Diana kicked off our Valentine’s series with a beautiful tribute to Nutmeg. And today I would like to highlight someone very important to this sanctuary, Cy. Cy is a pivotal individual in his group. Not only is he the alpha, but he is a phenomenal leader who keeps the peace and makes sure everyone is safe. Cy is not just a leader by strength, but he shows his strength in his kindness, his friendly attitude, his charming demeanor, being a loyal friend, accepting of others for who they are, and to top it all off he has a great personality too! With all of these attributes, I think you can see why it is easy to fall in love with Cy!
I mean, look at him!
Cy was born at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP) in 1990. His records say that his father was Herbie and his mother was Sally. That means he is a full sibling to Lucky and a half sibling to Rayne and Honey B as well as numerous chimpanzees at other sanctuaries, including Binky at the Fauna Foundation in Canada. When LEMSIP closed in 1996, Cy went to Wildlife Waystation along with over 30 other chimpanzees. When Wildlife Waystation closed in 2019, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest continued our planned expansion to make a home for another group of chimpanzees in need. Cy arrived with the rest of the “Lucky Six” on June 26, 2021.
Cy is best known for his love of gossip magazines, specifically People! Sometimes when a chimp isn’t shifting, we may offer them something like juice to shift over. Cy on the other hand, is not easily persuaded by food. However, show him a People magazine and he will come running!
Something you may or may not know about Cy is that he has a real soft spot for rom-coms, specially anything with Stanley Tucci! Cy is also known to alarm call to what he deems as dangerous animals in books, such as: cows, rhinos, hippos, pigs, elephants, and giraffes. Often someone in his group, like Rayne, Terry, or even Gordo, will come to the rescue and grab the book or the scary page.
Last year Ellen threw an amazing birthday party for Cy with the theme of Stanley and gossip magazines!
Cy is most likely to be found lounging in a Greenhouse with a magazine in his signature position, laying on his back with his legs up.
Cy’s signature relaxation position:
Something that gets Cy out of bed in the mornings is a game of chase with his caregivers, followed up by a few sweet kisses or grooming the back of our hands. He gets so excited every morning, he runs down that stairs and bursts into a game of chase!
Cy is one of the most captivating and earnest chimps I have ever met. To be in his presence is a privilege, but the thing about Cy is, he is humble and a very gracious friend to everyone he meets. Cy doesn’t seem to realize how amazing he is, he is just excited to have you be a part of his life. I sometimes can’t believe how lucky we are to have a chimp like Cy here at the sanctuary. He is a calming presence for his group except for when he sees a dangerous animal in a book, though I guess that just means he isn’t afraid to be vulnerable with his group, but back to my point, Cy is gentle and he is patient. I have so many favorite memories of Cy because of just how kind of a person he is. But I think the real testament to Cy as a person and leader has been watching him help George learn how to be in a group. Cy is always by George’s side helping and protecting him when needed.
Cy currently has nine Chimpanzee Pals. Thank you for supporting our kind-hearted friend! If you’d like to become Cy’s friend, you can become his Pal here: https://chimpsnw.org/you-can-help/be-a-chimpanzee-pal/
Has Cyrus taken the time — or assigned the task to one of his human employees — to write a fan letter to Stanley Tucci? I think that Stanley would be thrilled to know that he has such a well-read fan in the Cascade Mountains.
I thought of Cy today as I passed by the magazine rack at the grocery store. The latest issue of People mag is graced with a cover of Mr. Bad Bunny himself. I thought about purchasing it and sending it to Cy…until I remembered that rabbits, like giraffes, elephants, rhinoceri, pigs, and Scooby Doo, might just be yet another mammalian species that our guy Cy finds just too scary.
On a brighter note, I understand that a sequel to “The Devil wears Prada” is in the works. Presumably Stanley T. will return to light up the screen and Cy’s heart…
Stanley (most of the original cast) is in it!
Great movie! I just re-watched it last week and had no idea they were making a sequel. I wish they had done it sooner though. Its been quite a few years since the original they’re a little late on timing it.
The world could use more people like Cy. He’s got soul. For those of us who may never have the pleasure of meeting him, you bring Cy to life, Kelsi. Obviously he is one of your closest Pals. I can feel your love for him oozing out of this blog.
Cy is the best!
I, too, could happily spend the day hidden away with a couple of apples and something to read!
Cy is a contradiction of most things we know about alpha male chimps. His kindness and easy going attitude are his strengths. Everyone seems to respect him and that is very fortunate for someone like George coming into his group. I’m sure all of you who are well experienced with chimp troops must appreciate the fact that Cy has been the pivotal person in George’s easing into sanctuary life. Who knows why he developed a liking for Stanley Tucci, but we will all look for Stanley in magazines or cookbooks to send him for his reading pleasure. I love his private library cardboard box and relaxed feet in the air.
Has Cy ever actually seen any of those “dangerous” animals?
Amazing story about Cy and his behaviors. I found my eyes were drawn to him when i first started following the chimps on YouTube. You can tell he’s an important guy in his family and that was before i knew he was the Alpha male. No, he does not resemble the Alpha male chimps we all associate with that title. I think we’re all used to seeing an agressive and maybe not so caring tough chimp as Alpha but Cy is such an exception to that stereotype and I’m glad he is. We’re kind of blessed to see his remarkable intelligence and its super cute how he “reads” his magazines and associates how he feels based on the images he sees. Just incredible stuff to know about him. Thanks for filing us in and letting us learn more about Cy’s personality. I feel priviladged to know about him. Cheers…
Cy is such an amazing guy and he proves it every day, especially with a new guy (George) in the mix now! Cy really is proof that there’s more to an alpha male than brute force. Strong, kind, well-read; he’s the total package!
Thank you, Kelsi for the wonderful blog. Cy is simply amazing. Getting to know him better is a treat.
Anyone would do good to emulate this guy. No doubt – he is special.
Much love to Cy…