Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for March 2024

Peaceful Moments

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It seems like the tension ebbs and flows with the chimps. Some weeks are calm with little altercations, while other weeks the conflict (whether big or small) seems to be on going, for even weeks at a time. Currently, the last few weeks on both sides have had lots of tensions. It makes us appreciate the quieter, more gentle moments with the chimps. Yesterday, after Terry’s group got some screaming out of the way, it seemed like everyone wanted to groom with each other or a caregiver. Mave was being particularly sweet with me. Honey B decided to join Mave and I and make it a grooming party! Eventually, I disengaged and let them groom with each other. Honey B was making me chuckle because she was being so bossy while grooming Mave, but Mave enjoyed every second of it! I also captured a video of Dora and Mave grooming this morning that was rather sweet.

Please don’t worry- though there is tension, there are still so many moments like these throughout the day.

Bonus photos of Gordo!

 

Primatology: a feminist science

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March is Women’s History Month so we would like to celebrate by showing our appreciation for all the women in our lives, both human and non-human, periodically throughout the month. Today, I thought it might be appropriate to introduce primatology as a “feminist science” as it has been frequently dubbed throughout the years. The proportion of women studying primatology is roughly half, which at first doesn’t scream girl power, however, compared to other fields like mathematics and physics and even other biological sciences like marine mammology, 50% women is actually an impressive statistic. (If you’re curious to read more, follow this link for an article on the subject published by Linda Marie Fedigan in 1994.) That is not to say, however, that primatology is a perfectly equal-opportunity field; there are still many challenges to equality yet to be assuaged just as in any professional arena. For a more recent and in-depth look at primatology’s glass ceiling you can follow this link.

Perhaps the trend began with Dr. Louis Leakey who hired three women, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas to study wild chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans, respectively. These three women would become indisputably the most famous primatologists in the world, establish high profile conservation programs, and influence an entire generation of primatologists in their wake. It’s not too often that multiple women achieve such high esteem in a single field in a single generation. I can attest from personal experience, and I’m certain that I am not alone here, that their existence and the light they shone on the magnificence of the great apes, elicited a passion in my heart and mind as a young girl that has been driving me ever since. My passion was and still is bolstered by another woman in primatology, my mom. When I was young, she was studying anthropology in college and took a keen interest in primatology. She interned for both the Jane Goodall Institute and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and I tagged along with bright eyes and bushy tail. My appreciation goes out to all the women in the field who have come before me and whom I’m lucky to call my peers.

From left to right: Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, and Birute Galdikas circa sometime in the late sixties

Look out for more Women’s History Month blog posts this month!

 

Catching Up

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Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the Be Mine series. I loved getting to share more with you all about each individual in our care, but was also eager for the series to end as I have been saving up some special moments from around the sanctuary to share with you all!

If you read Grace’s blog yesterday, then you know that Honey B is back home with her group after a separation due to an injury she sustained near her eye. We are all so thrilled for her to be back! One of the biggest difficulties when chimps are separated from their group is keeping them entertained. Honey B, being herself, made this relatively easy (besides moments when we needed to distract her from picking at her healing injury) as she is constant entertainment! If you are new to the blog, be sure to check out some of our earlier posts for her high jinks (here and here). She is such a fun person who keeps us on our toes, and constantly impressed by her ingenuity and humor!

Here are some photos from around the sanctuary the past couple of weeks:

Annie looking regal sitting in the morning sunshine in the playroom

Negra enjoying a mouthful (and more!) of snow

Rayne relaxing in a nest of blankets

Honey (B), I’m Home!

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Over the last month and some change, we have been working to keep Honey B enriched as she recovered from an eye injury that she sustained during a fight in the group. It was an extended recovery process due to the location of the injury and the need to go back in for a revision, so she has spent quite a bit of time away from her group. Last week, we excitedly got to begin re-introducing her to her group!

We decided to begin with monitored ‘play-dates’, where we put Honey B and a friend into the front rooms together during the day. This was helpful for two reasons- one, her eye is still healing so we wanted to be able to separate them if they began grooming her eye too intensely. Second, it allowed for a slower re-introduction process, which was nice since she had been out of the group for a while. The play dates were a great success and on Tuesday she went fully back with her group! She was (and is) so happy to be back with her group mates and they were excited to see her too. And, so far, her eye is still healing well. So, wins all around! 🙂

It’s been so nice to see Honey B getting back into the swing of things and to see how happy she is to be back with her group. It’s been a serious source of compassion satisfaction, that’s for sure. I wanted to take a moment to extend another big THANK YOU to Dr. Erin and the team she put together to ensure Honey B received the best possible care that we could offer her (Leah Bezzo, CRNA; Christine Zielke, CRNA; Tyler Sugerman, DVM; Jerry Woodfield, DVM DACVIM (Cardiology); Karen Brantman-Crosetto, DVM DACVO). It’s truly amazing to see the community of professionals that Dr. Erin has been able to bring together for our residents and we are so grateful!

For today’s blog, I wanted to give you some videos I got while observing Honey B’s play date with Lucky last week. It’s sure to put a smile on your face! 🙂

What’d I miss?

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One of the best things about working here with the chimpanzees is that you are always excited to see them in the morning when you get to the Chimp House and if you’re lucky the chimps are equally thrilled to see you. When the mornings are quiet, it is so enriching for us and the chimps to have a quick grooming session or a game of chase to get the day started.

One of the more challenging aspects comes when one of us gets sick. I recently had my first experience with Covid-19, so I was out of work for over a week and I was finally able to return a few days ago. This is challenging for most caregivers because we definitely feel some amount of sadness over not being able to be a part of the chimps daily lives when we’re sick. I know for me personally, I miss them when I’m away for more than a few days and I find myself wondering what they’re doing a lot during my day.

While we can’t know if the chimps think of us or wonder where we are, we do get some indications that we’ve been missed when we come back and are greeted with very exuberant pant hoots and invitations to groom and/or play.

A memorable instance of this occurred when J.B. took a vacation last year. After a week-long absence, he came by to visit the chimp house when he returned, only to be spotted immediately by Jamie from Young’s Hill. Jamie, in her excitement let out an enthusiastic vocalization, that I imagine must have been just for J.B., and the whole group came out very excitedly to see him and take him on a walk around the Hill.

 

And now..
A quiet moment with Neggie and her carrot:

 

Also, Honey B is home with her group after her recent separation for an injury near her eye! More on her homecoming in an upcoming blog!

 

March celebrations!

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Happy Birthday to all our March revelers! Don your waistbands, spring’s on her way!

Annie! The original waistband trendsetter:

As I write this, I’m listening to wildly singing birds despite us having received a rather blizzardy and unpredicted snowstorm the night before last. Betwixt and between, not really winter, not quite spring. Though here in the northern hemisphere we officially welcome the spring equinox on March 19th! The cattle are reportedly even beginning to shed their amazing winter floof.

And as a side note, holy cats!! Daylight savings time (for those of us subjected to it) is a mere ten days away! What that means for the chimpanzees is that their caregivers show up with breakfast service an hour late, but also stay an hour later, increasing their opportunities to enjoy more sunshine as we schlep toward those long-awaited warmer days in their greenhouses and outdoor habitats.

Since we’re already seeing the arrival of the spring fashion trend of wearing stretchy headbands as waistbands, it won’t be long before Negra will be out in search of fresh spring grass to eat.

Honey B on the go, in a blur, but ready for spring:

Rayne:

On to birthday news! Rather fittingly, we have one chimpanzee’s birthday to celebrate for the entirety of March. The king himself, Cy, will be turning 34 on March 12th!

Considered the current alpha of his group of nine, we’ve shared many times about the gift of a leader and all around kind, patient and easygoing guy Cy is. Superhero (if you missed this excellent blog post by J.B. of Cy’s incredible skills in action, it’s a must read/watch), bibliophile, rom-com-phile ( 🙂 ), Willy B’s personal protector and savior, are just a few additional descriptors of the really special person he is.

One of my favorite memories of Cy was earlier in his group’s integration, a quiet moment when all the chimpanzees were relaxing as we cleaned their enclosures and Willy B, for reasons that continue to remain unknown to us, decided to shake things up. Which is really a daily occurrence. I was cleaning in the mezzanine and could see Willy B through the window as he began rattling the caging, and the other chimpanzees began getting worked up in anticipation of whatever this guy was going to do. All of a sudden the entire floor started shaking. This was Cy on the way and his characteristic take-charge foot stomping. He can sincerely rock the entire building when he displays – it’s awe-inspiring and intimidating, to say the least. Cy came through the doorway of the enclosure, HUGE, hair on end, stomping and staring right at Willy B, who appeared to remain unphased. Cy stomped all the way up to Willy B and I couldn’t help but think things were about to naturally escalate. But then, in a very uncharacteristic chimpanzee move, Cy calmly reached out, gently took Willy B’s hand off the caging and calmly walked away. I couldn’t believe it. It’s one of countless moments that speak to how unique, kind and respectful Cy is.

Cy and Willy B:

Having been born in the lab and raised by humans, how is it possible that he gained such skills without the invaluable guidance of his mother and the chimpanzee family he deserved to be raised with? I think this further speaks to his character.

As a leader, Cy has his hands immensely full with managing the ongoing shenanigans of his family and group members, particularly as they continue to navigate through their integration with Willy B, Honey B, and Mave, in 2021. It’s pretty apparent he’d often rather be left in peace to leaf through his magazines or watch his favorites shows, which he entirely deserves to do. But he handles his responsibilities with the utmost heart and grace. We could not be more thankful for him.

Right about now, you’re probably thinking, “I need to be this guy’s Chimp Pal!” If you weren’t ready during our February Pal campaign, here’s another opportunity: https://chimpsnw.org/you-can-help/be-a-chimpanzee-pal/.

And for those who celebrate (everyone?!), we have the chimpanzees’ St. Patrick’s Day fest and feast on March 17th!

(Jamie feet with apple filled St. Patrick’s Day socks):

Then we end the month with the chimpanzees’ Easter celebration on March 31st!

Burrito:

Willy B:

The welcoming of spring would not be complete without one of my favorite photos of Jody, in her Mistress Forager element of pure delight over their Easter forage, giving us what can’t be seen in the photo, her endearing “bouncy greeting”.

So there you have it friends. Don your waistbands, your leprechaun socks, sing your songs (maybe Annie-bird style), greet your people by bouncing up and down, and join us as we celebrate the wonder of spring, the wonder of Cy, and the wonder of you, our incredible supporters! Thank you, always, for being here.

In memory of Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty

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This wonderful day of sanctuary is sponsored in memory of Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty and their loving hearts, from their daughter, Joan O’Flaherty!

“My parents loved animals so I dedicate this to their memory and thank-you for all you do for the chimpanzees and cattle that make their lives worth living.”

Many thanks to you, Joan, for your loyal support of the sanctuary through honoring your parents in this way! We truly appreciate it!

Burrito and Negra:

Meredith and her mama, Honey:

Sweet Annie and her spring fashion sense:

Dora and Lucky:

Missy:

Dora and Honey B:

Jamie: