Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Misfits Together

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Jamie and Burrito are undeniably the most human-focused of the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. They seek the attention of humans frequently, as evidenced by the many videos of humans walking around the hill “with” Jamie or playing tug of war with Burrito.

It’s probably no coincidence that both of them grew up in a human environment when they were very young. Burrito was a “pet” and Jamie was owned by a trainer. They may not have had the experience of having other chimpanzees around them until they got older.

All of the chimpanzees at CSNW, when compared to their wild counterparts, could be considered misfits. None of them grew up in a large family group in equatorial Africa, clinging to their mothers and playing with siblings. For Jamie and Burrito, though, they are even greater misfits because they identified with the humans.

And yet, they are still chimpanzees, and they now get to live with others of their species.

Burrito and Jamie don’t have the friendliest of relationships. Every once in a while, however, like today, I’ll find these two misfits just being chimpanzees and grooming each other – showing no interest in the humans in that moment, even when one appears with a camera in hand.

 

It’s a reminder that they are capable of knowing and understanding one another in ways that we humans will never be able to access.

And that is a beautiful thing.

An unusual day

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Today we messed with the chimpanzees’ routine. There is a tall structure in the greenhouse that needed some repair, so the chimpanzees weren’t able to get outside until J.B. and volunteer Chad finished their fix-it job.

All morning, Burrito alternated between his Tasmanian devil self and his adorable playful self.

Lest you think the change in routine or lack of outdoor access caused his Tasmanian devil self to appear, allow me to elaborate to explain that on pretty much any given day, Burrito alternates between these two extremes.

I only got a picture of the later, but you might be able to see a twinkle of mischief in those eyes.

Don’t let him fool you.

When the greenhouse (and the raceway that leads to the large outdoor habitat) was ready to be occupied by chimpanzees again, we decided to take advantage of the unusually warm weather and provide the chimps with a dinner forage outside. We spread and hid whole tomatoes, pieces of watermelon, and mini sweet peppers all over the enclosure.

Much to our delight, Queen Negra was as eager as everyone else to get outside.

Negra is not one to choose to exert much energy, but apparently the whole tomatoes were worth stretching to get:

Jamie utilized the coolest anatomical feature that separates chimpanzees from humans – opposable toes – to carry a tomato as she continued her foraging:

Jody demonstrated the large capacity of her lips by carrying three peppers stacked on top of one another other:

And now the chimpanzees are back inside, quiet as ever while making their blanket nests, to take a restful sleep and wake up tomorrow to another day of sanctuary life.

Clean Up Crew + Enrichment for Nutmeg

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Today, well after the other chimpanzees had moved on to other post-lunch activities (specifically nesting, napping, and grooming), I “caught” Annie going through the front rooms and collecting uneaten Brussels sprouts, then taking her found food to the playroom to enjoy.

Just a few minutes later, I saw Foxie do the same thing, but this time with avocado peels (in the first photo below, see Foxie’s signature happy toes and small orange-haired troll doll stationed nearby):

Foxie was working diligently to get every last bit of avocado flesh. The chimpanzees have enjoyed an abundance of avocados lately, thanks to donations of Charlie’s Produce via Darwin’s Natural Pet Products, and that has suited Foxie just fine.

As a bonus, for those who are wondering what the bovines have been up to, here’s a video I took yesterday!

After the Storm

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The days after a snowstorm (or series of snowstorms) are so wonderful, aren’t they? It’s like reawakening to a changed world.

J.B., with the help of volunteer Jonathan, made some pathways in the snow for the chimpanzees today. The chimps watched the work being done for them from the greenhouse. When everything was ready for them, they went outside to stretch their legs a bit, take in the landscape, and get some snow to snack on.

Burrito following Annie:

Jody:

Jody and Missy:

Foxie:

You may have already guessed that Negra wasn’t with the first expedition of the morning, but instead stayed inside until afternoon:

Jamie, meanwhile, was preoccupied with a couple of magazines. In fact, she’s more preoccupied with photos of boots than with boots themselves lately.

She did take the time to go outside to grab a big chuck of snow after lunch before returning to a magazine:

A Subtle Hint from Jamie

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Last week, you may recall that I had a difficult time choosing a subject for a blog post. Well, here’s an explanation of one of the reasons why.

The enrichment theme for that day was “reading day” and Jamie took that to heart.

She seemed particularly enamored with a Dwell magazine. I even saw her gather up the magazine when she was moving from the front rooms to the playroom.

We see the chimpanzees carry blankets from one space to another and their favorite things (dolls for Foxie, boots for Jamie, wooden or plastic objects for Burrito), but it was the first time I’ve seen a chimpanzee so deliberately take a magazine that wasn’t smeared with peanut butter into a new space.

I didn’t get a sense that it was any particular page that she was interested in, as she carefully and thoroughly looked through the entire magazine:

Included in the reading day was a large catalog full of all sorts of products. When I went into the playroom in the evening to spot clean one last time, I found the catalog on the catwalk opened to this page:

Did boot-loving Jamie  purposely leave the catalog for me to find, hinting at a future gift idea?

Boyish Charm

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Burrito, the one male chimpanzee at the sanctuary, is turning 36 tomorrow!

When describing Burrito, I wouldn’t be able to count how many times I have said his age and then inserted the caveat, “but he acts more like a teenager.”

When he arrived to the sanctuary in 2008 at age 26, even then he was well into adulthood; but his boyishness was apparent. Actually, it was apparent to me when I first met him at Buckshire.

Below are a few of the early photos we took of Burrito. There’s just something absolutely irresistible and, yes, cute, about this guy:

Don’t get me wrong, he is a chimpanzee and behaves accordingly. He has his Tasmanian devil moments (no slight or stereotyping of Tasmanian devils intended).

He still regularly spits on me when I’m operating doors, especially in the morning.

But often immediately afterwards he wants to play a game of chase or tug of war:

Burrito’s je ne sais quoi clearly reaches beyond those who are lucky enough to meet him in person –  he has many fans, including official Chimpanzee Pals, out there. Being able to share Burrito’s youthful spirit is one of the very best parts of my job.

If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share the similar boyish charm of two other male non-humans at CSNW.

A few years ago, J.B. and I adopted a dog from Lady’s Hope Dog Rescue. He had been a stray and spent some time at a couple of different shelters before he caught the attention of Lady’s Hope. He was a handful for a variety of reasons, but he quickly started to remind me of Burrito in that boyish charm sort of way.

I mean, just look at this face:

This is what Wilson wants to be doing most of the time:

Coincidentally, Wilson was diagnosed with heart issues after Burrito’s diagnosis. They take some of the same medication. Thankfully, at this point, neither of them are symptomatic and likely have no idea that they have an illness.

Because J.B. and I occupy the house on the property, Wilson is a part of the sanctuary too. He and (even more likely) his canine companion and savior Abbey can often be seen in their yard by the house, checking in on who’s coming up the driveway and watching all of the goings-on across the property.

And now we have a third young male who lives at the sanctuary. We’re still getting to know Nutmeg, the one steer who is part of our new cattle family. Somehow, he also has this young-at-heart innocence that was immediately apparent and has won us all over.

He also has one of the greatest hairdos of anyone I’ve ever met:

Nutmeg dutifully ambles along after his mom Betsy, adoptive aunt Honey and more feisty cousin Meredith. Being a male born to a cow genetically bred for the dairy industry, he’s a big guy, but I don’t think he realizes his size.

I don’t know how we lucked out with these three or why they all have a similar enchanting youthful demeanor, but I sure am glad I know them.

I’ll end with a look back at a couple of videos that illustrate the easy task of enticing the silliness out of Mr. B.:

A big happy birthday to Burrito tomorrow! May your heart always remain young, and may you, Wilson, and Nutmeg continue to charm anyone who takes the time to get to know you.