Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for June 2015

Dora hitches a lift

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Much to our dismay, we reportedly have an extended heat-wave headed our way. But this afternoon we took advantage of overcast skies and a cool breeze and the chimpanzees enjoyed a lunch forage on Young’s Hill.

A great thing about forages is that it gives the chimpanzees enrichment for the rest of the day as they will all typically venture out throughout the day to see if anything was missed. Foxie decided to make a second pass and her good friend, Dora, came along. But Foxie ran into a challenge making room for carrots AND Dora.

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Foxie and Dora had a lot of ground to cover, so Foxie stopped and tossed Dora on her back. Chimpanzee mothers carry their young on their backs when on the go. Foxie mimics this behavior and often carries her dolls on her back, but while it’s particularly endearing and easy to read into, your guess is as good as ours as to why she actually does this. Regardless of her reasons, it’s pretty adorable.

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After such a long hike, Foxie and Dora came back to take a nap at the top of the greenhouse (you can just see Dora tucked in Foxie’s hip in the background).

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The gift of Annie

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For weeks, no, months, I have had the idea to do “A Day in the Life of…” each of the chimpanzees on the blog. Seems simple enough, right? Well, when you consider each individual chimp, their moods and varying preferences for being photographed (let alone being followed around all day by a photographer), not to mention all the things that can occur during a day working in the chimp house, it’s not as simple as I’d envisioned. Case in point: Annie. Attempting to be systematic in my approach, I’ve wanted to start with her. Beautiful, dear, sweet Annie, who doesn’t always prefer to have her photo taken or is often running at mach speed with her best friend, Missy. So my idea keeps getting pushed to the back burner of the blog.

But I’ve found myself thinking of Annie a lot these past days because her son, Virgil, (who resides at Save the Chimps) celebrated his birthday this week. Annie gave birth to her first son, Tobias, when she was just a child herself, probably a mere 9 years old. In the wild, chimpanzees typically have their first child around the age of 14. But being used in the labs as a “breeder” Annie was forced to begin breeding with many males starting at the age of 7. All for the purpose of supplying more chimpanzees for biomedical testing. Over the next decade, Annie gave birth to six more babies – Abby, Petra, Brooke, Virgil, Mariah and Damien. Two of her children, Virgil and Mariah, who both are so fortunate to be living at Save the Chimps in Florida, are her only living offspring. Tobias (Chimp Haven) and Damian (Save the Chimps) were also fortunate to have made it to sanctuary, but have sadly passed away. Petra, we believe, passed away while still at New Iberia Research Center (NIRC), and sadly, we don’t have much information on Abby or Brooke, but believe they have passed away as well.

Annie was never allowed to care for her babies for more than a few days. In each case she was anesthetized and her children were taken from her and moved to the nursery to be raised by humans until they were, themselves, used as lab subjects. Chimpanzees are highly invested in the raising of their children, much like humans, and under natural circumstances chimpanzee mothers will nurse their infants until they are 4-5 years of age. Their bond is incredibly strong and often remains so throughout their lives.

One of the things I love most about looking at photos of the chimpanzees’ children, are seeing their mothers in them. In the gaze of their eyes, their smiles, the way they hold their body, or even certain mannerisms. To see that even though their histories are tragic, their mothers are there with them in some way. I love seeing beautiful Annie in her son Virgil (photo credited to Save the Chimps):

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Annie:

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Annie’s history is devastating. To revisit it, however briefly, takes the breath out of me every time. Annie’s history is not unique to the chimpanzees residing here, nor is it unique to all chimpanzees who have suffered, or suffer still from a life in biomedical research labs, entertainment or the pet industry. But I choose to revisit it today not to feel sorry for her, but to celebrate her. To pay honor the incredible person she is. The internal strength and resilience of spirit that speaks to who she really is. Her ability to find joy in her life each day, to increasingly overcoming the sometimes debilitating anxiety she demonstrated when she first arrived here, and her finding enough comfort in her own skin to enjoy peace and solitude.

Annie’s ability to do these things never excuses what was done to, and stolen from, her. But she is not a victim. She is a strong, intelligent, resilient, sweet, gentle, loving soul. A sweet soul who took another step away from her past this morning and for the first time (with me) flopped on the floor and asked me to tickle her head and ears, laughing all the while. This amazing chimpanzee woman is a gift to us all. It’s a gift for her to be able to share herself with us and for us to be able to witness her healing. But more importantly, it’s a gift for her to live her life in peace, and to be her amazing self, each moment of every day. And none of this would be possible without you.

So in celebration of Annie (as she enjoys a tea party):

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And goodnight from Annie, yawning from her nest at the top of the greenhouse. Out there all on her own, her eyes growing heavy as she looks out over Young’s Hill and the summer breeze occasionally ruffles her hair:

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Learn more about each of the chimpanzees’ history on our Eyes on Apes page and celebrate the amazing and unique individuals they truly are.

Lunch with the chimpanzees

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Most meals at the sanctuary go remarkably smoothly considering we have seven hungry and eager chimpanzees to serve at once. Occasionally, someone swipes someone else’s food or a scuffle breaks out, but more often than not, peace reigns.

That’s not to say that all the chimps always wait patiently, though. In this video, you’ll see some of the ways the chimps get our attention during meals and tell the server to please hurry up – hand clapping (Negra), vigorous head nodding (Missy), and blowing raspberries (Foxie). This video is longer than most of the ones we post, but hopefully it will give you some idea of what it’s like to be present at mealtime at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Summer and Father’s Day

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It’s here; the year’s longest day of sunshine (well, at least for us here in the Northern Hemisphere). The high temperatures the past month may have indicated otherwise, but today truly is the official beginning of summer. By this time of year, plants in the garden are bearing fruit, baby birds have hatched and are growing quickly and the rivers and lakes have warmed up enough to be revitalizing after jumping in.

As for life here at the sanctuary, summer is in full swing, especially in the gardens with all of the fruit and flowers.

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I thought today’s blog would be mostly about how summer means vitality, growth, abundant energy, movement and all that means to be living life. And I was going to take photos of each of the chimps soaking up the long days of sunshine exploring Young’s Hill, eating wild plants and the climbing structures to take in the views. But, the chimps had something else in mind for today, which was a really good lesson for me.

It was as if the chimps were trying to convey to me that summer does entail abundance, energy, growth and all of those things I listed above. But, it can also mean making the most of lazy summer days by taking the time to relax in comfort, nap and soak up what it means to not have constant demands put on them to perform or to be used as test subjects. This was evident in the blanket nests we saw this morning when cleaning the various enclosures.

Here is one we found in the Playroom this morning.
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Jamie took a some time to rest up this morning after venturing out onto Young’s Hill.
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For Jody and many of the other chimps, summer time means endless wild snacks.
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For Foxie, lazy summer afternoons mean napping with a close friend.
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Missy sat grooming herself this afternoon…
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…while Annie lie down next to her.
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Burrito looking pretty relaxed in front of the camera.
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And Negra sat in one of her favorite spots on the catwalk this afternoon.
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Today also marks a special day for fathers. The Cle Elum Seven are fortunate enough to have loving, supportive fathers from all over the world who dedicate their time, energy and offer unlimited support in order to provide a safe and enriching environment for these chimps. Your love has helped these chimpanzees grow leaps and bounds over the past seven years in ways they have never known before. To all these fathers, we cannot thank you enough.

So, however you choose to spend your summer days, enjoy them to the fullest. And to all the fathers out there, have a wonderful day knowing how loved and appreciated you are for all the things you do to provide for those you love!

Jamie enjoying corn

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Unbeknownst to both me and Jamie at the time, together we produced some photos today that are worthy of advertising the Corn Growers Association of America (if there is such a thing):

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Just another day in sanctuary

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There has been a whole lot of napping going on in the chimp house today. Well, at least for the chimpanzees. Our recent high heat is taking a break and though it’s still warm, the wind has been cool and refreshing. We were thinking the chimpanzees should be out on the hill enjoying the comfortable day, but they had other thoughts. And really, how nice is it to enjoy napping peacefully on a warm day with a cool spring breeze blowing through the house?

Jamie fell sound asleep while we cleaned the playroom, but made sure to keep one foot on her recent gift of new black cowboy boots from the chimpanzees’ (and humans’) good friend, Tony Garza:

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Jody fell asleep in a sunbeam in the greenhouse:

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The chimpanzees often hold their feet as they sleep which I find so endearing:

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Annie, who has taken to nesting next to Negra in the afternoons (though Negra was in a darker spot that didn’t photograph well, she was nesting just to the right):

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After a brief forage in the play room, Jamie decided to take another nap in front of the barn doors, her hair (and the trolls’ hair) blowing softly in the breeze:

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Though the other chimps were in unfriendly photo spots, Missy was tucked away in a cozy nest in the loft, Burrito was sound asleep on the catwalk with a rainbow slinky in his mouth, and Foxie was in a sunny corner of the greenhouse playing “toss the Dora.”

Just another day in sanctuary. And another day with our hearts full of gratitude.