Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for October 2019

In memory of Bill aka “Twister”

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Nicki Walters sponsored this day of sanctuary in memory of her late husband, Bill (aka Twister 🙂 ). She shared this beautiful message about today:

“This was the day that I met the man who would change my life forever. Although he is not longer with us, he lives on in so many ways, one being the Twister Structure for the Chimpanzees to climb. He received so much joy from watching these amazing creatures and getting to know them through the incredibly personal, beautiful and funny stories those who care from them share almost daily. I find it a bit kismet that there is now a Willy B who seems to be a big beautiful guy who likes to keep the peace of which was also my Bill. Through the roughest of times, these lovely beings provide me joy and strength and that is one great way that Bill’s spirit continues on. So I want to recognize all the caregivers that do so with such dedication and care to each personality and thank them for sharing in a way that makes us all feel a part of the magic they are creating for the apes and for us. Thank you for brightening my and Bill’s day on so many occasions, and giving me a way to honor Bill in such a special way.”

Mave and Willy B:

Nicki, thank you so much for continuing Bill’s legacy and giving us the opportunity to share in your memory of him. It’s been amazing to see the adventure, courage, curiosity and joy the chimpanzees have received from the Twister structure. We’re sending you all the good thoughts today as we celebrate Bill and his wonderful heart.

Learn more about Bill and the history behind this incredible gift for the chimps here.

Annie:

Jody:

Jamie:

Rest and Recovery

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Yesterday we made an attempt to introduce Foxie and Burrito to the existing larger group. As Diana said yesterday, it did not go quite the way we wanted it to go. Today has been a quiet day of rest, recovery and reevaluation as we come up with the plan for our next move.

Yesterday was intense and stressful for all, with many of the chimps coming away with injuries. Thankfully, we will not need to anesthetize anyone for serious medical intervention. We are monitoring everyone closely and providing any necessary oral medications. Burrito came away with the most wounds and is going to need a few days alone in the front rooms to heal. He got a visit from Willy B this afternoon (separated by caging) and was very happy to spend a little quiet time with the big guy.

As it stands now, Negra, Willy B, Mave and Honey B are together in the playroom (with greenhouse access) and the rest of the girls have moved over to the Phase 1 building.

Jamie, Foxie, Jody, Annie and Missy took a breather on Young’s Hill this morning:
Annie:

Foxie:

Jamie on patrol:

Jody:

After their hill adventure, Jamie used her new playhouse as a napping station:

The Best Laid Plans

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Today we made an attempt to introduce Burrito and Foxie to the calm group of eight that have been doing really well for the last few days, and things did not go as we had hoped.

There were some really good moments and everyone seemed to want to get to know each other, but the anxiety seemed to be just too much and a few serious fights broke out. No one needed medical intervention beyond medication, but because things just did not calm down, we decided we needed to separate them.

They aren’t currently separated in social configurations that we plan to keep, but everyone is safe and quiet for the night and no doubt extremely exhausted.

Now we humans regroup and decide what to do from here and try to figure out what’s best for them. There were definite glimpses of how good they could potentially work together, but the anxiousness just got the best of them. Willy B and Burrito, when finally given a chance to be next to each other (through mesh) without a gaggle of anxious onlookers, were SO excited to meet.

We have some thinking to do. We could spend a lot of time second guessing our decisions, and I’m sure we will do some of that. But, ultimately, we have to move forward in some way, even if it’s not the way we were hoping.

Like I said in my post the other day, chimpanzees are tough, and they will all be fine. We have a truly incredible caregiving team here and we are able to talk though things together. Hopefully we can remain as tough as the chimpanzees!

On the lighter side of things, during these very dramatic conflicts, can you guess what Negra was doing? If you guessed eating, you would be correct. At one point she was paging through a magazine, hoping to find some peanut butter inside (peanut butter magazines are one of her favorite food enrichment items). You’ve got to admire her singular focus and her ability to stay out of the fray.

The photo below is not from today but shows how content she is with the thought that she might find some peanut butter in between those pages:

In other news, in case you didn’t see it in social media or through our e-newsletter, Giving Day for Apes was a tremendous success for our sanctuary and for sanctuaries overall! Thank you all for your support. It takes on even more meaning when we are going through challenging times.

A Day to Give

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I thought since today was Giving Day for Apes I would reflect on this amazing opportunity that I get to call my job. I am a caregiver for primates and a handful of farm animals. Chimpanzee have changed my life. The Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute was my first introduction to chimpanzees. To be honest, I always wanted to work with marine mammals, but after I met Tatu, Loulis, and Dar I fell in love with chimps intelligence, their playfulness, their physical strength, but most importantly their resiliency. When I learned about the pain humans have inflicted on primates I wanted to make a difference and from then on I never looked back. I followed Tatu and Loulis to Canada and than I came back to Washington where I was lucky enough to get a job at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. It was hard to leave Tatu and Lou who I had known for 7 years, but the Pacific Northwest was my home. And to be lucky enough to get a job at CSNW, you just can’t say no to that!

There is a lot to the word caregiver. Being a caregiver is one of the most valuable parts of my life. I have learned how to put all of their needs before my own, feel so much compassion it hurts, and have a side of me be so silly I don’t care who sees. But there is also the side of being responsible for the well being of the individuals you are caring for and the humans involved. It can be emotionally straining, especially at a time like now. Care giving during this introduction period has been a challenge, the most amazing rewarding challenge! On one hand the friendships being formed are the whole reason we are doing this and it is so awesome you could cry! We want the best for the chimps and we also want to provide more homes to more chimps. But on the other hand it is one of the more stressful events in my career. On the human side watching your friends meet a bunch of strangers! Talk about social anxiety! But, as written in many of our blogs, you have to trust them. Each chimp has stepped up and gone above and beyond what we thought would happen. The hard work isn’t over, it might not have even started yet, but it is truly an amazing time to be at CSNW.

The chimps, as I’ve mentioned, are so resilient. Every chimp has a different background, some were raised by humans and given to biomedical research once they were too old to control, others where caught in the wild and taken away from their mothers, many were breed in captivity never knowing what the outside world felt like and would never know what it would feel like to be a “real” chimp, a wild chimp. Theses are just a few scenarios and there are so many more. But the fact that these chimps can form relationships with humans after what people have put them through will always blow my mind. And more than that, when they get the chance in sanctuary to make relationships with other chimps, get that feeling of freedom or choice, or even just feel relaxed. That is were my job is the most rewarding. Here in a sanctuary they get the opportunity to become themselves, or at least as much as possible. They will never get to go into the wild again, that was taken from them, but that they can make friends with other chimps or people and go onto the 2 acres must feel freeing in some way.

A few little moments that make my heart melt that I hope makes yours too: Annie making sweet bird noises, Burrito food squeaking so loud, Willy B lip smacking for food, Mave being a friend to all and her jumping up and clapping her feet when she wants to play (eekk!). Negra going out on the Hill alone, Jamie making a fort laying on a nest intertwined with boots and books, Honey B laying in a bunch of brown paper wrestling around in it, the moment you hand Foxie her doll back and she is completely content. Missy, Honey B, & Annie playing and Jody caring so intensely about each of her friends. But the winner today is Missy and Willy B playing chase. I haven’t seen Willy B with this big of a play face yet! We hope you enjoy this short video!

 

The business of being a chimp. And the business of being a human.

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Someone once said to me upon hearing of some particularly stressful aspect of our work (I don’t even recall what, I think we were preparing for a medical intervention for one of the chimpanzees), that they were “surprised.” They thought we all “just stood around holding hands and singing Kumbaya.” Ah. A once soul felt call for divine intervention from oppression and suffering taken from its suspected origins of the enslaved ancestors of the Gullah Geechee people in Georgia, to its then soft-voiced folk appropriation in the name of peace and solidarity, now used more often as an eye-rolling, head-shaking, somewhat barbed reference to considered…naivety? Cockeyed optimism? For many reasons, I wasn’t sure whether to be curious or annoyed. I think I fell somewhere in the middle, which is where I suspect the comment was meant to land.

My thoughts have snagged on that barbed memory these weeks as we navigate the pure, undiluted stress, exhaustion, joy, fear, and well, reality, of introductions with the chimpanzees. I think we’ve all hinted to these expected and unexpected challenges in varying degrees in our blogs lately. Diana spoke beautifully and openly to this just the other day in her blog post. And I think one of the biggest personal challenges for most of us, certainly for me personally, is the aspect of personal responsibility. Knowing intellectually that we are making the best decisions we can for the chimpanzees doesn’t negate the weight on your heart for being one more human controlling their lives, putting them in situations that aren’t easy for them, that cause unavoidable stress, fear and discomfort, and probable injury.

Chimpanzees are loving, gentle, sensitive, joyful, nurturing, creative, highly emotional and intelligent beings. And they can also be violent and unpredictable faster.than.you.can.blink.an.eye. Literally. Even toward their friends. It’s the business of being a chimp. (Also a human, I might add). And as a side note, reason No. 189 chimps aren’t pets and never ever should be. But in the end, I envy chimpanzees and their nature of unapologetically expressing exactly what they feel at any given time, then promptly sorting it out and moving along. It’s also the business of being a chimp. (But not so much a human, I might add).

So while our chests clench and we hold our breath as we witness the chimps scream, fight and come up against their own comfort levels, fears and social skills, we also hold our hearts as we witness increasingly amazing moments. Like arriving in the morning to see Honey B and Negra playing a slow game of chase upstairs. Or watching Jamie and Mave become increasingly inseparable as we marvel at Jamie’s ability to finally forge a true bond with someone of her own species. Or seeing Honey B reach out to Missy for reassurance after a fight, watch Missy place her hands gently on Honey B’s arms as Honey B held her mouth to Missy’s brow and then, see Missy slowly take Honey’s arm and wrap it around her back in an embrace. My hand flew to my heart, I teared up over that one. Even though it meant something different to me than them, me knowing their mother-daughter connection, it was no less powerful or moving. Especially seeing the distance they’ve come going from avoiding one another completely to more often than not being seen playing chase or just sitting quietly with one another. Or to see dear Annie who spent the better part of the first week of introductions screaming at the top of her lungs, intensely breathy-panting and grunting at Willy B while grabbing his feet in some socially awkward over-the-top play and reassurance gestures while huge, massive Willy B sat quietly wiggling his feet, letting her be herself.

We have a long way to go and some more tough days ahead. But I am so proud and in awe of Mave, Willy B, Honey B, Jamie, Jody, Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Annie and Negra. And I’m proud and in awe of the far-reaching team of humans standing in the wings, doing everything we can think of for the chimps and holding the space, trusting they’ll figure it out. Trusting we will all figure it out.

The chimps spent the better part of this day quiet, lounging in the sun, grooming, resting and eating. Not a lot of which was done within camera range. But here’s Willy B enjoying the view from the top of the toasty greenhouse:

And Foxie peeking over her doll, nap interrupted:

A Break in the Action

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Nothing exciting or noteworthy happened today.

That’s an exaggeration. We do, after all, have to manage a newly integrated group of chimpanzees and even the most stable groups of chimps have their drama.

Compared to the last few days, however, today was quite calm. There were some short bouts of screaming and slapping and lots of pant-grunts, but the arguments weren’t as loud and didn’t last as long. Honey B tried to extend one of the arguments by spitting water in Jamie’s face, but Mave acted as the referee long enough for Willy B to scatter everyone with a charge and a display. This situation, along with all the other conflicts, deescalated quickly. I don’t know if this stabilization marks a shift towards acceptance or if it is merely an aberration. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the chimps return to a more boisterous and confrontational state tomorrow.

Either way, today felt like a break and I’m taking what I can get.

Here are some photographs from today, along with a few from the past week. I hope that you all enjoy them.

Jamie grooms Mave this morning.
Honey B takes to the railing while playing with Negra this morning.
Jamie and Willy keep an eye on the Greenhouse today.
Jody pant-grunts at Willy B as he walks by.
Mave gently touches and grooms Jody.
Mave reassures Willy B during last week’s integration event.
Missy watches breakfast from her perch in the Greenhouse this morning.
Nutmeg
Meredith
Betsy
Honey

Trust Them

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I’m not going to lie, these last few weeks have been really challenging for all of the primates here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, and the challenges are not over.

Before you read this lengthy post, or after you read it, consider supporting the staff fundraising page now or on Tuesday, October 15th for Giving Day for Apes. We would really appreciate your support and friendship right now!

Intellectually, we humans knew that integrating the new three with the original group of seven chimpanzees would be stressful, but I’m not sure any of us knew just exactly how stressful it would be. Caring for captive chimpanzees is a weighty responsibility on an average day. For me, integrations have highlighted the added responsibilities that the sanctuary has taken on now and in the future.

We are a small sanctuary compared to many others, which means each staff member is part of the integration process and veterinarian Dr. Erin is playing the crucial and also stressful standby role in case someone gets injured.

Things are going remarkably well, but there have been fights with a couple of minor injuries. Chimpanzees do not generally hold their emotions back, as you have seen in the two integration videos we’ve shared. They scream when they are anxious, scared, angry, offended, or even just really happily excited. Since screaming is a high-arousal state, there’s more of a chance for fights to happen. And that’s just on a normal day with a group of chimpanzees who have known each other for a long time. Throw in complete strangers and the need for some of the chimps to stake their position within the group, and fighting is bound to occur. It’s just part of chimpanzee social behavior.

There are various levels of fighting. Often fights are loud and dramatic but without contact between participants. We know from the last eleven+ years, that sometimes the fights do result in fairly significant (at least significant from our human perspective) injuries. Aside from bites to the body, which are not infrequent but generally not concerning, both Negra and Jody have had toes bitten off, Jody had an eyelid torn, Missy had a large split to her lip, and several of the chimps are missing parts of their ears to bites that happened at the sanctuary or before they came here. It was only a few weeks ago when Burrito bit part of Foxie’s ear off, as described in this worth-your-read blog post by Anna. That incident seemed to be a sudden reaction to who-knows-what and happened in an instant. Since then, Burrito and Foxie have been friendly and playful with each other and we still consider them very close, which is why they will join the group together when we feel it’s time.

These injuries are rare enough that I can name them very quickly, but they certainly stand out in the minds of the humans, particularly when they have required us to separate the injured in order to provide medical help. You might be surprised what it takes for us to intervene. Chimpanzees are tough! They can casually walk around with an injury that would make any human I know go to the ER in a panic. When Jody lost her toe during a fight years ago, we gave her some analgesics and some antibiotics and she carried on as though nothing had happened.

So far we haven’t seen these more serious injuries during the introduction process, but it’s what we brace ourselves for when we hear the chimpanzees starting to scream. There’s not a whole lot that we can do to stop a fight from escalating but you can be sure we are standing by and watching. As much as possible, we try to stay out of the fight as we watch. Often the chimpanzees will approach us from the other side of the caging and ask for reassurance. Because we can’t actually back them up, it would be a mistake to reach out with a reassurance gesture in those moments. It’s not our place to take sides.

The best piece of advice that Amy Fultz from Chimp Haven has given us is to trust in the chimpanzees. They are meant to live in groups and they can usually work things out. The fact that all of the chimpanzees so far dived into the new group situation without hesitation, eagerly embracing each other upon meeting, bodes well for their future relationships. There are no guarantees, but there are so many good signs so far.

The potential benefits of bringing them together and allowing them to work things out are huge. Each of them will have an expanded social network. They all will have more options for who to groom, play with, or just sit next to at lunch. For chimpanzees who will spend the rest of their lives in captivity, this is a big deal.

While I wish I could take away every bit of everyone’s anxiety, that anxiety is part of being a social primate too. I remember being terrified on the first day of school as a kid. I wanted to meet new people but I was worried I wouldn’t fit in on day one or ever. I was sure the whole experience was going to be a disaster. Within a few days, though, things were fine and I had already made friends or reconnected with kids I hadn’t seen all summer. Eventually, I formed strong friendships with certain people, and those friendships were invaluable to my overall wellbeing, enriching my life like nothing else possibly could.

That is what we hope we can provide for all ten of these chimpanzees who we care for so deeply.

We know there will be fights in the future, but we also know there will be laughter, play, making nests next to each other, and the sharing of everyday happenings and not-so-everyday adventures. We have already seen some very touching and unexpected moments, like the play between Missy and Willy B and Willy B and Negra in the video above. Seeing potential friendships starting to build is so exciting!

I would love to skip ahead to the days of zero anxiety, but, in the meantime, I will keep reminding myself to trust them.

Did I mention that we humans would really appreciate your support and friendship right now? There’s actually a lot of sanctuary people you can support now or on Tuesday for Giving Day for Apes – the staff, the board of directors, and the volunteers and interns. Or just give on the main page! All donations from all pages will go to the care of the chimpanzees and the running of the sanctuary. 

Thank you!