Today started with cold grey skies, as much needed rain soaked the sanctuary property. Just at the moment the chimps gained morning access to Young’s Hill, the clouds broke, the sun came out, and Jamie requested her first perimeter walk with caregiver in tow .
Archives for September 2016
Labor Day Play
This Labor Day, the Cle Elum Seven are celebrating by not laboring at all.
Journey to recovery
Each day the Cle Elum Seven continue on their journey to recovery from their former lives in the laboratory. In some ways, it’s hard to believe they’ve been at the sanctuary for over eight years now. Thinking back to the early days and years (and looking at photos from that time), it really hits home how far each of them has come on their own journey. As the days blend together into years, we have witnessed their individual transformations as they break through the shells of their former selves and continue to test the boundaries of what is comfortable to them.
Take Burrito for instance. Even as recent as a few years ago, he really preferred to stay on the ground to forage and explore, unlike Missy, who climbed everything in sight. But more often these days, he can be found climbing and spending time on top of the highest structures scattered throughout Young’s Hill.
Just this morning, he climbed to the top of this structure, walked out on the beam, sat for a minute looking at his surroundings before climbing back down. He’s not quite as graceful a climber as Missy, but he’s getting there.
The chimps’ transformations are only happening because they’ve been given the opportunity to live the rest of their lives in sanctuary. They’ve each been given a chance at a new life, one in which they so much deserve. And it’s only been possible, because a whole world of people (including you), have taken each of them into your hearts. Because of you, Negra now feels comfortable to venture to the top of Young’s Hill to forage, alone. Because of you, Jamie and Foxie have an endless supply of boots and dolls to call their own; Annie feels safe and secure enough to spend time alone enjoying her surroundings. Because of you, Missy can run (let’s face it, it’s more of a full-on sprint), leap, balance and climb to her hearts content. Jody has blankets aplenty to build elaborate nests with. And finally Burrito. You’ve given Burrito the time he needed to feel secure enough to climb to new heights this year. More and more, we’re seeing him on top of the various structures scattered throughout Young’s Hill; something his former self spent very little time doing.
Happy Birthday, Angel!
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Althea and Ahmad Dani in honor of Negra’s daughter, Angel, on her birthday. Althea and Ahmad are wonderful friends to the Cle Elum 7 and take great care to learn about each one of the chimpanzees as the unique individuals they are, extending that to their children. They are great supporters of sanctuaries and Althea also volunteers at a local no-kill shelter, bringing joy, comfort and hope to the lives of many cats. Althea shared this message about today:
“Happy 31st Birthday, Angel! Angel is one of 3 children born to lovely Negra whose birthplace was a medical lab. Thankfully, in 2002 Angel and her brother Noah along with many other chimpanzees were rescued and now live in a sanctuary in Florida. They are safe, well cared for, loved and happy. Angel lives in a large family group with other chimpanzees that share her past. Angel is described as happy, feisty and flirty! She loves to eat and some of her favorite foods are fruit juice, primate chow and dried fruit. She loves to play outside in the sun and is usually the first one out of the door after a meal. Happy Birthday Precious Angel. You are every bit as lovely and courageous as your beautiful mother, Negra.”
Althea and Ahmad, thank you so much for thinking of Angel today and for all that you do to bring comfort and joy to the lives of so many of our fellow animals. We so appreciate you taking the time to learn about each of the chimpanzees, their children, their histories and the many aspects of their day to day lives. They are fortunate to have you as friends.
Angel, we wish you the happiest, most joyful of birthdays filled with all that makes your heart happy! We are so very grateful that for all your days forward you will be cared for with love and respect for the special person you are, just as your beloved mother, Negra, will be.
Beautiful Angel (photo courtesy of Save the Chimps):
Beautiful Negra:
Learn more about Negra’s, and each of the chimpanzees’ histories, on our Eyes on Apes page!
Missing Chimpanzee
We take safety very seriously here at the sanctuary and recognize that humans make mistakes, so we have checks and double checks as a routine part of entering enclosures. We never enter a chimpanzee space unless we have verified that the chimpanzees are secured in another part of the sanctuary, so part of our safety protocols require that at least two people check that all of the chimpanzees have been positively identified outside of the area we are going to enter and that the doors and locks are secure.
If the chimpanzees cooperate, we do all of the full cleaning in the first part of the day, but we also spot clean the playroom (the largest part of the chimps’ indoor area) while the chimpanzees are having dinner.
One day last week, I was serving the chimpanzees their dinner in the greenhouse and Anna was operating doors. She successfully closed off the playroom in order to spot clean and came up to make sure all of the chimpanzees were out of the playroom. Normally, this is one of the easiest checks of the day, because the chimpanzees are lined up ready for their evening meal, so it’s easy to identify everyone and then check doors. This day, however, we could not find Foxie.
We checked in the front rooms, in the greenhouse, and scanned Young’s Hill. Nothing. I then climbed the ladder to see into the loft of the playroom, but she wasn’t there either. All of the other chimpanzees had been served their food, and Foxie was just missing. This never happens. I admit we started to panic just a little. We checked all of the areas again. No Foxie. Finally, we see a figure way off in the distance on the hill coming toward us.
Foxie sauntered through the grass and slowly made her way into the greenhouse as though she didn’t have a care in the world.
Today, as I was taking photos of Foxie carrying a Dora the Explorer doll on her back, it occurred to me that Foxie has chosen the perfect mascot and symbol of her new life at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.
Go Foxie. Go explore. We’ll save dinner for you.
P.S. Among the 80+ other items, there is a photo print of Foxie on canvas that is part of our Summer Biddin’ online auction. Get your bids in quick – bidding ends at 4:00pm PT tomorrow!
Only the beginning
Today, the chimps watched from the greenhouse as heavy rainstorms passed through Cle Elum. Rain is a rare occurrence here in the summer and while it puts a damper on the chimps’ outdoor activities, they seemed to welcome its return as much as we did. They curled up next to one another in cozy nests, lulled by the cool, humid air and the steady drum of rain on the greenhouse roof.
It was a very different reaction than the one we witnessed eight years ago, when the rains finally returned to Central Washington after their usual summer hiatus. Then, the chimps were just settling into their new life here at the sanctuary after living for decades in a windowless basement. As the first drops fell, the chimps rushed to the windows and doors to investigate. When the drizzle turned into a steady rain, the chimps let out deafening alarm calls. Alarm calls? At rain? We were momentarily stumped, until we remembered that the Cle Elum Seven hadn’t seen rain in decades – or for some, in their entire lives.
Days like this remind me of how much things have changed over the last eight years. These seven chimps have completely transformed before our very eyes. And while we watched them recover and grow and eventually thrive in sanctuary, their counterparts still in labs were granted new protections, first by the NIH and then by the Fish and Wildlife Service, effectively ending the era of chimpanzee research both in the United States and around the world.
These changes happened far more rapidly than I ever would have imagined. But while we’ve finally nudged the lines of our circle of moral concern ever-so-slightly to include chimpanzees, we still haven’t let go of the mindset that allowed Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Negra to be locked away in the first place. That is, that when humans are concerned, the ends always justify the means. This was addressed in a powerful Op-Ed in the New York Times today by Dr. John Gluck, a former primate researcher and thoughtful advocate for our primate cousins. We had the pleasure of receiving a visit from John, along with the sanctuary’s good friend Dr. Hope Ferdowsian, earlier this summer. I urge you to read what he has to say, though I should warn you that the article includes two disturbing images.
When the rain subsided this afternoon, the chimps spilled back onto Young’s Hill. Jamie picked up where she left off, patrolling her territory, this time accompanied by Ellie the Elk. Missy ran and swung and climbed everything in sight. Others searched for food left over from the morning’s breakfast forage. And Negra, as you might have guessed, stayed tucked in her nest, dreaming of dinner. These chimps emerged from the darkness of their laboratory lives and found peace in sanctuary. They, and others like them, are now protected because people fought for them.
The 70,000 primates still in labs are counting on us to do the same for them.
Happy International Primate Day!
September 1st is International Primate Day everybody! I honestly didn’t know such a day existed until recently, but I’m glad it does. The term “primate” is a biological classification, which of course encompasses humans, but I think this day was meant to celebrate the non-human variety. There are a lot of terms that get thrown around interchangeably when we talk about chimpanzees, some of which are accurate, and some not so much. I think one of the most common mistakes humans use when they talk about chimps is to call them “monkeys.” Chimpanzees are in fact large bodied apes. One good way to determine if you are looking at an ape vs. a monkey? Look for a tail. Chimpanzees and other apes don’t have tails and are generally larger than other primates.
I’m grateful to know all the special primates in my life like Burrito, who was kind enough to pose for photos in the portrait studio this afternoon.
If you are interested in helping support the seven non-human primates that call Cle Elum home (and the future developments at the sanctuary), check out the online auction that is happening NOW!
