Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Elizabeth

Too Close for Comfort?

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Chimpanzees spend a lot of time grooming each other. Grooming serves hygienic purposes – removing dead skin, tending to wounds – but maybe more importantly it serves to strengthen bonds between individuals. Chimpanzees don’t seem to have the same hangups about personal space as many of us do; they are not shy about getting right up in each other’s faces (or other body parts). It’s hard to imagine how two individuals wouldn’t be closer after a chimpanzee grooming session.

For the most part, the chimps seem to take these invasions of personal space in stride. This afternoon, though, I found poor Foxie pinned into a corner of the greenhouse by Burrito and Jamie, who were both showering her with (seemingly unwanted) attention. She looked like she wouldn’t mind a little breathing room (that’s Burrito in front of Foxie with his back to the camera, and Jamie on the right).

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A Day in the Rainforest

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Today’s enrichment theme is Rainforest Day, and we did our best to turn the sanctuary into a tropical paradise. Volunteer caregiver Becca arrived this morning with her arms full – she brought a giant roll of green paper for a canopy and many rolls of streamers.

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The chimpanzees enjoyed a breakfast forage in the greenhouse. They searched the forest for apples, oranges, peanuts, and primate chow.

Missy:

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Jamie:

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Negra:

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Foxie:

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Burrito:

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Annie, stockpiling some chow:

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New Boots for Jamie

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Jamie got a new pair of boots today. She has a pretty consistent new-boot ritual that I love watching. After we give her the boots, she walks around and gathers blankets and other materials for a nest. She sets the boots aside momentarily while she gets her nest situated.

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Once everything is in its place, she can devote the necessary time to inspecting the boots closely.

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Is Burrito cute?

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This afternoon, volunteer caregiver Sandra was hanging out with Jamie in the greenhouse when she called me over the radio to let me know Burrito was sunbathing, in case I wanted to come out and snap some photos for the blog. As usual, Burrito was unable to lie still for long once he sensed there was a human in the vicinity who might be enticed to play. See the end of this post for an adorable series of photos.

Speaking of the word “adorable,” we try to be careful with how we present the chimpanzees to people who follow the sanctuary. Much of what we share on this blog is happy and lighthearted. We love to share video of a great play session, or photos of the chimpanzees peacefully grooming one another or basking in the sunshine. And these are all things that chimps do. But chimps are also immensely powerful, intelligent, curious, willful, unpredictable, and at times, violent. We never want to give the impression that we view the chimpanzees as babies, or that we view them as harmless.

CSNW is run on a complex system of security protocols and safety rules that are based on the knowledge that chimpanzees are capable of doing great harm in the right (or wrong) circumstances. Volunteers are trained to treat the chimpanzees as equals; to offer them the same respect they offer fellow humans.

Respecting the chimps for who they are means being aware of and appreciating all aspects of their personalities. Jody may poke us one minute and offer us a kiss the next. Jamie may put on an intimidating dominance display, and then come over and gently groom our boots. Just like humans, chimpanzees are complex and multi-faceted.

So when I say that Burrito is adorable, I am not intending to take anything away from the strong, smart, sometimes aggressive adult male chimpanzee that he is. But in addition to those things, he is undeniably cute. I think there’s plenty of room in one person for all sorts of contradictions.

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A Well-Earned Rest

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For the first time in their lives, the Cle Elum Seven live in a place where the humans do all the work, while they spend their days however they please. Nothing is expected of them other than to be chimps. Occasionally the chimps enjoy watching us while we work, but the majority of the time they’re off doing their own thing, and are supremely unconcerned with our aching muscles and tired minds. Exactly as it should be.

Today volunteer caregiver Becca delivered about a dozen boxes of donated produce (courtesy of the generous folks at Darwin’s Natural Pet Products) from Seattle. Becca and staff caregiver Keri went to work processing the produce right away.

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Meanwhile, the chimpanzees were doing what they do best.

Negra:

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Annie:

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Jody:

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Foxie:

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More of Annie’s bird noises

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Debbie recently posted a short video clip of Annie’s bird noises, but we haven’t had much luck capturing this endearing Annie-ism on film for more than a few seconds here and there.

Annie typically makes her bird noises when she’s feeling content and relaxed, usually lying on her back like in this video from this afternoon: