William Wright sponsored today for Talia Silveri’s birthday. William says:
“Talia loves all the chimps at CSNW and wants to share her birthday love with her favorite animal friends!”
Happy birthday, Talia! We hope your day is full of surprises.
Sponsor-a-day
Honoring Apollo
Debbie Redwine sponsored today in memory of Apollo Chimpanzee. Debbie shared that she was very moved by Sarah Baeckler’s story of the undercover work she did at a Hollywood training facility. Apollo was a young chimpanzee that Sarah worked with at the facility and Debbie wanted to do something to honor his life. As many of you know, Sarah is our former Executive Director. Today Sarah begins her next venture as Director of The North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) where we know she will continue to improve the lives of captive primates while advocating for all those still in need of a safe haven. Debbie, thank you so much for your compassion and generosity in honoring Apollo and Sarah today!
4th Annual Love a Chimpanzee Day
Supporter Monica Best has taken sponsoring a day of sanctuary to a whole new level. Four years ago she declared April 23 Love a Chimpanzee Day and has sponsored the day every year since then. (Today also happens to be Monica’s birthday!) Love a Chimpanzee Day 2013 began with a breakfast of pears, strawberries, lemons, fruit smoothie, and peanuts (Negra’s favorite) in the greenhouse, followed by some adventures on Young’s Hill. After we cleaned the playroom we decked out the place in streamers and lots of fluffy blankets and watched Jody settle down into a nest.
I love to watch Jody nest. She first does a sweep of the area to collect any unclaimed blankets, then drags them all to her chosen spot. (Sometimes she grabs more than she can carry and drops some on the way.) Then she sits down and arranges the blankets into a fluffy throne around her. When she’s satisfied with her work, she gets to her feet and then dives headfirst into the nest, usually making what we affectionately call her “dinosaur noise,” a low moan of contentment. Jody doesn’t typically go out of her way to play with enrichment, but if there happens to be some near her nest she’ll inspect it lazily.
Once she’s settled, she stretches and wriggles from side to side until she’s totally content.
Thanks, Monica!
Breakfast al fresco
We posted this morning that supporter Vicky Miller sponsored today for the chimpanzees. To celebrate Vicky’s day, and to take advantage of today’s beautiful sunny weather, we set up a breakfast forage in the greenhouse. Meals at CSNW are served in one of two ways: a caregiver can serve food to one chimp at a time through the fencing (like this), or we can scatter a food forage in the chimps’ enclosure. The chimps really love forages, and we love them too because we’re always looking for ways to encourage the chimps to express species-specific behavior (basically, letting the chimps do what chimps do naturally). This morning’s forage consisted of some favorites: fresh pineapple and pears, peanuts, and fruit smoothie in Dixie cups.
Missy:
Jamie:
Foxie:
Thanks again to Vicky for making this day special!
In Memory of Richard Miller and Dakota
Vicky Miller sponsored today “in memory of my dad and sweet dog who died this day in 1999. Forever in my heart.”
Thanks, Vicky, for thinking of the chimpanzees while honoring your loved ones.
In Memory of Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty
Joan O’Flaherty has sponsored today in memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen. Ned and Noreen were two years apart in age, but they were both born on March 1. They had a great love for animals, conservation, and the environment, and Joan thinks they would have been big fans of CSNW and the Cle Elum Seven. Thank you, Joan!
For Bill Schwartz
Today is Bill’s birthday, and Tina Shih has sponsored the day in his honor. Tina says that Bill has been a great friend for over 25 years. Here’s to lasting friendships (and to birthdays)!
Thanks to Tina for thinking of the chimps, and happy birthday, Bill!
