Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Greenhouse Energy

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Although the next season is still a sunset away, the chimpanzees are already exhibiting typical summer behavior.

This transition has been most notable on warm days when the chimps spend most of their time in the greenhouse areas. The first of these unique enclosures was built shortly after the first group of chimpanzees arrived, and we added the Oakwood Greenhouse and Riverview Greenhouse just last year. These enclosures offer the best elements of the indoors and outdoors, especially when a few select panels are removed from the outside and the cool breezes can pass through. It’s not surprising that the residents choose to hang out in those spaces more often than not during this time of year.

Here are some photos of the chimpanzees enjoying their favorite summer digs.

Annie letting a foot hang off the edge of the platform
Willy B
Gordo
Dora (left) grooms Mave (center) while Rayne (right) sits nearby
Missy
Gordo
Annie
Burrito (right) and Foxie (left) grooming each other
Burrito returning to the greenhouse after racing around Young’s Hill
Foxie
Cy looks down at caregivers from an elevated area
Jody
Gordo
Negra
Jody

Meet our newest caregiver, Jenna!

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Hi, everyone! My name is Jenna and I am the newest staff member at CSNW. I am so happy to be here!

Originally from Arizona, I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona in 2018. While I had anticipated going into the medical field with the goal of helping humans, I never felt confident with that plan. It was not until my final semester of college where I completed an internship at Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, where I had the epiphany, “why have I not considered working with animals before?”.

Immediately after graduating, I started unpaid internships so I could build my resume as I knew I wanted to pursue a graduate degree. While I completed two internships at AZA-accredited facilities, I knew I found something special when I began a wildlife medicine internship at a small sanctuary in Arizona, called Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center (SWCC). SWCC heavily focuses on wildlife rehabilitation and releases as many animals as possible. For those individuals that cannot be released, such as those formerly kept as pets illegally, SWCC provides them a home for the rest of their life, where they can live in peace. Up until to that point in my professional life, I had never seen anything like the work SWCC was doing. I was quickly hooked into the sanctuary world and I have never looked back.

While my title of staff is new, I am not a stranger to CSNW! I began interning here in 2019 when I moved to Washington for the Primate Behavior graduate program at Central Washington University. In fact, I arrived shortly after Mave, Honey B, and Willy B arrived at CSNW! I quickly fell in love with the people, the chimpanzees, and the positive atmosphere here. While the pandemic ended my in-person internship early, and I eventually went on to work at other chimpanzee sanctuaries, I always kept CSNW close to my heart. I think it is pretty evident a lot of former interns have similar experiences, as many have returned as staff.

For the past year, I have been in Florida working as a full-time chimpanzee caregiver at Center for Great Apes (CGA)! I learned so much during my time there and felt very fortunate to build such close, strong relationships with several of the chimpanzees. I would have to say that the highlight of my time working at CGA was being a caregiver to Knuckles. For those unfamiliar with his story, Knuckles was born in 1999 at a California entertainment facility and he quickly was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Based on the severity of his condition, doctors had no idea how long Knuckles would live. He arrived at CGA when he was 2 years old. He unexpectedly passed away in November 2021 at the age of 22. I am forever thankful for the opportunity to be apart of his life as I am not the same caregiver, nor person, as I was before knowing him.

I have been back in Washington since the end of April and I could not be happier. I have missed the beautiful landscapes, the wonderful humans that make up the CSNW staff, and of course, the chimpanzees.

As a disclaimer, my photography lessons with Chad and Anthony just started today, so please know these pictures will improve in the future (well, one can hope). Here are a few moments that I captured today:

Foxie:

Foxie and dolls:

Burrito:

Jamie:

Meredith:

Missy on a Mission

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Missy invited me to play chase up the hill this afternoon. When we reached the top, she veered off into the tall grass with a look of determination.

She climbed atop one of the mounds.

And then walked out onto the log bridge.

From there, she scanned the area.

Then she disappeared into the weeds.

When she emerged, it was clear she had found what she was searching for: a yellow goatsbeard flower and a handful of prickly lettuce leaves.

With an equal sense of purpose, she marched through the grass to Jamie’s Tower.

She climbed the ladder and perched on a support.

There, overlooking the river canyon, she munched on her prickly lettuce.

When she was done, she met up with her best friend, Annie, and returned to the chimp house, saving the flower for later.

Happy Belated Birthday, Julie!

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Thank you so much Karen Olson for sponsoring to day in honor of her sister Julie’s belated birthday!

I am sponsoring my Sister Julie’s birthday a day late this year because I have had a trying year and I just noticed I was too late to grab June 16th for her. Julie is the kindest and most patient Sister you could ever ask for. Her love of these Chimps is as large as mine. Happy Birthday Julie and here is hoping for a brighter year ahead!”

Happy birthday, Julie! We all hope you had the most terrific day yesterday and today! And thank you Karen for choosing to celebrate your sister’s birthday with the chimpanzees in mind!

(Half) Sisters Honey B and Rayne (under the blanket) playing:

Rayne with her other (half) sister, Lucky:

(Half) Sisters Lucky and Honey B:

Best friends, Missy and Annie:

Foxie and Strawberry Shortcake:

Queen Negra:

 

 

All Good Things

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This morning when we walked into the chimp house, every chimp was super playful! Gordo was bunny hopping around, Annie was playing chase with Burrito and her caregivers, Missy was chasing Jody, Jamie was playfully foot stomping to her caregivers, Dora and Mave were playing, and chimps on both sides were grooming in the greenhouses. Every day at the sanctuary is a great day because the chimps are safe, secure, and cared for, but that does not mean that every day is sunshine and rainbows. Obviously,the chimpanzees have their own feelings and moods, just like us. Some days we walk in and one group is displaying, while the other group is calm. Other days it’s loud everywhere you go. However, most days you get a balance of some calm with a little bit of displaying from time to time. And then you get a day like today, where both sides of the building are just silly and playful!

While most people wanted to play, Negra wanted to sleep all day:

We are running pretty low on magazines. If you have any laying around, I am sure Cy would love to take them off your hands!

National Animal Rights Awareness Week

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This week is Animal Rights Awareness Week! Animal Rights Awareness Week occurs every third week of June and was created by the nonprofit organization In Defense of Animals in 1991. The week is used to “honor the animals who have been exploited and killed by humans around the world, and to create an opportunity to direct the public’s attention to the needs and wants of animals, with the idea that animals’ rights must be acknowledged and pushed to the forefront of our global consciousness.”

This year, they introduced six ways to support animals rights:

  1. Buy cruelty-free products
  2. Spread the word about animal rights
  3. Take action to support animal rights
  4. Research who you are donating to
  5. Ditch fur
  6. Go vegan

While I wouldn’t begin to try to force any of you to do any of these, I would humbly suggest doing at lease one or two to honor those who gave so much for the human race. Every little lifestyle choice helps.

There have been some big news recently in the animal rights world.

One such event was about Tonka, a chimpanzee used in entertainment, who was recently rescued after a yearlong legal battle for his release, followed by a nationwide search. When courts ordered for his release from a facility in Missouri, his owner claimed Tonka has passed on. Feeling suspicious around the owner’s story of his passing, a search was conducted for him. He was ultimately found living in a roach infested basement, in a tiny cage. He was immediately rescued and sent to fellow Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance accredited sanctuary Save the Chimps in Florida.

As a caregiver who works with chimpanzees who gave so much and given so little before sanctuary, I personally am thrilled for Tonka who can now walk around, see daylight, and experience a life with more opportunities.

Speaking of Save the Chimps, I am also thrilled the remaining chimpanzees at the Wildlife Waystation will soon call Save the Chimps home! Dubbed the Sunrise Seven, they are the last seven chimpanzees in need of a sanctuary home in the Chimps in Need campaign. This is the same campaign that helped bring Willy B, Honey B, Mave, Cy, Lucky, Rayne, Gordo, Terry, and Dora to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!

As a caregiver to sixteen chimpanzees who have spent their lives in the biomedical industry and entertainment, we strive to make their lives as best as possible. Though we cannot erase their past, we can try to make their lives as comfortable here on out. One way we do this is use chimpanzee behaviors when interacting with them to help promote positive behaviors. Staff also change our language we use when discussing them with each other. The simplest example is that we say we “serve” them meals vice we “feed” them. They are fully capable individuals of feeding themselves, we just serve them the food. When training as a volunteer and staff, we describe it as we are servers at a restaurant and they are the customers. I am a firm believer in the saying that if you change the way you talk and the vocabulary you use talking about certain things changes the way you think about certain things. By doing this, we view all 20 of our residents (bovine included) as separate unique individuals with wants, needs, likes, dislikes, and so much more instead of just some living “thing.”

We also provide them with warm, comfortable blankets to promote the natural chimpanzee behavior of nesting. Each day they are also provided enrichment to stimulate their minds. This helps promote species specific behaviors, curb atypical typical behaviors, and help to alleviate boredom. The have structures to climb upon, and many spaces to choose from to spend their time. The point is to make them as comfortable as possible.

Again, these are 20 individuals who have given so much and were given so little in return until their new lives in sanctuary. And there are many more out there who have yet to find a sanctuary home. This spans beyond chimpanzees and cattle. Species such as macaques, beagles, mice, rabbits, kittens, dolphins, seals, the list goes on, are still used for medical testing, cosmetic testing, and entertainment purposes. This week is used to honor those who gave that sacrifice, and to raise awareness for those still in those still giving that sacrifice.

That being said, please enjoy these photos of our residents living their life in sanctuary!

Here are some photos from yesterday’s Trifecta Jubilee:

Burrito enjoying his breakfast banana-oat waffle!
Terry with a handful of Brussels sprouts during his birthday forage!
Negra with her Hawaiian rolls.

Missy enjoying the Hawaiian rolls she found.
Gordo, with a handful of pineapple tops, scanning the Riverview Greenhouse for more food.
Dora enjoying her cache of celebration foods.
Mave scanning the Oakwood Greenhouse during the forage.

Burrito sipping a cup of sparkling cider.
Negra investigating a new plush toy.
Honey B with a handful of Brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes.
Gordo enjoying another pineapple top he found.
Rayne was on a mission to find every pineapple top…
As well as every fingerling potato.
Almost got a photo of Rayne and Honey B looking remarkably similar, however Rayne decided to scan the ground right as the shutter closed.
For reference.
She REALLY like the pineapple tops.
Jody looking as beautiful as ever.
Mave waiting for us to bring out yesterday’s menu of celebration foods.

The Cattle in their new pasture:

Honey

Meredith:

Betsy:

Nutmeg and Betsy:

And a few snapshots from today:

Jamie in her Greenhouse:

Foxie:

With Jamie in the background.
Can you spot Orange Blossom?

Dora and Mave:

I hoped you enjoyed that photo dump! 😅

 

The 2022 Trifecta Jubilee

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As many of you are aware, June 13th has been a special day for the sanctuary for a long time.

On this date in 2008, the first group of rescued chimpanzees (the iconic “Cle Elum Seven”) arrived at the sanctuary from a private facility in Pennsylvania.

Among them was the beloved Negra, an older female chimpanzee whose actual birth date is unknown. The team decided that her birthday should be celebrated annually on June 13 and it’s been honored as sanctuary tradition ever since. What better day to recognize the passing of years than the day that she reached her permanent home?

Negra

The Seven were the only official residents of the sanctuary until 2018 when we welcomed four rescued Jersey cattle to the property. Chimpanzees Honey B, Mave and Willy B followed close behind; they were transferred from the closed Wildlife Waystation in the summer of 2019. When it was formally arranged that we would receive another group from the Waystation in 2021, we were surprised to see that one of the individuals, adult male Terry, coincidentally had June 13th listed as his date of birth. It’s almost as if we needed another reason to pop champagne on a random day in early summer…

Terry

With so much going on, it is no longer fitting to just call today’s event “The Queen’s Brunch” (as we did last year and the year before). Instead, this year’s bash was dubbed the Trifecta Jubilee (thanks to Kathleen Corby for that winning name and the graphic to go along with it!) to reflect today’s joyous confluence of three major anniversaries. The party menu featured many of Negra’s favorite foods, including oat waffles, peanut butter smoothie, whole leeks, fingerling potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and sparkling cider. (As for Terry, let’s just say that he’s not a picky eater and seems happy to be there regardless.)

Notably, the Trifecta is also precursor to the much-anticipated HOOT! 2022, our first in-person gala since 2019! You can visit the event’s official web page to learn more and buy tickets: https://chimpsnw.org/events/hoot-2022/

So, on this blustery thirteenth day of June of the year 2022, we’re not just celebrating Negra’s 49th, Terry’s 32nd, or the sanctuary’s 14th…

We’re toasting to the entire past, present, and future of the sanctuary and the twenty magnificent individuals who call it their home!

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Days like today are only possible because of the generous donors who follow, support, and love the organization. Officially, three donors chose to independently sponsor today: Debbie Reintzell (in memory of Terry Lee and Theresa Hood), Tami Roy (in honor of The Queen herself), and Paulette Wrisley on behalf of the birthday chimps! We are eternally grateful to all of them- and all of you- for helping us to throw a birthday bash worthy of these amazing individuals.