Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

animal behavior

The Bud Box

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Primates and Bovines

Most of our staff were, at one point or another, either primatology students at nearby Central Washington University (CWU) or interns at the university’s Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute. People are often surprised to learn that CWU students can specialize in primate behavior at the undergraduate, graduate, or professional certificate level. It’s quite the niche.

We sometimes joke about our research-oriented backgrounds whenever we catch ourselves doing strange tasks around the Chimp House (like fishing stray troll dolls out of the septic tank filter, perusing Amazon for Jamie’s next favorite picture book, or shoveling chimp-size paths through the snow on Young’s Hill). Irony aside, the people who use their Primate Behavior degrees exclusively for studying primate behavior are the true anomalies. The skills developed while studying primatology are widely applicable to a variety of different career paths, and most of us end up doing things we never even dreamed of when we were students.

This point was reiterated when I remotely interviewed for a caregiver position at CSNW. One of the topics that came up was that of cattle care, which is quite different from the other Chimp House duties and may have turned off some candidates. When J.B. asked if I had any familiarity with bovines, I responded that “I have never cared for cattle.” The phone went awkwardly silent for a second, and I quickly realized my strange wording suggested I didn’t like cows. Of course, I actually meant that I had literally never worked with them before, and I tried my best to convey that I was in no way prejudiced against cattle. In fact, I knew little about bovine health or behavior but was super stoked to learn.

Shifting For Safety

In some respects, taking care of chimpanzees is vastly different from managing domesticated animals such as cattle. Sometimes, though, the overlap is considerable. From my perspective, one similarity shared by all species is the tendency to not go where you want them to, making their care more difficult.

We’ve recently discussed the challenges of shifting chimps around the building so that we can safely unlock areas for cleaning. In some cases, such as Willy B’s epic filibusters in the Courtyard and the chute, we can make alternate plans that align with the chimps’ preferences. However, we don’t always have that luxury. On rare occasions, we encounter situations when we need the chimpanzees to leave an area for their immediate safety. These improbable events may be related to extreme weather, enclosure maintenance, or dangerous wildlife. In these critical moments, confused chimpanzees tend to pay less attention to their caregivers and are less likely to cooperate.

One example is that of Burrito’s rattlesnake encounter in Young’s Hill back in September. On that day, the chimps voluntarily came inside, letting us administer antivenom to Burrito and remove the snake from the habitat. In the weeks after, we prioritized recall training. To execute a recall, we invite the the chimps to return to the building, letting us close the doors in exchange for high-value treats. In a couple of cases, this proactive cooperation helped us to humanely relocate non-venomous snakes that had mistakenly found their way into the chimps’ outdoor enclosure. Once the warm weather returns in the spring, we will surely resume this training.

Note: We are frequently asked whether we intervene in fights by splitting the chimpanzees up. We usually do not. Separating a frenzied group of chimps during an altercation is extremely difficult since they are so focused on each other during these moments. They almost always resolve the conflict and reconcile without our assistance.

Other institutions do similar activities for the sake of their chimpanzee residents. At the closed Wildlife Waystation (from whence came Honey B, Mave and Willy B), caregivers are currently teaching the chimps to willingly shift into transport cages in case nearby wildfires threaten the facility again. This ongoing effort recently garnered some well-deserved media attention. As the sanctuary community works to re-home the remaining chimps, it’s good to know that their immediate wellbeing is still a top priority. When those chimpanzees make their way to accredited facilities like ours, hopefully they’ll be like Honey B and bring their cooperative attitudes with them.

The Bud Box

Of course, the chimpanzees aren’t the only CSNW residents who need this kind of training. The sanctuary’s four cattle are also managed using positive reinforcement, and training them to voluntarily enter a smaller corral is one of our top priorities. Plausible scenarios in which we would need to confine the cattle would be to address individual health concerns, to make repairs to the pasture fences, or to evacuate the herd due to a nearby wildfire. We also use a similar process to isolate them for their annual hoof trims and vaccinations. In all of these cases, the first step is to get them out of the larger pasture and into a smaller corral. From there, we herd them into an even smaller pen and then into a narrow chute that allows for safe handling. Cattle are naturally skeptical of anything that seems different (and for good reason), so anything we can do to familiarize them with this process has a positive effect on their welfare.

The key to all this is the Bud Box. Although it sounds like a monthly subscription service for cannabis enthusiasts, the Bud Box is actually a type of cattle pen named after its late inventor, Bud Williams. Bud’s design was (and remains) quite simple: a rectangular enclosure that has one or more outflows located near the main entry gate. Cattle will often turn back once they encounter a dead end, at which point they easily divert into a narrow chute for veterinary care or transport. This relatively cheap design is wildly effective and popular. J.B. built our sanctuary’s Bud Box shortly after the cattle arrived, and it’s already proving to be worth all of his hard work.

Source: Michelle Proctor, University of Missouri

As the above diagram shows, the Bud Box is designed to keep the cattle “flowing” into the chute without much human participation or promise of reward; their aversion to containment drives them through. Ideally, all the human operator has to do is close one gate and open another. Still, it can work better if the animals are familiar with the pen and relatively relaxed. Training is one way to achieve this.

Erin and I have been doing some Bud Box training recently. During these sessions, we put some of the bovines’ regular hay into the box and then briefly close them inside. Then, we open the side gate so they exit through the corresponding chute, receiving the rest of their hay as a reward. Afterwards, we leave the swing gate wide open so that they can re-enter the Bud Box for any leftovers. The following photos show a step-by-step record of the entire process (in case you want to try it with your beloved Jersey cattle at home).

1. With the swing gate open and the chute gate closed, we place an alfalfa/grass hay mixture into the Bud Box and call the cattle over.
2. The cattle come into the corral voluntarily and slowly walk toward the Bud Box. We close the pasture gates behind them.
3. Honey is the bravest. She takes a good sniff of the Bud Box before entering.
4. Honey settles and begins to forage.
5. More skeptical individuals tend to hang back. Meredith need a moment to observe her mother eating safely.
6. The number of cattle in the Bud Box suddenly doubles as Meredith joins Honey inside.
7. Betsy comes over, too.
8. Betsy begins to eat. Nutmeg is the last one to arrive.
9. Nutmeg needs to lick things.
10. With the cattle happily filling their bellies, I close the swing gate behind them.
11. Nom nom nom nom nom
12. Once they’ve eaten a bit, I open the side gate so they can exit via the chute.

13. Although they eagerly leave the Bud Box, they soon decide to go back to it and scarf down the remaining hay.

Our plan is to continue this training on a weekly basis until the cattle calmly enter the Bud Box and exit via the chute with only a tiny bit of coaxing. It may seem like a lot of work now, especially for a bunch of primatology nerds like us, but this training could prove invaluable if we ever have to round up the cattle in a hurry.

In the meantime, I think we all need to appreciate how awesome Nutmeg’s hairstyle is. This anatomical feature is actually an occipital protrusion called a poll, but I think it looks more like a messy man-bun. Either way, he rocks it.

Dominance(?)

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Among captive chimpanzees, the concept of dominance can be a bit of an enigma. As we attempt to integrate the two groups of chimpanzee residents here at the sanctuary, we are having many discussions about the dominance hierarchy. Dominance isn’t the only important thing during this stressful time, but it’s still important.

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the adjective dominant can be defined as:

  1. commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others
  2. very important, powerful, or successful
  3. overlooking and commanding from a superior position

These definitions, among others, can each paint a different picture of what it means to “be dominant.” Primatologists tend to use the word in relation to social rank (i.e., where an individual fits within their group’s hierarchy in relation to other individuals). In primates and many other social animals, there is abundant research on the topic of social rank and the benefits that a high rank confers. By having more opportunities to mate and obtain resources, higher-ranking individuals tend to have a greater chance at reproducing and passing on their genetic material. In this way, traits that help an individual achieve a higher social rank can be heavily advantageous. In most primate species, males and females form separate hierarchies and compete within, not between, the sexes. although the resulting structure is often clear, the mechanisms by which dominance hierarchies develop and change are complex.

Studies of free-ranging chimpanzees (e.g., Dr. Jane Goodall’s) have revealed that males and females have somewhat separate social hierarchies. Generally, adult males vie for higher rank using a combination of physical aggression, explosive displays and tactful cooperation. Adult females develop higher rank through experience and tenure. The lowest of the adult males is still usually higher than the highest female. In a community of chimps, males seem to figure out their place in the social hierarchy during adolescence.

Dominance isn’t everything though. A chimpanzee who has a dominant personality may be deficient in other aspects. There’s another component of social rank, perhaps best described as leadership, that seems to affect how long a chimp can hold the rank of alpha after climbing their way to the top. Without an ability to gain the trust of others and manage friendships, a quick, brutal ascension may result in a tragic end. Deposed alpha males can be killed or driven out by their former peers. (For more on this topic, I recommend the fascinating talk by author and primatologist Dr. Frans de Waal.)

If chimps always fought each other in peer-to-peer physical combat, dominance would be easier to study. However, chimpanzees have many ways of diffusing tension and avoiding conflict. They often do this by communicating with one another, thereby establishing boundaries and outlining expectations for how their relationships are going to be in the near future.

Instead of focusing on rare acts of violence, scientists can usually infer social rank by observing pant-grunts. A pant-grunt is a guttural vocalization, often accompanied by an exaggerated bow and/or submissive hand gesture, that is specifically directed from a subordinate towards a perceived superior. It’s a conspicuous overture and leaves little room for debate. When a mother chimpanzee pant-grunts at an adult male, her dependent infant will sometimes pant-grunt in synchrony while clinging to her belly. When a former alpha male concedes that he has lost his position to a rival male, the passing of the torch is usually marked by a conciliatory pant-grunt. Although chimps have numerous cultural traditions that vary between populations, pant-grunts can be heard in almost every chimpanzee social group, captive or otherwise.

Willy B watches another interaction while eating his own food

The Cle Elum Seven are no different. Burrito, although he lacks a dominant personality and seems uninterested in leadership, sporadically receives pant-grunts from the females (even Jamie). Pant-grunts between the six females are rare, although I sometimes see Negra receive them from her peers. Aside from Negra, who generally avoids drama, we usually infer that Jamie is the most dominant female based on her aggressive demeanor and possessiveness. When a situation gets hairy, Jamie’s side is usually the side to be on. Like Burrito, though, Jamie appears to be a poor leader. As Jake’s study of their dominance hierarchy indicated, Jamie’s excessive dominance and unusual social behavior may actually prevent her from being a good leader.

Negra peruses a magazine for peanut butter smears

Rather than constantly beating back rivals and taking their food, an effective leader quashes conflicts before they start and often allows minor transgressions to slide. For example, when the new three arrived, Willy B showed tolerance and tenderness towards his female companions. They, in turn, groomed and acknowledged him. That’s why, as J.B. has often said, we’re hoping that Willy B will step up to be a good alpha, thus providing some stability. So far, Willy B has not revealed himself to be a tyrant or a bully, so he may be the keystone individual that CSNW needs to have a cohesive, stable chimpanzee community.

Mave grooms Willy B the day after their arrival.

With Jody, Annie and Missy now in a state of cohabitation with the new three, they have all been cautious and submissive towards Willy B. In turn, Willy has remained stoic amid all the drama. He seems to be equally interested in the new surroundings and still focuses on his favorite foods. He’s observant and reserved, but not overly reactive. All he has to do is sit there and the females will pant-grunt at him anyway. Of course, it sometimes helps to acknowledge their efforts, but he certainly doesn’t over-do it.

Willy B investigates the Greenhouse

Somewhat surprisingly, the other females have also been submissive towards Mave. It’s possible that, in the absence of fellow males, Mave has evolved into Willy’s biggest supporter. She is definitely playing a peacekeeper role, and may be helping Willy B to keep his alpha status. It will be interesting to see whether Burrito and Jamie, who are both relatively dominant, recognize Willy as their leader. There may be some drama before we get to that point, but the goal is to give the chimps what they need to form a sustainable and healthy social group.

Willy B (male, left) and Mave (female, right)
Mave
During a sweet moment, Honey B gingerly places the end of a firehose vine in Jody’s mouth. Two two seem to view each other as peers and have been exchanging frequent overtures

Great Expectations

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We caregivers have been incredibly busy lately, but we make a point to read comments on our social media content and we attempt to respond appropriately whenever possible. Lately, most of our followers, donors and volunteers have been overwhelmingly focused on one topic in particular: social integrations. More specifically, everybody wants to know about our plan for introducing the three new individuals (Honey B., Willy B. and Mave) to our existing social group of seven resident chimpanzees. Diana described the situation eloquently in her recent post, which is a “must-read” for anyone trying to follow the action here at the sanctuary.

Willy B. and Mave listen to the other group of chimpanzees in the adjacent Playroom.

As stated previously by the other staff, the incoming trio are about to clear their four-week quarantine period and we are formulating a loose plan to begin the introduction process. All members of our care staff are experienced in chimpanzee care and management, but we have never conducted a merger of two social groups in this unique facility or with these individual chimpanzees. Therefore, it is impossible to write a detailed, step-by-step description of our introduction plan. We are committed to remaining flexible and open-minded from start to finish, and will make whatever changes are needed to ensure the safety and well-being of all chimpanzees throughout the process. As with the outdoor tunnel, The chimpanzees will let us know how they feel about each step and we will adjust our plan to reflect their choices. At this point in time, all we can say is that we have scoured the written literature on chimpanzee social integrations, consulted with experienced personnel from other facilities and organizations, and aggregated our own observations in order to make the best decisions for these individual chimps.

The existing scientific reports of first meetings between unfamiliar chimpanzees have somewhat helped us to set our expectations. Chimpanzee social behavior is by far the most thoroughly studied of all wild primates, and there are substantial bodies of work on their behavior in captivity as well. What we see around the sanctuary is often paralleled by what scientists have seen at other locations and in other populations of chimpanzees. To illustrate this point, let’s consider Burrito’s behavioral changes since the new three entered his world, both audibly and visibly.

Burrito Chimpanzee stomps around the Playroom.

In general, Burrito has been more alert and agitated than usual. He has conducted more forays onto Young’s Hill to monitor the section of fence closest to the new expansion, spends more time gazing towards the neighboring enclosures, and creates more noise by drumming and throwing objects around the Chimp House. He has been uncharacteristically late for some meals and even skipped a couple courses entirely. During these absences, we hear him getting rowdy by the Playroom windows, usually within sight of the three new arrivals who can watch the spectacle from the safety of their outdoor tunnel. Once his displays and hoots reach their inevitable crescendo, he leaps towards the window and stares intently, apparently waiting for a response. When he does show up tardy for meals, he has been swaggering up to the Greenhouse deck and then charging through the females, scattering them and causing a ruckus. This is an edgier version of Bubba than we have seen previously.

Burrito looks out of the Playroom window after completing a display.

This change in Burrito’s behavior is evidence of what some primatologists have called the neighbor effect. In their 1996 study of chimpanzees housed at a large research facility, Dr. Kate Baker and Dr. Filippo Aureli observed captive chimpanzees to determine whether noise from neighboring groups had an observable effect on each individual’s behavior. To summarize their findings, chimpanzees tended to perform more pant-hoots, displays and outright physical aggression when neighboring groups did the same. Aggression outside of social groups was related to aggression within groups. For captive chimpanzees, rowdiness and instability are apparently contagious. Right now, we are witnessing a similar pattern of behavior here at CSNW.

Willy B. watches Burrito from across the yard.

Other aspects of captive chimpanzee behavior have been studied at facilities around the globe. For example, recent studies have investigated how chimpanzee behavior varies in relation to temporary space restrictions, permanent relocations, different enclosure types, and atypical rearing histories. One study even asked whether chimps find music enriching (results: “meh”). Most of these papers were produced from data collected at no more than a few facilities, and many publications are mere case studies of single groups of chimpanzees. Each facility is unique and groups of chimpanzees can vary greatly depending on social structure, cultural variation, and context. Thus, even though there is a good deal of information out there, it requires a good deal of sifting and speculating to apply it to our chimpanzee residents here at the sanctuary.

Missy Chimpanzee monitors the neighboring chimps.

In a couple of situations, we have invited graduate students to conduct noninvasive applied welfare studies at the sanctuary. We are definitely not a research facility and do not profit from scientific investigations, but collecting systematic observations can generate information that can then be used to optimize our care of the chimpanzee residents. Central Washington University (CWU) is located in nearby Ellensburg and contains the nation’s only Graduate Program in Primate Behavior, so a handful of committed CWU students have helped us to answer key questions about the Cle Elum Seven. Most recently, a collaborative team led by Jake Funkhauser published his analysis of the sanctuary’s chimpanzee social network and dominance hierarchy. This report, although only based on a summer’s worth of observations, produced insight that has proved valuable as we prepare to add three new individuals into the mix.

Foxie Chimpanzee expressed her arousal and uncertainty during one of Burrito’s displays.

Additionally, we recently hosted Chimp Haven’s Director of Behavior and Research, Amy Fultz, who observed the chimps and inspected the facility. Amy has coordinated countless introductions between unfamiliar chimpanzees and numerous mergers of large social groups, thereby developing an immense body of knowledge and wisdom that she was generous enough to share with our team. Even as she gave us some useful tips and relayed some incredible stories, she also emphasized a few points that we already knew: that each chimpanzee is a unique individual, that each facility offers its own advantages and challenges, and that any introduction between two groups can take a surprising turn at any moment. It’s best to have a plan, of course, but the plan will inevitably change as we acquire new information about the chimps and their preferences.

Burrito Chimpanzee watches his neighbors through the caging of the Greenhouse.

Even with a wealth of available data and input from various sources, we know that this is unfamiliar territory for these ten chimpanzees and is a big step for our team as well. Ultimately, we will put these two groups together in our own way, the CSNW Way, which will be whichever way works best at that moment in time. For now, our staff is continuing to observe how the chimpanzees react to each small change in their environment and we will continue to share those moments with you whenever possible. We certainly appreciate all of your interest and support as we help the new three to acclimate to their new home, new lifestyle, and new neighbors, who will hopefully become their seven new friends. Shortly, we hope to have some updates for you all!

Imaginary play

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This morning, while Elizabeth and I were cleaning the playroom, Annie was sitting in the window. She playfully opened her mouth for a “drink of water” through the glass. She’s not the only chimpanzee at CSNW that we have witnessed play this game. We caught a short clip of it:

This reminded me of something I saw, but failed to get on camera a few weeks ago. Jamie was sitting on this small toy horse and scooting along the playroom floor. She then lifted her leg up high and over in an exaggerated dismount. Two things stood out to me- the first was how interesting it is to me that chimps engage in this type of pretend play, and second- how truly little we know about the chimps’ histories. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing when she “dismounted”. We suspect she was a “pet” prior to the lab, but was she raised by a cowboy (hence the boot obsession?), did she just see this on TV?, or was she taught to ride a horse at some point? We may never know, but it was a fascinating moment none the less.

Here’s a photo of the horse, for scale. 🙂