Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for April 2023

In memory of Dr. Steve Ross

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This day of sanctuary was sponsored in memory and celebration of “Dr. Steve Ross, friend to all chimpanzees.”

A year ago the primate community lost a giant of a human with Steve’s sudden death. Among his many other roles, Steve was the director of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes. His legacy is unique and far-reaching, and not only for the chimpanzees he advocated so extensively for. As we think of Steve and all he helped make possible for so many, our special thoughts go out to his close friends and family who we know must be feeling his absence most acutely.

Heartfelt thanks to our anonymous friend who gave us all the opportunity to celebrate Steve today and the profound difference one life can make.

(Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune/Jose M. Osorio).

Steve Ross in the Lincoln Park Zoo's Regenstein Center for African Apes in Chicago on June 1, 2018. Ross, who died April 20, was director of the zoo's Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes.

The first of our gentlemen chimpanzees, Burrito:

Gordo:

Terry:

Cy:

Willy B:

Mischief Managed

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When I describe my job to people, I usually say “There is never a dull day.” Well today that was very true! Jamie decided to have a laid back day, no projects, just play and nesting. I felt so lucky to capture this play session of Jamie and Foxie, even if every once in a while Jamie would remind me to get lost! Burrito may not have been invited either, but don’t worry Foxie made sure he wasn’t left out! However, Honey B seemed like she had plans from the get-go this morning, as you will see in the video. We have what we call “privacy panels” between the playrooms and greenhouses. They were installed for when the groups were separated so they could have, you know, privacy. Even after the group became nine we left them up just in case, we didn’t want to jinx anything! Honey B decided this morning the greenhouse panels needed to go and so they did, at the hands of Honey B :). As a disclaimer- no chimps were hurt and we quickly closed off the greenhouse so that JB and his new handy man Adam could safely remove the rest of them.

Please enjoy this series of photos of Burrito in the sandbox:

What’s in the blog? WHAT’S IN THE BLOG!?!?

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The answer is a few things are in today’s blog!

First up is this series of photos I got of Mora yesterday. For those who are new to the blog, Mora is the name staff have loving given Mave and Dora when they are together. Usually where you find one, you’ll find the other. These photos I got from the perspective of the foot box while I was playing with Dora. I had a hard time deciding which photo would make it to the blog. However, after consulting with other staff members, the answer was all of them should just make it since they too had a hard time deciding.

Dora and Mave through the foot box:

Next up, I have been thinking recently about some of the amazing soundtracks/compilation albums. As I was listening to one on the way to work the other day, I asked myself, which songs would be a part of “Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest: The Soundtrack.” Enlisting some help, here are the songs staff think would make a pretty good Spotify playlist:

“Baby Love” by The Supremes

“Enter Sandman” by Richard Cheese (Metallica cover song)

“Feel the Noize” by Quiet Riot (Slade cover song)

“Heavenly Day” by Patty Griffin

“Ice, Ice, Baby” by Vanilla Ice

“Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen

“The Rocky Montage” from the movie “Rocky”

“Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliot

“Murder Train” song from the television show “How I Met Your Mother”

“The Girl from Ipanema” by Antônio Carlos Jobim

Everyone had their reason for their choice. Like how “Enter Sandman” was listened to during the transport of Willy B, Honey B, and Mave from Wildlife Waystation. Or how a staff member sings “Baby Love” with some lyric substitutions to include Honey B. If you had a song that you think would be on a soundtrack about the sanctuary, which one would you choose?

Lastly, early giving has opened up for our GiveBig campaign. This year we hope to raise $50,000 for our BIG personalities, BIG appetites, and BIG plans for the future! Every little bit helps us reach our goal to provide the best life for our residents. The actual date for GiveBig is May 2-3. Be sure to check out our fundraiser page here!

Bonus photos

Who is going all in for their daily night bag?

It’s Honey B!

And near by was her half-sister, Rayne!

Jody enjoying a wadge of what remains of her lunch cucumber!

Relationship Building

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Building relationships as the newest caregiver at CSNW is one of the most rewarding aspects of coming to work at a new (to me) sanctuary. Today I will talk about just a couple of my relationships in progress.

Starting with Burrito!

I think all the sanctuaries I’ve worked or interned at had one individual who welcomes new people with glee and invitations to play endless games of chase. I this it’s safe to say that Burrito is that person here at CSNW, his playful personality, love for walks and good natured mischief is definitely one of the the first things that made me immediately feel welcomed at CSNW and like I had come to the right place. It has been endless walks on Young’s Hill, where his favorite game is that of Misdirection – making me believe we are going downhill only to turn around and sprint back up, and of course I have no choice but to follow… not that I would have it any other way. Watching him run up hill while laughing is the best reward I can think of.

Next up, who else could it be but Jamie:

 

Jamie is definitely one of the more complicated personalities to get to know, she can be very strict in how she wants things done, am I learning. Individuals like Jamie tend to be some of my favorites to build relationships with no matter how long it takes. Lately I’ve been setting aside time most afternoons to find Jamie and see if she would like to hang out for a bit. She usually takes me up on it, possibly to keep an eye on me and study me more closely to learn my habits. So we have developed somewhat of a routine where I show up in the afternoon and she grooms me with a provided tool or one she finds herself. She seems to really enjoy grooming some of my tattoos, especially the one of my Bushbaby, and then she likes to inspect each of my fingers. For today this is good progress- Jamie decides what tomorrow will bring.

 

Two Ways to Play

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Missy and Burrito love to play at the top of the hill. For some reason, the Seven do most of their playing indoors. In fact, they are at their most playful in the tiny little front rooms, especially when they are waiting for us to finish cleaning their playroom. Not that it matters where they play, but it’s nice for us to watch them chase each other around beneath the trees like this.

Honey B has been pretty social lately. This morning she played with Rayne and Dora until they couldn’t play any more. Not to worry, Honey B can entertain herself. She is Missy’s daughter, after all.

Bonding with our Newest Caregiver

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One of the most rewarding and fun aspects of being a caregiver is building the relationships with each of the chimpanzees. Our newest caregiver, Sabrina, has been working hard on creating bonds with the chimps. One of the best ways to form friendships with the chimps is participating in their favorite activities, such as grooming or playing chase. As you will see in today’s video, Sabrina is doing just that! Enjoy 🙂