Jenna

The end of an eventful weekend!

September 11, 2022 by Jenna

We have had so much to celebrate this weekend!

Yesterday, Annie turned 48 years old AND our awesome caregiver, Kelsi, got married!

The chimp house has been full of play sessions, laughter, special treats, and relaxation. Check out today’s video to catch moments from our eventful weekend!

*Bonus* photos I have been saving from my phone:

Dora (L) and Honey B (R) meet the skeleton for the first time:

Gordo meeting the skeleton with a mouthful of water:

Foxie:

Gordo holding his carrot with his foot:

Gordo smelling said carrot:

Negra’s nest:

Disclaimer: others may have contributed to the building of this nest. However, Negra claimed it!

Have a great week!

Telling the chimps apart

August 21, 2022 by Jenna

A few days ago, I saw someone ask on our Facebook page how we can tell the chimpanzees apart from one another. Just like humans, the chimps have their own individual features that make them unique. Today, I wanted to walk you through some ways that I have found that help when identifying our 16 chimpanzee residents!

First identifier, size/build. While it may be hard to determine overall body size in photos, it is easily one of the first things I notice when I see a chimp.

Our males, with the exception of Burrito, are larger than our females. In the photos below, Dora appears smaller than the males she is next to.

Dora (left) and Terry (right):

Dora (left) and Willy B (right):

Gordo (left) and Dora (right):

Burrito is a smaller guy. While he is larger than some of the girls in his group, he is not larger than all. Here he is next to Jamie, who he is smaller than.

Jamie (left) and Burrito (right):

Missy is smaller in size, although has a very athletic build.

Missy:

Burrito (left) and Missy (right):

Next identifier, hair.

Hair? Yes, hair!

Hair helps identify a chimp quite easily as well. Hair that stands up on their shoulders, on their head, whatever it may be, helps.

Notice here that Willy B’s hair on his shoulder curls upwards into a “horn-like” shape.

Willy B:

Rayne, on the other hand, has thicker hair on the back of her head. Sometimes, the hair on the top of her head is standing upright. But not always!

Here are a few examples:

Rayne (hair sticking up):

Still Rayne but hair down:

Speaking of hair, the hair queen herself… Mave.

Between her freckled face or her thick, fluffy hair, some may find her easily identifiable.

Mave:

But, we have another chimp who also has freckles and thick, fluffy hair. That is Terry!

Terry:

Hair, or lack thereof, also makes a chimp more identifiable.

Negra has some parts of her body with small amounts of hair.

Negra:

Honey B also has thinner hair on her chest and stomach.

Honey B:

Next identifier, eyes and brow ridge.

Jody has beady eyes and a rounded brow ridge.

Jody:

Dora’s eyes also are unique. Her brow ridge is not as defined as Jody’s.

Dora:

I don’t know how to truly describe Honey B’s eyes, but they stare straight into your soul.

Honey B:

Next identifier is ears.

Annie has larger ears that sit high on her head.

Annie:

Negra is missing half of an ear. So is Foxie!

Negra:

Foxie:

Common mix-ups:

A tough pair to tell the difference between: Honey B and Rayne. They have many similarities. They are both lean and tall. They both have a white beard and similar ears. However, Honey B has light-colored lips and Rayne does not. Rayne’s face is overall darker in color, apart from her forehead. Honey B’s eyes are just a tad lighter.

What else do you notice?

Rayne (left) and Honey B (right):

Rayne:

Honey B:

Telling the difference between Willy B and Cy can also be a tough one. They are both large bodied males with hair that sticks straight up, strong brow ridges, and white beards.

What do you notice the differences are?

Cy (left) and Willy B (right):

Willy B (left) and Cy (right):

Cy:

Willy B:

Cy and Lucky, full-siblings, have some similar features. Same white beard, strong brow ridge, same nose, similar eyes. However, Cy is bigger in size and also has more hair standing up-right on the top of his head.

Dora (left), Lucky (center), and Cy (right):

Lucky:

Cy:

So I don’t forget

August 14, 2022 by Jenna

As the newest staff member, I have spent the last four months building my relationships with the chimpanzees. I was fortunate enough to be a student intern here in 2019-2020 (up until the pandemic), which means I had previously met Jamie’s group, as well as Willy B, Honey B, and Mave when they were just a group of three. However, I was not trained to interact with the chimps as an intern, so all my relationships truly started when I joined as a staff member.

I do believe that knowing the dynamics of Jamie’s group previously, as well as having glimpses into the personalities of Willy B, Honey B, and Mave, has helped me transition into my role. Throughout my training and up until now, I have tried to be intentional with my time with the chimps. I want them to know I care and that they are my priority. I want them to know I am happy to be here. While some days cleaning takes up a lot of our time, every day matters to them. Even if I don’t spend quality time with each chimp every single day, showing up every day matters to them. Greeting them every morning and every time you see them matters. Every little thing I have done has helped and will continue to help build my relationship with each of the chimps.

I have had a few moments recently that meant a lot to me, so I captured a photo during/after with my phone.

For example, Missy is very particular with the humans she chooses to interact with. She would much rather spend time with her chimpanzee friends. The other day, I went out to the Greenhouse to play chase with Burrito and Missy was out there as well. She was looking out to Young’s Hill, appearing deep in thought. Out of nowhere, she flung her back around and pushed it up against the caging, which is a signal that she would like to be groomed. To say I was shocked was an understatement! This was the first time Missy had initiated an interaction with me. I took full advantage of the opportunity and groomed her back for several minutes. Burrito gave me a look like he knew it was unusual for Missy to interact with me and patiently waited until I was done before he started playing chase again.

I captured this photo with my phone after so I would never forget this moment.

Burrito and Missy:

On Tuesday, it was a rainy day and everyone was absolutely stoked about it. The cooler temperatures, even for just one day, are so appreciated this time of year. During the afternoon, I went on a walk around Young’s Hill with Burrito. When we reached the top, Burrito sat down and was taking in the view. Or maybe he was letting me catch my breath after the steep incline, we may never know. Either way, it was a beautiful moment I knew I wanted to capture, so I would never forget.

A few days ago, Foxie dropped her dolls down to me. These are two of her absolute favorite dolls out of her collection. As you can see, they’re her brand new birthday dolls! You can tell they’re new if they still have clothes on (her preference). Something inside of me feels extra special when Foxie gives me the things she loves the most. I quickly snapped this photo while Foxie was waiting for me to toss them back to her, while sitting up in the “Loft” of their Playroom. I didn’t want to forget this.

To be honest, there are so many moments working this job that are so special. I’m sure if we asked all caregivers out there, they would all have photos like these ones so that they don’t forget the special moments. And mine are just from the past week!

*Bonus photo of Rayne – Here is proof that Cy is not the only fan of magazines!*

I spy…

July 26, 2022 by Jenna

Today, caregiver Anthony took off additional panels to the Greenhouse for Jamie’s group. In addition to more air-flow through the Greenhouse (which is why Anthony did this), this allows Jamie’s group a new angle to sneak a peak at Cy’s group (which is always very exciting).

As you can see, chimpanzees don’t spy very discretely.

Burrito:

Can you spot Foxie?

The seven typically like to spy on their neighbors through the Playroom 1 windows. The Playroom 1 windows give them a decent view of the Oakwood Greenhouse as well as one of the Playrooms for Cy’s group. Can you spot Burrito? He likes to set up a barrel for himself so he has seating.

I think his arm propped up on the window sill is a nice touch.

Don’t worry, Cy’s group was pretty unbothered by their nosy neighbors.

Rayne relaxing in the cool front rooms:

In our recent call out for questions or ideas for the blog, some wondered if the chimps still pay attention to the “howdy door”.

All the time!

For those unfamiliar with the “howdy door”, you can watch a video about the door here. It is a door that separates the two sides of our building and our two chimpanzee groups. Any time there is drama on one side of the building, it is nearly a guarantee that at least one chimp will try to see if they can get a peak of the action through small cracks in the “howdy door”. It is also not uncommon for the chimps to target the “howdy door” during their displays.

Willy B and “Howdy Door”:

You asked… let’s answer!

July 17, 2022 by Jenna

Sofia asked you last week for suggestions for upcoming blog posts… and we received MANY wonderful questions and ideas. Thank you for all of them! We will do our best to answer or touch on those topics in the upcoming weeks.

There were many quick questions so I thought I’d answer as many as I can today!

Question: What are the alpha dynamics in each group?

As many of you already know, Jamie is considered the alpha in her group. For our newly integrated group of 9, Cy is treated as alpha by all of his group members.

Question: Are things quite settled between Willy B and Cy? Is it understood that Cy is the “top dog” so to speak?

I would say so! When the group of 9 first started living together 24/7, we were not sure if Cy or Willy B would be considered alpha of the group. Once Willy B began submitting to Cy, it was a dead giveaway that Cy was considered more dominant in the hierarchy. Despite this, Willy B and Cy are good friends and spend a lot of time grooming together daily. While we don’t know what their hierarchy looks like long-term, this is how it stands now.

Question: Do the chimps recognize their name?

Yes! With the chimps being in captivity for decades, they are used to being spoken to. They do know and respond to their names.

Question: How many hours total a day are spent on cleaning, food prep, laundry, feeding, meds, play?

This is a tough question because it varies day to day! Some days we start laundry at 9am and don’t finish until the evening. Some days we finish by the afternoon. However, cleaning typically takes us about 4-5 hours everyday. Other than pre-washing fruits and veggies, we meal prep directly before the given meal. It takes about 20 minutes to prep a meal for both groups. Serving the meal also takes about 20 minutes! Although some meals go faster based on how excited the chimps are! We do meds prep prior to each meal as well. This is usually a quick process, depending on the medical needs of the chimps. As for play, we play all day long! Even if we’re in the middle of scrubbing the Playroom floor, we will always stop and play with the chimps when they’re up for it!

Question: Have you ever given them a video on a big screen?

Yes! Movies are considered enrichment. We don’t do this all the time, but the chimps love movies when we do! Especially while recovering from a medical procedure.

Question: Are the chimps allowed to go out on the trails whenever they please, or are the times structured by the crew?

The chimps are not allowed out on Young’s Hill without caregivers in the chimp house! However, they do have 24/7 access to their Greenhouses.

Question: Do you inspect the hill before letting them onto it?

Yes we do! Following the answer from above, we do a perimeter check of the hill before letting them onto the hill. It is important for us to make sure our electric fencing system hasn’t been damaged overnight.

Question: Do they like music?

Some do! Just like how some really enjoy watching movies and others do not, same goes for music!

Question: What is the biggest challenge in creating enrichment for 16 individuals?

Some individuals have more restrictions than others. So we operate by group! For example, Jamie’s group may get different enrichment than Cy’s group. This is based on our knowledge of what the chimps break or eat, when they’re not supposed to.

Question: What happens with your beautiful facility someday when (hopefully) there are no more lab chimps in need of rescue?

We are constantly working on what the future looks like for us. Unfortunately, there is still a need for homes for lab chimps. Also, just primates in general. Not to mention, chimpanzees live a long time in captivity (there’s captive chimps in their 60’s!). I would love to live to see a day where there is no longer a need for sanctuaries, but unfortunately, I don’t think it will be in my lifetime.

Question: Does Cy share his reading materials?

I don’t want to exclude anyone from this, but I’ve also seen Rayne reading magazines lately! We provide enough magazines to Cy’s group so that anyone who would like, can help themselves!

Question: How do you make sure each one gets their share of the food?

Caregivers hand-serve the chimps their meals. This means we are handing each piece of food to the individual. From there, it is relatively easy to monitor what they eat and what they don’t. Most of the chimps will not accept a food they don’t like. Therefore, we don’t usually have to worry that they take the food from us and abandon it elsewhere. We also keep an eye on any food thieves, which happens from time to time! In those instances, we will replace what was stolen for the individual.

Question: Do they all go to sleep and wake up at the same time? Are there early risers that get the other ones going?

The chimps usually are getting themselves ready for bed or are already in bed when we close the chimp house in the evening. The time varies but typically the chimps are early risers!

I hope these help! We will answer more soon!

Sweet Cy:

Gordo working on a raisin board:

Rayne working on a raisin board:

We are so LUCKY

July 8, 2022 by Jenna

Lucky [luhk-ee]

chimpanzee

1. kind-hearted

2. engaged

3. first to greet her caregivers when they walk in the room; knows how to make someone feel special

4. observer of her surroundings

Lucky is truly one of a kind. And as cliché as it sounds, we are so lucky to know her.

When I first started at CSNW as staff, Lucky always made such an effort with me. Every time I saw her, she would storm across the room, no matter what she was up to, just to say hello. She was the head of the welcoming committee for me and she doesn’t even know it. She does this with all of her caregivers. She is easily excited and genuinely happy to see everyone 24/7.

You may have noticed in some previous blog photos or videos, Lucky uses blankets to scoot across the floor. You can see this behavior here (around 0:43). She will gather a few blankets, tuck them under her thighs, and use them to help glide herself across the floor. Closely related to rocking, this is a common behavior for chimpanzees in captivity. To phrase it in the simplest way I can, she does this as a comfort mechanism. As someone who was born in a laboratory, not raised by her own mother, and will live the rest of her life in captivity, it is understandable for her to seek comfort in any way she chooses. I believe even we, as humans, have our own individual ways to comfort ourselves in both good and stressful times. And that is okay.

As seen in the photo above, this is one of Lucky’s signature poses. Anytime you see a photo of Lucky from this angle, just know she is staring down whoever is behind the camera. Simultaneously, she is doing a motion with her mouth where she alternates sucking in her cheeks/lips. I presume that she is deep in thought every time I see this face.