Dearly Departed/Départs

The winter months on the farm are always hard on the older animals and we usually have to deal with some departures during that time.
Les mois d'hiver sont une période difficile sur la ferme pour les animaux agés et malheureusement plusieurs nous quittent.

This year we lost our adorable highlander cow Curly
Cette année nous avons perdu notre adorable vache highlander Curly

One of our oldest pot bellied pigs Babe
L'un de nos plus vieux cochons vietnamiens Babe

And Auntie one our Trumpeter Swans...Momma will miss her they were inseperable..

Et Auntie l'un de nos cygnes Trumpeter... Momma lui manquera, elles étaient inséparables.

They will all be missed dearly....may they rest in peace...
Ils nous manqueront énormément... puissent-ils reposer en paix...

New friends at the Monkey house

Surprise!!!

Sophie and Pougie are now enjoying life together. They are quite sweet. Sophie is just content to sit along side Pougie and keep him company...They even eat together it is nice to watch them interact...

Enjoying supper...

Chilling under the nice warm heat lamps...

Sophie playing with Pougie's soymilk cup...

Great Gifts for the Chimps

Blankets and Towels are always great!!

An amazing stand up freezer!!

Sunglasses and Bracelets Toby will just love!!

Special Valentine's Day gifts for Regis!!

Spring around the Farm/Le printemps à la ferme

Spring is showing up everywhere around the farm these past few weeks. Flowers are out trees are budding and our gardeners are doing a great job at making everything look amazing as usual.

Le printemps se fait sentir un peu partout sur la ferme depuis quelques semaines. Les fleurs sont sorties et les arbres bourgeonnent. Notre équipe de jardiniers font un travail extraordinaire et les jardins en sont la preuve.

Children's garden is coming along beautifully..
Le jardin des enfants avance merveilleusement bien..

Amazing looking flowers
Superbes fleurs

Along the drive way to the chimp house
Le long de l'allée vers la maison des chimpanzés

The geese enjoying the pond...
Les oies qui s'amusent dans l'étang..

About ChimpCare

This is an amazing site that has a lot of information, such as, companies that have pledged to never use primates in their publicity, Accredited zoos and Chimpanzee Species Survival Plan (SSP) legislation and much more....check it out!!

http://www.chimpcare.org/about_chimpcare

About ChimpCare

Today in the United States there are over 2,000 chimpanzees living in a variety of circumstances: from zoos (both accredited and non-accredited), laboratories and sanctuaries to lives as pets and performers under private ownership. While many of these chimpanzees enjoy appropriate care and management and the security of long-term housing, many others do not. Furthermore, there is very little known about many of these chimpanzees, and there has been relatively little communication between these communities.

Project ChimpCARE is a non-partisan group committed to improving the wellbeing of chimpanzees, regardless of current circumstances, and opening the lines of communications between disparate groups to achieve this singular goal. Our objectives are based on the approach that accurate information is the basis for effective change. We seek to:

•Facilitate information-sharing to improve the care of chimpanzees in their current housing and into the future
•Provide information to those looking to improve facilities or management for those seeking translocation of their chimpanzees
•Collect information on care and management strategies
•Share information and educate the public on the pressing issues of captive chimpanzee care
•Advocate support for a system of sustainable housing for chimpanzees, to ensure lifetime care for these individuals
The future for many chimpanzees in the United States is uncertain. Legislation is changing. Finances are unstable. Project ChimpCARE seeks to collaborate with anyone invested in caring for chimpanzees and to build a better future for chimpanzees.

*************************************************************************************************************************************

Steve Ross is the project leader of ChimpCARE. He has over 15 years of experience working with chimpanzees in a variety of captive settings. He has authored over 25 papers on chimpanzee behavior and welfare and is the co-editor of "The Mind of the Chimpanzee" (University of Chicago Press).

Vivian Vreeman is the project coordinator of ChimpCARE. She holds degrees from Loyola University in Chicago and Wageningen University in the Netherlands. She has worked with chimpanzees for over 6 years.


You can reach Project ChimpCARE at info@chimpcare.org

Project ChimpCARE is generously funded by the Arcus Foundation and hosted by Lincoln Park Zoo.

The Bub

What a face....

Binky otherwise known as the Bub, Binkster, Stinky Binky, Bubba…he loves all his little nick names especially Stinky Binky, when he is ready to play a game of chase!!

As everyone knows from Gloria’s amazing letter to everyone, Binky has just been through a huge ordeal with a serious foot injury from a bite. Many weeks of worrying about him taking care of his injury, having to be put down for a series of test and to clean his wound. Gloria would spend all her nights sleeping beside poor little Binky and tending to his every need. As much as it was a horrible time for him and all the other chimpanzees and us humans, it has changed him a great deal.

Binky always loved to be taken care of like the little boy that he was, even when he was not sick or injured. However, now he expects it. He loves to be feed his oatmeal personally with a spoon, peeling his oranges and feeding them to him through the bars. Cleaning his fingers and toes with a face cloth, and just sitting with him while he rests on his fresh clean floor for a while. If you leave before he falls asleep he will call you back to make sure you stay the whole time. It is quite special to see how he did appreciate all the special care he was receiving.

From a little boy to a rambunctious teenager to a special young man. The more mature Binky gets the more he resembles Billy Jo. It is quite amazing with some positions he takes while eating or just sitting on his platform, it makes us look twice and say to ourselves…Oh my god he looks just like Billy…not only resemblance but he also has the same endearing personality Billy did.

Since Binky has been back with smaller groups of chimpanzees he has been so happy, constantly looking for some special play time with his buddies, tickling Toby’s toes through the bars and annoying poor Chance by constantly bugging her to play, while she is trying to rest…Sitting out on the islands and running down the sky walk waiting for someone human or non-human to follow him out….Unfortunately he has not yet been reunited with his friend Yoko, but hopefully someday Yoko will want his friend back and we will be able to see how that works out. He is always the first one up in the morning to greet me when I come in and he likes to just stretch out sit and say good morning for a bit. Get his toes pulled and tickled, kiss my eyelids then poke me in the head…he finds that quite amusing…then off he goes to see who else he can wake up..

Enjoying his cardboard house, this is one of his favorite things!!

It is nice to see him back to his old self…well, I am not quite sure if he will every be back to his old self, because he is growing up….but the new grown up Binky is quite amazing also!!

Kim

Let the volunteer season begin!

Alexa on the left and Hanavi on the right
This past Saturday we held our first volunteer day of the 2010 season. Even though the skies were threatening all day, our work was not interrupted by rain. There was a mix of returning (Alexa Bisaillon) and new (Hanavi Hirsh and Nicole Fleurent) volunteers. They were joined by members of our full time staff (Gloria, Richard, Mario, and David) in order to clear out Whitey's area. We picked up all the leaves that were left over from last fall and cleaned up the trees and branches that fell during the winter. This area will be transformed in to a memorial woodland garden for Whitey in the coming months.
David, Gloria and Mario
Thank You to Alexa, Hanavi, and Nicole for your hard work, we got a lot done! This was a great start to the season and we are very hopeful for the turnout for future volunteer days which should be planned at least once a month.

If you are interested in volunteering with us, please contact me (derek.fauna@videotron.ca) in order to fill out the proper forms and I will add you to the list for future volunteer days.


Lancement de la saison des bénévoles

Samedi dernier avait lieu la première journée des bénévoles de la saison 2010. Malgré un ciel qui se faisait menaçant, il n’est pas tombé une seule goutte! Nous avons eu le plaisir de revoir certains bénévoles (Alexa Bisaillon) et d’en accueillir de nouveaux (Hanavi Hirsh et Nicole Fleurent) qui se sont joints à Gloria, Richard, Mario et David pour nettoyer l’ancien enclos de Whitey. Toutes les feuilles mortes de la saison dernière et les branches d’arbre tombées ont été ramassées. Au cours des prochains mois, nous prévoyons aménager cette aire en un jardin forestier dédié à la mémoire de Whitey.

Merci à Alexa, Hanavi et Nicole de leur bon travail. Ce fût un excellent départ pour la saison et nous espérons répéter l’expérience au moins une fois par mois.
Nicole
Celles et ceux d’entre vous qui souhaiteraient se joindre à nous une prochaine fois peuvent le faire en communiquant avec moi par courriel (derek.fauna@videotron.ca). Il me fera plaisir de vous inscrire à notre liste de bénévoles.

Project R&R: Release and Restitution for Chimpanzees in U.S. Laboratories

GAPA up to 144 cosponsors

With Representative Pierluisi (D-PR) signing on this week, the Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA, H.R. 1326) is now at a total of 144 bipartisan cosponsors... only 31 away from our next target of 175! Gaining more and more momentum, the bill is on solid ground and with your help it will keep making its way to the President’s desk.

Help us SPRING to our 175 target...
make one important call.

1. Click here http://my.neavs.org/site/DocServer/great_ape_427_cosponsor_towns.pdf?docID=301 to see if your legislator has already signed on.
2. If your legislator is not signed on: Please call their DC office (click here http://my.neavs.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FindElectedOfficials to find their contact information). Let them know you are a constituent, what town you are from, and that you are asking them to please cosponsor the Great Ape Protection Act, H.R. 1326, which will end the use of chimpanzees in invasive research and retire all federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuary.
3. If they are a cosponsor already, please call and thank them – asking them to stay active in their support is as crucial to the bill’s success as its ever-growing list of cosponsors!
4. Then, ask at least ONE friend to do the same… then ask them to ask one of their friends to do the same... and so on...

Photo top left: Tom © Fauna; lower right: Pepper © Fauna


VOLUNTEER

Email us (info@releasechimps.org) for information on volunteering and outreach in your area.

Seen here: Kirsten M., just one of our terrific nationwide volunteers, tabling for Project R&R at the recent Earth Day festival (April 22-May 3) in Cannon Beach, OR.

On behalf of all chimpanzees
in U.S. labs, thank you.

Today is Tobys' Birthday

Toby is 33 years old today!

We invite you to read Tobys' bio to get a good feel of who this very special guys is, and possibly send him some of his favorite items like sunglasses and scrunchies as as a birthday gift. A donation in his name is another great gift idea. You can even take advantage of our Adotp a Chimp, chimp chums programme to adopt Toby and possibly one of Tobys' special girls Maya or Rachel for someone special in your life or just as a gift to yourself!!

Toby has been spending most of his time with Maya and taking in the sun on the islands. When he is in love he does not leave Mayas' side for a minute. He barely eats, we have to run around the chimp house with bananas and nuts and make sure he eats something during his love fest. He is very protective of her and will not tolerate any human interaction. He gets extremely agitated if we do, so we wait for her swell to be done with then if we are lucky we may be given the ok by Toby to give her a little special attention!!

What a guy!! Happy Birthday Toby!!!