Hanging out with chimps is fun. Watching them hang out with each other is even better.
For sanctuary personnel who are trained to engage in protected contact with the chimpanzees, developing close relationships with the individual chimps is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding aspects of the job. I cannot think of another experience that comes close to having Missy approach the caging and ask to be massaged, or being prodded with a wooden tool by Jamie as she inspects your freckles, or stomping around the hallways with Burrito to begin the day. There is something surreal about greeting, grooming, and playing with beings who are not quite human but are definitely something similar. To call these exchanges “perks” would be an understatement.
These aren’t my favorite moments, though.
What brings me the most joy is to see the chimpanzees being independent and going about their activities as if I didn’t exist. A true sanctuary allows chimpanzees to do this, if and when they choose to do so. There are times when I see the chimps foraging way up on the hill, far from the bustle of the Chimp House, and I think that this is how our relationship with chimpanzees would be in a perfect world. Our interactions would be limited to fleeting glimpses in a forest, and chimps would not be kept in captivity or subjected to exploitation. They could go wherever they wanted to go and be whatever they wanted to be.
Today, Level II volunteer Dusty prepared a mixture of chopped vegetables and chow and we spread these items outside for the chimps to forage. As the chimpanzees fanned out across the grassy landscape and climbed over the maze of wooden structures, keeping them in our line of sight became a challenge. The chimps didn’t seem to notice the group of human visitors sitting at the bottom of the hill, and I felt irrelevant as I tried to observe them with binoculars and capture them with the camera lens.
Negra was more interested in exchanging an open-mouthed chimp kiss with her friend Missy, Annie was busy searching for food in the prairie grass, and Jody was determined to collect the rest of the cat-tails and bring them back to the Greenhouse. Missy eventually disappeared in the bamboo, only to reappear minutes later as a fuzzy speck perched high on a shaded platform. Dr. Jane Goodall’s first sightings of free-ranging chimpanzees in Tanzania came to mind. Missy, far off in the distance, didn’t seem too different from the wild apes that Dr. Goodall watched through binoculars from a distant hillside. In many ways, I think that’s the main point.
Even if these seven chimpanzees can never experience life in the wild as their ancestors did, at least they still get to be chimpanzees.
My husband and I came to visit August 3rd. We enjoyed seeing them and watching what they do. Thank you so much for the invite, it will be one of my favorite memories!!
Such a lovely post. Many of my favorite photos show the chimps as “fuzzy specs”. I am always amazed at how small they look from a distance. How they seem to fit naturally into the pine treed landscape and sort of disappear. Young’s Hill may not be Africa, but it is natural and wild and offers freedoms.
When I saw the movie JANE, my initial reaction to the film took me by surprise. I am a long time admirer of Dr. Goodall and I have read her books and cherish them. So actually seeing her chimpanzee family nesting in trees, hooting, interacting with each other in their natural habitat sort of took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. The film footage was exquisite! I remember letting out a half sob half gasp upon recognizing Flo, one of my favorite chimpanzee women, in a tree. I was taken aback by my emotional response but it was so astounding seeing Flo moving in front of my eyes that I had to cry. And I thought of the Cle Elum Seven. I thought of what should have been. And this is why I am so very grateful that CSNW exists (that accredited sanctuaries exist). What wonder it must be, to be able to witness these seven individual lives expanding day by day. What a gift to be there for them. What beauty in observing from a far……
Outstanding post. You are a beautiful and descriptive writer and photographer! Welcome to the sanctuary. Your passion for the chimps is contagious and deeply touching. I am sure the chimps can feel your love for them. Don and I hope to meet you one day!
What Kathleen and Karen said! 🙂
Ditto.. me too.. on what Kathleen and Karen said 🙂
What a wonderful posting. Yes, if only human primates would allow our nearest relatives in the animal world to be able to live their lives unmolested by us…When I read that, a century ago, the natural habitats of Central Africa abounded with hundreds of thousands of great apes and, now, 100 years later, no one can estimate how many bonoboes, mountain gorillas, et al, “might” be left in wild, I grieve with shame. We are racing against time, and human destructiveness.
And, still, some conscientious humans rescued these seven chimpanzees, and brought them to safety. The photograph of Negra and Missy sharing a kiss is endearing. Soon, I hope, Missy will be able to embrace her daughter.