explorer doll, even when she is climbing, swinging, and playing chase with her friends.
Captivity
We’ve been talking a lot about Jamie recently. She provides us with a lot to talk about, both on this blog and amongst the staff and volunteers at the sanctuary. We’ve told you about her artistic side, her love of cowboy boots, the challenges she presents to her caregivers to keep her busy mind active, and we’ve reflected on her complicated personality. There’s one thing that I sometimes mention to people when talking about Jamie in person. It’s something that I was thinking about as I took the photos below, and I don’t think I’ve shared it on the blog yet. So here it is –
I think Jamie is acutely aware of her captivity. I don’t say this about all of the chimpanzees. I don’t think Foxie, for example, with her goofy, please-everyone personality, thinks about how unfair it is that she is on the other side of the fencing from the humans, that we make a lot of decisions for her, and that we go off somewhere else at the end of the day. It’s impossible to know for sure, but I believe Jamie is very aware of all of these things, and she knows it’s not fair. I agree with her. Chimpanzees don’t belong in captivity. We do the best we possibly can with the resources we have to provide a happy life for the Cle Elum Seven, but we could never provide them with everything, especially the true freedom that they deserve (If you’re wondering why we don’t offer the chimps more freedom, take a look at this blog post and the link in it about the true nature of chimpanzees).
But things are getting better. More and more people are accepting the simple truth that chimpanzees don’t belong in captivity. The release of the NIH Council of Councils working group report the other day could be a watershed moment for chimpanzees in biomedical research in the United States, and the growing awareness of who chimpanzees are and what they deserve has played a huge role in this moment. It’s the countdown to the end of chimpanzees in biomedical research, and, in fact, someone is counting down – Lori Gruen launched a new website today called the Last 1,000. It is a list of all of the chimpanzees still in research and a tracking of these individuals from lab to sanctuary by highlighting their name or number in green. Lori’s already been able to highlight some of the chimpanzees who went from New Iberia to Chimp Haven just this week.
Though chimpanzees do not belong in captivity, those who are deserve the best quality of life we can provide them. Thank you for being a part of providing for Jamie.
Keeping your friends company
One of my favorite things about the Cle Elum Seven is how almost everyone is really good friends. We tend to focus on BFF’s Annie and Missy a lot because they are pretty much inseparable, but there are lots of other people that seem to be pretty close, based on the amount of time they play with one another, groom, or have other interactions. If I had to guess based on my observations, I would say (aside from the Annie/Missy duo), Missy is good friends with Negra, Foxie and Burrito; Burrito is good friends with Foxie, Negra, and Missy; Negra is good friends with Foxie, Missy, and Burrito; Jamie is good friends with Foxie; and Jody is good friends with Foxie and Negra (I’ve seen a lot of play between Negra and Jody lately!). Annie’s world still revolves around Missy, but she does occasionally play with Foxie and Negra, so I think she would probably call them good friends too. If you haven’t noticed, Ms. Foxie is a popular lady!
Today I caught Foxie being super goofy all by herself (which is really not all that uncommon) but it wasn’t long before someone had to join in.
Happy birthday, Donna and Doreen!
Donna and Doreen Hughes are celebrating their birthday today, and they have sponsored the day for the Cle Elum Seven. Donna and Doreen have been consistently warm and enthusiastic supporters of the chimpanzees since the year they arrived at CSNW. In particular, they’re two of Foxie’s biggest fans!
Thanks, Donna and Doreen. Happy birthday from CSNW!
Take Action Tuesday: Another chimp ad + how to help orangutans
If you haven’t heard, Great Clips had a commercial a couple weeks ago that featured a chimpanzee. Just a day after our alert went out and folks wrote to them, the CEO made a statement saying they would pull the ad and never work with apes again! Victories like this keep the momentum going—your letter writing really does make a difference! On that note please send a quick message to Steak ‘n Shake, who currently has a commercial with a chimpanzee:
Click on this link to be taken to the action alert which contains contact information and a sample letter. Be sure to spread the word and forward the alert to your friends! And if you haven’t subscribed to our Take Action: Eyes on Apes Alerts mailing list already, sign up now.
Another way you can help apes right now is to sign this petition to Dr. Oz, who recommended his viewers try using palm oil as a healthy alternative oil. Please let him and his producers know that palm oil production is slowly driving orangutans into extinction! For more information about this issue, take a look at this past Take Action Tuesday post.
Thank you as always for speaking up for these apes. Keep up the great work!
Floppy ears
I just happened to notice that Burrito has 996 “likes” on Facebook! Let’s get him to over 1000! It shouldn’t be hard with an adorable video like the one below. “Like” or share this blog post with your Facebook friends and suggest they “like” Mr. B, if for no other reason, because his ears wiggle when he chews, and who can resist that?
