Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

animal protection

Valentine’s Thank You Video

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Enjoy your day tomorrow!

As the video above expresses, everyone here is incredibly grateful and honored that you choose to spend your time on this blog and thinking about the chimpanzees and bovines at the sanctuary.

I received an unexpected call today about a Valentine’s Day gift that I will be sharing tomorrow to e-news subscribers!

In the meantime, the news from the day is that Burrito has a new favorite toy. Another gift from Trees for Tigers! Below are a couple of photos and I posted a short video clip on our Instagram account.

Ice Escapades

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Today was another unseasonably warm January day! The morning frost shrank away in the face of the formidable sun, and the chimpanzees went exploring.

Missy was all over the hill – running, climbing, frolicking, and looking for icy treats.

There are a few hanging tires on the hill that Missy knows harbor special gifts. In the summer, the tires sometimes have wasps nests, which she, Jamie, and Jody will carefully (though not without risk) harvest to eat the larvae. In the winter, when the wasps are long gone, fallen rain collects in the bottom of the tires and freezes.

It’s not always easy removing the frozen block of ice. Today, as I watched, Missy tried a couple of different positions to get the right leverage in order to remove the ice in one of the tires.

Still was not successful, she went back inside the greenhouse, passing Jody, who was stand as sentry watching the other chimpanzees on the hill.

Jody suddenly got up and started walking up the hill with no small amount of determination. Missy must have been watching Jody from the greenhouse, because she quickly came back outside (with two crayons in her mouth).

She seemed to suspect what Jody was up to, and ran to get ahead of her.

By the time Jody reached the first tire…

Missy had already absconded with the treat and ran up the hill, nature’s bounty in hand.

out of the shadow

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In the past, we’ve described Burrito as being tentative and unsure about things.

It took a while for him to join Jamie on her perimeter walks of Young’s Hill. In July of 2013, about ten months after the 2-acre enclosure was complete, J.B. writes that Missy, Annie, and Jody were often seen taking part in Jamie’s adventures at the top of the hill and all around the perimeter, while Burrito, Foxie, and Negra tended to stick to the lower half of the enclosure.

By October of that same year, Burrito was occasionally joining Jamie on her perimeter walks, On these walks, he was always the follower.

In March of 2015, Katelyn describes how Burrito was joining more perimeter patrols, and even relaxing a bit. A few days later, Burrito started to invite caregivers to go on walks without Jamie, which J.B. excitedly wrote about (read to the end for one reason he was excited).

Jamie’s walks still far eclipsed Burrito’s in quantity, and most of Burrito’s were with other chimpanzees with him following behind.

Burrito would often appear to be hesitant when Jamie veered off the usual pathway. Katelyn described Burrito gingerly following Jamie as she effortless climbed the Twister structure in September of 2016.

Today Burrito took twice as many walks / runs as Jamie around the perimeter. Some with just him and me and some with a chimpanzee group.

He was the occasional leader, sometimes even waiting for Jamie to catch up.

He and Jamie appeared to decide at the same time to climb up Twister.

But Burrito was the only one to go to the very top.

Before going back inside, on his own, he took a path less traveled to explore a different part of the hill.

Choices, opportunities, and space that allow for gradual gains in confidence and incremental steps towards discovery – this really is what sanctuary is about.

Weird and Routine

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Since Anna included it in her Top 10 Sanctuary Videos of 2020, you may have been reminded recently of the video of J.B. and I in the gator racing Jamie at sunset. Thanks to J.B.’s transcription, you know I said, “This is the weirdest job.”

That’s true, in many ways.

The weird, however, has a way of becoming quite routine round here.

Jamie now frequently asks us to get the gator so she can race it, or us in it, or maybe just the boots we are wearing while driving it, around the hill.

Today, she made this request of Kelsi as they were starting off on a walk (you just need to know Jamie and how to interpret her gestures to know what she’s asking for – it’s a learning curve).

Kelsi ran back into the barn and started up the gator and Jamie took off at a sprint to get a head start. This time Burrito, Missy, Annie, and Jody joined the race. I climbed up to the observation deck to get a few photos.

 

Jamie up top, Missy standing bipedally, and Jody’s and Annie’s behinds

Annie catching up

 

Jamie in the lead

 

Missy likes to do things the hard fun way!
Annie and Missy taking in the sights at the end of the walk
Annie seems to really like the view from the top of the Escher structure
Jody sporting a classic drooped lip

Later in the day, Mave was having me play a fun game of chase where she ran around the mezzanine and I went from the human area of the mezzanine, downstairs via the rungs, through the door into the new getting-closer-to-being-finished playrooms, and upstairs to the window, where she was waiting for me.

She thought this was great fun.

While I was playing with Mave, I looked out one of the upstairs playroom windows, which have great views of the hill. Honey B was in the chute and spotted me through the window, so then she and I played a little game of chase where she ran back and forth in the chute and I went from one window to another.

Like J.B. yesterday, my batteries seemed to run out at an alarmingly accelerated pace compared to the chimpanzees.

It was all kind of weird, kind of routine, and very special at the same time.

Top Caregiver Posts of 2020

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Being a caregiver for captive chimpanzees in a sanctuary is not always easy. It can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Burn out and compassion fatigue are not unusual. As someone who has worked at varying levels within sanctuaries, I know the difficulties as well as the many perks. I’m so grateful for those who choose this field.

We have a truly incredible team of caregivers. They are dedicated beyond what their positions require and strive to give the chimpanzees good days, every day. They are talented, witty, and kind. I admire each of them as individual people and as coworkers. I learn from them all of the time, and I love reading their blog posts for their unique perspective and insights.

For a sanctuary, the staff are the most important, and often the largest, expense in the budget. No one is getting rich as a caregiver, but they do need to be paid fairly so they can continue their good work. Some sanctuaries attempt to rely on volunteer labor, but this more often than not is unsuccessful in the long term. We miss all of the CSNW volunteers greatly, and are beyond thankful to those who have been able to meet our strict guidelines and worked so hard alongside us this year.

The pandemic was a big reminder of just how crucial paid staff are in providing for the care of the chimpanzees and cattle and the running of the sanctuary.

Donors to sanctuaries get this. You get this! You all are so wonderful, and every single staff member here is grateful every day for your support. Thank you for your donations and your nice words as 2020 came to a close. We are buoyed by your generosity and the love of the chimpanzees and bovines that you have.

With the start of the new year, I thought I’d nominate my favorite 2020 blog posts from the non-director staff (that would be everyone except me and J.B.). It was very challenging to narrow this down!

I’ll start with Chad.

Chad is our newest caregiver, though now that we’ve all been through a pandemic year together, and with all his time as an intern before he was on the staff, it seems like he’s been here forever, in a really good way. His post A Morning Stroll and Confession of a (New) Caregiver from the end of September makes me cry and smile every time I read it. One reason I smile is thinking about how many times he’s gone on walks/runs around the hill with Burrito since he wrote that. J.B. and I have a good view of the hill from our house and the office, and it’s not unusual for me to look out the window on my weekend and see Chad in his red shirt running on the other side of the fence as playful Burrito leads the charge.

Anthony started his job at CSNW about two months before Honey B, Mave, and Willy B arrived at the sanctuary. I think they call that baptism by fire. He wasn’t an unfamiliar face, however. Like Chad, he had interned and volunteered at the sanctuary while working on his master’s degree in the Primate Behavior and Ecology program at Central Washington University. I can’t imagine 2020, much less the later half of 2019 without him as part of the team.

I’m going back pretty far in the year for this one, but I really appreciated the blog post Anthony wrote that he entitled The Tough Questions about public perception and the potential for videos and images of captive primates (and all wildlife) to perpetuate misconceptions and even contribute to their continued harm. It provides much fodder for contemplation.

Anna has had quite a year in her personal life – she has a one year old now! My favorite blog post of Anna’s in 2020 is What Did I Miss?, mostly because of the glimpse of her daughter Luna meeting the chimpanzees for the first time, but also because I am reminded of the happiness I had that she was back from maternity leave and ready to whip the chimp house into shape.

I’m pretty lucky because I get to work with Kelsi on Saturdays. As I put this blog together, Kelsi is doing the approximately one hundred chimp house chores in her usual efficient and upbeat fashion in between entertaining Honey B and Willy B and giving snow snacks to Missy. My favorite blog post of Kelsi’s, one that I go to whenever needed, is Breathe in Mave. It’s perfect, and really everyone should bookmark it.

Katelyn’s work life during 2020 has changed quite a bit. Like thousands of other people, instead of coming in on her office days, she works from home. Office cat LouLou really misses crowding her out of her chair and licking her lunch, and I miss chatting with her about how amazing our supporters are. When Katelyn is in the chimp house, she makes the most of her time with the chimpanzees, posting to the blog on Mondays. My favorite blog post of Katelyn’s is Being Honey B because she beautifully captured the essence of Honey B and why just about anyone who has ever met her has loved her.

I could have chosen any number of other blog posts these great caregivers have written. Maybe you too have some favorites?

Christmas Party Bonus Photos

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We took hundreds of photos during the various parties yesterday, no exaggeration. I combed through them today and selected a few I just had share.

Burrito unwrapped one of the many gifts and decided to wear the raffia ribbon for a while.

Then he donned a new leopard print scarf

The tree in the greenhouse was a real treasure this year and produced quite a lot of enjoyment.

Negra:

 

Annie:

Missy mastered the tree and got the most out of it until the very end when she toppled it over (see video from yesterday).

Look at that tangerine hidden way in the depths of the the tree!

Jody enjoying the fruits of her tree-scavenging labor:

There were several spots in the greenhouse that were dusted with coconut. Here’s Annie collecting some:

and Negra:

and I’ll end with this photo of Burrito, in awe of Christmas, with coconut dust on his lips:

for even more warm holiday cheer, check out our Instagram account to see a short clip of Mave’s Christmas nest. Happy Boxing Day, everyone!

what to my wondering eyes should appear

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I don’t want to bury the lead here – something newsworthy and heartwarming happened today, but I do feel that it requires a little bit of set-up…

The morning greeted us with calm and fair weather after a very windy night, so J.B. decided we should take advantage of the unseasonable warmth and throw a little early impromptu Christmas party for the chimpanzees.

He and Kelsi decorated the trees of Christmases past that are planted on the hill. Anna came up with cute and yummy “ornaments” by cutting out heart shapes in pieces of pineapple using a cookie cutter.

If you know anything about Negra, it’s probably that she’s not an early-riser, generally preferring to linger in bed. This morning, however, she was the first out of the raceway to investigate the breakfast party.

She marched right up to the trees, and we all remarked to one another that she was further up on the hill than she’d been all year.

Perhaps she overheard us and thought, “hold my pineapple.”

What she did next was without precedent.

Missy had grabbed a pineapple ornament, a book, and a pineapple top from the tree and climbed up high to Jamie’s Lookout, joining Foxie and Jamie:

Foxie and Jamie soon departed.

Anna saw J.B., who was taking photos on the other side of the fence, run up the hill. Then we all heard him exclaim over the radio that Negra was climbing up the ladder to Jamie’s Lookout.

The Towers: Jamie’s Lookout and Carlene’s Tower were conceived of and built by founder Keith LaChappelle and friends in the summer of 2015 (I had to search for this blog post to find out the exact timeline).

Negra has never been to the top of this structure.

But today, five and a half years later, she climbed right up and sat next to Missy as though she had done it a hundred times before.

 

Perhaps you can discern her motivation and feel the subtle pressure she is asserting over Missy in this photo:

Missy soon finished her pineapple ornament and took Negra’s cue, leaving the pineapple top behind. Negra stayed up there, on top of the world, for a wonderfully long amount of time.

And then she climbed down holding the pineapple top and book (which she no doubt hoped contained peanut butter between its pages) in her mouth.