Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Caregivers as enrichment

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Let’s face it- no matter how much we do to spice up captivity with enrichment and projects, it can still get pretty boring sometimes. We try to do what ever we can to keep the chimps entertained, including simple things like drinks from the hose. The chimps have access to water 24 hours a day, but sometimes they just seem to prefer to have us “fill them up”, so to speak, instead. Chimps have prehensile lips and a large pouch in their bottom lip, so they can hold a lot of water in there! And, as always here at CSNW, they have the choice to drink or…

Sharing

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Chimpanzees can be very aggressive, but it’s easy to focus too much on this aspect of their behavior. What’s truly remarkable is how often they are able to resolve a conflict, or avoid a potential conflict, through such simple things as reassuring touches and gestures.

While not exactly the same, I often tell people that you can begin to understand chimpanzee dominance by watching The Godfather. In the following video, Negra plays the part of Don Corleone.


 

Sippin’ – better than ever!

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Despite the weather keeping some of our friends and a couple of wineries from attending the event, this year’s Sippin’ for the Seven was a great success and a whole lot of fun!

Minus expenses, we raised $7,270!

This money will be used directly for the care of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees. The event comes at a slower donation time, so it’s a great boost to our general fund that keeps the sanctuary running.

The Swiftwater Cellars venue was just perfect for this event, and I can’t wait to share photos from photographer Ron Sullivan.

Mark your calendars for next year – February 25, 2012.

I’ll be posting the thank yous soon, but here’s a little something to share in the meantime –

This year for the Sippin’ for the Seven event, we rented a huge screen from CWU’s event services and projected the slideshow below that played throughout the evening. Denice suggested we share it here for people who were unable to attend. Imagine it on a 9ft by 12ft screen with lovely music (from Coal Creek) playing nearby:

Jody, the 6th staff member at CSNW

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I don’t know how this place would function without Jody. When we are shifting the chimps from one area to another and someone lags behind, Jody goes and rounds them up for us. And when a blanket gets left in the door, you can always rely on Jody to get it…at her own pace, of course. I don’t get the sense that she does it for approval; instead, I think she just likes to keep things running smoothly.