Donna Hughes sponsored today in celebration of her and her twin sister Doreen’s birthday. Doreen and Donna have been enthusiastic supporters of the chimpanzees since early on, and while they love all of the Cle Elum Seven, they have a special fondness for Foxie. They currently sponsor her through our Chimpanzee Pal program, and they even have their own troll doll collection!
Here’s Foxie with part of her collection:
We hope you have a joyous birthday, Doreen and Donna!
I know we’ve had a lot of posts about the snow lately, but I just couldn’t resist posting this adorable video from yesterday.
Jamie has always been the most human-like of the Cle Elum Seven. She often does human-like things (files her nails, ties shoelaces, sews); she’s always very interested in any cleaning, maintenance, or construction the humans around her might be doing; and sometimes she even seems to prefer the company of her human caregivers to that of the other chimpanzees. None of this is unusual for a chimpanzee who has grown up in a captive situation.
But on Young’s Hill, Jamie is all chimpanzee. Something about the wide open spaces or the natural surroundings seems to bring out a different side of her.
Chasing deer:
Hunting squirrels:
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Fishing for treats on the treat rock:
Leading her friends on a walk:
Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and we’ll be launching a new holiday store with fun Valentine’s Day presents for the chimps soon! To get you in the mood, here are a few sweet photos of chimp-lovin from over the years.
This morning we put a bunch of barrels together and made a blanket fort, with all the toys inside of the fort. Not surprisingly, Jamie was interested in checking things out.
Today’s sponsor-a-day is from Connie and Bill in loving memory of Debbie Curran whose friendship will never be forgotten.
Here’s to friendship:
Burrito received an abundance of new toys, sponsors, and lots of love on his birthday. His new friend, Adrienne Armstrong, who sponsored the party and sent Burrito a lovely (and GIANT!) fruit basket, tried to get some new toys to us but unfortunately they didn’t get here in time. So in honor of new friends (and as an excuse to keep on partying!), we threw him another little party today. The chimps have been loving all the new stuff, especially Negra, who has been curled up with her new, super soft blankets all day.
Thanks so much Adrienne!
Your friend, Burrito
Yesterday JB walked up to the top of Young’s Hill to get some shots of the chimps from that angle. The sky was blue and the sun was out, and it made for a really pretty backdrop.
As we mentioned on the Facebook page yesterday, sometimes the daily routine fluctuates, and as caregivers we have to be pretty flexible depending on the choices the chimps make. Typically though, we do have a regular schedule. First we invite the chimpanzees in for breakfast—and as long as everybody comes in, one person (the Care staff or Level III volunteer) will serve breakfast while the other person (the Lead Caregiver) will start cleaning the playroom. We never enter an enclosure at the same time as the chimpanzees, so we have to ensure that all the chimps are out of the room we want to clean, and that every chimp door is secure. We do this for cleaning the playroom, front rooms, and the greenhouse. (To see what cleaning is like, watch this video from a couple years ago). Today things followed the regular routine, which you’ll see in the video below.
Bob, Willie, and Sue sponsored today in honor of Kathy Cochran’s birthday. Kathy recently used her vast video production skills to create an amazing video to honor Bob, Willie, and Sue’s mother, and knowing how devoted to CSNW and the Cle Elum Seven Kathy is, they wanted to sponsor her birthday as a thank you. (Incidentally, Kathy has also put her enormous talents to work for the chimpanzees – she’s responsible for designing our gorgeous Year One and Year Two books, among other things.)
Happy birthday to Kathy from Bob, Willie, Sue, and all of us at CSNW.
(Humans are not the only species to appreciate a good video.)
Negra Hoodie
It's still cold out there (unless you live in a tropical paradise). Envelope yourself in the soft warmth of the most comfortable pullover hoodie on the planet. Price reduced by 5 bucks! Get yours today! Shop for all items in the online store.
Tickets on sale now for the fourth annual Sippin' for the Seven! New this year - an online art auction open for everyone, no matter your location. Buy tickets and register for the auction (auction items will be posted in March and bidding opens March 24th) on the Biddin' for the Seven auction site. For more information, visit the Sippin' event page.
Chimp Sanctuary NW blog
