Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

J.B.

Transformation

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Earlier this week, as volunteer Keri and I were finishing a walk around the hill with Jamie, we did some quick calculations to figure out just how far Jamie is walking each day. At a minimum, I think she is doing a mile a day just in walks with her caregivers – around an enclosure that rises 100 feet in elevation from end to end, no less. For a free-living chimpanzee, this wouldn’t be much, but for a chimpanzee who spent her life in a laboratory, it’s not bad at all.

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The physical transformations that we’ve witnessed over the past five years have been incredible. After decades in tiny cages in a windowless basement, these seven chimps finally saw the sun, breathed fresh air, and got to run, climb, jump, and swing. Almost immediately, their skin darkened, their hair filled in, and their muscles grew stronger.

While most of these changes occurred over the first few months, we are still witnessing changes to this day. I think this is driven in part by their emotional recovery. This morning, as I watched Jamie run playfully after her friend Missy, I couldn’t help thinking about how much physical health and emotional health are intertwined. The stronger they get, the more they play and explore. And the more they play and explore, the stronger they get. I guess they call this a virtuous cycle.

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When I look back at photos from the chimps’ arrival in 2008, I hardly recognize them. Their bodies displayed the toll of so many years in the laboratory, but in their faces you could see the even greater damage that was done to their spirits. They looked sick, tired, scared, and beaten down:

web Jamie pale hairless 2008 IMG_1451

Five years in sanctuary can do a lot. Today, Jamie looks better in every imaginable way. And I’m sure she feels the same. Who knows what changes we’ll see in the next five years.

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Missy and Jody

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Missy and Annie have been playing on the hill a lot lately, but this morning Missy found a new partner to play with. She always looks so surprised and overjoyed to be playing with someone else.

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The chimps had only eaten part of their breakfast at this point, and Jody was determined to make it back to the greenhouse to get her chow bags, so she continued to play with Missy as she walked backwards down the hill.

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As they approached the greenhouse, Jody spun Missy around and then proceeded to push her backwards like a shopping cart through the door and into the greenhouse. Missy thought that was hilarious.

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The Veterinary Clinic

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It’s hard to believe, but the 2013 Out of the Box Gala Auction is just around the corner. These auctions have always played such an important role in funding the everyday needs of the sanctuary, but they have also been the starting point for some exciting projects through our Fund-a-Need program. Proceeds from the 2009 Fund-a-Need enabled us to build the greenhouse, which quickly became the chimps’ favorite spot year-round. And in 2010, we raised funds for Young’s Hill, providing the chimps with two acres of grass, sun, and sky.

The 2011 Fund-a-Need was the start of a different but equally important kind of project: an on-site veterinary clinic. Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest has always been fortunate to work with a large team of veterinarians to support to health and well-being of the Cle Elum Seven. Whatever happens, we know that we can rely on the expertise of Dr. Richardson, Dr. Nutter, Dr. Newschwander, and Dr. Zamzow, as well as Dr. Mensching, who is the newest member of our team. We are also grateful for the assistance of Mt. Stuart Animal Hospital, which provides us with diagnostic and pharmacy services. But to provide the chimps with the best care possible, we want to have the ability to perform surgical and diagnostic services on-site, and that is why we have begun building a mobile veterinary clinic – a simple, functional, and timely way to meet the veterinary needs of the Cle Elum Seven.

With the money raised in 2011, we have purchased a 38-foot trailer and have begun turning what was once a garage in the back of the trailer into a surgical and exam room.

Clinic trailer 4-10-13

Clinic 4-10-13

Project V.E.T.S. generously donated a dual surgical lamp, a microscope, and a wide variety of supplies. If you aren’t familiar with Project V.E.T.S., I encourage you to check out their great work through their website or Facebook page.

Now it’s time to finish what we started. With your help, we will install a shelter and hook-ups for the trailer and outfit the clinic with a full range of equipment, from autoclave and anesthesia machines to portable x-ray and ultrasound.

You can contribute to this project by attending the Out of the Box auction on May 4th in Seattle or by donating to the Fund-a-Need portion of the online auction. And if you have equipment that you would like to donate to our project, we’d love to hear from you.

 

Getting green

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Last summer, over half of Young’s Hill was burned in the Taylor Bridge Fire. We knew that the grass and bamboo would recover, but it was hard to imagine it ever looking the same again.

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But with a little spring rain and some warm weather, the grass has come back as good as ever and we should be seeing some new bamboo shoots in the next month or two.

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The chimps used to run for cover at the first drop of rain, but lately they’ve been staying outside through some of the lighter showers. This morning, Missy, Foxie, Burrito, and Annie all ate their breakfast together in the rain. Jody, however, took her bag back to the greenhouse and dried herself off.

web Missy Annie Foxie Jody YH chow bags IMG_5306

The chimps love to eat spring grass. Most eat it a blade or two at a time, but Burrito stuffs handfuls in his mouth and eats it until his teeth turn green. For a guy that thinks about food nonstop, it must feel good to be completely surrounded by it.

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Young at Heart

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Missy does everything with a little extra flair. This morning, instead of walking across the bridge, she walked the tightrope.

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And while Jamie and I took a stroll around the hill, Missy spun herself in circles on the rope swing.

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When she finally decided to catch up to us, she launched herself forward on the swing. Because walking is boring.

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Later, she tried to act her age, but she wasn’t fooling anyone.

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Taking it in

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Certain things about chimps are beyond our ability to measure, but I have no doubt that they share with us a sense of awe and wonder. Primatologists in the field have written about chimps going out of their way to stop and enjoy a sunset. We see the same thing when the chimps climb to the top of Young’s Hill and stare out at the valley below.

Jamie:

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Missy:

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Other times we see them stop and stare up at the sky. It could be something as simple as a bird flying by or the clouds passing overhead, but it often seems like something more profound, like an effort to take in the vastness of their new world.

Burrito:

web Burrito look up sun in face clear sky YH IMG_1043

Missy:

web crop Missy hold tire swing look up YH IMG_3211

It’s in these moments that I have to remind myself where they came from, and to try to imagine what it must be like to still be discovering the most basic things about the world at nearly 40 years old.

 

Breakfast in the rain

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Negra was enjoying this morning’s breakfast forage on the hill:

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But she soon found herself caught in a spring rain shower, so she headed for the greenhouse and grabbed as much food as she could along the way:

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Jody and Annie took their sweet time, since they were already hanging out in the cabin:

web Jody Annie in Negra's Cabin YH rain IMG_4731

Even though the rain didn’t last very long, most of the chimps spent the day in the greenhouse, where they knew they would remain warm and dry. Burrito was kind enough to let me take some close up photos:

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Jamie can’t sit still all day so she ventured out and made Diana walk a few laps around the perimeter of Young’s Hill with her. Every time Diana got back down to the building and thought she was done, there was Jamie waiting for her to go again. How could you say no to Jamie?

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