Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for October 2024

Happy Birthday to Dr. Jessica Mayhew!

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Our many thanks to Dr. Lori Sheeran for sponsoring this special day of sanctuary in honor of Dr. Jessica Mayhew on her birthday!

“Dr. Jessica Mayhew is a wonderful colleague, a brilliant primatologist, and an inspiring mentor to many primatologists now working and studying around the world! This day is for her to enjoy with the chimpanzees, in honor of her birthday.”

Jessica and Lori have served as long-time, dedicated professors in Central Washington University’s Primate Behavior Programs and are also valued members of our Board of Directors. We are so fortunate to call both of these inspiring humans our colleagues, professors, mentors, and friends.

Happy Birthday, Jessica! We are so happy to be able to celebrate you today and hope you have the most beautiful day! We truly appreciate all that you do to help ensure the chimpanzees and their sanctuary home continue to flourish for all their days forward.

Missy:

Burrito:

Cy:

Rayne on Ryan’s Lookout:

Mave and Dora:

Jamie:

Honey B:

Negra:

Foxie:

Dora the Acrobat!

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It was a busy day today, in the chimp house.  I didn’t have any blog content, and I was worried.

Jenna and Dora to the rescue!

Jenna spied with her eagle eye, a little Dora chimpanzee person whooping it up in the playroom, while her family napped all around her!

How cute is she??

And, don’t forget!  Giving Day for Apes is just around the corner on Tuesday, October 8th. We need your help to reach our fundraising goal and every dollar goes to the care of our deserving residents.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Grooming with The Boss

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The chimp house is laid out such that depending on where you are standing in the foyer, chimps from either group could see you and might be working to get your attention. Whether it’s Burrito trying to get you to come over for a game of chase or Terry inviting you for a grooming session, it’s easy to get pulled in different directions.

Jamie is another who will work to snag a few moments of your time. 🙂 She might want to go on a patrol around Young’s Hill, or maybe she wants a specific book that’s on the windowsill, or perhaps she is wanting to groom.

Earlier this week I shuffled through the foyer and into the kitchen to work on some afternoon task list items, when I looked down the hallway and spotted Jamie sitting in one of the front rooms, staring right back at me- intensely. I thought she might want a book or a boot, so I went over to see if I could get something for her. When I got close and crouched down, she shifted her sitting position and pressed her right arm / side against the caging. This was her way of inviting me to sit for a grooming session, so I asked her to wait while I went and grabbed a grooming tool.

An example of Jamie presenting her arm for grooming.

We engage in protected contact with the chimps and we will often use our knuckle (with our fingers tucked into our palms) to knuckle rub them when their body is pressed against the caging enough so that our fingers do not penetrate through the caging. We will also use tools (in this case, a long flexible plastic tube-like thing) to groom with them and this allows us more range. I was hoping for a longer grooming session, so I went and grabbed one and Jamie kindly waited for me to hustle back.

Jamie presenting her shoulder / side for grooming (from another grooming session, this one in the greenhouse).

We sat together, quietly, for about twenty minutes while I groomed Jamie. We use species-specific behaviors with the chimps, which means that I was teeth clacking and lip smacking throughout. Every now and then I would pull the grooming tool back and breathy pant, to gauge if she wanted to continue or if she was done. She would make eye contact with me and give slight head nods, which was my cue to continue. Every now and then she would shift her position to give me access to her back, or her shoulder, or her left side. We would also pass the tool back and forth, with her taking turns grooming the dirt off my legs or my scrubs. When she was ready to be done interacting with me, she got up and walked into the playroom.

Jamie taking a turn grooming me with our grooming tool.

Grooming is a great way to spend quality time with the chimps. It builds your relationship with them and allows for quiet moments in each other’s presence. I eventually found my way back into the kitchen and continued on with the to-do’s of the day, but it’s those moments that stay with you.

Also! In case you haven’t heard, Giving Day for Apes is coming up on Tuesday, October 8th. We need your help to reach our fundraising goal and every dollar goes to the care of our deserving residents and two important projects here at CSNW. We have grown quite a bit over the last few years and one of these projects is building a support building for staff. The other one is to honor the individuals who have called CSNW home and passed on. This will be a space to honor the individuals we have loved, said goodbye to, and continue to love. It is located at the base of the hill where both outdoor enclosures are built. I have to say that watching the construction over this last week has been emotional for me personally. It will be a lovely area to reminisce, honor, and ensure that their stories live on.

Construction on the Memorial Garden. 

Early Giving is open now, with day of prizes for organizations in a variety of categories (Most Donations Raised between 10:00-11:00am PT, for example). Be sure to save it in your calendars and maximize your generosity!

And a preemptive thank you, for all that you do to support the work we do here. The support of this community is truly felt every day.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

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Between autumn, October, and Jamieween/Halloween, I’m not sure it can get much better. If you’re newer to the blog, October 31st is when we celebrate Jamie’s birthday and it’s one of the biggest and most anticipated celebrations of the year here at the sanctuary! Hence, “Jamieween”!

Jamie will be turning 47 this year! I had to count that a couple times…unreal. We don’t know the actual date Jamie was born, but I can’t think of a more apropos day to celebrate her. She can be both a delight and kinda scary, and everything in between. While most are probably aware of her love for footwear and her “Lucy the Bonobo” books, fewer may be aware of her love for all things macabre. Skeletons, mummies, anatomy…she loves them.

We don’t know much about Jamie’s childhood other than the fact she was raised in a human home by a trainer for the first nine years of her life. She was then sold to a dealer who sold her into biomedical research where she spent over three decades of her life. Of all the chimpanzees, I often feel that Jamie is perhaps the most aware of her captivity. She isn’t always the easiest person to be around. She can be demanding, intimidating, hyper-vigilant in her controlling, impatient, intolerant, rude, and sometimes, downright scary. But I get that. Given that her entire life has existed within the varying bounds of human control, it makes sense that these can serve as ways for her to regain a sense of agency over her life in response to those around her.

Jamie is also incredibly intelligent, creative, curious, silly, joyful, brave and profoundly resilient. For all that she has endured in her nearly 47 years, I could not have more awe and admiration for her. She speaks her mind and you always know exactly where you stand with her. For the kaleidoscopic being she is, I love everything about her and it’s a privilege to call her friend. I’m profoundly grateful that for all her days forward she will be respected and loved for exactly who she is and however she chooses to express herself.

Someone else we will be celebrating is Negra’s son, Noah, who will be turning 35 on October 17th! Noah lives at Save the Chimps in Florida and it’s a true gift to be able to see him safe and thriving. (Photos of Noah courtesy of Save the Chimps):

His beautiful mama, Negra:

Noah was born to Negra and Mack, who also happens to be Burrito’s father. This is from Noah’s page on the Save the Chimps website: “I am a happy and incredibly playful guy and I make sure everyone knows it! There isn’t a single chimp or caregiver that can resist the urge to play with me.” Sounds like shenanigans run in the family. 🙂

Noah:

Burrito:

Happy autumn, happy spooky season, happy Jamieween!! And if you’re so fortunate to share this magical and mystical birthday month with the boss lady herself, Happy Birthday to you as well! Thank you for being here! We appreciate you all more than you can know.