Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Archives for June 2016

What’s in a Nest?

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An intriguing article is making the rounds about a primatologist named Koichiro Zamma who has developed a bed, called the humankind evolution bed, that is based on how chimpanzees construct their own beds in the forests. Apparently he tried out a chimpanzee-constructed nest  while tracking chimpanzees in the wild and found it to be very comfortable, waking up quite refreshed after his night of nesting.

A prototype of his invention is currently on display at Kyoto University Museum in Japan. Articles say this about the bed: “The mattress features a depression in the centre to replicate the natural dip in a chimp’s treetop bed and has a raised periphery for the head, legs and arms. It is supported by a frame made from woven paper string for maximum breathability, and eight curved legs that are designed to allow the bed to rock almost imperceptibly.”

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Megumi Kaji of the Research Association of Sleep and Society takes a nap on the humankind evolution bed. Photograph: Koichiro Zamma

 

As we’ve written in the past, chimpanzees in captivity make similar constructions for their nests as their free-living counterparts, building up walls of material (blankets, straw, paper, etc), and laying in the middle.

Jody is a master nest-maker:

 

Missy makes a pretty mean nest too. This was one of my favorite photos from the early days of the sanctuary:

 
Missy in tire nest

In fact, these two were featured in this tutorial-style blog post about how to nest.

Here are some more photos of nesting from the Cle Elum Seven:

Jamie's paper nest

Missy constructed nest

Missy sleeping in a big nest

Negra nesting

 

I have to admit that I wonder if perhaps Zamma’s restful night of sleep was due to being particularly exhausted after a day of following chimpanzees around the forest, but I remain intrigued.

What do you think – are chimpanzees on to something that we should be paying attention to? Should we ditch our flat mattresses? Would you want a humankind evolution bed?

 

After Hours

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After dinner each day, most of the chimps grab their blankets and bed down for the night.

Jody:

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Negra:

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But for Jamie, the day is just getting started.

Jamie likes to be in control. It’s hard to say whether this is a result of spending decades in a research lab where she was absolutely powerless, or whether this would have been her personality regardless of the circumstances she was born into, in which case it’s even sadder to imagine her stuck in a cage with no choices and no control over her life.

But not to worry; Jamie is making up for lost time. One of the ways she exerts her newfound power is by keeping the staff at work after hours. Before we go home each night, we close the door to Young’s Hill and make sure all the chimps are safe inside the building. As long as the door to Young’s Hill remains open, the staff are required to stay at the chimp house. Jamie is aware of this policy and will often run at top speed to throw her body into the doorway to prevent us from closing the door. This serves the dual purpose of buying her extra time outside in the evening, as well as extra time with her human friends/minions.

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Until recently, Jamie has been the only one to take advantage of this “loophole.” She will keep her caregivers at work until 9 or 10pm some evenings, while the other chimps are snoozing away inside. But this summer Jamie has had some company during her after hours adventures. The other chimps are starting to see the appeal of warm, peaceful summer evenings outside.

Burrito:

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Annie:

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Happy Birthday, E.B.!

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We have a special day of sanctuary today sponsored by Simba in honor of E.B. on his birthday! Simba shares this amazing message about E.B.:

“In honor of a very special boy on a very special day – E.B. is a friend and partner and a human of inestimable energy, and he is motivated to help every species on the planet.  He has been opening his home and his heart to them for years, and for the last several has had his hand in a nonstop series of efforts intended to make the world a kinder place for all sorts of non-humans.  It’s a true honor to know him and work with him and to dedicate this day of sanctuary to him.  Happy Birthday, E.B.!”

Simba thank you so much for sponsoring today in honor of E.B.! We are thrilled to celebrate such a special human here with the chimpanzees today. E.B., all of us here at CSNW wish you the happiest of days! Thank you so much for all you do for the special non-humans we share the world with. We are so happy to know you are out in the world making it a better place for so many others.

Happy Birthday hoots from Burrito!!

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A Strawberry Solstice

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One of the chimpanzees’ favorite summertime happenings is their garden. Volunteer caregiver, Denice, and staff caregiver, Keri, are the driving forces behind this beautiful project each year. It not only helps us supplement the chimpanzees’ food supply, but it provides them with enrichment while adding beauty to their home.

As soon as the weather turned warmer this year the chimpanzees immediately started looking out the windows of the playroom to see if the garden had magically appeared overnight. Once things start growing we get to harvest fresh fruit and vegetables for them almost daily and they LOVE getting to choose what they would like and have their caregivers hand it to them straight from the garden!

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With our first full day of summer arriving yesterday in conjunction with the stunning full Strawberry Moon last night, I thought it only appropriate to have a small strawberry feast this afternoon to celebrate. Volunteer caregiver, Ally, picked through the chimps’ strawberry patch as they watched from the greenhouse and then served everyone the fresh berries, still warm from the (official!) summer sun.

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Burrito and Jody watch Ally in the distance. The entire time, Annie was banging her feet on the caging and Foxie was blowing raspberries to hurry Ally along with the strawberry picking:

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Burrito:

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Jody:

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Foxie:

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Annie:

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Jamie:

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Missy decided to wait down by the onion patch, but she was happy for a handful of strawberries:

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And Queen Negra opted to avoid all the excitement in the greenhouse and wait it out in the comfort of her nest until I hand delivered some strawberries to her. She climbed down from her nest at Negra-style warp speed and though she was not interested in having her photo taken, she enjoyed her strawberries in peace with a view of the flower garden.

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Year Eight

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We hope that you have been enlightened, entertained, and inspired by the musings on years’ past this week. Today’s final post in the looking-back brings us from June 2015 to last week, the eighth anniversary of the arrival of the Cle Elum Seven to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

The chimps’ eighth year began with a true test of our medical clinic. Burrito spent some time in the clinic twice after breaking a canine tooth. The first was an exam to determine the extent of his previously-diagnosed congestive heart failure and to assess the broken tooth, and the second was the tooth (make that teeth) extraction procedure.

Burrito tooth extraction

The chimpanzees are so fortunate to have such good human friends in their corner, who always go out of their way to ensure that they have the best care possible, and Burrito was in the hands of a large huge team of veterinary professionals who donated their time and skills to see Burrito through his procedures without a hitch.

Dare I say he’s even cuter with his missing teeth?

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Dora the Explorer and friends were making frequent appearances with Foxie last year, and she seemed to show a particular fondness for the jaunty and clearly extra-adventurous France Dora:

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and Dora’s fiery-haired friend Kate:

a flair for the dramatic

 

Troll dolls have not been replaced, though! They continued to be a favorite enrichment item for Foxie, with some of the other chimps seeming to adopt the trend:

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Negra with a troll doll
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Jody with a troll doll

 

Last summer, J.B. put together another of my favorite videos of the last eight years – the epic Troll Scarf Tug O War:

 

While the chimpanzees continue to make the most out of the ever-expanding life in sanctuary…

 

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Jamie at the top of Twister

 

…the humans have been working hard “behind the scenes” to secure their future and work towards giving more chimpanzees a sanctuary life. The community of donors and volunteers came together and made it possible to purchase the sanctuary property that we had been leasing, acquire new land that tripled the total sanctuary footprint, and enter into an agreement to provide a home for chimpanzees coming out of biomedical research.

And, on a national scale, there was huge news as invasive biomedical research on chimpanzees came to a halt.

Just think about what the next eight years will bring!