Morning greetings!

Some mornings at the sanctuary, everyone wants to say hello… all at once! Here’s a little taste of what that looks like.

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A Miss-lead morning

There comes a day in every caregiver’s career where you see a certain look in a chimpanzee’s eye.  The look of total determination from concentrate. If you see this look, you immediately know… your day just got a lot more complicated and you have a stubborn shifter on your hands. Missy is an infamously headstrong…

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Unlike mother, unlike daughter

Last week I went over the similarities between Missy and Honey B, the mother and daughter chimpanzees that live at CSNW. If you missed the blog, be sure to check it out here. The major difference between Honey B and Missy is their relationship with caregivers. Honey B is significantly more interactive with her caregivers.…

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Like mother, like daughter?

Honey B was born on June 11th, 1989. Just hours after birth she was taken from her mother and raised by human caregivers.  Her mother just so happens to be Missy, a now longtime resident at CSNW. Missy and Honey B don’t live together in the same group at the sanctuary, and that’s not for…

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The beauty of a greenhouse

This morning we woke up to negative Fahrenheit temps in Central Washington. The staff shivered their way to work to find the chimps cozy in their indoor nests. With chilly temperatures like today, we fire on the diesel heaters that pump in warm air to the greenhouse enclosures and give the chimpanzees more space options…

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You’ve got a friend in Terry

In most groups of chimpanzees that I’ve met, there is usually at least one chimpanzee that is that “easy” chimpanzee for caregivers to get to know. There’s no need to work to earn trust or go through countless days of hazing, or even take some time to know each other. They’re just immediately your friend,…

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Lunch Recess

Today Cy opted to skip the usual lunch service and instead take in some fresh air and sun on the Bray. Rayne, to no one’s surprise, was also up for an adventure. Many of their friends followed suit (right after they ate their meals of course)… Fluffy Terry (still working on some of his lunch):…

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Pieces from a Thursday

Some days there just isn’t quite that perfect thread of words to tie all your photos together. Today is one of those days. We give the chimpanzees gum as a cavity fighting treat. Here’s Dora savoring the sugar free chewing gum on her lip: Majestic Rayne: Rather than stirring up some group tension this afternoon,…

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Knock knock…

Who’s there you say? Why it’s Gordo and his silly little tapping game he played with Kelsi today!

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Rebuilding the Village

It’s been a bit of a wild ride at the sanctuary these last 5 years. When COVID hit in 2020, we sadly had to close our doors to the majority of our volunteer population to limit the possible exposures to the chimps and staff.  At the same time, we spent the “COVID years” expanding the…

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