Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

J.B.

Some good news for Jo

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We have some good news to share about Jody. The biopsy and other tests of the mass on her foot indicate that it is inflammatory in nature and likely not cancerous (cancer is rare but not unheard of in chimps and a previous test had raised the possibility). The challenge now is to get her, and her pal Dr. Missy, to leave the surgical site alone long enough for it to heal. That is a lot harder than it sounds.

Additionally, based on the most recent ultrasound, radiographs, and blood work, we will begin treating Jody with birth control, iron supplements, and herbal medicine for her fibroid and related mild anemia.

We’re so grateful to Dr. Erin and her colleagues for their continued care of Jody. Not that you would know there was anything wrong with her, the way she took charge during today’s lunch forage…

Missy and Annie:

Foxie with a slice of eggplant:

Negra:

Jamie:

Burrito was a joy to watch today. He immediately found two heads of lettuce and tried to eat them before anyone could even think about stealing them from him. But he couldn’t eat them fast enough.

Missy was fast approaching. She wouldn’t normally steal food from Burrito, but he employed a defensive move just in case. You can never be too careful.

As soon as his hands were free, Burrito climbed onto one of the platforms and continued to forage.

He came across a few pieces of chow in a pile of chow dust (what’s left in the bottom of the bin) that I had placed on the end of the beam and proceeded to vacuum it up.

He made his way back towards the greenhouse with his potato, eggplant, and Brussels sprouts, but the chow dust was too difficult to contain. With each breath it spilled out of his mouth and into the grass below.

Oh well. It was worth a try.

Change of Plans

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This afternoon I was photographing Jamie as she chewed and wadged some cattails.

While I was hoping to write a blog post about wadging, she soon decided that she’d rather groom the camera with her cattails.

There’s no way to ever be a fly on the wall when photographing chimps.

Thankfully, Jamie was in a very laid back mood today so she let me continue taking close-up pictures while she groomed the camera, my phone, and my boots.

Eventually, a bit of drama between some field mice outside the Greenhouse got Jamie’s attention, and she chose to finish wadging her cattails where she could watch it unfold.

A trip to the clinic for Jody

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Earlier this year, we took Jody into the clinic to assess a lump developing on her foot. Unfortunately, the mass continued to grow after that procedure and cytology results suggested that further evaluation and testing was warranted.

We’re so lucky to have assistance from people like Dalila Fairchild, CRNA, who ensured that Jody was safely anesthetized and monitored throughout the exam.

Dr. Austin Hardegree assisted Dr. Erin with the foot evaluation and biopsy while Dr. Krystina Stadler, a veterinary radiologist, helped by imaging the foot mass prior to the procedure and following up on a suspected uterine fibroid discovered during Jody’s last exam.

While Dr. Stadler brought her own equipment, she also tried out our brand new Butterfly ultrasound unit, which we recently purchased though a grant from the Ruth Foundation. This user-friendly ultrasound unit works with an iPad (also purchased with the grant) and will help Dr. Erin with both general exams and emergency procedures. We are also grateful once again to Best Friends Mobile Veterinary Care for use of their digital x-ray – the only piece of equipment that we must still borrow. With more chimps joining our family as soon as next year we will undoubtedly be doing even more procedures, so we look forward to purchasing one of our own soon.

With the exam, biopsy, ultrasound, x-rays, and teeth cleaning done, we wheeled Jody back to the recovery room.

We’ll have to wait for these latest test results to see what, if anything, comes next. For now, Jody is sipping Coke and eating grapes in a sea of soft blankets. She will have to stay isolated for at least a few days to ensure that the stitches stay in place long enough for her incision to heal, but her friends will be able visit her regularly though the mesh.

The Perfect Nest

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Each chimpanzee makes a nest in their own unique way. In fact, I bet most chimpanzee caregivers could name the chimp if someone simply described how they make a nest at night. Here at CSNW, we’ve got Jody, who gathers up as many blankets as possible, throws them over her shoulder and drops half of them in a doorway as she searches for the right bench to sleep on. And Burrito, who throws a single blanket over his shoulder on his way to bed like he is carrying a towel to the swimming pool. And Honey B, who wraps herself up like a to-go burrito. All ten of of the chimps here have a particular style and a ritual when it comes to nest-making. As do most humans, I would assume.

Here are a few bonus photos of Foxie from this morning.

Foraging on the Fourth

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Foraging is all about strategy.

You start by evaluating each type of food. Watermelon: sweet, refreshing, can be consumed quickly. Corn: Delicious but time-consuming, gets stuck in your teeth. Primate chow: satisfies those carb cravings but leaves your mouth too dry to eat anything else. Lettuce: great palette-cleanser but not much bang for the buck.

Next you survey the landscape. Walking long distances requires time and energy so you’ve got to do the math. Just spitballing here but I’d say a watermelon at 200 yards is worth two corns within arm’s reach.

And finally, you need to understand the competition. Foxie’s got bad knees, so you can outrun her. But be careful, Missy will fight you for an ear of corn.

Then the moment arrives. The door opens and two acres of 4th of July forage lay before you.

The gang sets off to the far corners of Young’s Hill in a quest to stuff themselves silly.

Wait! Oh, no. As usual, Negra has been distracted by the first piece of lettuce she saw. Keep your eyes on the prize, Negra!

While the others race by her, she bites gingerly from her slice of iceberg, oblivious to all the awaits her.

Meanwhile, Jody and Missy each race to claim a stump covered in watermelon slices.

Jamie swiftly climbs to the top of the cabin for more corn.

Missy reaches the pinnacle of the Escher climbing structure to capture the watermelon atop the tallest post.

Meanwhile, Negra wonders if it can get any better than this. Warm sun, cool breeze, and a quarter head of iceberg lettuce.

Burrito races from structure to structure with his bounty…

…pausing only briefly at a vantage point from which he can survey the area for more treasure.

Missy scampers across the shaky bridge from Carlene’s Tower to Jamie’s Tower…

…and returns with more food than a single chimpanzee should be able to carry.

Jody is up to her ears in watermelon.

Annie’s up to her eyes in ears of corn.

And Burrito is attempting to walk and chew watermelon at the same time.

All the while, Negra happily savors her slice of lettuce. They just don’t grow lettuce like this anymore, do they?

Back in the greenhouse, Jody takes a much needed break from being upright.

And Jamie works to polish off her corn and lettuce. While I personally swear by typewriter style, Jamie eats around the full circumference before working her way down the cob.

Luckily for Negra, Jamie didn’t finish all of her corn. Negra later returned to the Greenhouse, emitting a sound somewhere between a whimper and an alarm call, as if she had seen a snake. As the gang turned to her to see what was wrong, Negra swiped an ear of corn from Jamie’s feet and waltzed into the Playroom. It’s good to be the Queen.

Fingerprints

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Chimpanzee hands are remarkably similar to our own, from their ability to grasp and use tools to their unique fingerprints. While the exact function of a fingerprint’s various whirls, loops, and arches is still unclear, it’s thought that they might increase grip on some surfaces or improve tactile perception. Scientists have yet to specifically examine the grooming-with-a-chopstick origin theory. As far as I know, koalas are the only animals other than primates to have them – a cool example of convergent evolution.