One of the worst parts of this job is having to watch the chimps be so dang happy all the time.
Archives for May 2017
Happy Birthday, Michael!
Today the chimps received a beautiful gift of a day of sanctuary, sponsored by Michael Miller! Today is Michael’s birthday and he shared this gift for the chimps would be “a good way to celebrate turning another year older 🙂 thank you for your work!”
Michael, it’s amazing that you would start your day, and your own celebration, by not only thinking of the chimps, but contributing to their lives and well-being! Thank you so much for your generosity. All of us here at the sanctuary wish you the best of birthdays! It’s a phenomenally beautiful day here at the sanctuary – looking out the window, Ellie the neighborhood elk is dozing in the shaded, tall, green grass, the chimps are lounging together in the bright, sun-warmed greenhouse and periodically running out onto Young’s Hill to enjoy this beautiful spring day.
Happy Birthday, Michael!
Missy making choices
Last night, Dr. Steve Ross from Lincoln Park Zoo spoke at nearby Central Washington University. He was invited by the Primate Awareness Network, which is a CWU student organization affiliated with the Primate Behavior and Ecology (PBE) program.
This is a really unique program, so I’m going to take a moment to give it some advertising. It’s the only program that I’m aware of in the country that offers an undergraduate degree in Primate Behavior. A master’s degree is also offered, and now there’s yet a third option for those who are seeking formal education in primate care – a certificate program that provides students with all skills and experiences listed by the International Primatological Society for Animal Technician, and some skills and experiences listed for Senior Animal Technician.
All of the staff who work at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest have been trained at some level at CWU. J.B. and I met there when we were enrolled in the graduate level program many, many years ago when there were still chimpanzees on campus (the last of the group of five chimpanzees who were part of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at CWU, Tatu and Loulis, now live with other chimpanzees at the Fauna Foundation, Canada’s only chimpanzee sanctuary).
Our sanctuary now works closely with the PBE program, offering intern credit for students who volunteer at the sanctuary. This gives students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience caring for primates while learning about their behavior. J.B. is an adjunct professor within the anthropology department and teaches a course on primate care.
Dr. Ross’s talk last night was about applied animal welfare, in other words, using behavioral research and data collection to gain information about primates that can be directly used to inform captive management decisions to improve individual welfare.
Dr. Ross stressed the importance of recognizing individual differences and letting the individuals tell you what they need and want based on their behavior.
And that brings me to my very informal observation of one of the individuals at CSNW today: Missy
As Jamie and Burrito were leading me on a walk around the 2-acre hill enclosure (me on the outside of the electric fence, of course), and Negra was taking a nap in the very warm greenhouse, Missy was out and about on her own mission to find and eat wild plants. She traversed across the hill, stopping occasionally to sample a bit of greenery.
It might be said that Missy has a bit more “wild and free” in her than some of the other chimpanzees. She is comfortable exploring on her own within the landscape of her little piece of nature, while some of the other chimpanzees seem to prefer to the company of others, or, like Negra, choose to venture out only when they are motivated to find a very particular plant during a very particular season.
Choice. This, above all else, is what increases primate welfare the most. When you think about it, much of what we share on the blog are the choices that the chimpanzees are freely making on a daily basis.
Simple pleasures
Fine Dining
There’s nothing quite like savoring a raw onion on a spring afternoon with the birds chirping in the background.
Coming in for a landing
The “missing” chimpanzee
This morning as we invited the Cle Elum 7 back into a fresh clean playroom, there was no sign of Negra foraging for pumpkin seeds or making a big nest in the loft. Nor was there any sign of her basking in the sunny greenhouse. The only clue we had to her location was the looks of concern (and maybe awe) on some of her group mates faces as they kept glancing out the door to the raceway of Young’s Hill. Even from our location at the bottom of Young’s Hill we couldn’t see any sign of her, so we set out for a hike around the hill to see if we could spot her. Finally at the top of the enclosure we found her picking wild prickly lettuce underneath a log bridge that shielded her from the wind. Jody, the sanctuary “manager,” who shows the greatest amount of care and concern if anyone goes “missing” or deviates from the day’s schedule, rushed out to collect the queen.