Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Chad de Bree

Don’t Be Suspicious… Don’t Be Suspicious

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New foods for chimpanzees can either make them excited, or suspicious. Today, the chimpanzees were introduced to mangosteens. I know that some of you know about Annie’s allergy to mangoes. Don’t let the name of these super fruits confuse you. They are not related to mangoes. They are more closely related to things like starfruit and lychee, though they are really in their own class. The taste has been described as a combination of strawberries, peaches, pineapples, bananas, pomegranates, and lychees, among other things. Again, they really are in a class of their own and hard to describe.

Mangosteens are indigenous to Southeast Asia. Found in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is known as the “Queen of Fruits.” Besides being extremely tasty, there are also many health benefits to mangosteens. They are packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, support blood sugar control, and some studies have found they may also help promote weight loss.

Overall, everyone in Foxie’s group loved them! Cy’s group, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. Some didn’t even bother to try them. Those who did try them, however, seemed to love them!

Bonus photo of Cy watching me as I was cleaning their mezzanine yesterday:

Also, don’t forget to check out the online auction items! You can begin to bid on the items you want now! And for those who are attending in person, you can start thinking about which items you are going to bid on! I’m quite partial, and biased, on this beautiful painting of Mave!

“Chimps Are Off The Hill”

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A couple of years ago, Caregiver Anthony wrote a blog about some of the lingo we use around the sanctuary. As staff prepare for the day to end, one of the things we do is a head count of each chimpanzee to ensure they are off of Young’s Hill and aren’t out in the cold at night. When we are able to close off Young’s Hill (at Jamie’s discretion that is), we announce over the radio “the chimps are off the hill.” It is one of the more common announcements made over the radio that can be heard around the sanctuary.

As J.B. mentioned a couple of months ago, the construction around the Young’s Hill expansion and The Bray is picking up. Well, we have reached the point of that blog where Jamie’s group will not have access to Young’s Hill for a little bit. As caregivers, we are obviously conflicted by this. On one hand, they will not have access to Young’s Hill. On the other hand, their outside habitat is expanding and Cy’s group will get the opportunity to venture into The Bray. Plus there’s the addition of new climbing structures and flora for them to interact with. There are cost and benefits to everything, and I personally think the benefits are astronomical in comparison to the cost of some time off Young’s Hill.

So please excuse the hiatus of seeing photos of the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill. They will still have access to their greenhouse, which still provides them with fresh air and sunshine during this time.

And enjoy these recent photos!

Missy and Annie on their morning patrol before coming in to make way for construction.

Terry enjoying one of his favorite food puzzles: Boomer Balls!

Honey B falling into slumber while watching the humans clean.

Cy catching up on his reading during National Read a Book Day!

Honey B enjoying lunch in the Oakwood Greenhouse!

Sani-Terry Grooming

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After morning cleaning was complete and lunch had been served, I walked around the sanctuary to take photos for this blog. I admit that a good handful of times I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to write about until it comes down to the wire. Not that we have a set time we must have the blog done, we just like to publish it in a time frame to not keep anybody waiting. Inspiration for the blog tends to hit me during this walk around the sanctuary. It usually occurs when during little moments with the chimpanzees.

Today, that inspiration came from Terry. As you may know, Terry LOVES attention. You may have heard his attention-getter in some of the videos. What I have noticed is that besides playing chase with caregivers, Terry really likes grooming with caregivers. This is especially the case with boots. Sometimes tiny rocks get stuck in the treading on the bottom of our boots, and Terry loves to clear them out for us. (Honey B also loves to do this as well.)

Grooming is an important part of a chimpanzee’s social life. When chimpanzees groom, they rid each other of things such as parasites, dead skin, scabs, and any debris caught in their hair. But more importantly, when chimpanzee’s groom with each other, it also helps strengthen and maintain social bonds with one another. When it comes to chimpanzees grooming caregivers, it may be that. There have been some studies that suggest so, and there have been researchers who argue that is not the case. Regardless of what it is, it is enriching for them. And I don’t think any of the caregivers here mind spending 30 minutes or more to this. For me, I consider myself very fortunate to spend this time with someone like Terry. Terry is one of the greatest people you could meet. He is a friend to all.

Terry grooming the bottom of my boot.

Don’t forget! You can preview some of the items that will be up for auction during this year’s HOOT! There are some amazing items that will be up for bid both in-person at the gala in Seattle, and online! Be sure to check them out!

Here are some bonus photos of the Guess Who Girl from yesterday’s blog!

Rayne completely relaxed in Riverview Greenhouse

Rayne and Willy B eating lunch in the Oakwood Greenhouse

During lunch yesterday, a train went by. Rayne began to watch it pass by and eat her bag of chow like a bag of popcorn.

A Little Negra for Your Day

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Today has been a blur of a day. We humans were very busy cleaning and doing other tasks around the Chimp House. Today really flew by. Luckily enough, Negra is my saving star for today’s blog!

This morning, when her group was given access to Young’s Hill, I was taken aback when I saw her out there so early in the morning.

There didn’t seem to be a motive to go out other than to just go out. As you know, when Negra does go out first thing in the morning, there’s usually a purpose (i.e. foraging for prickly lettuce). But every once in a while, we are gifted with seeing her just enjoying the outside.

As the the rest of her group went on their morning patrol, Negra stayed put. As they returned, she greeted everyone as they returned.

Negra seemed to be in such a great mood today. At lunch, she was offering kisses and wouldn’t allow me to leave her as caregiver Grace served her. Every time I got up, she would put her lips through the caging to offer a kiss, knowing I would stay.

As we speak, Negra is doing her tour of the Frisbee Puzzles that are hanging up in her playroom.

In fact, right now Negra is telling us that dinner time is rapidly approaching. She let’s us know by finding the best position that looks into the kitchen, bangs on the caging, and claps her hands, which is my cue to hurry things along.

Always for you, Negra!

Here are some bonus photos I was also able to get today.

Rayne in the Riverview Greenhouse:

Honey B plotting her next mischievous move:

Mave hanging out in the Riverview Greenhouse:

Burrito watching me through a mirror:

Be Right as Rayne

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There was some slight reprieve from the heat today. The sky is blanketed with clouds and rain has been on and off since morning. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this reprieve because though it is cooler, it’s still a “brisk” 97º out, making the day more humid. The chimpanzees didn’t seem to mind though.

During lunch, Rayne chose to perch herself on a pool of diluted Gatorade in the Riverview Greenhouse. She ate her entire lunch there, taking sips in-between bites. I was able to get some photos of here enjoying her chow biscuits. This series of photos is also a good depiction of how a wadge is made.

Some bonus photos from today:

Negra watching her group embark on their first patrol of the day.

Honey B watching me as I was taking photos of the Gatorade pool.

Jody taking it easy in her Greenhouse.

Burrito coming over to tell me to stop taking photos of Jody and to play chase.

Lucky patiently waiting for dinner service.

Family Ties

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A few weeks ago, we asked you to submit your questions for us to answer. One question that was asked a few times by different people was if the siblings spend more time with each other than those not related to them.

In case there is anybody new, there are several siblings, full and half, in the group from the Wildlife Waystation. Cy and Lucky are full siblings. Rayne and Honey B are half siblings to each other as well as to Cy and Lucky. They all share the same father: Herbie.

Honey B:

Rayne:

Lucky:

Cy:

Dora and Gordo are also half siblings through their father: Les. Since Dora and Gordo were in the same group for several years and arrived here together, I assume the questions were based on the Herbie Clan. I will say that Dora and Gordo are great friends and spend a lot of time together.

Cy, Lucky, and Rayne arrived here last year with their group, while Honey B arrived here almost three years ago with Willy B and Mave. Though they are all related at least through their father, there is little to no indication they are aware of it. They all interact with each other at least once throughout the day in some way shape or form.

Lucky, for the most part, keeps to herself. Cy spends a lot of time keeping the group in order. Rayne is a social butterfly. Honey B interacts when and with whom she wants to interact at any given point.

Though Honey B shows the respect Cy deserves as the group’s alpha, they aren’t seen together that much. Honey B and Lucky do play with each other from time to time, but it’s not really a daily occurrence. Honey B and Rayne, on the other hand, do spend quite some time together almost every day with playing, grooming, or “mall walking.” I imagine they would be walking around their “mall” with coffees in hand if they had the chance.

Their is some physical resemblance between Honey B and Rayne, but it’s mostly if you catch them at certain angles. And if there is one thing all four of them have in common, they all can be very stubborn. (Examples: 1 & 2 ) It hasn’t been written about as much, but Rayne used to hold out when we tried to shift them out of an area early on when she first arrived. (Fingers crossed that was just a phase and I didn’t just jinx it!) Other than that, all four are very unique from one another. And ultimately, there is no difference between the time they spend with each other and the other unrelated chimpanzees.

If you still have some lingering questions, it’s never too late to submit them! You can still do so on the original post!

Rayne and Honey B:

Cy:

Lucky:

Some bonus photos of Burrito during today’s lunch forage:

The Unsuspecting Friendship

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Today, my phone sent me a notification of a memory from last year. One year ago, the quarantine period for the Lucky Six ended and got to be closer to their neighbors (at the time): Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. It doesn’t feel like it has been a year, but at the same time it feels like it’s been over a year. A lot has happened since, like the Lucky Six’s “neighbors” aren’t their neighbors anymore. They are one big group. Since they have been living together for almost three months, it’s hard at times to think they were ever two separate groups.

One of the budding relationships we didn’t anticipate in this new group was that of Mave and Dora. During the introduction process, Mave and Dora didn’t necessarily have bad interactions. Their interactions just were never the best. Lackluster is a word that could describe it. They were mostly low key and in short spurts. After the full integration, their friendship really started to come to fruition. At first, it seemed like Mave would just follow Dora constantly with Dora trying to get away. As the weeks went by, and Mave showed Dora what support she could offer as a friend, Dora stopped trying to escape Mave. Or at least as much. There are still times when Dora does want her alone time, but Mave now seems to get the hint when that is. Mave will leave her alone for a little while (but not too long), interact with the others, before returning to Dora.

It is now not an uncommon sight to find these two together in the afternoon, side-by-side.

One day, I even found them like this. Laying down, holding hands, and just staring at each other.

Later on, something startled Dora. I couldn’t see what caused Dora to become upset, but she started alarm calling, followed by screaming, before racing off into the Riverview Greenhouse. Mave was in the other room, but she heard Dora and followed the screams to the greenhouse. As Mave emerged from the Marmot Playroom, Dora leaped towards Mave and they embraced in the most endearing hug I have seen.

That hug seemed to calm Dora down.

I, for one, personally cannot wait to see how this friendship blossoms even further!

Here are some bonus photos from today!

Gordo eating some fingerling potatoes at lunch:

Jamie enjoying a raspberry branch as browse:

Terry in the Riverview Greenhouse with a mouthful of water and wadge in hand:

Jody watching some construction around Young’s Hill:

And resting in the afternoon:

Annie foraging for some pre-breakfast prickly lettuce:

Burrito racing toward me as I was taking the above photo, telling me it’s time to race:

Rayne relaxing inside where it’s cooler:

Dora in her patent Happy Dora Pose:

Cy grooming Mave grooming Willy B:

Cy catching up on all the latest celebrity news a couple of days ago:

We also want to thank our friends at Tru Earth! About a year ago, as an ongoing effort to reduce our environmental footprint, we switched the detergent we use to wash the chimpanzee’s blankets. Tru Earth were kind enough to start a fundraiser store just for us. Twenty percent of every purchase made from this unique URL will go toward the chimpanzees! If you are in need of cleaning supplies or other eco-friendly products, please consider shopping at this site!