Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jenna

Unseen Clips

by

It’s Nutmeg’s Birthday!

Not only did we have Marcie Milam sponsor this day of sanctuary for Nutmeg’s 8th Birthday, Paulette Wrisley sponsored the day as well! Thank you so much, both Marcie and Paulette! Nutmeg is enjoying a day full of sunshine with Honey, Betsy, and Meredith.

Today, I was not sure what I wanted to do for the blog. My mind was blank. Thankfully, I had some awesome unseen video footage from the past month! Please enjoy today’s video featuring the unseen clips!

Shout out to Kelsi who captured this photo of Mave in a giant box:

Non-Verbal Communication with the Chimps

by

Last month, I wrote about how we use verbal communication with the chimps. While I focused on their understanding of the English language, I failed to mention that the chimps who have come from Wildlife Waystation also understand some Spanish! Caregivers at Wildlife Waystation used Spanish frequently around the chimps, so they have some understanding of both languages. CSNW Caregiver, Sofìa, still speaks Spanish to them today, as she mentioned on the blog recently.

Today, I want to discuss a little bit about how we non-verbally communicate with the chimps. I think I could write a blog about this topic for several weeks straight, so I will just be scratching the surface today. If I don’t cover a specific question regarding non-verbal communication, please ask!

Like humans, chimpanzees are experts at reading body language. Have you ever encountered someone and you just know they have had the worst day possible, without them saying a word? The chimps can detect that too. Therefore, it is so important for us caregivers to leave our personal problems or stressors at the door. If we are experiencing conflict in our personal lives, we need to be able to switch that off so the chimps aren’t burdened with our problems. After all, we are in their home and we should try to bring the best energy possible. Even if we are feeling tired and have low energy that day, we attempt to come off neutral or peaceful. As their caregivers, we are apart of their social groups (for the better or the worse) and our attitude is important to their well-being. While they may not exactly be worried if they sense a caregiver is having a bad day (although they may), we need to ensure we are being only a positive or neutral presence in their lives so that we’re not affecting their daily group dynamics. Just like how we want them to all have a happy life, I’d like to think they want us to be happy too.

Just like how the chimps read our body language, that is how we read them as well. Chimpanzee facial expressions can help us gauge how they are feeling. From a play face, to a relaxed face, or a face that shows distress, we can use facial expressions as a clue to how the chimps may be feeling in that moment. Please refer to the “Chimpanzee Facial Expression” chart below for visual pictures. We also are able to tell when a chimpanzee may be worked up, as they will be piloerect- meaning their hair is standing on end. A chimpanzee may be piloerect during an intense situation or when something exciting is occurring.

Burrito piloerect on Young’s Hill

Chimpanzees also use gestures to communicate with each other and caregivers. I found this old video of Foxie asking Jamie for permission to retrieve a nut through head-bobbing (check it out here). And as Grace wrote in an earlier blog, many of our chimps use gestures to ask us for things specific to them (example: Jamie pointing to a specific boot she would like to see us wear). The chimps will point to items they want/need or stare at the item until we catch on. Burrito will use one index finger outside of the caging to indicate he would like to play his favorite game, “Poke a caregivers hand”, paired with a play face or a foot stomp, letting us know that we are about to have a fun, play session. Gordo will give us caregivers one simple look (it’s hard to describe), he will then scratch his torso (letting us know he is about to start to move), and off he goes as that is his way to indicate a game of chase. Cy will stand bipedally at the caging and accompany it with a foot stomp to let us know he is wanting to play chase. Cy also uses a “bronx cheer” (which I talked about in the verbal communication blog) when we aren’t engaging in his game of chase fast enough! Negra uses an “arm-extended” gesture to greet us caregivers in the morning (picture Negra with her arm fully extended while breathy panting from her bed). The list truly goes on and on.

As caregivers, we use species specific behavior while interacting with the chimpanzees. This means that we greet the chimpanzees non-verbally first (through gestures, head nodding, and/or breathy panting), as a chimpanzee would greet another chimpanzee, and then we may use a verbal greeting to follow. When we are playing with the chimps, we will laugh and play like a chimpanzee as appropriate. While we now wear N-95’s around the chimps because of the pandemic, we used to exhibit a chimpanzee play face while engaging in a play session. During meals, we food grunt to let them know that it’s time to eat. We always try to prioritize using appropriate chimpanzee behavior first, then will use verbal communication with them as needed.

Grace serving Cy

Chad playing with Burrito

Anna sitting near Mave

Diana playing with Burrito

JB sitting opposite of Jamie

Katelyn greeting Dora

Jenna playing with Gordo

Sofìa and Gordo

Dr. Erin playing with Burrito

Kelsi receiving Terry’s version of a kiss

Rayne’s 33rd Birthday!

by

Today is Rayne’s 33rd birthday! Please enjoy today’s video of all the chimps celebrating the exciting occasion! Rayne is confident, beautiful, sweet, a friend to all, a gentle groomer, a “mall walker”, and an impressive nest maker (just to name a few). We hope she enjoyed her special day!

We’d also like to thank Paulette Wrisley for sponsoring the day for Rayne’s birthday. Thank you so much, Paulette!

 

Through the Greenhouse Glass

by

Enjoy today’s video featuring Burrito and his Greenhouse shenanigans!

Also I wanted to thank everyone who attended our Positive Reinforcement Training virtual visit this afternoon! I am glad we got to share that aspect of the sanctuary and answer questions.

Lucky

Yesterday, Diana wrote about the natural surroundings of the sanctuary that bring her a sense of awe. I have had many moments where I felt a sense of awe as well. I thought I would share two of my iPhone photos with all of you today. Both pictures were moments where I just thought, “Wow”.

Sunset view from parking lot on January 10, 2023

View of the side of the Bray on December 30, 2022

Guess who’s back? Back again

by

Terry is officially back with his group!

Last week, Terry had to undergo surgery for a fractured tooth. While surgery went very well, he remained isolated away from his group so he could have time to properly heal. Since then, Terry has spent lots of time resting, enjoying soft foods, grooming with caregivers, watching movies, and working on enrichment puzzles. Despite doing our best to keep Terry busy, he has been itching to get back with his group. He’s a very social guy, after all!

Yesterday, Terry was able to have a quick play date with Honey B! While he needed an extra day from his entire group to heal, laughter and chase with Honey B may have been the perfect medicine! Here are some photos I took of Honey B and Terry playing chase yesterday. They wouldn’t sit still for one moment, so apologies for the blurs.

Terry and Honey B play date:

Today, Dr. Erin gave Terry the all-clear to go back with the rest of his group! Woohoo!

Here are some photos of Terry and his group when they were reunited. They were so excited to have him back. Lots of hugs occurred!

Rayne (L), Cy (back), and Terry (front):

Terry and Lucky:

On the other side of the building, Jamie’s group has been out enjoying Young’s Hill. As soon as the door to the hill was opened, Burrito, Jamie, Jody, Missy, and Annie ran out on the hill. Foxie chose to watch them from the Greenhouse and Negra decided to stay in the warm Playroom.

Missy:

I would also like to announce an exciting event! Next Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at 1pm PT, we will be hosting a discussion on Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT). Anthony (Health and Behavior Coordinator) and I (Behavior Technician) will be discussing how we use PRT to help health and wellness at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. This discussion will include a live virtual visit in the chimp house. Please join us!

Link to reserve your spot here!

 

 

 

Verbal Communication with the Chimps

by

A couple weeks ago, we asked on our social media pages what questions you had for us caregivers. Today, I have chosen one question to answer!

How do we communicate with the chimps?

The short-answer is that we communicate with the chimps both verbally and non-verbally. I have a lot to say about each, so today I just want to focus on verbal communication. I will focus on non-verbal next time!

Many people I talk to about my job are surprised to hear that the chimps understand some spoken English. Keep in mind though, the chimps have spent decades if not their lives in captivity, so they have been exposed to the English language for many years. I am obviously not saying they know every word, but they do fully understand the words we use daily while speaking to them. They all know and respond to their names. We can call each of the chimps’ names to get their attention and they will look at us (unless they want to ignore us, that happens too). We can ask them to move to a different room and while they may not choose to do so, they know what we are asking of them. If a blanket is blocking a door from closing, we can ask, “will you grab the blanket from the door?” and they often times will move it for us (Jody and Honey B are so good with this).

As caregivers, one of our duties is to verbally communicate our actions and intentions while around the chimps. For example, if I am going to close a door behind Missy, I am going to tell Missy, “Missy, I’m going to shut the door behind you”. It is a courtesy we always try to give so 1) there are no surprises as to what we are doing and 2) Missy now has the choice to decide if she is comfortable with the door shutting behind her or not. If Missy were to then turn around and run back through the door, she is communicating with us that she does not want the door closed. During meal times, it can also be beneficial to communicate who you will be serving food to next. Just a quick, “Mave, you’ll be up next” helps Mave know her turn is soon. That is just two examples, but I want to convey how important it is to be transparent with our actions, and how it can simultaneously help keep the peace. If we just walked around silently closing doors, not talking to the chimps, they may feel uneasy and uncertain of what is to come. Obviously, we want to avoid that!

The chimps also communicate with us humans through their own vocalizations. While some of the vocalizations that the chimps use with conspecifics are also used while interacting with humans, such as breathy pants or blowing raspberries/bronx cheering, some of the chimps have created a sound specifically to communicate their needs to us caregivers. For example, there is a specific raspberry noise Foxie will make to communicate that she is ready for her Strawberry Shortcake doll back (she has us caregivers babysit regularly). Willy B makes a very specific noise to communicate that there is a peanut on the floor following breakfast, that is outside of his reach. Burrito also has a specific raspberry sequence he does to communicate when he is ready to play! The list goes on and on.

Next week sometime, I will switch to discussing non-verbal communication with the chimps!

Dora

 

 

 

Bonus Christmas footage

by

As our 12 days of Christmas is officially over, I wanted to express our gratitude for making this time of the year so special for the chimps! Yesterday’s Christmas parties were overflowing with happiness and excitement. Nothing feels better as a caregiver than excited chimps! However, we had so much unused footage from our parties yesterday, that I created a bonus video today! Hope you enjoy!

During the 12 days of Christmas, we highlighted some of the items we were graciously donated during our Comfort and Joy auction last month. We still have many items we have yet to receive, and once we do, we will continue the thanks! Stay tuned for that.