Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Kelsi

Willy B Decoded

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Willy B is a creative spirit. You could even say innovative. Because of those qualities, he has absolutely no problem entertaining himself! Especially, if what he is doing is loud and slightly chaotic, it’s all the better for him. It’s just an environment he thrives in best. It would come to no surprise that when he keeps himself occupied, the games that he comes up with are just so Willy B coded: bouncy balls being thrown in all directions, boxes being dragged along the floor, slinkies being thrown around, or bouncing a giant tub again the wall. It’s just Willy B!

 

So Unserious!

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Today was all play! Burrito may be one of the most unserious chimps I have ever met! He has an infectious energy that you can’t help but pick up! It seems like Gordo and George also caught some of Burrito’s energy because they were being quite silly too!

I hope you all have a lovely Wednesday!

 

Latest on Negra

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A few weeks ago on the blog, Diana discussed Negra having weakness in her legs after a brief conflict. For those who may have missed that blog, there was a brief conflict in Jamie’s group, which is not abnormal, but post-conflict Negra was not using her legs as normal. We isolated her in hopes that she would have some time to rest, recover, and hopefully go back with her group in a few days. However, it has become apparent since that Negra will not be bouncing back. This is why I would like to give you all an update today. I want to speak honestly about Negra and it may be hard to read. Though Negra is here with us now and no concrete decisions have been made, Negra’s mobility is declining sooner and faster than we had hoped. I think it’s only fair to write a blog to mentally prepare everyone for the time when our sweet Neggie may have to leave us. As I write this, I too, am trying to wrap my mind around it.

As caregivers, we learn to compartmentalize. So, while something as huge as Negra’s health scare is going on, we still have 15 other chimps that rely on us. In some ways, it has made it easier for some of us to prolong our denial of the reality of the situation. I think when the initial “injury” happened, we had a bit of hope, but with the underlining gut feeling that we knew Negra may not return to 100% someday.

Over the current weeks that Negra has been recovering in the front rooms, while still getting Greenhouse and Young’s Hill time as well, we have noticed a lot of muscle deterioration making it even harder for Negra to get around. While she hasn’t lost the ability to use her legs fully, she heavily relies on her upper body strength to move her from place to place. Despite that, she has continued to look weaker.

Negra is currently getting the best medical care possible. It’s hard to justify an anesthetic procedure at this point because of how extremely stressful they are for her and her PTSD, as well as the general risk to put a senior chimpanzee under anesthesia. The good news is Negra is still sound of mind, she is her usual Neggie self, not showing too much discomfort, still gets excited to see her friends, spends time soaking up sun in the Greenhouse, and her interest in food has not wavered! However, with her mobility rapidly declining and it being harder to do her daily tasks, we are assessing overall quality of life. We want to give Negra the respect and dignity she deserves and we do not want to watch her suffer. We have been so lucky to have shared many years with Negra! We do not know the time frame for how much longer Negra has with us, but we are providing Negra the things she loves the most and making sure she is as comfortable as possible, and yes, that includes rolls.

This feeling is really hard to put into words because I can’t imagine a world without Negra. I simply can’t imagine showing up every day and her not being here. Negra is what sanctuaries are built for. To give chimps like Neggie a place to decompress, a place to feel safe, a place to call home. Chimps making it to sanctuary feels like a win, but for a chimp like Negra to live in sanctuary and get to experience all it offers, now that is a success.

Negra is an integral part of her group. Negra shows up for her loved ones. She, like Jody, is the glue of her group. Negra consoles her friends during times of need. Negra helped every person in her group through their grief after losing Jody. Negra was the person to lift everyone’s spirits. She added levity and tried to get her friends back into a routine. But she didn’t just console individuals in her group, Negra helped her caregivers move through grief too. I wrote about this in a blog called Grief, where I mention that I had been away when Jody passed. Negra took care of me when I returned. She invited me to sit with her while we played, groomed, and spent time together; I would like to believe we distracted each other from our grief. It’s funny when I think about it, because it is my job to take care of her and Negra knew exactly what I might need, or rather we might have needed. That is a human sentiment. I can never really know; it could all be a coincidence. However, whenever it is Negra’s time, it is hard to think about what her group will be like without the person who takes care of them.

Something that I have been trying to focus on is that Negra built a beautiful life here. Even if Negra had made it only 1 year in sanctuary, I think we would have felt successful. To see Negra live here for the last 18 years is unbelievable. Negra had so many hardships in her life and people have selfishly taken so much from her. However, CSNW has been able to give something back to Negra. The special thing about sanctuary is that every chimps’ needs are different and for Negra we met her where she was. Her sanctuary looks different than how Jamie navigates her life in sanctuary. Negra needed a place that understood her. She may not take advantage of Young’s Hill everyday and choose to spend time of the nest instead. I’m so thankful for all that we could provide for her.

It will never feel like enough time with Negra. I am proud of Negra for her resilience, being unapologetically herself, creating a family within her group, and choosing to live this sanctuary life the way Negra wanted to live it. I am proud that we as sanctuary did our job for Negra. And I hope that this helps as we process the idea of Negra not being here forever physically, but always with us in spirit.

Welcome Back, Welcome Back

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The best part about coming back from a long vacation is seeing all these lovely faces!

The ever so handsome Cy:

Little Foxie gives the best hellos:

Jamie having some alone time in the green house:

Terry foraging seeds and lettuce:

The warmest of greetings from the sweet Lucky:

Sleepy Negra this morning, cozy in her nest, wrapped like a burrito:

The every so elusive, yet playful Gordo:

And of course, the mischievous Honey B:

From Ruckus to Rest!

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Well, we finally got the snow. It has been snowing nonstop since we showed up at work this morning. Something I love about snow is how serene it is. It makes everything feel quiet around you. However, we have had anything but a quiet day, both sides of the buildings were making  a lot of noise! However, Honey B and Mave found a few moments to rest!

I hope you all were able to find some peaceful and calm moments today, like our friends Honey B and Mave did.

Mave:

Honey B:

The Hustle and Bustle

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The chimp house is a busy place! It’s fun, energetic, and can tend to get a little noisy. From the start of the morning we are on the go- prepping food, serving meals, shifting doors, cleaning enclosures, cleaning toys, making enrichment, washing dishes, doing laundry, making chow bags, making night bags, doing more laundry, staff and interns coming in and out throughout the day, all the while chimps are playing, laughing, grooming, maybe screaming, and nesting!

I know, it’s a lot! That is why when Jamie asks you to go on a walk, it’s really nice to slow down and be in the moment with her. So, if you have had a busy day like we had, join me on a walk with Jamie and Burrito.

Of course, there are some bonus photos too!

Honey B being silly, while eating an apple:

Annie:

Rayne:

 

Love for Jody

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As we continue our Valentine’s series, we could never forget our dear friend Jody. When I think about sanctuary, Jo embodies what sanctuaries are made for.

Jody was born in 1975, we don’t know her exact birthday, we believe Jody may have been captured in the wild. However, we honor Jody on Mother’s Day, because she took on the role of “Den Mother.” She was the glue of the group. Jody was a protector, she fiercely loved her family and would do anything to ensure their safety, even if it meant that she involved herself in conflict taking on the burden to protect others. In her absence, we have noticed how much she was helping her group navigate conflict and how much she stepped in and took the brunt of it. Losing Jo definitely effected the balance of peace in the group. Jamie’s group has adjusted since, but it is impossible to fill the hole that Jody left, showing us another parallel to human lives. Though someone has passed, we have to figure out how to walk on this earth without them, acknowledging that it won’t be the same, but you rebuild, slowly.

Jody like many other chimp stories, is a heartbreaking one, she was used primarily for breeding during her years in the labs, over her time there she had 9 children and 2 miscarriages. Chimps that were used for breeding in biomedical labs had their children taken away and sadly, Jody was no exception. In between her many pregnancies, the industry managed to also use Jody in hepatitis vaccine research. If you ever met Jody, you know she was born to me a mother, it is a tragedy she was not able to be a mother to her children, but regardless she became the den mother to her group. We do know that 4 of her children made it to sanctuary.

This is Jody when she arrived to the sanctuary.

And Jody after 15 years in sanctuary, almost aging in reverse.

Jody was resilient, deeply loyal, a mediator, and the heart and soul of her group. She was a serious chimp. She did not open up quickly, but once she did, you were apart of her world.

Jojo was best known for her dinosaur food grunts. You would hear these sounds when she was extremely pleased with the food being served.

Jody was known for her elaborate nest building. She was the only chimp to help us get blankets out of the doors and most likely the one who left the pile of blankets in the door!

We often described Jo as more of a serious chimp, but she loved to have fun with her friends too!

 

Jo was an extremely protective friend. If anyone in her group was out on the Hill and hadn’t come back yet, she would wait at the end of the raceway until they returned.

Jody could also be found in the happy baby pose.

She was an incredibly supportive friend. My favorite story is when Jody would go out every morning with Foxie to climb the Twister, a structure out on Young’s Hill. Jody would go out and climb with Foxie, going only as far as Foxie was comfortable, but always encouraging her to push a little further. Eventually, one day Foxie got to the top and Jody was right there with her the whole time. I think about that moment often. It speaks to who Jody was as a person, supportive, protective, and encouraging.

I think about Jody all the time. I feel a pang of grief every time I do a produce order. I always come across a food or leafy green that Jody would totally get excited for! Jody was so expressive with food. It was so exciting and she was so vocal. Because of this, Jody was an avid forager, aka Farmer Jo, whether that be foliage on the Hill or foraging for produce. She would walk back in with a haul- hands, toes, and mouth full! And if you have ever wondered where the nickname Farmer Jo came from, I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Oh! I almost forgot that Jody once foraged a whole rose bush, fast forward to 7:26!

Let’s not forget the great pumpkin heist! Jamieween is one of our biggest celebrations and every year we put out a big pumpkin on Young’s Hill. The pumpkin heist is something many of us looked forward to every year. To see how Jody would steal or try to stealthily get the whole pumpkin, even though, eventually she would share her winning with Neggie.

She had the cutest nubby toes and a very stabby toenail.

But I miss her heart-shaped browridge the most. Jody had the most captivating eyes, it felt like she could see your soul.

However, something I miss deeply is every night when we would close up the chimp house, we would say “Goodnight”. Jody would give a “Goodnight-grunt” and then everyone else would harmonize after. It was a sweet quiet moment. We don’t hear them do it as often without Jo, but when they do, I feel her presence.

It was an honor to care for Jody and watch her flourish in everything our sanctuary had to offer her. She was provided dignity, choice, and safety. She is deeply missed by her family and her human friends. To gain her trust as a human friend of hers is the greatest privilege you could ever ask for.

Jody currently has 12 pals (in memorial). If you would like to honor sweet Jojo you can donate or become her Chimpanzee Pals (in memorial).