Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for August 2016

In celebration of Bill Walters’ life

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This special day of sanctuary was sponsored by Nicki Walters in memory of her husband, Bill. Nicki and Bill have been such wonderful friends to the chimpanzees over the years and we are so honored to celebrate Bill’s life with the chimps today. Bill had a great passion for animals and their well-being and he was also a long-time supporter and volunteer at PAWS Lynnwood. Nicki shared this special message:

“Today is the day that we celebrate Bill Walter‘s life. So I wanted the Chimps to be able to do the same since they brought him many smiles and were a source of happiness during many rough days as he fought Cancer. Knowing that they will be playing on a Monument dedicated to him, The Twister, gave him a lot of pride that his memory will be kept alive in such a fun way.”

If you’re new to the blog, you can also check out the unveiling of the Twister here.

Nicki, thank you so much for holding the chimps in your heart and giving them such a special day of sanctuary. Our hearts are with you and your loved ones. Words fall short in the face of such profound loss, but the difference Bill made for so many others with his life gives much to celebrate.

We are so moved by all that you, Bill and your friends have done to add to the chimps’ home and lives in a meaningful and lasting way. Bill’s spirit will always be present in the joy you’ve all brought the chimps and in all of the lives made better by his. We’ll think of him every time we see the chimps enjoying your amazing gift to them and especially when we see Jamie surveying her kingdom from the new heights of her beloved crow’s nest.

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JODY!

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I woke up thinking that I should feature Jody on the blog today. She’s a bit more elusive than some of the other chimpanzees, so we don’t get as many photos and videos of her.

She does have her routines, though.

Today, we spread a forage on the hill at lunch, and Jody, true to form, collected the food she wanted, came back inside, and emptied it on the deck while she sat on the lower part of the platform in the greenhouse.

Jody collecting food on the hill

Jody eating

Jody eating

 

Then, she spent some time relaxing – we often see her in this position:

Jody hanging out

 

She did a little self-grooming:

Jody self-groom

 

Graciously allowed me to take some close-up photos of her beautiful face:

Jody close-up

 

Volunteer Lynn and I were talking about Jody’s very round eyes that often appear to be hopeful or excited about something:

Jody profile

 

Jody eyes

Jody eyes

 

She soon retired to the cooler playroom for a post-meal siesta:

Jody resting

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Adapting

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People who have been incarcerated for long periods can have trouble adapting to life outside prison once they are released, a phenomenon we call institutionalization. Chimps are no different.

For the Cle Elum Seven, life in the lab was horrible, but after as much as 35 years it made some kind of sense. The deprivation they endured flipped the world on its head – metal and concrete were familiar and comforting, while grass and open sky would become sources of discomfort and fear. It’s perverse, that these chimpanzees should have to learn to adapt to what was their birthright.

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It’s tempting to think of reaching sanctuary as the end of a harrowing journey, but it is only a step in the process. When the chimps first set foot on Young’s Hill, they were scared. The world outside was big and unknown. Eventually, their fear became exhilaration as they explored their new territory. More and more now I think we see in them something akin to appreciation or even reverence for the outdoors.

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This process of adaptation continues and will likely never be complete. I think these chimps see themselves as visitors to the outdoors. It’s not their home. They take what they need before returning to the familiar surroundings of their indoor enclosures. But they are each adapting in their own way, and in their own time.

Just look how far they’ve come.

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Snapshots

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It’s been a warm, sleepy, happy day at the sanctuary. Here are my favorite snapshots from today.

Negra waking up in the greenhouse this morning:

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Boss Jamie with a rare playface:

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BFFs Annie and Missy grooming:

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Burrito in a quiet moment:

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Foxie and Dora:

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Jody enjoying some wild plants she harvested from Young’s Hill:

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This is 40

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This Monday, August 8th, we will be celebrating Foxie’s 40th birthday! This tiny woman is known for her joyful spirit and exuberant chimpanzee shenanigans and acrobatics which are more typically seen in juvenile chimps. But if you didn’t believe it before, you can believe it now…age really is just a number.

The chimps are typically happy and playful in the mornings and it’s one of my favorite times of the day with them. Well, boss lady Jamie can be a bit of a wild card, sometimes seemingly getting up on the wrong side of the nest, but even she is often in a lighthearted mood. Members of a chimp family will exuberantly greet one another after any length of separation and the chimps often include us humans in that so when we arrive in the morning they will often come over to offer us a greeting. (And sometimes they completely ignore us!). On the more boisterous mornings, Jamie wants us to don a pair of boots immediately and play a rare game of chase. Burrito sometime runs over with a play stomp ready for a raucous game of chase or tickle. If we’re lucky, Jody and Negra will sometimes run over and greet us with kisses or hand tickles (and if we’re not so lucky, a hand poke). Annie and Missy are often already engaged in a world of joy all their own, chasing, wrestling and laughing with one another. And Foxie is ready for a game of toss the troll or Dora with her doll du jour.

When I went in to say good morning today, Foxie ran into one of the front rooms and greeted me with a huge play face (notice only her bottom teeth are showing which is how chimpanzees smile). This started out innocently enough and then quickly progressed into both of us laughing wildly and jumping up and down like maniacs (’cause that’s what we do).
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And then she took it to a whole other classic Foxie-level. She climbed up the caging, flipped upside down and continued to nod her head up and down and laugh hysterically with the biggest play face ever. From the photos, she looks a little wild and upset with all those chimp chompers showing, but trust me, it was nothing but fun and games, Foxie-style. Of course, I was doing much the same on the other side of the caging. Well, minus the hanging upside down bit – that’s all Foxie. (Excuse the poor quality of the photos, but there was a lot of action going on!):

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Hazing

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At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we have three levels of volunteers that work in the chimp house. As a level one volunteer, you get to work in the chimpanzees’ kitchen, washing produce, preparing enrichment and meals, etc. As a level two volunteer, you get participate in cleaning enclosures and performing safety checks (in addition to the level one duties). Level three training is all about learning to serve meals and interact with the chimpanzees safely (always from outside of the chimpanzees’ enclosure). For many, level three training is very exciting as you start to develop a more personal relationship with each of the chimpanzees. But let me tell you, getting to know the chimpanzees is not all sunshine and roses (or food grunts and play faces).

Chimpanzees can be relentless with their initiation rituals. They will make sure you know safety rules as well as obey the hierarchy of the group as soon as you serve your first banana. Jamie especially, will come down hard with her trial by fire. She often seems to make up rules as she goes along, just to make you suffer. The consequences for “disobeying” her (and trust me, everyone does at some point) are fierce. Getting a face full of smoothie or water spit at you (with the other chimpanzees threat barking their encouragement) is a kind punishment as far as Jamie’s concerned.

Volunteer Yuri demonstrates how to wear blueberry smoothie and look happy doing it. Today was his first morning serving breakfast as a Level three trainee and Jamie gave him something to remember her by.
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Speaking of having things spit at you…and this is not a proud moment for me… but I will tell you that I once had a protein drink spit at me (at a different sanctuary) with such force that it went up my nose and I tasted it in the back of my throat. Gross, right?

It’s hard to believe that this sweet looking chimpanzee was throwing unspeakable things at us just this morning, but that’s part of the fun and intrigue of working with beings that wear their emotions on their sleeve.
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You never know just what the day will bring you (and it will often be disgusting). One thing remains the same at the end of each day: you still love your chimpanzee friends.
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