Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Krissy Brasfield

Waiting

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As the weather has been warmer lately, we have been giving Jamie chimpanzee’s group access to their outdoor habitat, Young’s Hill, first thing in the morning.  Today, Jamie sprinted out of the greenhouse, ready to patrol her territory.  Foxie, Missy and Burrito were hot on her heels!  They know that, after breakfast, we spend time cleaning their playroom.  Which is the perfect opportunity to take off to explore the hill, looking for young spring grass to graze on (though it might be a little early, yet).

But they always seem to know when it’s just about time for us to finish up and open the doors back up to their playroom.  They know that there will be a leafy green forage waiting for them, as well as fresh blankets and enrichment. Today, they even had hanging raisin boards, which they love!  So it wasn’t a surprise when we heard breathy chimpanzee laughter coming from the front rooms.  There, we found Burrito and Missy finding ways to pass the time, while waiting for their playroom.

Soon, almost all of the chimps were waiting patiently.

 

Love for Honey B

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What can we say about Honey B?  Honey B is playful, loyal, highly sensitive, so fun and sassy.  She is also intelligent, clever, sneaky, mischievous and unpredictable.  For all of these reasons, and so many more, we LOVE Honey B!

To a level unlike any other chimpanzee person at CSNW, Honey B keeps us on our toes.  Honey B may very well be systematically taking the Sanctuary apart, as we speak, one screw at a time.  Back in 2023, Honey B took down a panel in one of the greenhouses.  If you haven’t seen it, check it out here, Honey B gets down to business at 1:56.  At the end of each day, the Lead Caregiver has an extensive list to check off in order to safely and properly close up the chimp house for the evening.  Honey B’s antics have added some things to the list.  Such as the time she got a hold of the hose in the middle of the night.  Recently, when we were introducing George to Cy’s group, Honey B decided that “privacy” was overrated and made an adjustment to a paper covered window.  You can also count on Honey B to do what it takes to improve her living situation, whether it’s holding out in the front rooms for some alone time, or when she’s in the mezzanine with Willy B and gets tired of him throwing his bouncy balls around.

Honey B will be turning 37 on June 11th of this year.  She was born at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery to our very own Missy!  According to our records, her father was Herbie, which means that she is half siblings to Cy, Lucky and Rayne.  In 1996, she moved to Wildlife Waystation in California where she lived with Willy B and Mave.  After the facility closed in 2019, Honey B, Willy B and Mave moved to CSNW.

After some unsuccessful introductions, thus far, Honey B is still living with Willy B and Mave.  But she has many friendships with chimps from Cy’s group.  Especially Dora!  When we think of Dora’s best friend, we automatically think of Mave, however Honey B and Dora have a great friendship!  While Dora spends a lot of time lying about, and grooming with Mave, Honey B is for raucous play!

Honey B and I didn’t always get along.  When I first started volunteering in 2019, Honey B and her family were rather new to the sanctuary.  I had never met a chimp before, and I thought that her intense stare and spits to the face were “friendly”.  I soon learned that that was not the case.  It wasn’t until the summer of 2024 – 5 years later – that Honey B decided, out of the blue, that I was alright.  Prior to that time, Honey B would spit in my face, so forcefully that it once went through my mask, up my nose and down my throat!  I have a whole series of photos of myself covered in Honey B’s smoothies.  If I was cleaning in a room adjacent to a space that Honey B occupied  – like when she holds out in the front rooms – she wouldn’t let me or my tools anywhere near the shared mesh.  She would occasionally lure me to her by wiggling her sweet toes at me – you can always get me with a toe wiggle – then scream in my face.   But, once Honey B decided I wasn’t so bad, our relationship blossomed.  I’m always excited when I get a new scratch to the back of my hand or elbow because I know Honey B will be thrilled to spend some time grooming/bonding.  It really is an honor to be friends with the spitfire that is Honey B!

We would like to thank Honey B’s 8 pals for their support each month!  We couldn’t do what we do without it!  Do you have a pal yet?  You can become Honey B’s pal, or any other chimp’s or cow’s pal by clicking here.

Love for Burrito

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Not only is today Valentine’s Day, but today I have the distinct honor of highlighting everyone’s favorite chimpanzee, and my best friend, Burrito!!  Okay, I know he’s not EVERYONE’S favorite, but he’s pretty high up there, I’d say.

Has there ever been a chimpanzee as playful as Burrito?  Quite possibly not.  Burrito is always up for a game of chase, tug-o-war, whack-a-mole, tickle/poke with the spoon, or a run around Young’s Hill at a moments notice.  And when I say, “he’s up for it”, I really mean he DEMANDS it!  Bubba (Burrito) is ready first thing in the morning, blowing raspberries and begging for a game of chase.  Without fail, once Bubba is done with his lunch, he is relentlessly pounding on the caging, demanding that I drop everything to play, play, play.  And everyday, I remind him that I, too, need to eat lunch, and I promise to return to yuk it up.  Sure enough, he waits (patiently?) for my return from lunch so as to commence the caregiver/chimpanzee shenanigans!  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Burrito was born in a laboratory on January 6th, 1983.  That’s right, he turned 43 just last month!  He is half brothers to Noah, Negra’s son, and Clay, Jody’s son. He spent the majority of his first 25 years in biomedical research, though he was also used in the entertainment industry for a year or so, as a youth.  In 2008, he and his family, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Annie, Negra and Foxie, moved to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Cle Elum and were known far and wide as the Cle Elum 7.

For more about Burrito’s past, click here.

Burrito is best know for his endless, playful energy.  He’s also known for his resiliency.  Burrito was bitten not once, but TWICE by a rattlesnake, on two separate occasions a few years back!  It scared the daylights out of us!  We hope that Burrito has become wise with age and learned his lesson about snakes!  Don’t be a hero, man!

Burrito loves his toys.  He loves to put them in his mouth while playing and laughing.  Some favorites include wooden hammers, wooden blocks, plastic serving spoons, and anything that bounces!  If you’ve been around the blog for a while, you’ve no doubt seen him bouncing on a Jolly Ball, or a Giant Kong!

Burrito will play with just about anyone who’s willing.  But his best friend is sweet Foxie.  He has taken to watching her back during family squabbles, and offering reassurance when needed.

Burrito has 16 pals!  Do you have a pal?  Are you looking for one?  Burrito would LOVE a new pal!  You can sign up to be Burrito’s pal (or another chimpanzee’s pal) here!

THANK YOU to all of Burrito’s Chimpanzee Pals!  Your donations keep us going!

A Bunch of Lousy Photos

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I recently noticed that I have over 8000 pictures and videos saved in my phone.  Many of them are blurry, or photos I just don’t need to keep for one reason or another.  So I started deleting the ones I don’t want to save.  And I came across so many photos of my chimpanzee friends, not always the greatest photos, but special nonetheless.  So I thought I’d share them with you!  These photos go back about a year.  It’s interesting to see who I have pictures of, and who I don’t.

(If you’re wondering how it’s possible that I don’t have any pictures of my good friend Burrito, stay tuned, I’m saving his photos for my next blog!  There are SO many!)

 

 

George in the chute on a lovely summer afternoon.

George lying in the front rooms shortly after he arrived last May.

George enjoying time in the chute.

Sweet Foxie in the Greenhouse.

One of the many fawns that call the Sanctuary grounds home.

The first bunny I’ve seen around the Sanctuary.

Gordo having a snack and chilling in the Greenhouse.

Gordo with one of his favorite things…a box!

Jamie watching the comings and goings of the Sanctuary.

Jamie all wrapped up and enjoying the warm Greenhouse.

Marmots!!

Mave taking a break and contemplating her life.

More contemplation.

Neggie peeking out from under her blankets.

The first rattle snake of the year, last spring.  Just a wee baby!

Rayne & Cy getting to know George through the intro process.

Good friends Rayne and Lucky enjoying some fresh air on a fall morning.

Rayne and Lucky looking down on me from the Greenhouse.

Terry doing some thinking.

Krissy (me), practicing PRT with Terry while Rayne looks on.

Foxie and Her Dolls

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On our recent “Ask the Caregiver” blog, someone asked about Foxie’s dolls.  Lynne K asked, “Where does Foxie keep her dolls?  Are they rotated by keepers or does she have access to all/many of them?

Great question Lynne K!

Foxie has an entire bin dedicated to her dolls.  You’ll get a look at the bin in the video posted today.  How many dolls do you think are in that bin?  I know the answer, but you have to guess before I tell you!

Everyday, before closing up for the evening, a caregiver or volunteer prepares enrichment for the next day.  We have a selection of all sorts of fun things to include, such as toy hammers and small wooden toys, slinkies, bouncy rubber balls, socks, headbands, scarves, books and magazines, cups and bowls, boots, and DOLLS!  We try to include a little something for everyone, and that includes a nice selection of Foxie’s favorite dolls!  She has them for the day, then when we clean the following day, we remove them and all of the other enrichment items and give them a good cleaning.  Once they’re dry, they go back into her bin until the next time they’re chosen.

Foxie spends a lot of solo time with her dolls.  But you’ll also find her incorporating her dolls into play with her chimpanzee friends, and her caregivers!

Please enjoy today’s video of Foxie and me playing doll LAUNCH!  And don’t forget to guess how many dolls are in Foxie’s doll bin!  You won’t win anything if you guess correctly, except bragging rights.  Ha!

Honey B Hi-jinks, Episode 327

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During our introduction process, we try to limit visual access to the other chimpanzees in order to provide the newly introduced group with some privacy and minimize interference from other groups.  We’ve added privacy panels to spaces that the chimps have access to, like windows inside chimp spaces, because they are pretty “chimp proof”.  But in other spaces that the chimps can’t access, like windows in human areas that look into chimp spaces, we use curtains or kraft paper.   When Cy recently moved in with George, we added kraft paper to the window adjacent to the cubby in the mezzanine.  As many of you know, the cubby is Honey B’s favorite spot!

Honey B was not on board with the addition of paper on HER window.

A few days ago, when Honey B’s group was hanging out in the mezzanine while we cleaned other spaces, she decided to do something about the offensive paper.  Unfortunately, the only tools available in the mezzanine were empty chow bags from breakfast and lunch.  Never fear, Honey B persisted and found a much better tool.

Please enjoy today’s 327th episode of Honey B’s hi-jinks!

Do you think Honey B is successful in removing the paper?

Preparing for an Intro

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Yesterday, Kelsi shared Cy and George’s all day intro from last Saturday.  She talked about how challenging it can be to isolate a chimp when preparing for an introduction.

“Setting up introduction days is a lot of work. Behind the scenes, getting the chimps to shift and move where they need to be can be quite challenging. Not everyone is always eager to cooperate (cough, cough — Honey B, Terry, and now Rayne). Sometimes, if the chimps don’t shift, it can really affect the whole day, and we have to get creative with our shifting plans. Mentally, it can be extremely taxing.”  See the rest of the blog here.

Today, you get to see a glimpse of what it can take to separate a chimp.  Some days are better than others, and some days we need to get creative.  This was one of those “let’s get creative” days.  In today’s video, Ellen’s goal is to isolate Cy into the chute, which connects to George’s front rooms.  She has already separated Cy from his group, but Gordo tagged along and they are both now in Greenhouse 3.  Ellen now needs to distract Gordo so she can move Cy into Greenhouse 2 and then into the chute.

Ellen decides to recruit some help, come along to see how it goes.

Oh!  Jamie’s birthday is right around the corner!  Check out our wish lists if you’d like to help us with the biggest celebration of the year…JAMIEWEEN!  We’ve also added some fun items for Willy B’s birthday and Christmas.  Thank you!