Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Katelyn

Thank you, Michael!

by

Today was sponsored by Michael Lee who wishes for the chimpanzees “to have a stress free day, everyday, to do whatever they desire….even something naughty!” Michael further shared his gratitude for “all those who go out of their way to save the chimps and give them back a life they deserve, who will continue to look out for them and provide for their needs. I wish you all to have good health, and may you continue to be blessed with the joy of knowing that all your effort has not gone unappreciated. On behalf of all the chimps….Thank You.”

Michael, this is so kind and thoughtful of you. And as if that weren’t enough, I would also like to note that today is Michael’s birthday! I cannot think of a more generous thing to do than to honor others on one’s own birthday.  Thank you so much, Michael, and have a wonderful day!

web Burrito watermelon food eat forage outdoor area IMG_4707

 

The Last Days of Summer

by

We are having a last burst of summer at the sanctuary this week with temperatures back in the 90’s. The flies and wasps are endlessly buzzing and the chimps and humans are all endlessly swatting. The chimp house is completely quiet as I type this. Negra is sound asleep in her window nest. Jamie is in her nest flipping through two new boot catalogs I gave her and filing her nails with an emery board. She is also making the occasional happy groan when she sees something she likes. (For those of you who are new to our blog, Jamie was raised in a human home by a trainer until the age of 9 and sometimes chooses to engage in more human oriented activities). Burrito, Foxie, Jody, and Annie are lying in the greenhouse with their feet propped up on the caging, arms splayed out to their sides. And Missy, always on the move Missy, just raced me through the chimp house to the window by the chimpanzees’ cherry tomato bush and asked me to pick some for her, and I of course was happy to oblige.

Autumn is definitely in the air these days although you wouldn’t know it right now. It’s hard to believe we will all be talking about cold temperatures and snow before long. But for now we can revel in the last lazy days of summer. We hope you are all enjoying the special days that only summertime brings as much as the chimpanzees. Here are a few photos of some of the chimpanzees during a forage on Young’s Hill this week:

Annie:

web_Annie_stand_bipedal_in_grass_YH_ek_IMG_4238

Missy:

web_Missy_walk_on_bridge_YH_ek_IMG_4179

Foxie and Dora:

web_Foxie&Dora_foraging_chow_YH_ek_IMG_4262

Burrito:

web_Burrito_walk_on_log_YH_jb_IMG_4513

Happy Birthday, Shannon!

by

Today was sponsored by Janet Henry in honor of her daughter, Shannon Noble’s, birthday! It’s Janet’s wish to celebrate Shannon and her love and compassion for not only the chimpanzees, but for all animals. Janet, what a lovely way to honor your daughter. Thank you both so much for caring about the chimpanzees and including them in your special day. Shannon, on behalf of the chimpanzees, we hope your day is full of pant hoots and food grunts! Happy Birthday!!

jamie opening pinata

 

A Growing Confidence

by

Negra’s favorite spot is typically her nest which she builds every day up on the catwalk in the playroom. This is a narrow walkway around the upstairs perimeter of the playroom. Negra builds a big, fluffy nest next to the window that overlooks the neighboring fields and valley. From this vantage point she also can easily see the comings and going from the kitchen to the chimp area and I always look up and greet her as I pass by. Negra will often throw out her arm toward us or nod her head in greeting and seems content to keep her interaction at that (unless you are dancing for her, but that’s another story). The other day I passed by and glanced up to greet Negra, but she wasn’t there.  All of a sudden, she came running (well, running Negra style) across the playroom toward me and stuck her lips outside the caging to ask for a kiss. (We offer the back of our hands to the chimpanzees if they want to kiss or tickle us, but for safety never cross the caging).

Now sometimes Negra offers us kisses, but sometimes Negra also feigns offering kisses and pokes and threat barks at us instead. Yes, Negra. It can be hard to tell when Negra is happy. Just like us, sometimes she’s just grumpy and sometimes it understandably might be something more. Negra was captured in the wild, we believe in 1973, but possibly earlier, and then spent over three decades in biomedical research. She has also been part of a study of post-traumatic stress disorder in former laboratory chimpanzees. So in short, even though Negra sometimes initiates interactions with her caregivers, you never know what response you may get in return.

But on this occasion, much to my delight, Negra not only offered me several kisses, she also presented her back for a knuckle rub. Now this is even dicier territory. Negra is particularly sensitive to touch and sometimes it triggers reactions that appear to be PTSD related. And even though she asks for you to rub her back, she sometimes responds by screaming or threat barking at you as soon as you touch her. These incidents are truly heartbreaking. Especially when you think about what life traumas she has experienced to evoke these responses, and even more so when you feel responsible for having triggered them. So holding my breath, I very slowly and gently knuckle rubbed her back as I spoke to her. Not only did she remain calm, but continued to ask for more!

web_Negra_walking_towards_the_camera_food_in_mouth_YH_ek_IMG_4216

And so it went between Negra and I for several minutes. Negra asking for kisses, back rubs, and even head rubs. And then…….Negra reached out to tickle the back of my hand and LAUGHED! Complete with a play face and droopy lip! I will tell you right now I got tears in my eyes. Not because I was so honored to experience this rare moment with Negra (though of course, I was), but because it seemed to be one more step toward healing for her. One more step toward peace and her confident chimpanzee self.

In memory of Robert C. Thompson

by

Today was sponsored by Madelaine Thompson in memory of her dad, Robert C. Thompson. Madelaine shared the following sentiments:

“My dad and mom welcomed strays and rescue pets into our household from the time I was a baby. At times, pets outnumbered humans – and there were nine kids! I am ever grateful for his compassion and sense of humor in dealing with the challenges and rewards of a chaotic, loving household.”

Madelaine, thank you so much for including the chimpanzees with such lovely memories of your family. What a generous and compassionate way to honor your dad. Something tells me he would have appreciated the chimpanzees’ household!

annie and missy playing

Life as Jamie’s assistant

by

Jamie is the supervisor of all of us here at the sanctuary, chimps and humans alike, and today Jamie had many projects for me. Thank goodness I had her direction to structure my day. All of the chimpanzees are well aware of the daily routine and are amazing time keepers. And not just at mealtime. They typically know when it’s time for them to be given access to each area after we complete cleaning and if we are running behind, they start showing up to let us know. And as you can imagine, nothing gets by “the boss.”

Jamie followed me throughout the cleaning of the front rooms today, supervising my cleaning skills and making sure to request numerous drinks from the hose at each door. When it was time to give the chimpanzees access to the front rooms, I asked Jamie which door she wanted me to open first.  She immediately indicated her choice and we repeated this until all the appropriate doors were open.  With cleaning done, Jamie let me know it was time for a walk around the hill.  Immediately! Jamie typically has a specific boot in mind that she wants us to wear on our walks with her and sometimes it can take trying on several pairs in her collection before we find the one she wants. But you know have the right one when you put it on and she takes off running toward Young’s Hill!  Today, this was THE boot of choice:

web_Jamie's_boot_choice_for_KD_kd_IMG_4056

After taking several loops around Young’s Hill together, Jamie’s and my routine (per Jamie) is to sit together so she can groom the prized boot.  When she has groomed the boot (and me) sufficiently, she indicates she is ready to be given the boot by running into the front rooms where I drop it in a shoot for her. Once in her possession, she gazes adoringly at the boots, hugs it to her and kisses it:

web_Jamie_kiss_boot_after_walk_with_KD_kd_IMG_4059

Jamie then let me know that she wanted to check out the chimpanzees’ garden (of course, with the boot in tow). Thanks to the hard work of volunteer, Denice, the chimps’ garden is in full bloom! Every day this week, Jamie and Missy (The Tomato Queen) have excitedly asked for cherry tomatoes which they can see growing outside the play room windows.  Here Jamie is watching me pick some for her:

web_Jamie_watching_Katelyn_pick_tomato_dm_IMG_4096

It’s hard to tell here, but I am serving her a few to try out:

web_Jamie_eating_garden_tomato_dm_IMG_4098

And while Jamie looks like she has a huge smile in this photo, she’s actually getting tomato seeds out of her teeth.  Nevertheless, I think she was still pretty pleased.

web_Jamie_eat_tomato_looks_like_playface_dm_IMG_4094

Jamie is one of the toughest bosses I have ever had, but I can’t think of a more rewarding job, or anyone else I’d rather work for.

The Chimps Take Manhattan!

by

As most of us have mentioned this week, providing the chimpanzees (especially Jamie!) with an enriching and stimulating environment can be challenging. Thanks to Donna and Doreen’s sponsorship of today, we decided to use the theme of the “Big Apple.” It’s always fun to see how each of the chimpanzees choose to engage with new enrichment. Debbie and volunteer Deb spent a lot of time constructing a cardboard box version of the New York City skyline and we even made a Dora of Liberty statue on “Ellis Island” (aka the turtle wading pool). After scattering dried apples still warm from the dehydrator (courtesy of volunteer, Patty) about like confetti for the chimps’ forage in Times Square, the scene was set. Mind you, it’s sometimes difficult to say whether the chimpanzees or the humans are more enriched by these endeavors.

web_Big_apple_day_skyline_dm_photo

Foxie “hearts” NY:

web_Foxie_look_at_IheartNY_dm_IMG_1347

Jody and Annie checking out the Dora of Liberty statue:

web_Jody_Annie_look_at_DoraLiberty_dm_IMG_1376

As you can imagine, the chimps not only took Manhattan, but quickly toppled it. Here’s Jamie inspecting the ruins:

web_Jamie_investigate_NYCday_boxes_IMG_1410

And Jody found “Ellis Island” to be the perfect nesting spot (after getting that pesky Dora of Liberty out of the way):

web_Jody_nest_turtle_NYCday_boxes_dm_IMG_1400

web_Jody_nest_in_turtle_NYCday_IMG_1402

Donna and Doreen, thanks again for sponsoring the day in honor of Foxie’s birthday month and your anniversary in the Big Apple!

And tomorrow is the last day to vote for your favorite chimpanzee artist! Get your votes in now and help make a real difference for the winning chimpanzee and their sanctuary family and home!