Friday, October 9, 2009

Chimps Style 2.0

The chimps were in the blog not too long ago, and shortly after that Sarah Baeckler, CEO of Chimp Sanctuary Northwest invited us to come up to Cle Elum (www.chimpsanctuarynw.org) for a private tour and a visit with the seven retired lab chimps! We went last Sunday, and what an eye-opening experience it was. Sarah is not only a primatologist and an anthropologist, but also holds a law degree. She gave us an incredible tour of the sanctuary and an education about it's amazing residents. The sanctuary is not open to the public, but a visit to the website can help you understand what it's about.
I have to say, however, that seeing it in person and actually meeting the chimps had a powerful effect on all of us--more than we ever imagined when just looking at pictures.
These primates were all raised in cramped metal cages that didn't even have real floors--just metal bars. They were never given blankets or toys or any fresh fruits or vegetables (which they love!). They were rented to different labs where they were poked and prodded as unwilling test subjects for human drugs. Most of the females were used to produce babies, which were taken from them at birth. In fact Foxie, my favorite of all of them, carries troll dolls around and cradles, kisses, and holds them as she was never able to do with her own babies. Their stories are all so moving and sad, yet it's wonderful to see them in their new habitat: swinging from the roof, playing with their toys, slurping fresh pineapple with abandon, and....dressing up! These chimps have style. Jamie is the leader of the group, and she's the fashionista. In the above pic she's wearing a swimsuit bra on her head. Original. I'm not sure what she's blowing on.

Here she is in a pink and blue rainbow tutu--I guess tutus are her favorite, probably because they're easy to put on. Although she likes to wear shoes too, AND knows how to tie bows.

Here's Jamie in blue--a true prima ballerina!

And here she's wearing sherbet shades of pink and yellow. Jamie has an extraordinary interest in shoes (kinda like someone I know), and when we walked up to the fence she stared at everyone's footwear, two by two, checking them all out to see who had the best taste in shoes. I think she liked Matt's bright yellow sneakers the best.



1 comment:

DollHouse said...

I went into Doll House for a Sherri Hill dress and I had the worst time. The staff was rude and no help to me they made me feel as if I didn’t belong into their store. I well never return there and I am glad I didn’t purchase my dress from that store.