Birthdays aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. Do you ever find that sometimes you just need a birthday do-over? In light of that, we thought today would be the perfect Happy Un-birthday celebration. So today is for everyone who needs an very merry un-birthday, and especially for all the chimpanzees in captivity who aren’t given the opportunity to celebrate their birthdays.

The wacky day at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest began with upside down Jamie on a barrel:

Wednesdays here at CSNW are “tumbleweed harvest” days (we remove any that have blown against the electric fencing).  So we decided to add to the crazy day by making a tumbleweed nest for the chimpanzees to investigate.  Caregiver Debbie even did a comfort test for the chimps. While it looks pretty pokey, Debbie claims it was fairly comfy.

Just to be on the safe side we covered it with blankets. The chimpanzees were not impressed with the tumbleweed nest but ran through it on the way to Young’s Hill, briefly stopping to see if there was any forage in it. And then Jody promptly collected all of the blankets and carried them in a huge armload back to the warm front rooms.  Clearly, where they belonged in the first place!

Volunteer caregivers Stephanie and Keri showed up for the festivities and Stephanie brought unicorn, mermaid and cupcake pinatas!  Very apropos for an un-birthday party! Here’s Jamie with the mermaid:

And the unicorn:

Burrito checking out the kooky party favors and looking pretty excited with his hair standing on end (pilo-erect):

Jamie dismantling the kooky party favors:

And don’t worry, even Negra got in on the unicorn pinata:

A very Happy Un-birthday to all of you who need it! And to all the amazing beings awaiting their sanctuary and days to celebrate how special they are.