Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Running an organization with nearly a dozen staff and several dozen volunteers is a difficult task, but Jamie takes it all in stride. Enjoy this video of Jamie mobilizing all of the farm vehicles this afternoon.
Here are some bonus photos from this smokey day:
This summer has been relatively mild so far (knock on wood) but we are now entering a stretch of 100+ degree days. Luckily, the chimps have it all worked out.
What an interesting day!
We began early this morning with a quick follow-up exam on Willy B. A couple of weeks ago, Willy was treated in the clinic for swelling in his scrotum and given an echocardiogram. His echo showed some minor cardiac concerns and Dr. Erin is now working with the chimps’ cardiologist, Dr. Nelson, to formulate a long-term plan. The swelling was the result of a hydrocele, which was treated at the time with aspiration and sclerotherapy. This morning, Dr. Erin conducted a quick follow up to ensure that Willy was responding to the treatment appropriately. Most of the procedures we do take place in the clinic with the chimps on gas anesthesia but for brief, minimally-invasive exams, like this morning’s ultrasound, we will sometimes do them inside one of the front rooms so that the chimps can be more lightly anesthetized and get back to their routines more quickly. Thankfully, Willy B passed his follow-up exam and recovered promptly after the anesthetic was reversed. He is, however, demanding that his medications be administered inside cinnamon rolls. It’s amazing what they can get away with after a procedure when they realize how badly we need them to take their meds! Enjoy it while it lasts, buddy.
While Willy B was being examined, his group was involved in a soap opera with a scandalous sexually-themed plot line. Prior to the integration of the two Waystation groups, Terry would regularly copulate with Dora—especially around meal times. After the integration, when Mave discovered that her purpose in life was to protect her new best friend Dora, she put an end to those shenanigans (in what has become known around these parts as Mave’s Feminist Uprising). Well today, Terry though it was time to test the waters again. Sure enough, when Mave caught sight of Terry in action, she screamed at him. This time, however, Terry ran straight at Mave and thumped her on the back. Screaming and chasing naturally ensued. Upon hearing the commotion, Willy B even tried his best to return to consciousness so he could get in on the action…to no avail, of course. In the end, did Mave reassert herself as Dora’s ultimate protector or did Terry show Mave that he would no longer be bossed around? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s episode.
Later in the morning we had a visit from Friends of JACK Primate Sanctuary, a U.S. partner to JACK Primate Sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to share enrichment ideas and then held parties for each of our chimpanzee families in honor of Ryan Young, as shown in the video above. Many thanks again to Karen and Don for funding Ryan’s Lookout and sponsoring this special day. Chad placed a number of watermelon bowls on Ryan’s Lookout with the hope that several chimps would be able to enjoy them…but Rayne got to all of them first.
“You snooze, you lose.”
-Rayne
Bite wounds are probably the most common injuries we see in chimps. Our treatment protocols for these wounds tend to be fairly conservative: administer analgesics for pain, clean frequently with antiseptic spray, and monitor closely. There are a few reasons for this. First, chimps have a superhuman (literally) ability to heal. Wounds that would send me racing to the ER for stitches will close up on their own in chimps with little to no treatment in a matter of days or weeks, remaining uninfected and leaving no visible trace once healed. Second, because of the frequency of wounding in captive groups, there’s always a risk of antibiotic resistance if antibiotics are over prescribed. And third, many forms of diagnostics and treatment require the chimps to be anesthetized—something we avoid whenever practical out of concern for their overall safety and well being.
Once and a while, though, there are wounds that require a bit more than the typical conservative approach—like recently, when Rayne received a bite to her third digit (middle finger) that resulted in some swelling. When the swelling persisted even as the wound appeared to heal, Dr. Erin wanted to rule out an underlying fracture. Thankfully, our Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) team was able to train Rayne to hold her hand in the x-ray box so that we could get some images without the need for anesthesia.
Here, Jenna asks Rayne to hold her hand flat in the box so we could get the first in a series of shots.
Jenna then withdraws her hand and Rayne holds hers still (while that other hand is trying to investigate the x-ray generator!).
The good news is that Rayne did not have a fractured digit. Interestingly, you can see an old healed fracture on her 2nd digit (index finger).
Though the swelling soon began to subside, PRT also made it possible to treat Rayne’s finger with a therapeutic laser to help encourage the healing process. For this, Rayne needs only to sit at her station marker and respond to Grace’s command to present the fingers of her left hand through the mesh. It was Rayne’s choice to pull up the orange ball and sit on it.
Sabrina is then able to program the laser, at Dr. Erin’s direction, and apply it to Rayne’s finger.
The only problem? Everyone wants a turn!
Positive reinforcement training requires a lot of staff time but these little opportunities to apply all that effort can really add up in the form of improved diagnostics, more effective therapies, and fewer trips to the clinic. Even if we learn that a chimp will require a more complex exam or treatment under anesthesia, we can often go in with a head start given the information we are able to obtain.
For her part, Rayne seems pretty happy to participate.
You want me to rotate my hand 90 degrees for a lateral view?
Here, you can laser my feet, too!
Just keep that juice coming.
Willy B took a trip to the clinic this morning. The main purpose of the procedure was to investigate some swelling in his scrotum. As usual, Dr. Erin assembled a great crew to ensure that Willy would have the best care possible.
Dan Low, MD and Leah Bezzo, CRNA, both with Seattle Children’s Hospital, kept Willy safely under anesthesia. Tom Lendvay, MD, a urologist with Seattle Children’s, performed the initial evaluation with ultrasound assistance from Korey Krause, RDMS.
Willy also had a full cardiac workup, including chest radiographs and an echocardiogram by Marneye Driesen, RDCS, since some forms of heart disease can cause fluid to begin backing up in cavities such as the scrotum.
While he was under, Willy was also given a complete abdominal ultrasound.
Echocardiograms require a more powerful ultrasound machine than the one we own, so we are very grateful to the Woodland Park Zoo for once again allowing us the use of their machine. The machine was delivered to the sanctuary by Barbra Brush, LVT, who also participated throughout the procedure, including giving William a thorough dental cleaning.
The results of the echo and samples from his scrotum will have to be sent off for analysis but based on what we’ve seen, Dr. Erin has reason to believe that Willy B will benefit from some cardiac medication, just like his buddy Cy and like good ol’ Burrito across the way.
Willy did great throughout the procedure and is recovering quickly – due in part to the fact the we have kept his feet nice and warm and fashionable. We think it’s also due to the fact that he has a standing 2:30pm appointment to display and cause chaos in his group, to which he has never once been late.
Thankfully, he also seems to understanding the importance of getting rest after a clinic visit, so we’re hoping that he’ll take an afternoon off just this once.
Many, many thanks to this amazing team of medical professionals who traveled great distances to join us this morning and of course to our own Dr. Erin and Grace! We will continue to seek the donation of a portable cardiac ultrasound machine but if that is not in the cards, be on the lookout for a fundraiser sometime next year 🙂
We’ll share updates about Willy B when we know more.
One of the best spots to build a morning nest is the upper platform in Greenhouse 1. From there the chimps can watch the sun rise over the trees above Young’s Hill as they wait for the staff and volunteers to bring them breakfast. Foxie’s nests aren’t really nests, per se, as she doesn’t like to lay on blankets or anything soft, nor does she like anything that even hints of being natural, like leaves or straw. It’s all bare floors and benches for this girl—but she is always sure to have a favorite doll tucked in close to her chest.
Negra, on the other hand, likes her nests well-padded. While her evening nests can be works of art, these morning nests are often hastily arranged. No matter, she barely awake anyway and it won’t take much for her to drift back to sleep.
If you climb to the ridge above Young’s Hill, you will find another pasture with a large spring-fed pond. This is where our small cattle herd spends much of their summer, often choosing to sleep under the stars instead of returning to their barn at night. This year I purchased some portable fences, which can be set up on a temporary basis to manage how the cattle graze the pastures. Early one morning I set some up to rotate the cattle through an ungrazed section of this upper pond pasture. It’s always a joy to see the cows run through a new pasture, especially one that still grows some green grass during these dry Central Washington summers.
Betsy:
Meredith:
We’ve written a lot about that ways that Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) can improve the lives of captive animals, including—or should I say especially?— chimpanzees. Chimps are so powerful and so strong-willed that often the only way to get them to reliably engage in certain behaviors, whether it’s allowing the stick of a needle to administer medication or leaving an enclosure so it can be cleaned, is to ensure that it is by their own choice.
One area where PRT is particularly useful is during meals. Some dominant chimps take a What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is also mine approach to food, leaving other chimps in their group hungry, anxious, or both. A technique known as cooperative feeding can encourage dominant chimps to allow their group mates to eat their meals in peace by rewarding tolerance for others eating nearby. The trick is not to forcefully assert our own sense of fairness but to show certain chimps that it can be worth their while to chill out a bit. Sure, you could steal someone else’s food, but if you allow everyone else to eat you’ll get something even better for a whole lot less effort.
We’ve been using this technique with Jamie lately, as she has been giving both Foxie and Annie a hard time during meals. It’s certainly not unheard of for Jamie to steal food to assert her dominance, but the recent uptick has had her group mates on edge and unwilling to even take certain foods. Why all of a sudden? It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s possible that Jody’s passing left some ambiguity within the hierarchy and Jamie may have been feeling the need to remind everyone that there will be no changes at the top. Subtle, she is not.
One of the keys to effective training is finding the right unconditioned reinforcer, which is the natural reward that often follows the click or whistle, telling the animal that behavior is worth doing again. In almost all of the training we do—that is, the training the occurs during formal sessions—that reinforcer is food. Sips of juice, pieces of chopped up fruit, and bits of primate chow are all effective, though each individual will be motivated according to their own preferences. For Jamie, that means a click! and a piece of preferred food or drink every time she watches Foxie or Annie receive something she might want to steal. And if she stays at her station throughout the entire meal, she may even get a special treat, such as a whole clementine, at the end.
But food is such an efficient reinforcer that we sometimes forget that it’s not the only one. For Jamie, flattering her ego may be an equal or even greater reward. That’s not to say that Jamie doesn’t appreciate the special treats, but the extra attention from her caregivers and special status at mealtimes may being doing some if not most of the work. Perhaps when you are recognized as the boss by the humans in front of all your group mates, there’s less need to constantly remind everyone.
We’re all motivated by a handful of basic desires – to be noticed, to be appreciated, to be respected. Figuring out what makes someone tick can go a long way toward influencing their behavior. Because in the end, Jamie isn’t as complicated as she would appear: all she needs is the unquestioning loyalty, unreserved admiration, and complete and thorough submission of all those around her, human and chimpanzee, at all times. That and a few extra pear slices and she’ll be happy to mind her own business at lunch.
