Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Burrito’s Walkabout Reunion

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Today was weird, weather-wise. It started out super windy, then the wind subsided and it was nice enough for some outside time for the chimpanzees, then it snowed like it was going to never stop, until it stopped less than an hour later, and finally the sun announced itself as confidently as a spring day, completely erasing all traces of the snowstorm.

We talked it over with Dr. Erin and decided that, with the sun shining, and despite Jamie and her crew being a bit on edge earlier in the day, it was time for Burrito to go back with his group. I was nervous. His recovery has been long and he’s not back to his full strength, but when I went to “talk” to him, he pulled on the door to the greenhouse, letting me know that’s what he wanted to do. I held my breath and hoped for the best. Sometimes that’s all you can do with chimpanzees.

Because he’s been having social time with a few friends in the greenhouse these last weeks, I first let Jamie, Jody, and Foxie in with him and gave them all greenhouse access.

I thought he would be very keen to get back into the playroom since he hasn’t had access to that space in weeks, but when I opened the door to the playroom, Missy and Annie went out and the whole crew (minus nesting Negra), took off for a patrol around Young’s Hill.

It was glorious.

Lucky for you, J.B. followed along and captured some video of the walk, while I got a few photos.

He looks good out there!

 

Here he is between Jamie and Foxie:

 

Missy waiting for him:

When he got into the playroom finally, he and Negra greeted each other enthusiastically, and then everyone went about things as though no time had passed. Right now he is sleeping in the loft of the playroom.

We are still monitoring an injury on one of his toes and he sometimes walks on his wrist, but overall he’s doing great, and the extra exercise and social companionship will hopefully serve him well. Now we just need to convince the “girl gang” to stay calm for a while.

In case there is any lingering questions – we do not have plans to integrate Burrito with Willy B, Mave, and Honey B because of the conflict that caused Burrito’s injuries. Maybe there will be structured social time (“play dates”) in the future between members of the different groups, but maybe not, and not for sometime, in any case.

So, we’re back to the original seven on the old side of the building and the new three on the new side, with plans to start construction as early as we can in the spring. The next phases will give Willy B, Mave, and Honey B more space and will allow us to bring in another group of chimpanzees.

We’re looking forward to whatever the future holds, but today it was just nice to see Burrito outside with old friends in the sun.

What’s Your Favorite (Nonhuman) Animal?

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Texas, of course, is a long way away from Washington state. Heck, West Texas is a long way away from East Texas. (In case you were wondering, Cuba, Guatemala, Idaho and Michigan are all closer to the nearest point in Texas than that location is from the farthest point in Texas. Let that simmer, folks.)

That piece of geographic knowledge is one of the reasons why we caregivers were both impressed and thrilled to receive holiday cards from some very thoughtful elementary students who live, of all places, on the plains of Odessa, Texas.

None of these amazing young people in Mrs. Bille’s fifth grade class at Travis Magnet Elementary have ever been to the sanctuary. I’m not sure if any of them have ever seen a chimpanzee. Still, they have enabled us to decorate our veterinary whiteboard with colorful cards filled with holiday cheer, encouragement, and kindness. Their messages really warm up the foyer. For example, students wished that Missy enjoys lots of tomatoes this year, that Honey B. stays brave about all the new things in her new home, and that Burrito has lots of fun playing tug-of-war with J.B. With their help, we will do our best to make these things happen.

In my opinion, Mrs. Bille deserves some sort of award for organizing such an exceptional gift to the sanctuary (and for being one of our biggest supporters and fans, year after year).

All of the messages are directed towards individual chimpanzees and demonstrate how each student is familiar with the personalities and backgrounds of their respective favorites. It’s comforting to see young people from far away expressing empathy for and interest in the chimps, and it amazes me how much individual students seem to identify with individual chimps. It seems that they are well on their way to becoming bright and responsible adults, and I’m sure they would all make amazing chimpanzee caregivers someday.

When I was their age, I used to pester my parents constantly because I was so interested in animals, nature and science. Luckily, my family was supportive. They bought me used zoology textbooks and atlases, took me to educational programs at the local zoo, purchased a subscription to National Geographic and even sponsored sanctuary animals for my annual Christmas gift. My parents still love to joke about the night almost three decades ago when I tiptoed into their bedroom, opened my father’s eyelids with my stubby toddler fingers, and barked “Dad, what’s your favorite jungle animal?!” When he responded that he liked lions and instructed me to go back to bed, I informed him that lions inhabit open savannas and aren’t adapted to live in jungles. I didn’t go back to my room until he changed his answer to tigers.

Perhaps this is why one holiday card in particular made me smile. The bright red, glittery card reads:

To: Betsy
From: Isabelle
Have a happy mooadays.

Dear Betsy, I love your name. And I love cows. They’re my 6th favorite animal. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Well, Isabelle, you should know that Betsy had an outstanding Christmas. She and the other cattle got alfalfa and minerals, two of their favorite winter treats. She held still while I brushed her fuzzy winter coat, and then licked all of the salty minerals off of my sleeves. We’re excited for the new year because Betsy and the others will get a huge new pasture with lots of green grass after the snow melts. It’s because of people like you and your classmates that cows, chimpanzees, and all the other nonhuman animals out there have a chance at a good life after being wrongfully used by humans. Keep up the good work, Isabelle.

Betsy.

Also, Isabelle, I am shocked that cows are only your 6th favorite animal. Why are they so low on the list? Which animals are ranked 1-5? Feel free to send us another card with your faves.

Here are my zoological power rankings:

  1. Spider monkeys. They’re a lot like chimpanzees AND they have amazing tails.
  2. Cows, obviously. This includes all cattle because Nutmeg is a steer, not a cow.
  3. Chimpanzees. They would be higher on my list if I didn’t have to clean up their messy playroom every morning.
  4. Trash pandas (also known as raccoons).
  5. Goats.
  6. Quahogs (a type of clam). They live longer than any other animal and they remind me of the place where I grew up, by the ocean.
  7. Wolverines. Their scientific name means “the gluttonous glutton” and I identify with that. They’re also stocky, athletic and fierce, like Missy.
  8. Spotted hyenas. They got a bad reputation from the Lion King, but they’re very smart and have an interesting society. The female hyenas are in charge of the whole group.
  9. Red pandas. They’re super chill. If taking care of primates ever becomes too stressful, a friend and I plan to start Red Panda Sanctuary Northwest (RPSNW). Stay tuned.
  10. Leaf-cutter ants.

Thank you all for your support and for loving the chimps (and cows).

Happy Mooadays to all of you and a Happy Moo Year to everyone! Feel free to comment with your favorite nonhuman animal species.

Warming up to the cold stuff

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Was it just a week ago that I was wondering out loud if the new three would grow to appreciate snow?!

Check out the video of Willy B and Honey B clearly appreciating the buckets of snow we have been bringing inside.

The first clip of Willy B cracks me up every time – drop one ball of snow and another magically appears!

Snow: Treat or Trick?

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Burrito, Annie Jody, Foxie, Missy, Jamie, and Negra arrived in June of 2008. Their first experience of snow at the sanctuary (though they may have encountered it earlier in their lives) was almost exactly eleven years ago today. If you can believe it, we’ve been doing the blog this entire time, so you can take a look back at that post, which includes a video, right here.

That was before the greenhouse was a greenhouse with a roof and removable walls, so the chimps just leaned outside of their indoor rooms and grabbed handfuls and mouthfuls of snow. Seriously, watch the video.

It was such an exciting and endearing first at the sanctuary that Seattle’s King 5 television station shared the video on air.

Eleven years later, snow is still an exciting winter treat that produces anticipation and food grunts. There are many, many blog posts that feature snow. We often talk about how it’s the perfect food enrichment because it has zero calories, lasts a long time, and it’s both plentiful and free this time of year.

Here are some photos from today of Jody finding some ice and snow for snacking:

This one of her scurrying inside with her quickly diminishing treat is a little blurry:

Burrito was making raspberry noises at me this morning, and I thought he was trying to convince me to get him a banana–he knows I’m a big sucker and have been giving him pretty much whatever he wants as he recovers. Eventually, I realized what he actually wanted was some of the good stuff that had blanketed the outdoors.

He was pleased when I finally figured it out and gave him a special delivery:

Mave, Willy B, and Honey B’s reaction has not been the same. They do not know what the fuss is about at all.

Mave spent quite a bit of time in the chute today with the sun shining, but she didn’t go down to the area that still had snow:

I tried to convince Honey B that it was a a great treat by eating some myself and then placing some in the fencing for her.

This was her reaction:

Will they grow to love it, or will eating snow remain a strange custom that these three chimpanzees from California do not appreciate? We’ve got a couple more months to find out.

Eye Contact

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When I’m about to introduce people to chimpanzees for the first time, I usually include something like, “Though this is not true for all nonhuman primate species, it’s okay to make eye contact with chimpanzees. It’s not seen as a direct threat, particularly with chimpanzees who have been raised in captivity around humans.”

And then I use an analogy that I borrowed from J.B. and continue with, “Of course, you don’t want to stare at them. Think of it as riding a bus with strangers – it would be creepy to stare down someone you don’t know, but making eye contact and acknowledging someone else’s gaze is perfectly fine and, in fact, the polite thing to do.”

Interestingly, chimpanzees vary in how much eye contact they choose to make with us.

Honey B does not subscribe to J.B.’s “strangers on a bus” eye contact rule. She stares. She stares deeply. She stares for a long time.

I very much appreciate this about her now, but it was actually a little unnerving at first. I wasn’t sure what kind of data she was gathering as she peered into my eyes, because it did feel like she was collecting information.

Her mom, Missy, however, does quite the opposite. When a human caregiver is lucky enough to be graced by Missy’s focused attention, we generally get her back to groom, with some furtive eye contact once in a while.

If we are super lucky, she sticks her toes out of the mesh for us to touch with the back of our hand, while she looks the other way.

I try to play it cool during these moments, but I am screaming with delight inside when Missy offers me her toes. Beyond it being a huge compliment for Missy to interact with me, her feet are just the best. They are incredibly petite and the nails on her toes are worn on one side from the wear they get as she runs.

I appreciate Missy’s aloofness as much as I do Honey B’s intensity. Despite sharing some DNA, they are each their own unique chimpanzee person with different backgrounds and different personalities. The many differences and personality quirks make working with chimpanzees such a joy.

A New Day

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Burrito was full of energy today! He spent most of his day monitoring the other chimpanzees somewhat wistfully.

If I had opened up the door, he would have gladly joined them.

He still has a while to go with his recovery, and we need him by himself so that we can closely monitor him and so his sutures don’t open up. But the fact that he was so alert and up and about and paying attention to all things was a wonderful sign that he’s feeling better.

Paying attention to all things except, apparently, the tape we left on him after his latest visit to the clinic. We purposely left some tape on him in the hope that it would distract him from his stitches, but he isn’t bothered enough by the tape to have removed it. Luckily he’s not paying attention to the stitches yet either!

Tonight, he got a blanket and climbed up to the bed in front room two. This is the first night he chose to sleep up on a platform instead of on the blanket-lined floor. He’s acting more and more like Burrito each day.