Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Sanctuary

A celebration from the heart: Cherish the chimpanzees this Valentine’s Day

by

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today the chimp house was full of celebratory festivities, and the cattle were frolicking in their pasture on this unusually spring-like February day.

Gordo reaching for a box full of goodies.
The boxes included blood oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and heart-shaped banana oat pancakes, as well as sparkling cider with raspberries.
Enjoying his bounty!

Spring weather always puts me into planning mode. As we’ve mentioned before, we have a very busy summer ahead as we complete new outdoor habitats for the chimpanzees. We’ll also be introducing the cattle to a new area of the property, so there are adventures ahead for everyone!

Betsy, Nutmeg, Honey, and Meredith!

In the past, we’ve had fundraising drives on Valentine’s Day. This year, instead, I wanted you to join me in planning mode. You can give with your heart today while also planning for the future by including CSNW in your estate plan.

With our well-into-maturity chimpanzees, you may wonder what our plans our for the long-term future of the sanctuary.

If you signed up to receive the link to the recording of the conversation I had with Jen Feuerstein about merging groups of chimpanzees (and you made it all the way to the end of that recording!), you know that we are thinking hard and carefully about the next steps for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Whether than means rescuing more chimpanzees or rescuing smaller species of primates, there is a lot ahead for this sanctuary, well beyond my life, I hope.

Creating an estate plan is definitely an action that comes from the heart, for your loved ones and their future. And it can make a generational impact on the organizations important to you. When you create your will, you’re ensuring the future of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and helping to provide future residents the promise of a sanctuary home.

This free online tool helps you create your will in just 20 minutes so you can secure the future for the human people and the chimpanzee people you love. If you have any non-probate assets not included in your will, you can use this secure tool to designate beneficiaries for those assets and make your plans.

Thank you for making this Valentine’s Day so special.

Annie enjoying the banana oat pancake!

If you’ve already included us in your plans, please fill out this form to let us know; I want to thank you for your kindness!

Other financially clever and more immediate ways to provide hope, love, and home include giving from your IRA or donating your appreciated assets.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the ways that you give your hearts to the chimpanzees and the bovines too.

Dora enjoying here box of goodies!
Willy B grabbing as much as he can in Riverview.
Cy with armfuls of goodie bags!

Blissful Sunday

by

It was another really nice day outside and most of the chimpanzees in Burrito’s group were out on Young’s Hill all morning. This warmer weather has the chimpanzees and humans all in great moods! Burrito was back to having Chad run around the hill, while Jamie raced Katelyn who was driving the Gator. Also, Burrito was very determined to get some ice out of the tire this morning and spent a long time working on it.

Success!

Annie was all over Young’s Hill. Every time I looked she was in a different spot.

Missy in front and Annie walking behind her.

Foxie made her way to Jamie’s tower.

On the other side everyone was hanging out in their warm Greenhouses for the afternoon.

Gordo was watching a grooming party going on above him.

And snacking on some bamboo.

Honey B needed a rest after a long game of chase!

Earlier today Cy was relaxing after breakfast.

Gordo too!

 

 

 

 

 

Off to the Races

by

Diana thought she was going right back to the office after cattle feeding but as she was backing the Gator into the barn, Jamie flagged her down. It was time to race.

Diana put the machine back into gear and drove up the hill.

Burrito ran to catch up and they both tried to stay ahead of Diana.

Missy came storming up from behind to join in the fun.

After a long, tough winter, it was good to see the gang out racing again.

I think Jamie let Diana win this one…

False Spring

by

These last few days much of the Northwest has been experiencing a “false spring” in February. The remnants of snow from our massive January snowstorm have been rapidly trickling away in this 52 degree “heatwave.”

Perhaps it might be too early to be planting seeds in gardens, but it’s never too early to explore Young’s Hill. Jamie’s group positively poured into their outdoor enclosure as I opened the door this morning. The snow has melted from all the important spots so perimeter walks are back in demand.

Six Chimps on patrol

 

Foxie
Burrito
Jamie
Jody and Annie checking out the neighbors (Cy’s group in the chute).
Missy
Even Negra made an appearance to soak up some sun!

Meanwhile, the greenhouses are prime hangout spaces right now.

Dora, Terry, Cy and Rayne in a grooming puddle.
Also- big shout out to this guy who turns 7 today! Here is Nutmeg enjoying his birthday bale.

Bananas for Kongs!

by

Today all three groups got food puzzles as daytime enrichment. The puzzles were Kongs filled with oats and mashed bananas and they were a hit to say the least.

Annie

Cy

Rayne

Willy B

BONUS: Mave looking good and relaxed in the green house

Studio Logs

by

Taking portraits of chimpanzees isn’t easy, but knowing how they move around their home makes it a lot easier to catch them at the right moments.

In the past, we’ve described Front Room 4 as “The Portrait Studio.” This small indoor enclosure has three pneumatic doors that allow the chimps to move freely between their greenhouse, playroom, and other front rooms. The area is notably furnished with a couple of wall-mounted platforms, the lower of which provides the perfect bench for curious chimpanzees to look out the window or down the caregiver hallway. When a chimp is sitting in that precise location, the diffuse natural light from the window illuminates their face while softening the background with an effortless vignette. In short, the lighting is ideal for easy portraits.

If you want to see some content from the studio, I recommend checking out these posts featuring the chimps who reside in that wing of the Chimp House: Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra.

Last week, I encountered Jamie sitting serenely in the studio before breakfast. She was holding the crumpled remains of a hardcover book.

I saw Burrito sitting in the same spot later that morning. Instead of literature, however, Bubba was wielding a broken enrichment puzzle and showing it off like a trophy.

We caregivers have been searching for new ways to photograph and record video of the chimps in the new wing of the building, too. Although there isn’t an exact replica of the Front Room 4 studio on that side, we’ve discovered that the new greenhouse enclosures provide some unique perspectives. When an individual is perched on one of the closer logs, for example, they’re at the perfect height and distance for mid-range portraits. Gordo graciously modeled for the camera in this exact location yesterday afternoon.

We have Gary of Sage Mechanical to thank for these natural enrichment structures. The Sage crew ferried these heavy tree trunks all the way from Gary’s coastal property to the sanctuary with the new greenhouses in mind. They have asked us for pictures and video of the chimps utilizing the logs as bridges; I hope they’re proud to see that the logs are an integral part of our newest photo booth, too.

In case you missed them when they were originally posted, here are some other staff photos of the chimps sitting on the studio logs.

Cy (by J.B.)
Rayne (by Sofia)
Gordo (by Sam)
Terry (by Chad)
Honey B (by Sofia)
Mave (by Chad)

We all need some sunshine!

by

Like Diana said in her blog post yesterday, the chimpanzees are really enjoying the warmer weather! It’s in the 40’s today, but with the sun it feels so nice outside! They spent a lot of time out on Young’s Hill soaking up the sun. Get ready for an assortment of Jamie enjoying the sun.

Foxie on her way to the top of Negra’s cabin. She didn’t forget to bring her doll with her!

Shortly after Foxie made it to the top she was joined by Missy.

And then Burrito. Foxie and Burrito watched Missy walk across the firehose to the other platform.

Annie was enjoying some sun on the other platform.

Jamie, Annie, and Burrito trying to spy on the neighbors.

Burrito coming back inside.

Foxie before breakfast this morning.

On the other side of the building the chimpanzees spent time in their warm Greenhouses up high. I was only able to get a couple photos of them today.

Terry after breakfast.

Cy spent some of his afternoon flipping through magazines. In case you haven’t see our Amazon Wish List yet, you can visit it here. There’s lots of goodies for the chimpanzees including some magazines for Cy 🙂