Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for January 2020

Travel Delays on Snowy Days

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To those far and away from Washington, we have been having some pretty rough weather. Those of you who are local to the Pacific Northwest probably know what I’m talking about. Some places had it far worse than others, even closing some highways due to snow accumulation. Some of that highway traffic was diverted onto the road that passes by the sanctuary today. Both Anthony and I were caught in a convoy of big trucks and were a little late getting in. Luckily enough, our co-directors were onsite to cover some of the morning tasks to ensure breakfast was made on time and things stayed on schedule.

During snowy days like today, we offer Willy B, Mave, and Honey B the option to go outside in the Chute. More often than not, all three decide to stay inside. Usually we find Willy B laying down on a bed of blankets on one of the platforms inside.

And we find Honey B and Mave in some prolonged grooming sessions near a window to gaze out onto the snow-covered landscape.

It was during a grooming session I noticed they both would continuously look out the window and just stare for a little while before resuming their grooming session. I took a peek outside to see what they would look at. It seemed the sun would make a brief appearances at times. On one of these brief moments, Honey B decided to briefly brave the elements and sit by the window that looks into the playroom of their neighbors. (As a side note: the headband fashion apparently is not just a seasonal style for Honey B like it is with Annie.)

Likewise on the other side of the Chimp House, we offer the Girl Gang the option to go out onto Young’s Hill every day, but so far they also have opted to stay inside most days. Annie though did go to the door that leads to Young’s Hill and waited to see if anyone else wanted to brave the snow covered hill with her. After a while, and after no takers, she later went inside to be with the others in the warm playroom.

Burrito is still in recovery and doesn’t have access to the outside quite yet. He does make numerous requests throughout the day for snowy treats though. On one of the occasions I did offer him a snowball. He refused to take it and tried to divert my attention to something else. It took me a little time to realize a new wintery bounty has started to form around the sanctuary: icicles!

He seemed pleased with the snowy icicle bucket we prepared for him after. His icicle treats didn’t last long and he was soon back to requesting more. Though the snow caused some travel delays, the caregiver in me secretly hopes it continues (not too much though!) so more icicles form for him and all the chimpanzees to enjoy.

Write Your Own Blog Post!

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That may have come out wrong.

“Write Your Own Blog Post” is actually today’s theme. I wasn’t snapping. I promise.

Think of today’s entry like you would a self-serve car wash or one of those places where you can put whatever topping you want on your fro-yo. I literally want you to view this collection of images that I captured at the sanctuary today and use your imagination to fill in the blanks. The blog is in your hands.

The chimps, cattle and humans had a great day, but we caregivers didn’t have much time to write about it. I wasn’t lacking inspiration, especially since I had some thought-provoking conversations with caregiver Chad and volunteer/professor/board member Jessica as we swept, scrubbed, and served well into the afternoon. None of those thoughts found their way onto the page, though. Sometimes, a few snapshots say more than several paragraphs would, and I hope that is the case this evening.

I’m about to have a late-night bagel, go make a gigantic blanket nest and sleep until tomorrow morning.

Cheers from snowy Cle Elum!

The Yakima River meanders past the sanctuary.
Honey awaits alfalfa and minerals.
Mave investigates the camera lens after breakfast.
With so much snow and ice, just getting to the upper barn was a challenge.
Honey led the herd around the pasture, waiting for me to unload their food.
Burrito was bright and chipper this morning, and had an afternoon grooming session with Jamie.

Winter Storm

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Winter in the Pacific Northwest can be difficult to handle.

The landscape becomes dark, cold, and icy for several months. It’s beautiful in many ways, but it’s also challenging. In order to subsist in these surroundings, our team must make the necessary preparations and maintain a positive attitude about whatever the skies throw down on us. To visualize this, imagine how caregiver Chad and volunteer Fritz looked as they returned to the Chimp House this afternoon, soaking wet and freezing after driving through the blinding snow to feed the cattle and muck the barn. Of course, they laughed about it. Those smiles, paired with the appropriate clothing and equipment, ensure that we will make it to the spring in one piece.

As sanctuary personnel, our motive is to make sure the chimpanzees experience the wonders of the winter season without being subjected to its harsh conditions. Unfortunately, some inconveniences are unavoidable (e.g., Young’s Hill is buried under a foot of snow at the moment), but the chimpanzees can still choose to go outside and harvest snow or hang out inside on the heated floors. For some, an ideal day is spent in the loft of the Playroom, nibbling on roasted vegetables while submerged in a sea of blankets. This year’s new arrivals, for example, don’t seem enthused by the snowy surroundings just yet. For others, nothing seems better than darting outside, shoveling fresh snow into their chimpy mouths, and succumbing to the imminent brain freeze. To each their own, I guess.

We’ll continue to update everyone on the humors of the chimps through this ongoing winter snowstorm. Many of you are probably anxious for news about Burrito, but he has been bright and energetic for the last few days. You would never guess that he just had a toe amputated except he is still covered in distraction tape (and missing a toe).

You can all rest assured that the chimps are cozy and occupied, and the humans are having some fun, too.

Stay warm and safe, everyone!

Snippets of the day

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I was trying to figure out some sort of brilliant narrative that weaves together the photos I took today, but my brilliance level seems to be pretty low right now. So, I’ll just share the photos as little glimpses of the day, which is how I experienced them too.

First, that photo above and the even more precious one below is Jamie and Burrito grooming through the mesh while Burrito is recovering from his latest surgery. They really do seem to like each other sometimes. Jamie may have also been wanting to groom those pieces of distraction tape off of Burrito, but they were all on the other side of his body.

Burrito is doing fantastic, by the way! He’s is hungry and energetic and left his bandage alone again today. We had more snow overnight, so he had an unlimited supply again today.

Next up, we have a photo I took of a nest in the mezzanine of Phase 1. I would put my money on it being a Honey B creation. I just love chimpanzee nests. That pink car was a Christmas gift from a very cool organization called Trees for Tigers that specifically provides enrichment for animals in sanctuaries. I haven’t yet seen anyone get into the car, but Honey B definitely likes to move it around from place to place.

Later, I managed to get the below photo of Willy B before he approached the phone/camera.

And just now, I snapped this photo of Negra grabbing some snow to take up to her night nest:

I write this now listening to the sound of Honey B work on shake bottle enrichment on one side of the building and Jody ripping blankets as she customizes her nest in the loft of the playroom on the other side of the building.

As someone commented to me yesterday, you just never know what a day at the sanctuary will be like because each day with ten chimpanzees who are full of personality is unique.

A welcome distraction

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I’m happy to report that our patient is doing very well. He’s taking his meds without too much cajoling, leaving his bandage on, and even playing with his caregivers. This last procedure doesn’t seem to have phased him much at all. It may even feel like a relief.

Typically, chimps in recovery require lots of distraction techniques to keep them from removing bandages and picking at their sutures. You can’t just stick a cone on a chimpanzee, so instead we stick random pieces of surgical tape all over their bodies and occasionally add “distraction sutures”, which are shallow absorbable sutures that the chimps can focus on without causing any harm to the actual incision. Overwhelm them with things to pick at and just maybe they won’t pick at the one that matters. At least not right away.

But none of this was necessary, because we woke up to a couple inches of snow this morning and it’s all Burrito can think about. Snow balls. Buckets of snow. Snow drizzled with juice. I don’t remember him being this crazy for snow in winters past, but it is a welcome distraction right now.

Update on Burrito

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To keep you all informed, it was decided to perform a procedure on Burrito earlier today. As mentioned before, Burrito was well enough to rejoin the Girl Gang a few days ago, however he was still battling a slow healing toe injury. After monitoring it for a couple of days, our veterinarian and local orthopedic specialists suspected it could be something serious. After conducting some x-rays on his toe, it was confirmed to be an infection of the bone (osteomyelitis), which unfortunately meant amputation to remove the affected bone  and stop any possible spread of the infection. Our vet and specialists were able to quickly conduct the procedure with no complications. He is currently recovering in one of the front rooms and is expected to make a fast recovery. In fact, he was sitting upright on his own almost instantly after the procedure. With this last nagging problem behind him he should be back to 100% very soon. We will continue to keep you updated as he recovers.

With the flurry of human activity happening regarding Burrito, it was business as usual for the rest of the chimpanzees.

The girls were given access to Young’s Hill. While Jamie, Missy, and Jody decided it was a good time to patrol, Annie decided it was a bit too chilly for her to go around the entire hill.

Similarly, Negra decided to not attempt to go outside, and covered herself with blankets instead.

On the other side of the sanctuary, there was a lot of silliness going on. First, we found Honey B inside a box we gave them as enrichment with Willy B drumming away on it. They both had the biggest play faces I have seen. It was one of those moments that come and go as quickly as you see them. I was able to capture a few shots later on with a Honey B playing peek-a-boo. Sorry for the horrible quality of the photos, but I tried to capture what I could with the only camera I had on me at the time: my phone.

Honey B would poke her out every so often to make sure we were watching.

She then decided she needed to decorate her newly constructed box fort with a stylish pink shovel.

For Daniela and Runyon

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Today was sponsored by Ellen Greene in honor of Daniela Garofalo with this lovely message:

“This donation is in honor of my dear friend, Daniela’s birthday. Because of her, I formed a close bond with her special canine companion and family member, Runyon.”

Ellen, thank you so much for celebrating your dear friends, Daniela and Runyon, by choosing to add something special to the lives of the chimpanzees. We love seeing the beautiful circle of compassion and care that exists between all species.

Happy Birthday, Daniela! May your and Runyon’s day be a beautiful one filled with what, and who, make your heart full.

Foxie and Missy:

Honey B and Mave:

Annie, Missy, Burrito:

Burrito (foreground), Missy (center), and Annie (rear)