Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
In today’s video, Rayne was being so silly under the sheet. What cracked me up the most is that later that day, that same sheet was going through the laundry machines and I checked it out for myself and it’s completely see-through. Rayne is a silly gal!
Enjoy today’s photo shoots with Burrito and Jamie!
Burrito trying to convince me to play with him (of course, it doesn’t take much convincing):
Jamie in Negra’s Nest:
Today is the perfect day to express gratitude for everyone who helps Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest be the organization it is. I have been thinking about this a lot lately… how many people love the chimps near and far.
We have directors who have dedicated their entire lives to the chimps. We have staff who have moved across the country, away from their families, to work with the chimps. We have volunteers that help caregivers clean multiple times a week. We have volunteers that help us keep up with the endless amounts of laundry, that organize our kitchen so the caregivers have more time to spend with the chimps, and/or come and fill 100+ chow bags. We have donors who drop off a bag of peanuts and a bag of magazines consistently, without saying a word. We have online supporters that comment on our blog and social media every single day. We have supporters who buy something off of our Amazon Wishlist every week. This list goes on and on, truly.
There are so many little things that help us be hugely successful. Thank you so much for helping us care for the chimps! Thank you to all the volunteers for doing what you do. Thank you to my co-workers for caring for the chimps day-in and day-out.
We wouldn’t be able to do it without each and every one of you. Thank you for the never-ending support for CSNW.
Tonight is HOOT 2023, our biggest fundraising event of the year! If you are unable to join us in Seattle, you can join us virtually for free! Please secure your spot here and join in on the fun! Don’t miss it!
Photos from today!
Honey B with a bamboo stick:
Lucky (front) with Terry (back):
Mave:
Jamie:
Following my recent blog about Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) with Rayne, I thought I would do another PRT blog today with a new topic… Injection training!
Injection training is extremely helpful in case of emergency or routine procedures, where the chimpanzees would undergo anesthesia. Sometimes these procedures are planned and we can work on injection training for the months/weeks leading up to the procedure, or occasionally there is an emergency and a chimp needs to have an anesthetic procedure the same day. Therefore, we try to consistently work on injection training with the chimps, as we never know when their PRT skills will have to be put to use.
For injection training, we use a blunt needle as we are just practicing. We ask the chimp to present their arm (either left or right) by using the gestural cue for “arm”, then use our clicker to reinforce them presenting their arm. We will then ask them to hold the position while we pick up the needle syringe. We then let them know what we are doing by saying “poke” and press the blunt needle to the arm. As soon as the chimp allows this, the clicker is used to let them know that is what we wanted and then we follow with a reward (in the video today, it is peanuts). Injection training can be scary and nerve-racking for some chimps, so we typically give them more of a reward than we would with an easier task.
All of Cy’s group (who previously lived at Wildlife Waystation) do so well at PRT. It is clear that their former caregivers have put a lot of time and effort into PRT, and therefore, have built a strong foundation with all of these chimps. Thank you so much to all of their previous caregivers if you’re reading this!
Dora:
Burrito:
Rayne is an absolutely beautiful chimpanzee. However, if you have not noticed before, she also has dry skin on her forehead. I believe it is just genetic, as I know entire chimpanzee families at other sanctuaries that all have the same dry forehead. While I’m not sure if her dry forehead skin bothers Rayne, she does scratch it often. My main role at the sanctuary, apart from being a chimp caregiver, is to work on Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) with the chimps. PRT allows the chimps to participate in their own medical care, which is really amazing.
Lately, I’ve been working on PRT with Rayne, so that she would allow us to apply coconut oil/mixed with Honeysuckle lotion to her forehead. We have decided to avoid sprays because it is so close to Rayne’s eyes, so instead, I use a paintbrush to brush on the moisturizer.
As you will see in the video, I presented Rayne with the gestural and verbal cue for “head”, which she then presents her forehead by leaning forward to the caging. As soon as Rayne presented her forehead, I used my clicker to bridge the behavior, this is a way to tell Rayne she is doing everything correctly. I then presented my paintbrush to Rayne and say “touch” so she knows what I intend on doing. While Rayne is still presenting her forehead to the caging, that allows me to use the paintbrush to apply moisturizer to her forehead. I know Rayne doesn’t like for the paintbrush strokes to be too long, so as soon as I touch her forehead with one swipe, I use my clicker to let her know that reinforcement is coming, which is a blueberry. Rayne and I do this probably 15 times together until her forehead is coated. We will continue to work on her allowing me to use the paintbrush for a longer duration. However, a win is a win. We just want Rayne to be comfortable and make sure her forehead skin does not bother her.
What is the lifespan of a chimpanzee?
Any chimpanzee above the age of 30 is considered geriatric. Therefore, all of the residents at CSNW are considered geriatric!
In the wild, the life expectancy of chimpanzees is 33 years, but on rare occasions, some live into their 60’s. In captivity, chimpanzees can sometimes live into their 60’s and 70’s (although rare). Heart disease is the leading causes of death in captive populations. Female chimpanzees typically live longer than male chimpanzees, as males are more prone to heart conditions. Captive female chimpanzees are more prone to renal failure.
I will reference the article I used here.
Photos from today!
Rayne (33 years old) sleeping in the Riverview Greenhouse:
Jamie (45 years old) working on a boomer ball with peanuts inside:
Annie (~49 years old) walking bipedally out on Young’s Hill:
Cy (33 years old) laying in the Oakwood Greenhouse:
Gordo (35 years old):
Beautiful Negra (50 years old) in her morning nest:
Rayne waiting for breakfast:
Cy looking up from reading:
Despite Cy being the tough, alpha male that he is, he is easily frightened by random things. As you all know, Cy loves to “read” and consumes probably 5-10 magazines every day. Due to his reading obsession, we have discovered a decent number of things that frighten Cy and cause him to alarm call. Chimpanzees naturally alarm call to warn their group members of danger.
On the list of things that frighten Cy, is cows. Doesn’t matter the kind of cow, the look of the cow, any cow is enough to make him jump back and drop his magazine. Kelsi captured this exact scenario on video last year if you haven’t seen it already (click here)!
A few days ago, Cy was flipping through a farm magazine when he suddenly stumbled upon some photos of cows. We quickly knew what was happening as Cy began to loudly alarm call. Cy’s group members are used to this behavior from Cy, but they still always come to investigate in case it is more than a scary magazine. After several minutes of Cy alarm calling, Terry decided to save the day (or maybe he was annoyed with the endless alarm calls) and attempted to destroy the magazine that was causing Cy to be upset. He began ripping it apart with his teeth and even passed pages to me (who was sitting on the other side of the caging) because he knew I could throw them out.
We now have a theory that Cy must love the thrill of a scary magazine because Cy then reclaims the magazine scraps and tried to still look through them, while continuing to alarm call.
This isn’t the first time I have seen Terry try to save the day. Last October, I posted a blog about Cy alarm calling because of a giraffe in his magazine and Terry attempted to rip the pages apart for Cy but ultimately just threw them down the stairs. I will link that video here!
At the sanctuary, a way to know spring has officially ended and summer has kicked off is the Greenhouse panels coming down. The Greenhouse panels keep the Greenhouse secure in the winter months from snow and rain. It also maintains temperature quite a bit, which while helpful in the fall/winter, it would be quite brutal if we did not remove them in the summer. Once Washington gets warm enough, which is usually late May or early June, the Greenhouse panels come down and the chimps get to take in the fresh air and breezes, apart from being in their outdoor habitats and chute space. The Greenhouses are a popular hangout spot year-round, but the chimps definitely get excited for the panels coming off. Specifically this year with the panels coming off of Greenhouse 1, there was much excitement because it allowed Jamie’s group to watch Cy’s group more closely on The Bray and in their chute.
One of my personal favorite things about my job is the greeting committee every morning. Is it considered a committee if it is just one person? Either way, one of my most favorite things is driving up the driveway on my way into work and seeing Cy waiting to greet me in the Riverview Greenhouse. Some days, he sits there quietly and stares. Some days, he bipedal swaggers with excitement. I decided to record Cy’s morning greetings randomly so I could make a blog video about it. Apologies in advance for having to listen to my high-pitched, excited voice greeting Cy back!
