Terry has done some very impressive, unique displays in the past. The main event of these displays is chest-pounding and hitting his stomach for loud sound effects. I personally have only seen him do this type of display while out on The Bray, with it being directed towards Jamie’s group. Today, all the chimps had a lunch forage. Terry’s group was out on The Bray foraging while Jamie’s group was out on Young’s Hill. Missy always pays attention to the boys on the other side of the building. She gets very excited. However, she was not excited (nor was Annie or Negra) when Terry began displaying at them. They were not impressed, but I think Terry was quite satisfied. Check out today’s video!
Archives for April 2025
All about interns!
This spring we enthusiastically welcomed 6 new interns to the sanctuary as part of our relationship with the Primate Behavior program at Central Washington University. CWU students start as Level 1 interns where they work 3 hours a week in our kitchen and foyer spaces, helping us do laundry, make enrichment, prepare the chimpanzee’s meals, etc. If they are seeking to earn a Captive Care Certificate, interns move on to do Level 2 training at the sanctuary their next quarter. As Level 2 interns, they spend 6 hours a week learning to clean enclosures alongside staff (in addition to the tasks they learned as a Level 1). There’s also a bit of down time here and there allowing for some special moments of chimp observation. Here are just a few of our interns in action this past year.
Sienna organizing:
Cy staring intensely into Quaid’s eyes:
Katie scattering a forage:
KC mopping the kitchen:
Bonus! Gordo and Negra:
Beautiful Morning
As I went to let Jamie’s group outside this morning, I noticed Negra was waiting by the door in anticipation of being the first one out. I always know its going to be a good day if Negra wants to be the first chimp out onto Young’s Hill. It’s cheesy, but the song, A Beautiful Morning by The Rascals, popped into my head. It seemed pretty fitting for such a lovely morning to be watching all the chimps go out and enjoy this beautiful spring morning. On the other side of the building, Honey B and Dora were up to their normal antics of laughing, playing, and relishing in each others company! Click here for the video.
Smoothie Bandit Strikes Again!
A recent study added to vast knowledge we know about chimpanzees. One area in chimpanzee studies that keeps surprising us is their use of tools. A recent study added to what we know about chimpanzee tool use. The study conducted by Dr. Alejandra Pascual-Garrido and team at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania; the same area Jane Goodall first observed chimpanzees using tools to complete a task.
The task at hand? Fishing for termites. What Dr. Pascual-Garrido and fellow researchers determined that chimpanzees don’t just use any ol’ stick lying around. Their tool is carefully selected based on what the chimpanzee wants to accomplish. For instance, with termite fishing, chimpanzees were found to use certain sticks/stems based on their qualities and features. Since termite mounds are a series of long, winding tunnels, the chimpanzees will use tools that are more flexible to better weave through the tunnels to find the colony.
If you are an avid blog follower, then you know we have a handful of chimp residents here who use tools for various things. Whether its a stick Jamie picked out that is sturdy enough to groom caregivers’ boots, or Honey B ripping the bamboo out of the ground in her greenhouses and cutting it down to size, we have some pretty amazingly intelligent chimpanzees. A few years back we found some chimps who found new use for these long, plastic straws they are given as enrichment.
One new use that had the entire blog following rolling in laughter was Annie’s use of the straw to siphon Jamie’s smoothie right out of her hands. Well, seems like someone found this use and decided to try to get Negra’s morning juice supplements as she was drinking it… TWICE! On two separate occasions!
Be sure to watch the video to find out who!
A New Approach
I wanted to give you all a brief update on our reintroduction of Cy’s group (for background, see here and here).
We’ve reluctantly come to the conclusion that, at this time, these efforts are not going to lead to a level of stability that the chimps deserve. Willy B has shown signs of promise. I really think he could succeed in a group where Cy was the only other male. He’s more composed when it’s just him and Cy. Plus, Cy has the patience of a saint and enough confidence to let Willy blow off some steam once and a while without feeling threatened.
But Willy B can’t seem to control himself to the same degree when Terry and/or Gordo are in the group and neither Terry nor Gordo were gifted with Cy’s equanimity. Their reactions to Willy’s prodding only goad him on further. This results in a lot of stress, and the reintroduction process was not successful in changing these fundamental dynamics.
The reality for social animals like chimpanzees is that each individual’s welfare is interdependent and at times even negatively correlated with the welfare of those they live with. Finding a place for Willy in the group of nine opened up a world of opportunities for him but resulted in unresolved tension that impacted the whole group. Sometimes the pieces just don’t fit together in a way that makes sense for everyone. So we’ve got to keep working on the puzzle and try something different.
For now we are keeping them in subgroups that we believe will be stable and meet everyone’s needs as best as possible: Willy B, Honey B, Mave, & Dora in one group and Cy, Terry, Gordo, Rayne, and Lucky in another. There’s less social opportunity for now but more cohesion. Like the reintroduction process, these groupings will let us test out relationships and evaluate social dynamics, but without the same end goal of integrating all nine. What is the goal, then? One possibility is to keep them in these or similar subgroups. Another is to regularly rotate individuals between subgroups in a way that attempts to maintain most of the beneficial relationships that were formed in the larger group. And then there are possibilities to explore with the group on the other side of the building, which will undoubtedly be changing over the coming years as they age well into their 50s. We’re mindful that many of them will have a need for new social opportunities in the not-too-distant future.
It’s been a difficult conclusion to reach when both the chimps and the staff and volunteers have invested so much in making the larger group work. But that’s the nature of working with chimpanzees. You just have to keep moving forward with an open mind. We look forward to updating you along the way.
A Few Nice Moments
In today’s blog video, enjoy a collection of videos highlighting some brief, but very sweet, moments from around the sanctuary.
Chimpanzee Dynamics – It’s Complicated
As I was putting together videos for today’s blog, some playful moments between Foxie, Jamie, Burrito and Negra, I realized they presented a nice moment to highlight the complicated intricacies of chimpanzee politics and friendships. We have observed a lot of complicated and sometimes downright confusing moments as we have undergone the reintroduction process with the group of 9, constantly looking to understand their relationships and dynamics to determine next steps, but “it’s complicated” can be applied even in long-standing groups of chimpanzees like Jamie’s group.
Chimpanzees can be brutal. They fight and injure each other, and being low ranking within the group hierarchy can be a tough role to fill. Lower ranking individuals endure more stealing of things like food from higher ranking individuals, usually don’t get first access to the most exciting items (like more novel or high-value foods or enrichment), and can become the recipient of redirected aggression during conflicts within their group even when they weren’t initially involved because they are an “easy” target. Maintaining status as a high-ranking individual isn’t easy either, and depending on the individual and their strategy for maintaining status in their group, they may put themself in harm’s way more frequently in attempts to maintain or improve their rank. An example of this in action could be Willy B displaying and hitting Lucky as part of a dominance display, which then results in many chimps chasing and hitting at Willy B.
Chimpanzees are also capable of remarkable forgiveness and reconciliation, and form meaningful relationships that shape not only their own lives but greatly impact the lives of those around them as well. While the moments of fighting, aggression, and tension can feel very big for us as the humans caring for them, the chimpanzees are often quick to overlook another’s transgressions, and spend time grooming and playing to ease tension and build relationships. Being high-ranking is often not as simple as who is the biggest, strongest, or fastest. Relationships with the other chimpanzees can highly influence where an individual falls in the hierarchy, as friendships can translate to having support during conflicts (or a lack of support), and can limit or expand an individual’s aspirations for higher rank.
I say all that to say, witnessing moments of play between high-ranking and often imposing Jamie and low-ranking Foxie is all the sweeter when you recognize the complexities of their relationship. While Jamie can be intimidating and domineering, they can still find common ground and enjoy moments of play. Burrito and Negra too have a complicated relationship – they have a standing play time each day as they wait for us to finish cleaning their playroom, but Negra is also often a target for Burrito when he feels the need to display. While there are moments of tension, they enjoy many more moments of play and companionship. Being a chimp is just plain complicated!
