Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Anthony

The Best Volunteers

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To say we lean on our volunteers (and interns) when times get tough is an understatement.

There is so much to do and the days feel so short right now. To appreciate how critical the volunteers are, it may help you to understand how our team operates.

Each day, one of our staff members has the role of Lead Caregiver and is primarily responsible for opening and closing the facility, operating and unlocking doors, responding to safety issues, and synchronizing all of the day’s personnel. Think of them, as Chad nicely puts it, as “air traffic control.” A second staff member is tasked with completing daily chores, preparing meals and enrichment, distributing medications, and approving all of the Lead’s door operations. In short, two caregivers manage the Chimp House as partners for the day. Their typical itinerary looks something like this:

Open, check, serve, shift, check, clean, check, shift, check, clean, check, shift, serve, organize, tidy, blog, check, shift, clean, serve, check, close. Somehow find time to answer emails. Repeat all of it the next day.

A third staff member may be asked to help them, but that still only leaves just enough time to complete the bare essentials, with no time left for administrative work, sanctuary upkeep, or other miscellaneous projects. It’s safe to say that we need extra help, and we’re fortunate enough to have a full corps of capable and eager volunteers who support our staff every day.

Volunteering is a big commitment. Just to even be on site, applicants must go through rigorous training. This process includes a preliminary application and a safety orientation followed by months of interactive learning. Even for volunteers and interns who come in weekly, it takes months of hard work to become proficient at basic tasks. While becoming familiar with all the essential duties, most volunteers also learn to distinguish the individual chimpanzees and conduct the necessary checks before unlocking enclosures for cleaning. This is not a task to be taken lightly. At the highest level of responsibility, some volunteers are even trained to have protected contact with the chimpanzees through the steel caging. With this specialized skill set comes the ability to directly serve meals to the chimps.

Because volunteers “lend a hand” with many time-consuming tasks, caregivers sometimes have the flexibility to work on other endeavors (such as writing long-winded blog posts with accompanying videos). The volunteers also advocate for chimps via outreach events, work to inspire donations, devise and build new enrichment items, and assist with monitoring chimpanzee health and behavior. They’re an integral part of our team.

Most importantly, the individuals who volunteer here are great people who love the chimpanzees. In addition to making the workplace more interesting for our staff, they certainly help the chimpanzees to have a good time. Volunteers will often be seen dutifully putting on cowboy boots for Jamie, running around the Hill with Missy, playing tug-of-war with Burrito, stomping around with Willy B, and pretending to be excited when Honey B gifts them random items through the caging (today’s most notable gift was an elastic headband). We appreciate the extra hands, but the chimps may appreciate them even more.

Of course, the volunteers get unique experiences and acquire new skills in exchange for their efforts. Some volunteers are enrolled in internships for academic credits through our partnership with Central Washington University, and dozens have utilized this pathway to earn graduate degrees or professional certificates and advance their careers. Many of the sanctuary’s alumni have progressed to serving at other reputable sanctuaries, working as zookeepers in accredited zoos, studying nonhuman primate behavior in academic contexts, advocating for animal welfare and conservation via science communications, and caring for nonhuman animals in veterinary settings. A few former volunteers have even found themselves employed at CSNW as caregivers (I wonder if you can guess who I am referring to). Still, other volunteers have unrelated professions but equally contribute to the chimps’ well-being in impactful ways.

It truly is a diverse, talented, and diligent group of people. I can’t say that any one of them is the best volunteer, but I like to brag that we really do have the best volunteers.

Also, I would like to specially thank the Sunday Squad for letting me awkwardly film them as they worked in the Chimp House. You’re all rock stars.

Mave in the Middle

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Yesterday afternoon, the three “new” chimps (Honey B, Mave and Willy B) were so engrossed in a session of play wrestling that they almost forgot about dinner.

It’s somewhat unusual for all three of them to play this intensely at the same time. In fact, it may have been the most vigorous bout of rough-housing that I have seen them partake in. Mave took a quick break but was soon back in the midst of all the action, chuckling and somersaulting around. For a few minutes, it looked as if the other two might absorb fuzzy little Mave to become one gigantic megachimp amoeba, which is both concerning and adorable. At one point, Mave seemed to surface for air in between bouts of laughing into Honey’s thigh. Even Willy, who is normally quite serious when not dropping jaws with his slinky moves, let the ladies turn him into a total goof.

Of course, I featured this surprising and heartwarming event in yesterday’s blog.

An A-Mave-zing Teaser

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I want to formally apologize for the tardiness of today’s blog. I’m trying to upload a video I made for you all but it is taking much longer than I initially hoped. I could blame it on the rural internet, which is indeed horrible, but I should also hold myself accountable because I made the video quite long. I couldn’t bring myself to remove any of the scenes; each is compelling in its own way. Just think of the resulting work as my director’s cut.

I aim to have it uploaded, along with the full blog post, sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning. For now, I’m just going to leave you all with this screenshot from the final video. I won’t say which chimp it features, but let’s just say that they’re a MAVE-nificent individual. Good luck trying to figure it out.

 

 

Annie and Pretzels

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No, this post is not about Annie eating pretzels. It’s partially about Annie Chimpanzee, as seen in these photos, but it’s also about all the enormous pretzels, vegan bratwurst, and craft beer that our staff are going to consume during tonight’s visit to a magical place: Leavenworth.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, Leavenworth is a town located north of the sanctuary in the shadow of the Cascades. It boasts a Bavarian theme and is known for its charm, cuisine, and recreation. The CSNW crew typically makes a pilgrimage there every December, but we missed our opportunity this year since Burrito’s medications had to be administered each night. Consequently, tonight’s itinerary includes our annual group trip to the fabled mountain village. We are also celebrating the addition of Chad to the team, and this will be our first outing with him as a full-time staff member. We can only hope that he proves to be as valuable to our trivia team as he is to our care staff.

Therefore, I’ll withhold my summary of today’s events since the other caregivers are rushing me to finish writing the blog and closing down the Chimp House. Instead, I’ll leave you all with a few photos of Annie, who was the first chimpanzee to venture out onto the Hill today. It was unseasonably warm and the chimps were able to tiptoe on dry ground to avoid the remaining patches of snow.

I’d write more, but an evening of alpine fun awaits.

Burrito in Monochrome

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The chimpanzees’ world is full of color.

In the spring, the landscape blooms with eye-catching wildflowers and green foliage that seem to radiate color and warmth. Summers are characterized by deep turquoise skies. Crisp autumn days turn the surrounding meadows a shiny gold and decorate the surrounding forest with speckles of red, orange and yellow. Even now, in the deep winter, the muted skies and pale snow are overshadowed by the emerald tint of the numerous evergreen trees. Regardless of season, the busy Chimp House itself is always full of colorful blankets, enrichment, produce, tools, and even some sensible wall decor.

Despite all this light flowing around us, capturing compelling portraits of the chimps is usually difficult. For one thing, the chimps and humans are always separated by steel caging, a chimp-proof window or an electrified barrier. These structures wreak havoc on camera lenses and need to be focused out. Even when the chimpanzees are foraging or patrolling outdoors, they are often hundreds of feet away, obscured by dense foliage, or sprinting around the habitat (see: Missy). Sometimes, the bright sunlight creates harsh shadows that yield miserable photographs. Indoor lighting is also a challenge, to put it lightly, and using flash on an alert chimpanzee would be a horrible idea.

However, there is one place in the whole sanctuary where capturing portraits of the chimpanzees seems to be easier than anywhere else. Although it is formally known as Front Room 4, the staff often refer to one of the chimpanzees’ favorite locations as “The Portrait Studio” (1, 2, 3, 4). It’s popularity is likely due to the wide bench that is perfectly situated for looking down the hallway into the bustling kitchen and foyer. From the same vantage, they also can see out the window towards the garden, driveway, hay barn, neighboring cattle pasture, and even across the sanctuary to the opposite ridgeline. It’s a dream come true for nosy chimpanzees, but we caregivers appreciate the space for a different reason; the north-facing window bathes the chimpanzees in soft lighting that is well-suited for portraits.

When Burrito sat in that beam of diffuse light a couple of days ago, as he often does, I decided to snap a bunch of photos and then immediately forgot about them. Today, as I began to formulate a direction for today’s blog post, I rediscovered the series on my camera’s memory card. I then tinkered with the photographs in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, a program commonly used for organizing and manipulating images. Of all the edits I made, I realized that I liked the way Burrito looked without any color. Black-and-white suits Bubba well.

A century ago, most photography was monochrome (gray or sepia) by default. Now, omitting or removing the hue from an image is something photographers and filmmakers purposefully do in order to create a certain aesthetic. As far as our work at CSNW is concerned, I think such a practice has merit. By taking color out of the equation, I feel more attuned to how light flows into the chimpanzees’ home, across the imposing barriers that separate us from them, and onto their facial features. It showcases the depth of their physical space and reminds me that their world, which I can only explore in a superficial manner, has a similar profundity. Furthermore, anatomical structures like hairs, wrinkles, muscles, scars and callouses give character and topography to what would otherwise be registered as a homogeneous gray body. Perhaps this medium highlights some of their more peculiar nonhuman traits while simultaneously making such differences between us and them seem more trivial. Whatever is going on in our eyes and brains, I like portraying them in this way.

Below are my favorites from the series. During processing, I tried not to dramatically alter the overall lighting, hoping instead to preserve the reality of Burrito’s location and mood. What I did tinker with, however, was the relative luminance of the various hues in the photographs, thereby changing how colors contributed to the lightness and darkness in each. Using such a mixer enabled me to create distinct portraits that were taken only seconds apart. For perspective, you can look at the print on the wooden toy block in Burrito’s hand (which is actually dark green, but appears different in each edit). I think that each has its own tone, and perhaps tells a different story. I’ll let you all be the judges.

 

1. In this portrait, I brightened purple, magenta and red hues.

 

2. This portrait is composed of mostly green and cyan hues.

 

3. I brightened red and orange light in this version, dampening cooler hues.

 

4. For this edit, I allowed all hues to contribute equally to the image but altered the lighting as a whole.

 

5. The lighting in this version is mildly edited but I left the coloration intact.

Write Your Own Blog Post!

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That may have come out wrong.

“Write Your Own Blog Post” is actually today’s theme. I wasn’t snapping. I promise.

Think of today’s entry like you would a self-serve car wash or one of those places where you can put whatever topping you want on your fro-yo. I literally want you to view this collection of images that I captured at the sanctuary today and use your imagination to fill in the blanks. The blog is in your hands.

The chimps, cattle and humans had a great day, but we caregivers didn’t have much time to write about it. I wasn’t lacking inspiration, especially since I had some thought-provoking conversations with caregiver Chad and volunteer/professor/board member Jessica as we swept, scrubbed, and served well into the afternoon. None of those thoughts found their way onto the page, though. Sometimes, a few snapshots say more than several paragraphs would, and I hope that is the case this evening.

I’m about to have a late-night bagel, go make a gigantic blanket nest and sleep until tomorrow morning.

Cheers from snowy Cle Elum!

The Yakima River meanders past the sanctuary.
Honey awaits alfalfa and minerals.
Mave investigates the camera lens after breakfast.
With so much snow and ice, just getting to the upper barn was a challenge.
Honey led the herd around the pasture, waiting for me to unload their food.
Burrito was bright and chipper this morning, and had an afternoon grooming session with Jamie.

Winter Storm

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Winter in the Pacific Northwest can be difficult to handle.

The landscape becomes dark, cold, and icy for several months. It’s beautiful in many ways, but it’s also challenging. In order to subsist in these surroundings, our team must make the necessary preparations and maintain a positive attitude about whatever the skies throw down on us. To visualize this, imagine how caregiver Chad and volunteer Fritz looked as they returned to the Chimp House this afternoon, soaking wet and freezing after driving through the blinding snow to feed the cattle and muck the barn. Of course, they laughed about it. Those smiles, paired with the appropriate clothing and equipment, ensure that we will make it to the spring in one piece.

As sanctuary personnel, our motive is to make sure the chimpanzees experience the wonders of the winter season without being subjected to its harsh conditions. Unfortunately, some inconveniences are unavoidable (e.g., Young’s Hill is buried under a foot of snow at the moment), but the chimpanzees can still choose to go outside and harvest snow or hang out inside on the heated floors. For some, an ideal day is spent in the loft of the Playroom, nibbling on roasted vegetables while submerged in a sea of blankets. This year’s new arrivals, for example, don’t seem enthused by the snowy surroundings just yet. For others, nothing seems better than darting outside, shoveling fresh snow into their chimpy mouths, and succumbing to the imminent brain freeze. To each their own, I guess.

We’ll continue to update everyone on the humors of the chimps through this ongoing winter snowstorm. Many of you are probably anxious for news about Burrito, but he has been bright and energetic for the last few days. You would never guess that he just had a toe amputated except he is still covered in distraction tape (and missing a toe).

You can all rest assured that the chimps are cozy and occupied, and the humans are having some fun, too.

Stay warm and safe, everyone!