I could listen to the crunching sounds of lunch all day!
video
Full Hearts
Getting to know the new Lucky Six chimpanzees is an incredible experience. In some ways, it seems like they’ve been here much longer than one week. But it’s true that we barely know them. So each new observation, every moment spent with them, fills our hearts.
The thing is, it’s still the same with all of the other non-humans in our care. They are all such interesting and unique beings; we can never know everything there is to know about them, and we still delight in the little moments.
I’ve been reflecting on little moments lately because our dog Wilson, who I’ve written about on the blog before, passed away this week. He had numerous medical issues over the years, and far outlived anyone expectations. His end was sudden, but not surprising, and J.B. and I were both with him. Though his body, specifically his heart, was failing him, it never slowed him down or changed the goofy, lovable, big-headed, empathetic dog that he was. Our hearts are broken, but that’s because they were filled with so much love.
We’re surrounded by life at the sanctuary. Grief is a strange bargain we make, but it’s worth it to feel so much love.
Video update on the state of things…
…and how you can help!
Here’s a link to that list of suggested businesses from our auction committee mentioned in the video: https://bit.ly/390Ui8x
And here’s a link to the 2020 Goals document: https://chimpsnw.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/2020-Individual-Donor-Needs-ChimpsNW.pdf
And here’s a photo of Honey B getting ready for bed, really just wondering what YOU’RE doing:
The Month of Love
I spent the last few weeks fretting over our ambitious budget for 2020. It’s a dramatic increase from past years as we prepare for further expansion by adding staff and increasing all operational funds to care for more wonderful chimpanzees who will arrive this fall if the construction and the funds come together.
I will send out an e-newsletter next week to entice people to join our Chimpanzee Pal and Bovine Buddy programs, but I wanted to share the accompanying video with blog readers and social media followers first (see video above).
You all are the dedicated loyal supporters who follow along with rapt attention. Many of you are already Chimpanzee Pals, and a small handful are Bovine Buddies. Maybe you’ll consider adding another chimpanzee or bovine to sponsor?
You can also share the video and tell people why you are supporters – you’d be surprised how helpful it is to refer other people to the sanctuary!
Since you are still here, I’m guessing you want an update on the day today. I am more than happy to tell you that it was a great day.
It was cloudy and drizzling in the morning and I did not expect anyone to go outside, but Honey B, Mave, and Willy B spent time in the chute, and, in the other group, everyone but Negra took a walk around the hill despite the damp weather. They went counter-clockwise, for those keeping track.
Burrito was not very speedy, but he walked the entire perimeter. Foxie slowed down her brisk pace to stay with him, which just completely melted my heart.
When Foxie came back to the greenhouse, she took some time to release a troll doll from bondage:
Two things to note about the photos of Foxie: 1. That gray hair that J.B. mentioned yesterday! 2. The gorgeousness of Foxie brought out by the camera lens that was gifted to us off of our wish list. I love that camera lens!
While you are pondering which chimpanzee and/or bovine to sponsor, we could also really use some more Safeway gift cards from our wish list. It turns out that ten chimpanzees consume a lot more food than seven chimpanzees, and we find ourselves supplementing the weekly donated produce from Darwin’s Natural Pet Products via Charlie’s Produce quite regularly these days.
Thank you for everything you do to share your love of the sanctuary! Stay tuned for more videos and information for the month of love!
Best Friends Playing Video
A couple of weeks ago, I took a short video of Annie play-poking Missy in a really sweet and affectionate way and thought it would be great to put on Instagram (@ChimpSanctuary). The video got so much play, I then shared it on the sanctuary’s Facebook page and watched as the number of views and shares far surpassed any other videos we’ve made. (20.7k views and 4,275 shares as I type this).
So, I thought I’d put together the video properly with the full screen view!
A lot of people tagged friends, spouses, family members because Annie reminded them either of themselves or others.
Enjoy!
And feel free to share 🙂
Conflict
We had a question recently on YouTube wondering if the chimpanzees fight less than other groups. It made us realize that we really don’t share that part of their daily lives much. I tried to provide some answers as to why in this video, but maybe there are other reasons that are less obvious (number of likes on Facebook? I hope that’s not it!).
We do have a category called “Fights” for blog posts, so you can check out previous posts on the subject here.
Let us know what you think – does this surprise you or make you uncomfortable to see the chimpanzees fighting?
Fall in Love with Foxie
For the Share the Chimp Love fundraising this year, we are seeking new Chimpanzee Pals (and other donations!) for all of the chimpanzees, and we’re producing videos of each of them so you can get to know them better (Foxie’s video is at the end of this post).
Last night, supporter Monica Best joined an elite group of donors by sponsoring all seven chimpanzees! The heart is starting to fill!
Foxie’s video was a really fun montage to put together! Foxie currently has 35 Pals. Will you be her next Chimpanzee Pal?
Learn more about Sharing the Chimp Love.
