December « 2011 «

Archive for December, 2011

World Champs!

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Random fact about me: I am an obsessive St. Louis Cardinals fan, and I was beside myself when they won the World Series this year. This is a little belated, but we have a fabulous volunteer named Laura who made some awesome enrichment for the chimps to celebrate the Cards today! Gotta take inspiration for enrichment ideas when ever we can get them, right? Laura made shirts and posters and printed out pictures of her favorite player, David Freese:

The chimps were probably most excited about the pomegranate forage, but I was pretty pleased to see Jody celebrating catcher Yadier Molina (#4). Go Cards!

Posted in Sanctuary | 1 Comment »

Decemburrr on the Hill

Monday, December 12th, 2011

As J.B. mentioned in his post the other day, it has been really cold in Cle Elum, but we still haven’t had much snow. We have had significant doses of hoar frost though, which is beautiful! Maybe it’s not as exciting as snow to some, but Jody and Foxie have really been enjoying licking it off of things.

Jody licking hoar frost off of the log bridge:

Foxie was really enjoying licking it off of the climbing structure

And later, Jody joined her

Hoar frost on a tree

Tags: chimp sanctuary, chimpanzee, chimpanzee rescue, chimpanzee retirement, chimpanzee sanctuary, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum 7, Cle Elum Seven, csnw, Foxie, Jody, rescue, Sanctuary, young's hill
Posted in enrichment, Foxie, Jody, Sanctuary, Young's Hill | 13 Comments »

Negra keeps on playing

Sunday, December 11th, 2011

If you saw the blog from last week about Negra playing a fun tug-o-war game, and yesterday’s blog about her playfulness with Annie and Jamie, it should be of no surprise that Negra was playful again today. It’s really great seeing someone who was taken from her home in Africa to be used in biomedical research—housed in complete solitude for several years—be so playful. And with Annie, no less! Annie and Negra are definitely both coming out of their shells, and it’s a wonderful thing to see.

Posted in Annie, Negra, Play, Sanctuary | 13 Comments »

You’re never too old to play

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

Negra apparently likes her playmates to hit her on the head.

Tags: Annie, behavior, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, Foxie, Jamie, Negra, northwest, Play, rescue, Sanctuary, shelter
Posted in Annie, Caregivers, Chimpanzee Behavior, Foxie, Jamie, Negra, Play, Sanctuary | 9 Comments »

Trouble on the hill

Friday, December 9th, 2011

It is getting very cold here in Cle Elum, but the sun is out and there’s no snow on the ground so the chimps continue to go out on the hill every day. Today, Jamie led Missy, Annie, and Jody on a walk through the bamboo.

Later, Jody was alarmed by something in the upper corner of the enclosure. Here you can see a great example of a fear grimace – what many people mistake for a smile.

Annie stayed back, but Jody was determined to go in for a closer look. She kept looking back for some support, but she was on her own.

The chimps love being able to roam across two acres, but at times like this I think it can feel a long way from the safety of their original sanctuary home.

She got as far as the bamboo grove but didn’t seem to have to courage to go any further; at least not without backup.

So she went back to the platform to be with Annie.

Tags: Annie, behavior, chimpanzee, fear grimace, Jody, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary
Posted in Annie, Chimpanzee Behavior, Jody, Young's Hill | 14 Comments »

What’s popular?

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

Thanks to all who have made purchases through our special holiday gift store, for those who have bought CSNW merchandise in our online store and to new Chimpanzee Pals! The chimpanzees are supported by your donations and we appreciate your generosity!

No doubt you are wondering how your tastes compare to those of other supporters. Wonder no longer.

The most popular holiday gift store item is…..

Snuggle Up: Straw for the chimps to make a nice cozy nest

Runners up in the holiday store are:

Bananas for Burrito

and Night Bags for Negra

And the most current popular merchandise item is:

2012 Calendar

With runner’s up: Burrito Pom Balm (but don’t forget to also check out the new Foxie Spearmint Balm)

and Negra Pullover Hoodies

And if you’re wondering who has the most Pals, well it’s Burrito with 24 current Pals. Shockingly, Jamie, the leader of the Cle Elum Seven, has the fewest Pals with 17.

There’s still time to sign up yourself or a loved one to the Chimpanzee Pal program and receive a treat of CSNW Chimp Brittle from Allison’s Gourmet. You can choose either $20 per month or $240 in one donation. Learn more on our Holiday Pal page.

Whether signing up to be a Pal or perusing the gift store or checking out our merchandise, we wish you Happy Holiday Shopping and Giving!

Tags: Burrito, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, holiday, Jamie, northwest, Sanctuary, shopping, store
Posted in Burrito, Fundraising, Jamie, nesting, Sanctuary, Shopping, Thanks | Comments Off

IOM to release report next week

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

One week from today the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Use of Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research will release its report, “Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research: Assessing the Necessity.”

They are hosting a public hearing on Thursday December 15, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. If you’re in D.C. you can register to attend this hearing. They are also allowing the public to listen to the briefing from home and will make their written report available for downloading that day.

Please visit this link for more information including the call in number and access code to hear the briefing.

For more background, read:

Chimpanzee research on trial before blue-ribbon panel from Nature.com

NEAVS Helps Tip Scales on IOM Chimp Study from Project R&R

Ban Chimp Testing: Why it is time to end invasive biomedical research on chimpanzees from Scientific American

Posted in Alerts, Chimpanzees in Biomedical Research, Sanctuary | Comments Off

Annie on the Hill

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Tags: Animal Welfare, Annie, chimpanzee, chimpanzee rescue, chimpanzee retirement, chimpanzee sanctuary, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum 7, Cle Elum Seven, csnw, Sanctuary
Posted in Annie, Young's Hill | 6 Comments »

Burrito’s sweet face

Monday, December 5th, 2011

Want to do something super sweet for both Burrito AND a close friend or family member? Check out our holiday gift store to see all sorts of unique ways to support the chimps as a gift for someone special.

Tags: animal protection, Animal Welfare, Burrito, chimp, chimpanzee, chimpanzee retirement, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum 7, Cle Elum Seven, csnw, primate protection, primate rescue, Sanctuary
Posted in Burrito, Sanctuary, Shopping | 9 Comments »

Infinity Scarf

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Volunteer Connie was telling Jackie and myself about these neat things called “infinity scarves.” They are made out of t-shirts and look pretty fashionable in my opinion. We thought the chimps might enjoy one so we decided to make one out of an old style CSNW shirt. Jackie and Connie took it into the chimp area to stretch it out and see if anyone was interested in playing. To everyone’s shock, Negra was interested in playing a game of tug-o-war. She does not play very often with caregivers, and definitely not for long periods of time. This game went on for infinity! What’s even more interesting is that Negra woke up on the wrong side of the nest today—she was a little grumpy all morning. I’m glad we were able to cheer her up!

Tags: animal protection, animal rescue, Animal Welfare, Burrito, chimp, chimp enrichment, chimp laughter, chimpanzee, chimpanzee rescue, chimpanzee retirement, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Cle Elum 7, Cle Elum Seven, csnw, Jamie, laughter, Negra, Play, primate protection, Sanctuary
Posted in Burrito, Caregivers, Jamie, Negra, Play, Sanctuary | 16 Comments »

Welcome to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest's blog! The sanctuary is currently home to seven chimpanzees released from biomedical research. This group, the Cle Elum Seven, arrived at the sanctuary on June 13, 2008. We post photos, stories, videos and more to this blog almost everyday, so visit often! Also, visit us on social networking sites (see links below).