Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Don’t tell Missy and Annie that they fall into the “elderly” category for chimpanzees. Just watch today’s video!
All of the chimps REALLY enjoyed the cooler weather this morning and were out and about. I took about four zillion photos, but when I was going through them, I realized I needed to highlight the video clips of Annie and Missy’s Olympic-worthy antics.
I woke up thinking that I should feature Jody on the blog today. She’s a bit more elusive than some of the other chimpanzees, so we don’t get as many photos and videos of her.
She does have her routines, though.
Today, we spread a forage on the hill at lunch, and Jody, true to form, collected the food she wanted, came back inside, and emptied it on the deck while she sat on the lower part of the platform in the greenhouse.
Then, she spent some time relaxing – we often see her in this position:
She did a little self-grooming:
Graciously allowed me to take some close-up photos of her beautiful face:
Volunteer Lynn and I were talking about Jody’s very round eyes that often appear to be hopeful or excited about something:
She soon retired to the cooler playroom for a post-meal siesta:
Jody wins today’s lunch forage
Today started out pretty normal. Us humans were busy cleaning all morning, with breaks to walk around the hill with Jamie and check in with the other chimps. We had finished cleaning the playroom and had started cleaning the front rooms. I was over by the playroom door and Jamie was craning her neck and body to see out. We know Jamie pretty well, and we knew something was up, so Anna went outside to see what Jamie might be looking at, and saw a plume of smoke a few hundred yards away.
The chimps have seen smoke from intentional fires on our property (when there’s not a burn ban!) and our neighbor’s property before, and I don’t think they’ve reacted to it, but maybe they knew this was different, having gone through the Taylor Bridge Fire in 2012.
Their alarm was warranted. The fire was close and was moving through the ground cover, burning some of the trees that had been downed in the fire four years ago.
Just like the Taylor Bridge Fire, it traveled up the hill, towards some of the properties that had been rebuilt.
They came through okay, though, thanks to the firefighters.
Thank goodness for firefighters, and thank goodness for volunteers and data collectors! Volunteer Ally and primatology student Jake jumped into action to help. We were asked to evacuate the house that J.B. and I share with our two dogs and two cats. Ally and Jake were lifesavers – helping get harnesses on the dogs and put the reluctant cats in crates, then, with caregiver Anna’s help, driving them to safety at Jake’s house.
In the meantime, J.B. got the emergency sprinkler system, which pumps water from the pond above the house:
We had brought the chimps inside the building and shut all of the windows and doors, so the window in front room four was the spot to watch from. Most of the chimps were very calm. Jody and Foxie were a bit anxious, with Jody sticking close by Burrito most of the afternoon.
In the below two photos, Burrito and Jody were lying next to each other:
Foxie kept a Dora doll close:
We gave them some extra treats today and otherwise followed the routine as much as possible. They are in bed now – Jamie with her boots, Foxie with her dolls, and Negra under a blanket.
Our dogs and cats are back home (thank you Anna, Katelyn, Ally & Jake!).
The fire seems to have sparked again well above the property as I was writing this. The helicopters were on it immediately. There are also still some smoldering spots nearby, but we feel that we and our neighbors are safe with the skilled firefighters working so hard.
We lost power (the electric company probably shut it off due to the fire), but the chimp house’s generator kicked on immediately, not even skipping a beat.
J.B. and I are making our own dinner in the chimp house kitchen, but trying to keep things quiet so we don’t wake any of the chimpanzees as the slumber safe in their nests.
Continuing the trip down memory lane in celebration of the sanctuary’s 8th anniversary, today is all about the Cle Elum Seven’s sixth year of sanctuary.
After the harrowing experience of the Taylor Bridge Fire in the late summer of 2012, our thoughts continued to turn towards safety and security. We put the finishing touches on the mobile veterinary clinic to be used for emergencies and planned procedures and we installed a back-up generator that powers the chimp house as soon as the power goes off.
These important safety measures were possible because of generous contributions from friends of the Cle Elum Seven near and far. Everything that happens at the sanctuary is possible because of donations! That includes really important life-or-death measures as well as the addition of things that enrich the chimpanzees’ existence, and in turn all of our lives. For year six that, of course, included:
Foxie’s troll dolls:
Burrito’s wooden toys:
Jody’s blankets:
Negra’s peanuts:
Jamie’s (many) boots:
Annie’s natural lipstick:
And Missy’s access to as many adventures as she can manage in a day:
With the passing years, we have been faced with the loss of friends and fans of the chimpanzees. A particularly difficult loss in year six was that of Dr. Mel Richardson, who was the chimpanzees’ first veterinarian and an important voice for animals everywhere.
We now have the Dr. Mel Memorial Walkway at the top of Young’s Hill where anyone can honor a loved on or create a stone for themselves to be placed in one of the most peaceful spots on the sanctuary grounds.
There’s a whole crew of people here building a new structure on Young’s Hill today! We will do a big reveal on Monday, so start making your predictions as to what the structure will look like.
Because there are humans on the hill, the chimpanzees don’t have access. And today is HOT! It feels like summer. With these two circumstances combined, we needed to come up with something cooling and time-occupying for the chimpanzees. We decided on water and ice enrichment.
I’d say it was a hit.
Annie:
Missy:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Jamie making up her own enrichment (of course):
This blog is a true labor of love.
It is satisfying, on a frivolous and somewhat shallow human-level, to have people like our posts and make comments. But in the world of the chimpanzees in our care, it’s a big part of their second chance in sanctuary.
To be known and respected and loved is what they deserve; what they’ve always deserved.
Sharing posts and hitting that “like” (or now maybe the “love” emoji) on Facebook may seem like a small act, but this is what allows more people to grow to understand and appreciate not just the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, but chimpanzees as a species. It’s what allows hearts to grow and minds to change.
Sharing this post, these photos of Jamie, and taking the time to learn about the amazing and interesting person that she is, gives Jamie power.
Even though there’s no way to explain it to her, we know she would appreciate that there are people out there who have never met her who truly admire who she is, as she is. She would expect no less.
