Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for March 2021

Rejoice

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Spring is still in its infancy in Cle Elum. The nights are cold, and we will likely see more snow, but it will be the kind of snow that is there one minute and gone the next. There’s no holding back the change in the seasons now.

This change from winter to spring is often the most dramatic. It surprises me every year. I don’t forget that the days gradually stretch in synchrony with the plants reaching for the sun, but I do forget what it really feels like. I can’t seem to conjure up the experience unless it’s authentically occurring.

I remember that the group of seven chimpanzees spend more time outside, and that we often scatter their meals out across Young’s Hill, the two acre habitat. We have thousands of photos of this. But still, watching and feeling the first forages of the season is familiar, but also new all over again.

This winter was, overall, remarkably mild. You may recall that we had a very notable Christmas celebration forage on the hill on December 19th. It was notable because Negra climbed up to the lookout for the first time in pursuit of a pineapple top. Go ahead, go re-live that glorious day.

Today we set out a lunch forage for the group of seven. Negra was the first one out of the raceway and onto the hill. She didn’t go even halfway up the hill, but she did seem to be remembering, like me, what spring feels like.

I couldn’t help but take a ridiculous number of photos of her as she sat, as she stretched to reach pieces of food, and as she walked, in all her glory, back inside. I encourage you to pause on each of the photos and remember. Remember that feeling of warmth and life and hope.

Maybe there are more pineapple climbing adventures in Negra’s future. But, even if there are not, today’s emergence was fulfilling.

 

On the other side of the building, Willy B spent some time sitting on the boardwalk.

We did a forage of a different sort by placing lettuce on top of the chute. I didn’t get any great photos of this forage, but Honey B, Willy B, and Mave all partook of the bounty, with Mave in particular getting into the foraging spirit.

In just a few months, the three will have new spaces to explore while we will work on creating their version of Young’s Hill that will be called The Bray. And six more chimpanzees will join that side of the building.

There’s a lot of hope in the air.

Double the Drama

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Annie, Missy, and Jody passed the early part of the afternoon in the greenhouse, grooming quietly.

Annie gently passed her fingers through Jody’s hair as Jody basked in the attention.

Suddenly, there was a scream. Nothing for the girls to worry about, as it came from the other group. But they were compelled to see what was going on. Off to the hill they ran.

Having two chimp families on site means having twice the drama.

But other people’s drama is far different than our own. As social primates, both humans and chimps enjoy other people’s business a little too much. The girls gathered by the fence to catch a glimpse of the action.

“Riveting…” – Foxie
“★★★” – Jamie

To the dismay of our spectators, most of the neighbor’s drama is mild and short-lived, such as when Willy B gets a little too rambunctious or when Mave overreacts to his occasionally boorish antics. And this time, the drama was over quickly. Nevertheless, Jamie decided a patrol was in order.

Her crew followed her up the fence line and around the hill.

While Jamie forged ahead, Missy and Annie maintained an easier pace to accommodate Foxie, who is slowed by arthritis.

Upon their return, all was quiet.

The gang resumed their normal activities – lounging, grooming, napping.

And waited for the next exciting twist in the neighbor’s ongoing saga.

 

Teenies for Tiny

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Foxie, also known as Tiny, loves her teeny tiny troll dolls. Whenever she gets one her eyes light up! I am not sure what it is about Foxie holding her teeny tiny friends but it warms my big heart, probably because they are so small and it makes her so happy. It really is the little things in life ;).

Please enjoy these photos of Foxie with her teeny tiny friends.

I wanted to share a bonus photo of Jamie. It was just too good not to share. Yesterday, I found Jamie in a nest having some fun with three different pieces of enrichment.

This is a photo of Jamie’s nest after she left. Now, just imagine with me! Jamie is still in this nest playing with that toy, right foot in the rainbow sweatband, and boot in her pelvic pocket. It was pretty great!

Morning Adventures and Afternoon Naps

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The staff will continue our positive reinforcement training this afternoon. But before we dive into our training, here are some photos of some chimpanzee adventures and naps.

Jody eating her breakfast clementine orange while looking out onto Young’s Hill.
Jody, Foxie (above) and Missy (below) take in this morning’s scenery from a platform after going out onto Young’s Hill.
Burrito later soon joined Foxie on the platform after Jody and Missy left.
Annie took some time for herself high above the bamboo on Young’s Hill. She later joined Missy and Jamie on a patrol around the parameter.
Foxie embraces one of her new Strawberry Shortcake dolls on the top platform in the Greenhouse.
Jamie embracing a cowboy boot while snoozing off. You may wonder why she doesn’t elect to lay down while taking her afternoon slumber. She is the boss you know and has to be ready to go at the drop of a hat. This photo was from yesterday, but Jamie is currently in this same position and I couldn’t get a better photo from today.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite piece of art! The three designs with the most votes will win the People’s Choice awards! So be sure to vote before March 14th!

The details

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In part by my nature, it was a long time before I truly learned to find the beauty, to hold reverence, for the tiniest of details in the life around me. If it wasn’t some kind of grand adventure or marvelous miracle, it didn’t as easily capture my attention. Endless views from mountain tops, saturated fields of flowers as far as the eye can see, and the rarest of sightings sang a certain siren song. They still do. But after a particularly stressful time in my life many years ago, I learned to practice looking for any shape or size of beauty around me to distract my anxiety ridden mind. At this point in my life, I’d say it’s not only second nature for my eyes to always scan my surroundings for what is always there if we just take the time to see it, but it’s become paramount to my sense of connection and well-being. And the surest way to find gratitude for what is. For me, there’s as much, if not more, magic in the seemingly small details of the life, and lives, which surround us.

The sunrise stretching through the Ponderosas first thing this morning turned a frost-covered Young’s Hill into a fairy land:

It’s hard to believe the difference a week can make here in the mountains. Last week I posted this photo of Jody, Burrito, Foxie and I marching toward spring:

Today, with Jamie:

Jamie, Burrito, Missy and Jody out for a crisp morning patrol:

Missy spotted her dear friend, Annie, below and zoomed right to her:

As I stood outside taking in great gulping gasps of the crispest of air, my face turned skyward watching a huge juvenile bald eagle soar overhead, one of our returning Say’s Phoebes swooped low over my head and perched near me singing out as if to announce, “I’ve made it! I’m back!” And we chatted about their winter and their much welcomed return. Their sudden presence a sure sign that no matter what is happening in our human lives, in this big ol’ world, the rivers are still running, the wind still blowing, the birdsong still returning. Everyone is gathering once again.

Even the tiny details of caring for the chimpanzees or cleaning their home bring the most fulfillment and sense of presence. Little things, like knowing which lazy Susan Burrito and Foxie like to sit on during meals, or which corners the chimps to build nests in and making sure not to leave puddles of water there after cleaning. Knowing that Jamie likes her carrots peeled. Knowing that Willy B loves his leopard blanket above all others and Honey B adores the huge wolf blankets to drag into the chute where she can be “outside”, but still wrapped securely in the warmest blanket nests. Knowing that Mave might not appear that she wants your company, but will bounce like a maniac the second you try to leave because she really wants you to just sit near her and enjoy a spell of companionable silence. Knowing that before bed, Foxie often wants to toss you her doll du jour to hold one last time before she asks for her back, lies down and nest grunts “good night.” There are endless magical, heart-filling details, a single one with the power to make an entire day the most magical marvelous miracle.

Cleaning the playroom yesterday, I found one of my favorite Jamie nests ever. It was creatively tied to the caging of the window the sunrise was streaming through and made of many of what seem to be her favorite colors: red, orange and pink. Boots tucked here and there, including the tiniest of plastic boot ornaments from their Christmas tree, and her beloved XTRATUF boot book:

And this! Jamie tore this tiny photo from the corner of a page in one of her books and carried it tucked into her pelvic pocket for days and each morning I’d find it tucked into her nest. No one but Jamie can say for sure what she finds particularly intriguing about this photo over the zillions of others she has, but it doesn’t matter. Something in the details mean something to her:

Here’s sweet Honey B enjoying the details of her nightbag this evening:

And speaking of beauty in the details, don’t forget about the art contest benefiting the sanctuary being held by our local visual arts center, Gallery One!  Voting began today (and runs through March 14th)! One winning design will be chosen by a committee of Central Washington University students in the Primate Behavior and Ecology Program, sanctuary staff and board members, and up to three designs will be People’s Choice awards (that’s you!!). There are so many wonderful and creative entries so be sure to check them out and vote for your favorites here! Winning designs will be announced on March 15th and will be printed on merchandise to benefit the sanctuary!

Good night, all. Rest well. Wherever you find yourself in life, may you notice, even for a moment, the beauty that surrounds you. The seemingly smallest of moments that string together the most mystical tales and magical lives. One day, one tiny detail at a time, pulling us forward like every wild thing.

Doll Wars: The Chimpire Strikes Back!

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A long time ago in a sanctuary far away…

The story begins with the great hero: Fox Hillwalker.

As a fearless defender of the Sanctuary Republic, Fox had learned the ways of the Enrichment Force, mastering this ancient art in order to maintain good chimpanzee welfare across the galaxy. Her weapon of choice was the Doll Saber, an elegant instrument of comfort and cheer that could be tossed, carried, and even used to scout distant worlds inhabited by strange creatures. Across the stars, Fox and her Doll Sabers were known for their extraordinary enrichment potential.

“I am no monkey!”

All was in balance until, one day, the ferocious leader Darth Jamie secured an especially powerful Doll Saber for herself.

Darth Jamie had already bent the peoples of the known universe to her will, offering them order and security in exchange for their obedience. (Those who did not submit met a messy and smelly fate.) By wielding the other side of the Enrichment Force, she trained an army of loyal boot-wearing caregivers to patrol the furthest reaches of the galaxy at her side, thus creating the First Galactic Chimpire.

“I find your lack of cool footwear… disturbing.”

Fox knew that the Doll Saber could not remain in the hands of such a powerful leader, but Darth Jamie was too powerful to take on alone, and her Chimperial associates would not turn on her lightly. Knowing that she would need friends if she hoped to win a rebellion, Fox ventured out in search of allies…

“I’m one with the Enrichment Force. The Enrichment Force is with me.”

First, she visited the palace of Negra the Hutt, a respected local warlord. Because she preferred dimly-lit comfort, Negra’s Palace was located near the galaxy’s heated core. When the bright sun rose above her planet that day, Negra grumbled something in her native tongue and closed the blanket shields, indicating that she wanted no part in the drama unfolding elsewhere. Fox knew she would have no success persuading Negra to leave her stronghold, and left alone.

“Ko rahto kama wahl bak? Bring me peanuts or leave my Playroom now!”

Further out in the galaxy, Fox encountered the charming renegade smuggler Han JoJo, but the latter had better things to do than get involved in politics. JoJo was more interested in pulling off unlikely stunts to acquire more vegetables. This was another dead end for Fox.

“Never tell me the odds.”

In the Greenhouse System, Fox ran into Annie-Wan Kenobi, a wise old master of the Enrichment Force. Annie-Wan advised Fox that Darth Jamie had become too powerful, and counseled that she let the Doll Saber go. She would not join Fox Hillwalker’s rebellion.

“Oh, I’m not brave enough for politics…”

Fox then reached out to an old friend, the bounty hunter Bubba Fett, who was cruising the Greenhouse System in his new spaceship. Despite biting off the tip of Fox’s ear long ago, the two were still friends. However, Fox was dismayed to find out that Bubba had recently aligned himself with Darth Jamie and was reluctant to join the rebellion. He briefly considered his friend’s intriguing proposal, but was quickly distracted by a passing caregiver and decided to play tickle instead. This is the way.

“I’m just a simple chimp trying to make my way in the universe.”

Fox’s last hope was Lando CalMissyan, a Chimperial magistrate who she hoped to turn against Darth Jamie. CalMissyan had grown rich in tomatoes by willfully submitting to Darth Jamie and enforcing her rule.

“Yeah, I’m middle-ranking these days. It’s the price you pay for being successful.”

When Fox went to CalMissyan begging for aid, the latter immediately went to the newly-crowned Chimperor and told her everything, reaffirming her boss’s trust. Darth Jamie was pleased.

“I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

The tables were turned. Fox now knew that she would have to face Darth Jamie alone if she wanted to wrest the Doll Saber from her grasp.

“I am a chimpanzee, like my ancestors before me!”

The two met in the Playroom Temple, a sacred place in which the Enrichment Force flows strongly, and began “aggressive negotiations.” Fox seized control of the Doll Saber, forcing Darth Jamie’s hand. There, they dueled for control of the sanctuary galaxy.

“Let her go, Fox!
“Let… her… go!”
“You turned her against me!”
“You have done that yourself!”
“You will not take her from me!”
” Your anger and your lust for power have already done that… now, you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.”
“I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Chimpire!”
“Your new Chimpire?”
“Don’t make me tickle you!”
“…my allegiance is to the chimpanzees, to sanctuary!”
“If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy!”

The duel seemed like it would never end, until Darth Jamie took the high ground.

“I will do what I must!”
“You will try!”
“It’s over Fox, I have the high ground!”
“You underestimate my power!”
“Don’t try it!”

Suddenly, as the two were embroiled in the throes of combat, their combined power separated the head of the Doll Saber from its body. Just like that, the weapon no longer had any connection to the Enrichment Force, and both Fox Hillwalker and Darth Jamie lost the will to possess it as their own.

Soon after, the Sanctuary Republic and Galactic Chimpire began an era of peace and restoration. Former rivals met in the Greenhouse System to forgive each other and engage in affiliative rituals to rebuild their friendships. Once again, the chimps had brought balance to the Enrichment Force.

Little did Darth Jamie know, Fox Hillwalker was recruiting an army of Doll Clones to join her cause and overthrow the Chimpire!

The saga continues…

[Also, if you still haven’t figured it out, this post is a Star Wars parody, then I apologize. It’s mostly fiction. The chimps weren’t really fighting over dolls (or waging war on a galactic scale, for that matter), but Jamie and Foxie really did have an epic wrestling session this morning that resulted in a Strawberry Shortcake doll being decapitated! That’s actually pretty normal around here.]