The Cle Elum Seven formed by Negra, Jamie, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, Annie and Missy have been neighbors to the newly formed group of nine chimpanzees for almost four months now. We have received questions about whether they react or not to the other group. The short answer is yes, the long answer is that it depends. I have been working as a caregiver at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest for about 15 months now and during this time I’ve noticed that some of the chimpanzees under our care react more than others when it comes to ruckus on the opposite group. Some members of the Cle Elum Seven get very invested when they hear something going on, while others continue their day like if it were business as usual.
A great example of this is what happened today at lunch time. We set up a forage in Young’s Hill for the seven that included corn, mini peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, onions, and chow. With the idea of grabbing stills of them foraging for their favorite items, I brought the camera with me. Every single one of them was super excited to get out there, with Negra leading the way. About 3 minutes into the forage, the nine had a disagreement and the screaming on that side commenced. Jamie, Foxie, Annie, and Burrito dropped what they were doing to investigate. They went to the corner of the hill with the best view of the greenhouses and stood bipedally trying to figure out what was happening. As the screaming on the other side of the sanctuary continued, they eventually went inside to the greenhouse and playroom to peek from the windows and display at the other group. I realized that six of the seven chimps were inside and ignoring their meal. So where was Negra?
I walked outside and found her. Alone. On top of a platform, enjoying an ear of corn. She seemed completely unfazed by what she could hear happening in the distance. Cases like this make me wonder whether she thinks her group mates are fit enough to handle the issue without needing her assistance, or whether she simply put food first and decided to let the situation unfold. Whatever it was, she looked peaceful, at ease with her corn and chow, simply unbothered.
