Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Elizabeth

The Warriors

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Jamie and Negra are similar in many ways. Jamie, the youngest female at the sanctuary, is the undisputed leader. She rules through a combination of well-considered political strategy and fierce determination.

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Negra, the eldest chimpanzee at the sanctuary, is the grandma of the group, but she’s the grandma you don’t mess with.

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Jamie and Negra never hesitate to keep their caregivers in line. Both have little patience for (what they consider) incompetence, and they will speak up if someone’s behavior does not live up to their standards. There is something a little demoralizing about displeasing one of them.

The decades Jamie and Negra spent in research labs, being used and abused by humans, could easily have killed their spirits. Many lab chimps give in and give up, and you can’t blame them. We’re so happy that Jamie and Negra have enough fight left in them to keep us on our toes.

An Enduring Love

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Over seven years after meeting and falling in love with her first troll doll, Foxie is still so intensely enamored with these strange little dolls that she carries one everywhere. Today she laid down to rest in the playroom and spent several minutes gazing at her doll before closing her eyes.

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Missy Uncaged

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This was Missy in her transport cage on her way to the sanctuary in 2008. This cage isn’t much different than the cages she had lived in for the previous 30 years.

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We didn’t yet know Missy well on that day in 2008, but we would soon come to learn that she wants nothing more than to move her body. She is a natural athlete, packed to the brim with energy just waiting to be released in a sprint or leap or swing on the fire hose. It is almost impossible to imagine what those decades in cramped laboratory cages were like for her. She must have felt stifled and confined in the worst way.

Seeing her take advantage of the wide open spaces at the sanctuary these days never gets old. This morning, a tire swing way at the top of Young’s Hill caught my eye as it swayed back and forth, and I momentarily wondered what had set it in motion since it’s a rare windless day in Cle Elum. After a second I spotted Missy perched on the climbing structure, just a speck on the landscape.

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Extra Helpings

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After we serve a meal to the chimpanzees, there’s usually a few pieces of food on the ground that have dropped on the human side of the caging. The meal server typically leaves the food where it is, and the chimps will go find tools to use to pull it closer, or they’ll grab the attention of a caregiver and “ask” for the food by pointing to it.

Today Anna served the chimps a lunch of broccoli, kale, and bell peppers in the greenhouse. I went out shortly after the meal to see what everyone was up to, and Burrito immediately swung down from the platform where he was finishing his chow, and pointed out some kale and broccoli that had fallen on my side of the caging. After a quick scan for boss Jamie (she’ll occasionally pull rank when we try to offer food to the other chimps), I picked up the dropped food and gave it to a very grateful Burrito.

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Learning Curves

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In some ways, Burrito has had to learn to be a chimpanzee. Lab chimps don’t get many chances to act like chimps – they often don’t have access to other chimps to groom or play with, they don’t get to forage for their food, and they don’t have room to move like chimps should move. Those of them who are lucky enough to move to a sanctuary usually exhibit a learning curve; they have fears to face and skills to acquire.

One natural chimp behavior that Burrito never exhibited during his first year or two at the sanctuary was brachiating (BREAK-ee-ate-ing). This is the arm-over-arm swinging that chimps do from branch to branch in the trees. Despite never having the space to move in that way before, the other chimps all brachiated across the ceiling of the greenhouse from day 1. But not Burrito. It just didn’t seem to occur to him as an option.

And then one day, he did. We’re not sure what changed, but it was one of many steps Burrito has made on his way to chimpanzee-ness.

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The People of the Sanctuary

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It’s been over seven years since the chimpanzees’ previous lives as research subjects came to an end, and they moved into their new home at the sanctuary. We’ve seen so many changes in them in that time; not only physically, but in their personalities, their interests, their likes and dislikes. I’m going to do my best to describe each of the chimpanzees as we know them today.

Annie:

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Annie is sweet and shy, but is less and less afraid to stick up for herself. She adores her best friend Missy, but has also learned to appreciate alone time. When she’s feeling relaxed, she lies on her back and makes “bird noises” by holding her hand to her mouth and blowing air through. She loves to look at caregivers’ bare feet.

Burrito:

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Burrito is boyish, excitable, and always hungry. He loves his caregivers, and turns to them when he’s feeling playful, which is always. He is learning to navigate the social waters of a chimpanzee group, but he still steps out of line from time to time and gets in trouble with the ladies. He has been joining boss Jamie on many of her perimeter walks around Young’s Hill, despite the fact that he’s a little afraid of her.

Foxie:

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Foxie is silly and childlike. She is the peacekeeper of the group, and works hard to make sure everyone is getting along. When she’s overjoyed, she does backflips, pirouettes, and a variety of breakdancing moves. She is rarely seen without her beloved troll and Dora the Explorer dolls. She loves fruit smoothie, and likes to tickle her caregivers with her toes.

Jamie:

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Jamie is strong, focused, and very, very smart. She is an insecure leader, but what she lacks in confidence she makes up for in determination. She is obsessed with humans, and wants very much to be included in our activities. She enjoys projects and challenges – the trickier, the better. Nothing makes her happier than spending time with a caregiver and a good pair of cowboy boots.

Jody:

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Jody is confident, independent, and serious. She is the self-appointed group manager, and often hangs back at the doorway when the chimps are shifting into a new area and ushers the other chimps through with an extended arm. She loves to make giant nests with mountains of blankets, and dives into them head-first with a low moan of contentment that we call her “dinosaur noise.”

Missy:

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Missy is an adventurous, athletic thrill seeker. If she were a human, she’d be the type to enjoy activities like sky diving and bungee jumping. She’s extremely loyal to her chimpanzee group, and will stick up for any of them at anytime, no questions asked. Her propensity for tending to the other chimps’ wounds has earned her the nickname “Dr. Missy.” She would do anything for tomatoes.

Negra:

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Negra is regal, impatient, and wise. She stays out of most group conflicts, and lets the other chimps know when to cut it out with a decisive pant hoot. She is the cranky grandma who everyone’s a little afraid of, but respects nonetheless. Her ideal day is made up of blankets, naps, peanuts, and quiet.