Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Archives for December 2025

If I Fits, I Sits

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You know the saying, relating to cats, “if I fits, I sits”?

Cy reminded me of this saying yesterday, when I rounded the corner to the front rooms, and discovered him laying down while INSIDE a tote bag… well his feet and calves were inside, anyway.

Despite being the tough alpha male he is, he is a very soft, silly guy as well. However, the tote bag wearing did surprise me because he isn’t usually drawn to enrichment items that some people wear as accessories, like Annie with sweatbands, Rayne with scarves, Jamie with scarves, etc.

I love a relaxed and silly Cy! ❤️

Gordo’s Game

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As Chad mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Rayne has officially joined the introduction group, with Cy and George. Rayne is such a valuable member to her chimpanzee group so it’s an exciting time for George as I imagine he will learn a lot over the coming weeks! Cy is happy to have Rayne back, too.

Today, I caught some photos of the remaining chimps of Cy’s group who haven’t joined the intro group as of yet (Gordo, Terry, Lucky, and Dora). Gordo wanted to play a very fun game of chase with me for 20+ minutes and at times, he filled his mouth with water. Will he spit on me? Will he not? No one knows but him.

Eventually, he swallowed the water and eyed up the raisin board that us caregivers hung up in his enclosure this morning. Instead of using a chopstick (the provided tool), he used a nearby chopstick paper wrapper as his tool of choice.

 

Also, thank you so much to everyone who contributed yesterday on Giving Tuesday! We reached our goal a few hours ago and cannot thank you enough. We’re excited for 2026!

 

Photos from today…. I am especially proud of the Gordo photos as he never makes eye contact with the camera. Big win!

Dora: 

Gordo clapping to play chase (he totttttalllllly doesn’t have a mouthful of water here):

Gordo working on a raisin board:

Gordo and his still totallllllly empty mouth: 

Gorgeous Rayne:

Terry and Terry’s toothbrush: 

Come and Knock on Our Door, We’ve Been Waiting for You

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We are ch-ch-chuggin’ along with integrating George into a larger social group. Today marks another milestone in that goal. Rayne has now moved in with George and Cy permanently. This part of the introduction has gone pretty good so far, though it did have some of the challenges mentioned before in other meeting George had with Rayne. There had been some brief conflicts between them, with Cy acting as mediator. The only real time we have seen Cy “take a side” was when George lashed out at Cy for a minute, which really wasn’t taking a side as much as it was defending himself.  Chimp politics, amirite?

But since then, the three have made up and we have caught them playing with each other at various points in the day.

What was the miscommunication? I’m not sure, personally, but they know. Which brings up on of the questions we received from last week’s invitation for questions.

One of our long time followers, Kathleen, had asked about my perspective on the role gestural communication plays in this integration process with George. In my view, it plays a pretty significant role.

As you may remember, for most of his life, George has lived with one other female or completely alone. There are several different theories on how gestural communication is acquired, but really they learn it primarily from their mothers and the community they grow up in. And chimpanzees are remarkably resilient in adaptation. When females leave their group when they become of age to bear children, they will adjust the gestures they have learned growing up to match that of the new group that allows them in.

Why females? Chimpanzees in the wild live in a patriarchal society, meaning the males stay in the groups they are born into and the females leave to ensure the gene pool remains diverse enough to successfully reproduce.

One of the things an advisor on my thesis committee told me when I questioned why it’s easier to study the older male population compared to younger chimpanzees or females is because the older males are just that. Stubborn, “not going to change my ways,” old men. So their gestures are going to be the best representative of that group’s gesture repertoire.

That being said though, George is still a vibrant young man and is learning how to communicate with his new friends. This is my own personal opinion and not supported fully by any research, but I believe there is a basic blueprint to some gestures, but how it’s produce and the meaning it takes on is based on the environmental factor. My apologies but I couldn’t find the reference quick enough for this blog, but there is some kind of understanding chimpanzees in accredited zoos tend to understand each other better when they move between the facilities. Unlike those in other captive settings, zoo chimpanzees get to be raised by their mother for the most part. All the behaviors they have learned have been passed down from generation to generation originating initially from a relatively small group of wild caught chimpanzees. Chimpanzees used in the biomedical field had a different type of upbringing.

To me, the biomedical chimpanzees’ situation is very reminiscent of the case if the Nicaraguan deaf children who spontaneously created their own sign language. It’s a fascinating case study  I encourage you all to read. If you ever find it, there is also a really fun game called “Sign” that is based on it where you have to create your own gesture communication system with those you’re playing with. But again, it is my own personal theory backed by no formal research that those in a sanctuary setting are kind of piecemealing it together as they go. It is why I believe why there can be those misunderstandings in the beginning of introductions even though to our eyes it doesn’t seem like there isn’t any difference in the gestures they use with each other.

In this little example, you can see Rayne doing her group’s infamous “bunny hop” trying to get George to engage in play. It also seems like George is misreading it as a display so he is displaying back by trying to look bigger and hunching his shoulders over.

Luckily enough, in this instance, George picked up that Rayne’s intention was non-threatening so he engaged in a game of chase.

The bunny hops get everybody!

This next little clip is when I interpreted as evidence of George learning and adapting. The little “knocks” you see him doing to get Lucky to play don’t seem like much. If you were to ask any of the caregivers where they have seen this move before, however, there is a high chance they would respond, “Gordo.” That’s an almost exclusive Gordo move. We have not seen George do this until recently and after a recent intro with Gordo.

I cannot definitively confirm this because I am not George and can’t tell what he was thinking, but if I had to guess he picked it up to help himself be better understood by Lucky, who lives with Gordo. Again, that is my own guess.

Today is also Giving Tuesday! There is still time to help us reach our goal to help build a new support building for staff to work in! Any little bit gets us closer to helping us fully bring the expansion of our facility to reality!

Bonus Photo of Negra coming in for lunch with a purple-haired Troll!

December?!

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What a year it’s been! I think as humans we like to keep time within tidy borders. Days, weeks, months, seasons, years. The steadiness of knowing, generally, what’s to come, having wonderful things to look forward to, connecting ourselves with somethings and someones. It helps to strike a comforting and familiar balance to the unpredictable and unknown side of life. It’s probably not just us humans who feel that way. Most of us thrive within a sense of safety and security. It’s those very things that often allow most living beings the freedom for our unique expressions and authenticity to flourish within a sense of belonging.

Back at the start of this year, I can tell you that none of us expected that we’d be welcoming another chimpanzee home. I’d guess that our newest family member, George, couldn’t have imagined a life different than the one he’d been living for so long either. And yet, despite what must often feel like uncertainty amid so many new experiences (how could it not?), George continues to amaze us and do his very best to willingly show up for it all. And for us, well, it’s only been months, but how’d we ever live without him in our lives?

None of the beautiful individuals who call the sanctuary home has a (known to us) December birthday to celebrate. But in looking over the fleeting year, I can’t help but look over the flow of all the minutes of their lives, in awe. I’m not sure if the chimpanzees or bovines dwell on days that were particularly exciting or were particularly horrible. On what they’ve gained, or who they’ve lost. If they “pat” themselves on the back for leaping into something new with bravery, or standing up for themselves or someone else, even when it’s risky to do so. If they think about times when their bodies moved with more ease, or they breathe a sigh of relief from thinking about more ease in their lives now. I’m not in their heads, but this isn’t to say I don’t observe moods or behaviors that would correspond with such thoughts and memories. I do, absolutely. But chimpanzees in particular seem adept at moving through their lives more often in the present. Almost certainly better than we humans do.

Each of these extraordinary individuals is a wondrous story of a life woven together by ups, downs, sideways, miracles, devastation, joys, pain, loss, love…all the things that life is for every living being. I’ve never believed non-human animals don’t have a voice. We’re just the lucky ones who get to hear them, and share them, when we listen to their language.

Thank you for helping to give each one of them the chance to be heard, in their own telling. Through every moment following their lives on our blog or social media, donating your money, in-kind gifts, and time, attending our events, showing up over and over again with such dedication for our fundraisers, keeping an eye out for necessities like dolls and boots and magazines and Lucy Bonobo books, spending your time getting to know them and seeing them for the remarkable people they are, and all, somehow with such unfailing kindness and support…you are also woven into their stories. We could never thank you enough for that.

Annie:

Betsy:

Burrito:

Cy:

Dora:

Foxie:

George:

Gordo:

Honey B:

Honey:

Jamie:

Jody, in memory, always:

Lucky:

Mave:

Meredith:

Missy:

Negra:

Nutmeg, Betsy’s forever baby boy who is always missed:

Rayne:

Terry:

Willy B:

Though we aren’t celebrating any resident birthdays this month, we’re definitely celebrating the birthday of Angie (the 1st), Foxie’s beautiful daughter who resides at Save the Chimps in Florida! Angie is turning 38 on December 21st (photo courtesy of Save the Chimps):

In other December news, Giving Tuesday is tomorrow, December 2nd! (To all of you who have been able to donate so far, THANK YOU!). And as we look ahead to the next phase of expansion of the sanctuary for the chimpanzees, cows, and humans alike, you can donate and/or learn more about a special chance for all donors and non-donors alike to win something very special (you won’t want to miss this!) on our Giving Tuesday donation page:

“This year, you helped us welcome George to sanctuary. Now we’re building for the future, starting in the spring with a support building needed to care for a growing sanctuary. Your *matched* gift today helps us take the next step! BONUS: All donors are automatically entered to win a custom chimpanzee sweater featuring the CSNW chimpanzee of their choice! Donors and non-donors have an equal chance of winning the custom sweater. Non-donors can enter here. Open to U.S. residents 18 and older. Entries must be received by 11:59pm PT on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. Winner will be drawn Wednesday, December 3 at 9am PT and notified by email. Sponsored by Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.”

Happy holidays and wintering (or summering) ahead, friends, and whether you celebrate in any way or not, thank you again for being here with us through all the ups, downs, and sideways that time brings, and for all that you make possible in the chimpanzees’ and bovines’ lives. And in all of our lives. We hope you’re celebrating that, and all your gracious hearts. We sure are.