Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Sanctuary

A Royal Party

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I promised generous friends and family who gave through my Facebook birthday wish that I would throw a party for the chimpanzees today on my birthday. Thanks to Derek, Stephanie M., Jessica, Anika, Jen, David, Audrey, Linda, Donna, Laura, Stephanie P., Susan & Jack, Ryan, Gay & Mike, Kathy, Anna, Suzanne, Margaret & Karen and big thanks to Bruce and Deborah for helping me surpass my birthday wish goal!

We thought it would be fun to make the party a British high tea since William and Kate’s wedding was just yesterday.

We made some fancy food, put out some crazy hats, and let the chimps enjoy.

In case you’re wondering about the cake, I modified this recipe for raw birthday cake. I believe the video shows that the chimps approved. Burrito and Missy also enjoyed the cake, but they were off camera when I filmed. Debbie was serving at the barn doors to entice the chimps into the playroom so I could close off the greenhouse and volunteer Erin and I could set up the rest of the party.

The sandwiches were Erin’s creation: lettuce and English cucumbers with a layer of mashed bananas between slices of apple.

Happy High Tea, everyone!

After the party, Burrito kicked back with a macadamia nut

Burrito with macadamia nut

 

Sad news about Annie’s son Damien

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Damien, one of Annie‘s sons who was at the wonderful Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida, recently passed away. Damien’s death was due to kidney failure that developed after an injury.

Please visit the Save the Chimps site to learn more about Damien as well as Ted, another chimpanzee who also recently passed away.

We were all very sad to learn of Damien and Ted’s passing, and our hearts go out to their caregivers. Save the Chimps is the word’s largest sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees, and the staff are faced with the deaths of loved ones too frequently.

Here is a quote from the notice about Damien’s death: “He grew into a magnificent adult, and was one of the few chimpanzees at Save the Chimps who spent more of his life in sanctuary than in a research lab.”

Thank you to all at Save the Chimps who gave Damien a sanctuary life.

damien

Chimp Politics

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In the chimp world, when you are the boss, it means you can get away with a lot– well, everything. As the leader of the Cle Elum Seven, Jamie lets her feelings be known. When she doesn’t like something someone did, or the way they did it, it can lead to a fight (or a screaming match, which seems to be more common these days). So, to succeed as a member of the group, you must learn how to be a good politician, which first and foremost means how to be submissive to the (wo)man. As the least dominant member of the group, Annie is excellent at this. She is constantly referencing the other members of the group to make sure everyone is okay with whatever it is she is doing. Foxie is somewhere in the middle of the dominance hierarchy but tends to get away with a lot. She is the peacekeeper of the group and has a very close friendship with Jamie, but she still has to tread lightly, none the less.

Gum

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Enrichment comes in many shapes and sizes. We give the chimps gum from time to time, because not only is it good for the chimps’ teeth (we try to stick to Spry Brand gum, which has Xylitol in it- a natural sweetener that is also good for your teeth), but it gives them something interesting to do. Some of the chimps choose to just swallow their gum right away, but others like to chew and even play with their gum.

Burrito:

Missy, “stretching out” her enrichment:

Party for Love a Chimpanzee Day

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We put the emphasis on delicious fresh food for Love a Chimpanzee Day 2011, brought to the chimps by Monica, who sponsored a day and sent some extra cash and goodies for us to throw a party. (Find out how you can sponsor a day by visiting our donate page or contacting us).

Here is the forage before spreading it out (and a few non-food treats for the chimps):

fresh produce

Here’s Negra traveling with a perfectly ripe avocado – a favorite among all of the chimpanzees:

negra avocado

Here’s Foxie picking peas out of the “garden” that volunteer Connie created in the sandbox

foxie pea picking

Negra even opened a present!

negra opening gift

Annie seemed fond of this new doll:

Annie with doll

Foxie did not seem fond of the same doll, though she did seem to enjoy taking it apart – it’s all part of the fun:

foxie with doll head

It was a beautiful sunny day in Cle Elum and all of the chimps really enjoyed the goodies today. Dinner ended with lots of nuts for Negra and figs. Little do they know they’ll be having another party tomorrow!

 

Posing for Monica on Love a Chimpanzee Day

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I happen to know that Monica, who sponsored today in honor of the chimpanzees and her cat Ozzie, is a big Duran Duran fan. So, in addition to the party we threw for the chimps full of gorgeous and delicious food, we printed out a few photos that we thought Monica might appreciate. I didn’t expect Burrito to pose so perfectly and had to share this one right away. Happy Love a Chimpanzee Day, Monica!

Burrito loves Duran Duran