Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Archives for July 2015

Reconciliation

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Every once and a while, there’s a little more tension in the group than usual. Fights break out more often, and when they do, they result in more injuries. But chimps have a mechanism for dealing with this tension.

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After a big conflict last weekend, they’ve been working hard to reestablish their relationships through grooming.

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Chances are, some of the wounds they are grooming on each other are wounds they themselves inflicted.

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But that’s life for a chimp. You fight, and you make up. Then, maybe, you fight again.

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But you always make up.

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Testing Testing…123

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Hello to all the CSNW blog readers! My name is Anna Wallace and I’m the newest staff caregiver to join the team. I’m really excited to be going through training here and getting to know more about the Cle Elum 7! Today, as you may already know, is my first blog post. Not only is it my first blog post, but it is also my first time taking photos of these very photogenic beings. I thought I would share with you my favorites from the series of pictures I took this afternoon under Elizabeth’s watchful guidance.

Negra and her droopy lip.
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Handsome Mr. Burrito, lounging in the portrait studio.
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I hope to share many more photos and a more detailed account of my training in the weeks to come!

Foxie’s evening

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Each night after dinner the chimpanzees receive their food puzzle for the evening. This is typically a pretty exciting time and once everyone has their puzzle they find a quiet spot to enjoy their treats in peace and the chimp house begins to wind down for the day. This evening’s puzzle was frozen applesauce and banana in PVC tubes and I caught Foxie enjoying hers:

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When the chimps finish their food puzzles, they usually head straight to their chosen sleeping spot for the night, blankets in tow, and begin making their nests (with the exception of boss Jamie who still has a lot of things to do). But this evening, Foxie decided to hang out as we finished the closing routine and seemed to be enjoying the peaceful time, occasionally glancing out the window next to her as the sun began to sink lower over the sanctuary.

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About this time we gave Jamie her “boot package” for the evening. Jamie often requests her favorite “boots du jour” before we leave which we fill with enrichment items for the evening (such as a toothbrush, cup, comb, nail file, scarf, etc) and pass to her through a chute. As she also requested the boots she had me wearing at the time, I happened to be barefoot. And at the sight of bare human toes, Foxie thought it would be a fantastic time to play one last game of chase, interspersed with pirouettes, through the chimp house (never mind that people were settling down to sleep).

After a few minutes of play, we said goodnight to everyone and turned off the lights in the chimp area, answered by the chimpanzees giving nest grunts goodnight in return. Nest grunts are a vocalization that chimpanzees make when they are settling into their nests for the night as a way to check in with each other before they go to sleep. (Admittedly, it’s one of my absolute favorite moments of the day).

As I was closing the door to the chimp area I saw Ms. Foxie head out to the solitude of the greenhouse. I went to say goodnight and found that she had decided to camp out on the top platform, looking out over Young’s Hill, as she held Dora (with some wild hair) close to her. Goodnight dear Fox.

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Grab bag Tuesday

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The chimpanzees are ultra low-key today. They have all spent the day relaxing this warm summer day and most everyone has been tucked away in their nests or out exploring Young’s Hill. On these kind of days it can be tough work for the paparazzi to get any photos, so one has to loiter in the hopes of getting anything. But eventually a few of the ladies were willing to oblige.

Jody, enjoying a relaxing moment in the greenhouse.

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Foxie was having fun running back and forth from the spigot to me with mouthfuls of water and getting pretty excited about me anticipating being spat upon (as is evidenced by her hair being pilo-erect). This is a favorite game of hers and though she didn’t spit any at me she does a pretty good job making you think she might. Which is, I’m sure, half the fun.

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And the beautiful Missy.

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Happy Birthday, Rachel!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Rachel Ruggeri! Rachel recently sponsored a day of sanctuary in memory of her father, Robert. And today she generously chose to celebrate her own special day with the chimps and sends this message: “It is my birthday and since the chimps sent me a card, I want to send something to them!”

Rachel, it means so much to us that you have chosen to mark these special days in your life by making the chimpanzees’ lives better. And it means the world to them. All of the primates here at CSNW wish you the happiest of birthdays and hope your day is filled with all the love, compassion and joy you share with others!

Missy:

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Jody to the rescue

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In order to help Burrito’s recovery from his recent dental procedure, we have been giving him and all of the chimpanzees soft foods. So, today we roasted a variety of fruits and vegetables for all of their meals. And to take advantage of the cooler temperatures we’ve been having, we put out a forage on Young’s Hill for lunch. Let me just tell you, there has been a ton of food squeaking going on over these roasted treats!

As soon as we opened the door to give the chimps access to Young’s Hill at lunch, all seven of them quickly made their way outside, gathering everything they could find. I watched Jody gather roasted onions and beets and quickly put them in her mouth. She went after roasted carrots next and had her mouth completely full before making her way back to the Greenhouse with her treats. Then she stopped, paused for a minute and looked behind her, then turned around and went back up the hill a few steps. I thought maybe she spotted another tasty morsel, but no, she saw something else and quickly snatched it up and practically ran back to the Greenhouse. Can you guess what it was? Hint, take a look at the photos below.

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Burrito’s recovery continues today

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Burrito continues to recover from a dental procedure he had this past Friday. He was reunited with the ladies yesterday and this morning he greeted caregivers and staff with foot stomps and head nods and initiated a few rounds of chase. He’s not quite at full speed yet, but as the hours tick away, he’s recovering more and more.

Love and attention from a good friend like Foxie sure seems to help the process. Foxie spent a good part of this morning grooming Burrito, while he sat relaxing on the deck in the Greenhouse. And all of that relaxation allowed for him to spend quite a bit of time foraging for lunch on Young’s Hill, longer than any of the other chimps in fact. Perhaps it was the roasted sweet potatoes and apples that kept him on the hill for so long.

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