Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for July 2023

All Around the Raspberry Bush

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When caregivers are assigned to be the lead caregiver on a certain day, one of our first tasks is to “open up” the Chimp House. For me, this is one of the best times of day because it’s still early in the morning and some residents are still not fully awake. Case in point: Negra

To walk in the morning to see Negra still in bed, you kind of watch in real time what kind of mood she will be in that particular day. And yes. She has been in a really good mood today.

Since she was in a good mood upon awakening, and because today’s high temperature in Central Washington is 70º, it was a perfect day for a lunch forage on Young’s Hill. As of this typing (almost dinner time), they have been going on and off Young’s Hill looking for anything they may have missed. On today’s forage menu was: baby iceberg lettuce heads, prickly pears, and sweet potatoes.

Foxie

Burrito (and Foxie) enjoying some baby iceberg lettuce

Missy does the same

Negra: (Iceberg) Head Hunter

With everybody in high spirits, it was also a great day to set up a browse of raspberry branches! Jamie could not have been more content!

And just like the chimpanzees’ night bags, here is a final treat of bonus photos to end today’s blog!

Rayne fishing for cherry tomatoes yesterday

Gordo keeping an eye on the medical staff during a tour after Willy B’s procedure yesterday

And finally, this guy! If you look carefully, you can find an “Easter egg” within this photo

In memory of Harrison and Rita

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Many thanks to Ashley Stroud for sponsoring this day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees and bovines in memory of Harrison and Rita.

We really appreciate you thinking of them all in this way, including them in your memories, and contributing to their well-being, Ashley.

Dora and Rayne:

Honey B, Dora and Mave:

Foxie and Jamie:

Foxie, Burrito, and Missy:

Honey B holding Dora:

A Trip to the Clinic for Willy B

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Willy B took a trip to the clinic this morning. The main purpose of the procedure was to investigate some swelling in his scrotum. As usual, Dr. Erin assembled a great crew to ensure that Willy would have the best care possible.

Dan Low, MD and Leah Bezzo, CRNA, both with Seattle Children’s Hospital, kept Willy safely under anesthesia. Tom Lendvay, MD, a urologist with Seattle Children’s, performed the initial evaluation with ultrasound assistance from Korey Krause, RDMS.

Willy also had a full cardiac workup, including chest radiographs and an echocardiogram by Marneye Driesen, RDCS, since some forms of heart disease can cause fluid to begin backing up in cavities such as the scrotum.

While he was under, Willy was also given a complete abdominal ultrasound.

Echocardiograms require a more powerful ultrasound machine than the one we own, so we are very grateful to the Woodland Park Zoo for once again allowing us the use of their machine. The machine was delivered to the sanctuary by Barbra Brush, LVT, who also participated throughout the procedure, including giving William a thorough dental cleaning.

The results of the echo and samples from his scrotum will have to be sent off for analysis but based on what we’ve seen, Dr. Erin has reason to believe that Willy B will benefit from some cardiac medication, just like his buddy Cy and like good ol’ Burrito across the way.

Willy did great throughout the procedure and is recovering quickly – due in part to the fact the we have kept his feet nice and warm and fashionable. We think it’s also due to the fact that he has a standing 2:30pm appointment to display and cause chaos in his group, to which he has never once been late.

Thankfully, he also seems to understanding the importance of getting rest after a clinic visit, so we’re hoping that he’ll take an afternoon off just this once.

Many, many thanks to this amazing team of medical professionals who traveled great distances to join us this morning and of course to our own Dr. Erin and Grace! We will continue to seek the donation of a portable cardiac ultrasound machine but if that is not in the cards, be on the lookout for a fundraiser sometime next year 🙂

We’ll share updates about Willy B when we know more.

A Classic Chimp House Caper

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It’s time to grab your bowler hat, trench coat, and magnifying glass- we have a chimp house caper to solve.

We here at CSNW are not immune to pulling the occasional prank on our coworkers. Hiding food is not uncommon, or leaving things in funny places for the next morning crew to find (like Kirk, our fun anatomically accurate skeleton). The thing that sets this caper apart is the fact that we have gone almost a month without identifying the perpetrator. We all have our suspicions and the discussion on who we think did it has found it’s way into our bi-weekly staff meetings, morning meetings, staff group chats… You get the picture. It’s slowly infiltrating every part of our day.

What is this caper you ask? Great question.

Let me set the scene.

About a month ago, it was a normal day in the chimp house. No one seems to know who was all here that day, but I think it was a Thursday. One moment, everything is fine. The next, someone (I think J.B. or Chad?) noticed a new item on the white board in the foyer. On an unassuming white piece of paper, in a new laminated sheet, was a Human Enrichment Calendar. We have chimp enrichment calendars, yes- two to be exact. But this was the first appearance of a Human Enrichment Calendar. Each day it listed a staff member with a task to do that was not, nor has ever been, on our daily task lists. From disinfecting every single enclosure in one day, to making a whole month’s worth of paper braids, to raking the driveway (it’s not a short driveway), every day was a new humbling activity. See for yourself:

Evidence Presented to the Court #1:

There’s one thing that stands out the most from this calendar. It’s that a certain staff member has a certain type of task each day that they’re listed that sets them apart from the rest of the crowd.

Evidence Presented to the Court #2:

Now, it being a Thursday, no one was on their weekends. So either a staff member was in the chimp house or having office time, but there would also have likely been volunteers on site as well. We briefly discussed dusting for fingerprints, but the laminated sheet was clean. The perp knew what they were doing.

So far, all have claimed innocence. Jenna is adamant that she is being framed, Chad argues that just because he is the enrichment coordinator doesn’t mean he did it, I was in office time so my alibi is working from home (my dog, Pongo, can attest)- but everyone has a similar story. For a while, it was widely believed that Jenna did it (maybe with an accomplice?) then Chad was decided to be the perpetrator. He has since argued his innocence. I will keep my biases to myself, but I will say that a certain staff member (ahem, Jenna) has been very, very, very adamant that it’s not her. But whose to judge what behavior is suspicious?

So, I ask you- who do you think did it? We look forward to reading your suspicions, theories, and ideas- maybe it will help us in identifying the trouble maker. 🙂

Photos From the Day:

Chad caught Jamie on Young’s Hill this afternoon with her favorite book:

Rayne and Terry enjoying some time on The Bray this afternoon:

 

 

Ms. B: Agent of Chaos

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Honey B is definitely a one of a kind personality, she can be your best friend one minute and an agent of chaos the next. She knows what she wants and what she likes but it might change from minute to minute and you don’t know until your moment with her has gone from peaceful grooming to her screaming at you and possibly trying to poke you with her finger or a tool of her choice.

 

Since I started back in February, Honey has been mostly indifferent to me, she doesn’t really cause issues for shifting or meals however, if someone else is feeling spicy about shifting she’s definitely down to join in the cause and aid her fellow chimpanzee in their campaign against shifting. Recently Honey has been showing an interest when I come back from my weekend and go back to visit with the chimps before starting my morning duties. She will come up and breathy pant at me and offer to groom. These grooming sessions are fairly short, she usually loses interest pretty quickly if I don’t have anything fun to pick at and I’ve not yet experienced the sudden shift in mood but knowing it could come at any time is part of the fun when making friends with Ms. Honey B.

 

Ms B and the gang:

 

Dance Break

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A week ago, volunteer caregiver Krissy, had a very sweet moment with Terry during cleaning. While interacting with him through the mesh, she began dancing for him and he ended up joining her. I snagged the clips from our camera footage and it is enough to make your day! Enjoy 🙂

A Rare Moment with Willy B

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It can cause a special happy adrenaline rush for a caregiver to share a moment with a chimpanzee who generally only acknowledges your existence when he wants food or to look at pictures on your cell phone.