Not so subtle hints

Jamie indulged me today by letting me do a little photo shoot of her in the portrait studio this morning. I was just a couple photos in before she needed to remind me of the real reason she was hanging out at the window. The raspberry plants she can see from this vantage are ripe…

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Anatomy of a Missy

When you first meet Missy, you notice how compact and small she is. It’s almost like someone sewed her head directly to her shoulders and she’s missing her neck. Apparently, this is the ideal body type for an athletic chimpanzee though, because she’s brimming with strength, speed, power and agility.

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Welcome Anthony!

This week we welcomed our newest staff member Anthony to the sanctuary! Elizabeth, our longtime volunteer coordinator and caregiver is transitioning out of her job at the sanctuary in the coming weeks as she pursues a dream career as a librarian. We’re so fortunate we get to keep her around as a volunteer! This left…

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A quiet moment with Foxie

How many times have you noticed that it’s the little quiet moments in the midst of life that seem to give the rest extra-special meaning? -Fred Rogers

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Organizing!

As the chimps lounged around… The humans did some organizing! We’ve got just a couple of months to get ready for the arrival of our newest sanctuary members. If you haven’t heard the BIG news yet, make sure to check out this blog post! We recently received a new fridge from a generous donor/volunteer. Getting…

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Memories for Monday

Every now and then I like to look back and see what life was like at the sanctuary on this same day in CSNW history. On June 17th in 2008, the chimpanzees had just arrived in their new home in Cle Elum. Diana took this haunting photo of Jody that we can now compare to…

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Negra’s 46th birthday party!

Today we celebrated Negra’s 46th birthday and the 11th anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to their sanctuary. Since it’s Negra’s (honorary) birthday, we geared the day towards the things she truly loves. The morning started with a beautiful brunch featuring buckwheat carrot waffles (with a peanut butter drizzle) made with love by volunteer caregiver Patti,…

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A big week!

We’ve got a big week full of excitement planned here at the sanctuary. This Thursday we are celebrating the 11th year of the chimpanzees’ arrival at their forever home in Cle Elum. Of course, the chimps’ party planning committee is working hard to make the day special for them! Here’s Jody during last year’s party…

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Jody eats a prickly pear fruit

Chimpanzees have prehensile lips which almost act as a second set of fingers. They come in handy for grasping and sorting out seeds from fruit. Here Jody demonstrates perfect technique!

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The Queen of the greenhouse

This time of year keeps everyone absolutely magnetized to the sun filled greenhouse. Perhaps no one enjoys this covered outdoor space more than Negra. When she isn’t napping in a big pile of blankets on a platform, she still looks absolutely contented doing just about anything.

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Snacking and monitoring

Jody is always keeping an eye on her Cle Elum 7 family. The other day she waited patiently for Negra to come back inside from Young’s Hill, all while snacking on several prickly (but apparently delicious) wild rose plants she had harvested. For those wondering about Burrito today after yesterday’s visit to the new clinic,…

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Burrito’s small friend

For the most part, the chimps (especially Jody and Foxie) destroy all their primate themed stuffed toys. However, on rare occasions, we have caught Burrito showing some interest in them. Today Burrito got his hands on a Curious George doll and took a special liking to it.

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