Snow on the Cascade peaks means that winter is on its way to the sanctuary. Until then, we will continue enjoying lunch with a view on these beautiful fall days.
Encouragement
A few weeks ago, I posted about Willy B’s growing comfort on the Bray. Here’s a little update that shows him walking on grass with almost no hesitation at all.
But of course his friends still know it’s not typical for him to spend so much time out there or to walk so far up the hill. So they were there to worry over him and even offer him some encouragement, whether he wanted it or not.
Human Time
Chimp house mornings are quite busy. We begin by prepping meds and breakfast and putting together the day’s food puzzles, and then spend the next 4-5 hours cleaning enclosures. The chimps spend most of that time eating, playing, grooming, and occasionally squabbling with one another. When lunch is finally served, there is a bit of a reprieve from the more hurried morning pace. It is then that we begin to clean dishes, wash produce, fold laundry, prepare enrichment, and work on the blog. The chimps know that they can’t ask for too much of our time in the morning, but in the afternoon we will usually drop whatever we are doing to cater to their wishes.
Each chimp has their own preference when it comes to socializing with caregivers. Some prefer to take walks or play chase, while others would rather sit quietly and groom. With Gordo, I’m lucky if I can get a brief bunny hop out of him, while with Burrito, I’m lucky if I can ever get back to work. Foxie wants to play with dolls, Terry wants to groom boots, Lucky wants to pick scabs off and maybe create a few new ones, and Cy wants to give a few tickles. Willy B wants to watch movies on our phones, though if he could figure out how to do this without the need for humans he probably would. That said, he does sometimes play chase with us, which involves him running away and then bouncing up and down while facing the wall. Go figure.
These moments are play time for us caregivers, too, but they are every bit as important as the other work we do.
Are you joining us for the Comfort & Joy Virtual Gathering tonight at 5pm PT/8pm ET? If you can’t make it, there’s still time to visit the online auction and bid on items for yourself or for the chimps—including helping us complete those new climbing structures. The bidding ends 11/18!
Lucky’s Birthday and Reaching New Heights
Today we celebrated the 32nd birthday of the one and only Lucky! Due to the seemingly unending rain here in Central Washington, we held the parties fully indoors, which meant that Lucky was out of view of the paparazzi for most of the corn, cherry tomato, and gum forage (yes, gum is one of Lucky’s favorite things). But after the lunch forage, everyone in her group was given a mango and I managed to snap a few photos of Lucky savoring her special treat in the Oakwood greenhouse.
Many thanks to Paulette for sponsoring this day in honor of the birthday girl!
There are very few chimps as sweet as Lucky and her brother, Cy. Lucky generally prefers to be out of the spotlight, with the notable exception of when we are serving her favorite foods, at which point she leaps to the caging to tickles our wrists with her toes while panting excitedly. With her more reserved personality, I wasn’t sure how quickly she would take to a more adventurous life on the Bray. Needless to say, she surprised us all! These days she is often the first one out and among the most likely to be seen at the top of the tallest climbing structures. We often find her out there just soaking up the sun and taking in the view.
The view from the Bray, by the way, is incredible (a few power lines and the occasional parked train in the valley notwithstanding). From almost anywhere on the hill, the chimps can see their caregivers coming and going, they can watch the sun reflect off the Yakima River, they can keep an eye on the cattle, or the can spy on their chimp neighbors next door. But from the very top of the hill, the view across the Cascade Mountains is almost limitless. In order to take advantage of that commanding view, however, the chimps need a few more places to perch.
Building the Bray took quite a while and we didn’t want Lucky and her friends to have to wait any longer than necessary to enjoy it, so we chose to hold off on building some of the climbing structures we had planned. With winter approaching, it’s a good time for us to get back out there and finish what we started.
This past week, we welcomed a new part time Facilities and Grounds Technician, Jake, and we immediately put him to work setting posts that we had purchased last year for these new structures (a quick note of thanks here to Kelsi’s husband, Adam, who filled the same role until his firefighting job began to require more of his time). Now we need your help to finish them! If you visit our Comfort & Joy online auction, you’ll see an option to donate towards the construction of new play structures on the Bray and Young’s Hill, which will help fund the purchase of the framing lumber, decking, and fasteners we need to complete these new towers. If we can get the in-ground work done this month, construction of the decks, roofs, ladders, and swings can continue throughout the fall and winter. And in the spring, we’ll be able to wrap things up with additional irrigation and more trees and shrubs.
And before you know it, Lucky and the rest of her family will be starting each day with a hike to the top of the Bray, just like Jamie’s group does on Young’s Hill, to which we will also be adding new climbing structures in order to take advantage of all the additional space we added last summer.
As a little bonus, here are some photos of Lucky’s group enjoying Ryan’s Lookout, one of their favorite places to hang out.
Terry:
Rayne:
Rayne, again, retrieving a pomegranate from one of the crow’s nests connected to Ryan’s Lookout:
Rayne atop Ryan’s Lookout, with Gordo, Lucky, and Terry in the foreground:
Alpha Male
Some dominant male chimpanzees maintain power through brute force and intimidation. But not all.
Traits such as kindness, fairness, and tolerance are often overlooked in discussions about chimpanzee dominance hierarchies, yet they can also be effective as a means to achieve status. Cy is a good example of this. It’s true, he has been known to steal a chow bag or two from his group mates, but he’s just as likely to use his alpha position to defend the underdog and keep the peace as he is to enrich himself.
This video shows just a small example of the myriad ways in which Cy’s leadership is called upon to maintain stability in his group.
The Grass Isn’t Lava Anymore
It seems like all of the Californians are making great strides these days. Honey B, Mave, and Dora have all been on the Bray multiple times (true, only to chase the boys but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere), Cy is exploring the very top of the hill, and now Willy B is learning that while he may not enjoy it, the grass is not, in fact, lava.
I’m posting this video to celebrate Willy’s accomplishment, but I can’t help reflecting on how great a guy Cy is. Willy B is a great guy, too, but he’s not always an easy friend to have. He’s riddled with anxiety, he’s socially awkward, and while he’s not particularly aggressive himself, his displays and outbursts often have the effect of stirring his group mates into conflict. Whether Cy sees past all this, or just realizes that he has to work with what he was given, it amazes me to see how patient and kind he can be to his new buddy. Willy B may not always deserve Cy’s patience and understanding, but he’d be lost without it.
By the way, are you getting excited for Jamieween? Care to help us throw a big party? Check out our wish list here.
King of the Mountain
Fear is something we usually try to avoid instilling in the animals we care for. In fact, one of the original frameworks for thinking about animal welfare, known as the Five Freedoms, included as one of its central tenets the “freedom from fear and distress.”
But a little fear can also be a good thing.
As a caregiver, I love watching the chimps take their first anxious, tentative steps onto grass. I love watching them seek reassurance as they venture far into a new enclosure and away from everything they consider safe and comfortable. And I love seeing the expression of relief and excitement when they finally accomplish the thing they were so afraid of.
Certainly it would be better if they weren’t afraid of these particular things in the first place. But we all have some fears, and if we didn’t face them now and again we wouldn’t really be living. So long as we have choice, social support, and the ability to retreat to a place of safety and comfort when things feel overwhelming, it almost feels like a little fear should be a requirement.
Perhaps I just need a different word—something that refers specifically to a condition of one’s own choosing that is equal parts fear and exhilaration, but particularly one that involves overcoming some sort of obstacle, either physical or emotional. Words like thrill and frisson don’t seem to really capture it. I’m sure it exists…maybe someone reading this can help me.
In any case, witnessing this emotion in the chimps at CSNW is for me the peak of compassion satisfaction. It’s almost like a high. And it’s one of the rare times that I wished I worked at a bigger sanctuary, so I could see it over and over again.
As I close up the chimp house, I often wonder if the chimps reflect on their day. I hope that Cy is laying in bed right now, picturing that view of the valley and feeling whispers of the way he was feeling when he first made it to the top of the Bray.
