Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for May 2024

Up, Down, All Around

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A lot of the joys of working with chimpanzees are found in the little moments. Very often, these moments come when we are least expecting them (for example, going back to the chimp spaces to grab more laundry to be washed when suddenly Willy B wants to play, or doing checks to enter a space to clean and being invited to groom with Missy). Sometimes this slows our work down, but then again, it IS our work! How lucky are we?!

Today’s video shows an extra special few minutes I got to spend with Rayne last week, which came as a complete surprise to me! I had been finishing up some early morning tasks, preparing to meet with the team to determine our plan for the day and then serve breakfast, when there was Rayne! You’ll have to watch the video to see why this interaction was so special.

Here are some bonus photos from the day!

Close up of the ever so handsome Burrito

Upside down, goofy Burrito (part of my inspiration for the title of today’s blog!)

Another close-up of Bubs, feeling silly

Honey B

A close up of Beans!

Glad with May

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There’s no particular theme with today’s blog, just a series of moments that represent this lovely season fairly well.

Spring time means that Jamie’s group doesn’t want to give up the Greenhouse for cleaning. Negra and Foxie are infamous for their ability to collude and camp at the top platform of the greenhouse when we invite them inside with a morning forage. Who can blame them though? There’s nothing better than grooming and napping in the sunniest place in all of Cle Elum.

Here’s Jamie and Burrito grooming in Greenhouse 1 before lunch:

This afternoon Negra sampled the chives picked fresh from the garden:

Negra and her luscious brown eyes:

For lunch, Rayne found a whole fennel on the Bray:

Terry was also a busy lunch forager. One of my favorite things is to look up the Bray and see a speck of a chimp spending some quality alone time.

And all the world is glad with May.

-John Burroughs

Class Clowns

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I think it’s fairly well known that Burrito is the jokester among his group. He is constantly making people laugh with his silly antics. He is so funny he can get anyone to usually join in, even Jamie for a little bit! However, if no one is in the mood to play, no biggie- Burrito always has a good time entertaining himself! I think the same could be said for Honey B. Honey B is so funny and always playing pranks on her caregivers, but when she is in the mood to play she is the goofiest of her group member’s.

Bonus Neggie 🙂

Fair-Weather Chimps

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As always, I apologize for today’s blog. All staff are arriving at the sanctuary to have our bi-weekly staff meeting. I think I was a little optimistic thinking powering through cleaning to have enough time to grab some photos or video before our meeting. Though we were able to get done with cleaning a little earlier than we usually do, it still wasn’t enough. Especially since it was during the part of day right before lunch, when they are all in the hard to reach spots napping or grooming. I readjusted my plan to get photos during lunch service today. This too was somewhat difficult. On one side, Honey B became a better door than window in my attempts to see/take photos of anyone. On the other side, Burrito just wanted to play, thus souring my attempts with a game of “Poke-the-Camera,” which he finds hilarious.

If you’re wondering why they chimps elected to stay inside instead of venturing out doors today, the answer is weather. There seems to be a little bit of everything in the forecast. It’s cloudy with some sun breakthroughs here and there. Strong gusts of winds are making the panels to the greenhouses rattle. On again and off again drizzles of cold rain are falling from the sky. To top it off, there is some snow that is currently in the forecast for later today. Though realistically (read hopefully) the snow part will change as the day goes on and just turn into rain.

Before the weather started to turn, Negra was demanding to be let onto Young’s Hill first thing in the morning.

Shortly after I opened the door to Young’s Hill, that’s when the weather decided to start. My tall tell sign? Just as fast as she went out, Negra came right back in.

Negra made a beeline straight back to her morning nest.

Negra and her family for the most part stayed in all day. The story next door wasn’t too much different.

Rayne resting next to her cabbage box

But even though outdoor weather wasn’t the most optimal, mealtimes are always exciting. I’m fairly certain I make the same face as Cy and Gordo when my food comes out from the kitchen at a restaurant.

Look how big Cy’s eyes got when the cart was being rolled out

And just as the day started, I will end with Negra in her nest at dinner

Plus Missy and Burrito!

PNW Chimp Activities

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No two days are quite the same here in the chimp house and that’s part of the fun! At first, my plan for the blog today was to give you the above video I was lucky enough to catch of Jamie and Missy in a quiet grooming session after breakfast from the other day. Kelsi and I were cleaning the playroom and when I looked over to the window, I was excited to see them spending quality time together!

And then today happened. Today has been a bit busier and the chimps are off doing their own thing. We decided to do forages for both groups today since it was cool, cloudy, and not too windy. A light sprinkle of rain came not too long after when us humans were off eating lunch, so when I went over to check on Cy’s side after lunch I was surprised to see Lucky, Terry, Cy, and Gordo all out on the very top of the Bray! Lucky and Gordo spent a lot of time exploring the new structure that was put in last weekend. It was amazing to see them so confident in themselves as they climbed to the top and walked across the firehose!

There must have been something about today, because then I looked over and saw Burrito and Foxie meandering around Young’s Hill. These PNW chimps didn’t let a bit of rain get in the way of their afternoon adventures! 🙂 So today’s blog has become a video of two friends grooming + photos from today, because I couldn’t choose just one!

Negra wrapped up in her blanket after foraging on Young’s Hill.

Negra foraging on Young’s Hill. 🙂

Jamie with some serious side-eye during today’s lunch forage.

Foxie went back out later in the afternoon and scored some sweet potatoes that had been missed earlier!

Annie taking a moment during the lunch forage to see what everyone else was up to.

This afternoon, Burrito decided to take an enrichment item (a stack-able cup) up to the top of a structure on Young’s Hill to enjoy!

I mean, does it get any better than this?

Terry during today’s lunch forage. Look at that beautiful green spring grass!

Sweet Lucky

Lucky and Gordo exploring the new structure on the Bray!

Go, Gordo, go!

Cy opted to bring his reading material out with him. 🙂

Moo Crew Maintenance

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This week the cattle had a pedicure appointment with the hoof trimmer and a check-up with the Doc. So for today’s blog Dr. Erin shares an update on the bovine girls!

Dr. Erin

“Thursday was hoof trim day for the sanctuary herd.  Like all healthcare interactions with the sanctuary residents, I both look forward to these opportunities to improve their health and well-being and dread causing any stress to these animals that we work so hard to provide with a peaceful and comfortable life.  I arrived at the sanctuary bright and early Thursday morning to secure the girls were in the “Bud Box”, which is a small pen within the upper paddock that they exit via a narrow lane leading to the trimming chute.  My plan to entice them into the box with a yummy breakfast of alfalfa hay (a treat generally reserved for very cold weather days) and some grain was witnessed mid-fail by Krissy, and pre-veterinary student Carly Ledbetter who came to help.  Thirty minutes into my plan, when the trimmer is about to arrive, all three cows are standing at the opposite end of the paddock from where I want them giving off strong “not today doc” vibes.

Meredith & Betsy
Dr. Erin & Autumn with Meredith and Honey


Autumn with Honey

I spent many years working primarily on horses and let me tell you, showing up to a farm call only to see your (known to be elusive) patient not caught and waiting for you can really throw off a day and a mood!  Luckily, John Thomsen and his family of Thomsen Livestock Services are not only professional and kind, they have a sense of humor and are skilled cattle people.  With John’s daughter Autumn and her husband Joel (a medical student from Sweden) we managed to herd all of them into the small pen, performed all the needed procedures in short order and returned them to their current “wetlands” pasture to recover from their ordeal in peace.
By the time I checked on them a couple hours later, they were all more than willing to eat their daily, individualized rations and accept my peace offering of hay.   All three cattle had blood drawn to check basic health parameters and mineral levels as well as routine parasite checks to make sure we aren’t missing anything from a physical/nutritional standpoint.  Because Meredith is on pain medication, routine blood tests are in order to check for adverse effects and Honey and Betsy are now ‘senior cows’ at 17 so occasional blood work is warranted.  Meredith’s most recent x rays show a bit more fusion in the arthritic joint that was treated at Washington State University and hopefully that will continue to progress to full fusion which will mean less pain for her.  While she moves more slowly than the mama cows, she isn’t limping on that foot anymore and is doing relatively well being back on pasture and out of her barn pen.
Honey

John working away on Honey’s hoof
This little herd has been through a lot in the last few months between Meredith’s trips to WSU followed by confinement to treat her arthritic right foot and the passing of our sweet Nutmeg, Betsy’s son.   While Betsy’s appetite is still good, the signs of stress and grief are apparent in her overall appearance.  A bit more thin, her hair coat is somewhat dull with uneven shedding, a little discharge from the eyes now and then. Cattle are herd animals, have a social order, bond to their herd mates and show signs of distress when they are separated or loose a herd mate. Co-director Diana shared this article with the staff recently, Cows have best friends and panic when separated from them | by Go Veg | Medium, that highlights how stressful it is for cattle to be separated from their friends.  I am so thankful that Betsy and Nutmeg had so many years with each other, unlike most cows and their offspring.  We all wish it could have been more.
Dr. Erin drawing blood
The girls will move to a different pasture on the property next week and my hope is that the change of scenery and full time grazing will provide some physical as well as emotional healing for these beloved bovines.”
Moo Crew 2024:  John, Krissy, Carly, Joel and Autumn