Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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animal rescue

man of mystery

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If you tuned in yesterday, you read that Willy B has been asserting his desire to disrupt the routine and, instead of shifting for meals, he has one thing on his mind – keeping tabs on the neighbors, we suspect Annie in particular.

Today was a continuation of this trend. Anna, J.B. and I put our heads together yesterday to attempt to problem solve and try to give Willy B what he wants but also ensure we are able to clean their house.

I think I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but I have a blog post percolating in my brain all about how much of what we do in caring for captive chimpanzees is balancing different aspects of welfare and safety.

I don’t know if I’ll ever write that grand post. There’s a hundred examples of this sometimes difficult balancing that we do throughout each day. Rarely are there clear right or wrong answers.

Willy B’s new defiance to the routine illustrates several examples.

Because of the construction happening right now that will give Willy B, Mave, and Honey B more space and variety, we decided to not give them access to the courtyard when construction workers are on site.

There are a few reasons we landed on that decision, but mainly it was about safety. Willy B is still getting used to the courtyard and Honey B and Mave are still curious but not curious enough to take steps outside. The Courtyard is right next to where the construction is taking place. We certainly don’t want any incidents while strangers are in the vicinity.

So, this means that Willy B’s Courtyard time has been lessened and we aren’t actively working on encouraging Mave and Honey B to be adventurous, but rather leaving it up to them for the time being.

Also, the Courtyard was a bit of a quick construction project. It’s not their final outdoor space, rather it’s a stop-gap that we created after the integrations didn’t work out so that Willy B, Mave, and Honey B could have an open-top outdoor space while we continue to work on the expansion for them and for another group of chimpanzees coming from Wildlife Waystation.

In order to create the space quickly, there’s just one electric fence running between the Courtyard and the rest of Young’s Hill – the outdoor habitat that the group of seven access. With just one fence between them, we don’t have both groups outside at the same time. This means we have to balance the needs, desires, and welfare of each of the individuals in the two groups when allocating outdoor access.

This is temporary. Both groups will one day have large open-top habitats, but right now we have to work with what we have. And there’s always the possibility of Mave and Honey B never (or take years to) get accustomed to the big open outdoors. So, part of our future plans include a large enclosed outdoor space too. Balancing. Balancing.

Our routine lately has been going along swimmingly for the most part. There was that one day a couple of weeks ago when Willy B decided to camp outside. Anthony’s post that day covers some of this same material I’m relaying here. At the time, that incident was an anomaly and didn’t impact the cleaning routine. Willy B’s decisions this week, however, are putting a wrench in the routine.

Today, I opened up the Chute first thing in the morning, hoping that Willy B would get his fill of monitoring the other group / watching Annie, and would then come in for breakfast so we could clean. I realized at the time, of course, that this was wishful thinking. He chose not to shift for breakfast. And today Honey B decided to join him in his keeping-the-humans-on-their-toes mission. Mave had a fabulous breakfast and was in high spirits all day, inviting the humans to play chase whenever she could catch our eye.

Based on Willy B and Honey B’s decision, I changed up the routine a bit, eventually closing Willy B in the Chute so that we could clean all of the front rooms. Happily for everyone, it was a beautiful sunny day, and he was quite content napping at the top of the Chute.

With the construction crew off, I decided to wait until after lunch to open up the Courtyard so that Willy B could have some extra time out there, if he chose.

He chose.

Anna and I took turns hanging outside with him most of the afternoon.

It wasn’t so much that he wanted to be in the Courtyard as he did not want us to eliminate the option of him being in the Courtyard, so the few times Anna or I approached the controls to close the door, he would move from the Chute to the Courtyard.

It was nice to be able to give him this choice and it allowed me to do a little photo study of this man of mystery.

Eventually, he let Anna close the door and he came inside just before dinner. Whew!

I had a decision to make now. It was right before dinner, but the seven hadn’t been outside on the hill since this morning. They probably would have been just fine getting dinner and ending the day, which would make things easier on the humans. On the other hand, if they could have twenty minutes or so of outside time, that would be nice.

You can probably guess what I decided to do.

The question now was whether Jamie would allow me to close the hill after dinner. Jamie is controlling by nature and often chooses when the caregivers go home by sitting in the doorway to the hill, knowing full well that we won’t leave until all of the chimps are inside for the night.

After dinner, Jamie looked at me and ran outside. The gig was up, there would be no closing of the door; we were going to walk. Actually, a walk was not exactly what she had in mind. I had to get the gator from the barn so we could race.

I have to hand it to Jamie, she knows how to end a day.

Willy B also did not want a door closed during dinner – the door to the Chute. Eventually his stomach and curiosity made the decision for him and I closed the door while Anna passed out grab bags.

Now everyone is tucked in and sleeping soundly, and I’m awake-dreaming about the new spaces taking shape for Willy B, Mave, and Honey B and new chimpanzees and all of the ways they will be able to choose to keep the humans on their toes.

Here’s some exciting progress on the construction.

Doors!

Stairs!

Thanks for tuning in to today’s blog! Happy Thanksgiving week to everyone.

Terroir

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As I drove through the canyon on my way to the sanctuary this morning, I thought of a passage from science-fiction author Jeff VanderMeer.
Natural places are no different than human cities. The old exists next to the new. Invasive species integrate with or push out native species. The landscape you see around you is the same as seeing an old cathedral next to a skyscraper.

VanderMeer’s work, perhaps best described as ecological horror, explores how humans perceive and withstand environmental changes. Watching their surroundings undergo both subtle and dramatic transitions, no matter how neutral they are at their core, alters the emotional fibers of his characters.

Driving up the sanctuary’s driveway, I could see that the contractors had just finished covering the new wing of the chimpanzee building, which is hopefully just a few months away from completion. I reminded myself that I was an intern here just a couple years ago. Now everything looks a bit different. We have a new driveway, new barn, new structures, and new wing of enclosures. There are new residents (both bovine and chimp), new staff, and new protocols. It’s hard to believe that sanctuary itself hasn’t even existed for two decades yet because it hasn’t stopped evolving.

The land where the Chimp House sits was once an uninteresting pasture, but there were saloons and homesteads all along our stretch of highway. The nearby towns were base camps for coal miners and pioneers, and the surrounding forests have been sculpted by the flames of many wildfires and saws of many loggers. If you go back far enough, the Yakima and Snoqualmie people served as stewards of these lands for thousands of years. On a grander scale, massive herds of prehistoric bison and elk grazed the icy tundra that existed before humans arrived on the scene. Now, in a plot twist that would be just as confusing to the coal miners as it would to the prehistoric bison, ten retired chimpanzees call this place their sanctuary home.

What has not changed, in my lifetime at least, is the terroir of this place. For those of you who share my apathy for wine, terroir is a French word used to describe the suite of environmental and agricultural factors contributing to a wine’s quality. Importantly, though, terroir is not something that can be measured. It’s not just a composite of rainfall, or soil, or topography. It is an amalgamation of all these things into one noticeable character, and it can only be sufficiently experienced via taste.

One of the ecologists in VanderMeer’s novels uses the concept when describing a mysterious landscape, the feeling of which he cannot sufficiently explain using scientific language alone. It resonated with me when I first read it because it makes so much sense. I thought of all the places I’ve been lucky enough to live and work in, including this sanctuary, and recalled the unmistakable terroir of each. I wish the followers and donors, many of whom have never even visited this part of the country, could all come to this place and (without disturbing the residents) experience it for themselves. There’s nothing quite like walking around a dew-covered Young’s Hill in the morning and hearing a chorus of anticipatory pant-hoots rise up from the Chimp House, and words don’t do that experience any justice.

I know that having you all visit wouldn’t be possible, even in the absence of a global pandemic, so I hope you will all be content to view some photos that I’ve recently taken of this beautiful place as it continues to evolve into something else.

 

Happy Birthday, Mari!

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Today was sponsored by Lynn Wilson in celebration of Mari and her special day!

“This is a happy birthday gift to Mari. She loves all of the chimps and cows at the sanctuary. She has also been able to interact with the three from the Waystation. Have a great birthday Mari.”

Lynn, thank you so much for such a compassionate gift for Mari, the chimpanzees and the bovines! We appreciate you choosing to share her special day in this way.

Happy Birthday, Mari! Thanks for loving the chimpanzees and the cattle. We hope this day is filled with wonder and magic you couldn’t have imagined!

Mave:

Honey B:

Betsy, Nutmeg, Meredith and Honey:

Burrito hopes you get lots of snow snacks 🙂

Sweet and Sassy Honey Turns 13!

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Today, Honey Cow turns 13 years old! Here are a few facts about Honey!

Honey and her bovine family recently celebrated her second year here. Honey is one special bovine. Of the four cattle, she wears the sassiest of pants in the bunch.

If she feels the herd is moving to slow for her liking…

She is not afraid to pass everyone up and take the lead.

When caregivers go to serve the cattle hay, minerals, or any other treat, Honey is the one of the ones to first run up to them, but will also nudge you away for being anywhere near her and her food (it sort of reminds me of when petting a cat).

Though she is not the biggest in her group, her personality is far larger than most.

She arrived here two years ago with her daughter, Meredith.

She also arrived here with her friend, Betsy, whom she was featured with in a reality television show and was saved with from the dairy industry.

You can also sponsor Honey by becoming a Bovine Buddy to her!

Happy Birthday, Honey! We couldn’t imagine not knowing you!

Ellie / Buttons the Elk: Story and Update

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This post fulfills two things:
1) My long-held desire to present the tale of Buttons/Ellie the Elk as a children’s story
2) Answering your inquires from this post about what happened to our elk friend (scroll to the bottom of the story for that update)

Buttons The Magical Elk

Once upon a time, there was an elk who stood apart from her species.

She grew up an orphan, adopting humans as her herd. They named her Buttons.

She was a very curious elk and not easily frightened.

When she was about two years old, she wandered away from the farm where she grew up.

She discovered very interesting animals living at a property nearby.

Who would have guessed there was a chimpanzee sanctuary in the neighborhood?!

The chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest were curious about this new visitor and sometimes walked together around their outdoor habitat on opposite sides of the fence.

Jamie and Ellie bottom of Young's Hill

The humans at the sanctuary loved her. They called her Ellie, not knowing she had been named Buttons.

What a treat to have such an unusual companion!

She did cause quite a bit of mischief, however…

She wandered further and further away from her childhood home, finding more human friends in a nearby village, having many adventures, and causing more mischief.

She was an elk, after all. A large, powerful, wild animal.

Not a dog.

Nor a cat.

Nor a cow.

Her human friends worried about her future.

Shouldn’t she be with others of her kind?

One day, a small herd of wild elk passed through the sanctuary property. Her sanctuary human friends hoped Ellie would join them and discover the life of an elk. But, alas, Ellie ignored the other elk and stayed put.

Word of the magical elk traveled throughout the land, gaining the attention of officials who became concerned.

She was far too comfortable around humans, even those she did not know.

Something could go wrong. She could easily hurt someone. Someone could hurt her.

An officer in charge of wildlife decided it was finally time to find a new home for Buttons. But where?

Officer Scott knew there were elk nearby who stayed in one spot for the winter, so his team put Buttons on a trailer and moved her to this herd.

Some of her human friends in the village were very worried and even mad.

Why would they take Buttons away from her home and the people who loved her?

Her human friends at the sanctuary hoped for the best – the chance for Ellie to be an elk.

She didn’t know how to be an elk in such a big group, though. She stayed away from them and searched for a way out.

Officer Scott looked high and low for other options for Buttons. A place for her to be herself and be safe.

The sanctuary humans offered to keep her at the sanctuary, but knew that would mean she would be an elk of one and not able to wander far.

Officer Scott heard from the zoo over the tall mountains – they had a small group of elk and could take Buttons!

Buttons/Ellie had another chance to be an elk! There was even a male in the group, Goodwyn. How would Buttons react to a male of her species in a small group?

A year and a half later, the sanctuary humans asked the zoo humans how Buttons/Ellie was doing, and this is what they said:

The Roosevelt elk (cows Willow and Lily) hang out together and the Rocky Mountain elk (bull Goodwyn and Buttons) are seen mostly together. Buttons, now being the oldest of the cows, is the dominant female and enjoys pushing those young cows around. During this rut season, Goodwyn seems to direct his attention to Buttons (he’s had a vasectomy, so there will be no baby elk).

Buttons continues to be a blessing to keeper staff in her willingness to shift and engage with us. She loves her afternoon carrots and leaf eater biscuit “cookies.”

Even though Buttons was raised with people and interacted mostly with people, she certainly knows elk language and behavior, and is confident in our little herd.

Buttons had found her home. A place where she could be her mischievous self but also live with others like her.

The zoo humans even shared some beautiful photos of her at her Woodland Park Zoo home:

photo credit: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo

 

Not long ago, as the sun was rapidly sinking, the sanctuary humans heard strange animal calls near the property. Sounds they had never heard before.

It was the loud cries of bull elk calling back and forth across the valley! The sanctuary humans rushed quietly up the hill, squinting to try to see in the dark.

When they got to the spot where Ellie used to walk on the other side of the fence with the chimpanzees, they heard heavy breathing and pounding hoofs and saw the shadowy figures of dozens of elk running through the woods.

They wondered if these elk were Ellie’s original family.

They wondered what her life would have been like if she had been able to stay in the wild.

But they know, like the chimpanzees they care for, that sometimes wild animals can’t go back to the wild.

Sometimes the happy ending isn’t perfect, but it’s still happy.

Strivin’ to Survive: A Scarecrow’s Tale

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As some of you have seen, this Jamieween included A Tale of Two Scarecrows. The first scarecrow was put out in the Courtyard for Willy B, Honey B, and Mave.

If you read the blog on Saturday, Willy B made quick job of the cabbage head while leaving the body intact. Diana and Kelsi, brought the scarecrow’s body in and placed in the Mezzanine later that night. (You can see him in the corner just beyond Mave.)

We all kind of suspected Honey B would be the first one to be curious about it. I’m told that she indeed was. I wasn’t there to witness everything unfold at that time, but I’m told Honey B indeed was the one to be the first to inspect it. I was there, however, the following morning as I brought breakfast up to Mezzanine and she was sitting on it’s chest pulling alfalfa out searching for more treats.

The other scarecrow was placed onto Young’s Hill for the Seven to enjoy.

So far, it has had a longer life… so to speak.

This year, Jody did not disappoint and was the Great Pumpkin Thief once again.

Though Jody made way with taking the scarecrow’s head, its’ body still remains on Young’s Hill to this day.

Yesterday, as Jamie and I were coming back from our walk/run around the hill, a shadow near the scarecrow caught my eye. As I saw this shadow, my mind raced with anticipation that somebody was finally going to bring it inside and find every treat! (I apologize for some slightly blurry photos, but it was difficult to hurry and focus in time to catch it as it was happening.)

Who could this be? Was it Annie returning to claim what once might have been hers? Was it Missy whose curiosity got the better of her to finally investigate the a few days after?

As the camera (finally) began to focus, it was clear to me who was going to try to finally put this scarecrow to pasture.

Jody!

She had returned to finish the scarecrow off!

She brought up the torso, removed a significant amount of alfalfa, and found some remaining treats inside. She attempted to untie the torso down from the structure, however they were tied on too tight to remove. Instead she took what she could get and moved on.

I expected today to see the scarecrow completely removed by day’s end. However, today was slightly rainy and most everyone chose to remain indoors.

So the scarecrow survives just one more day… for now…

Who will be the one who finally takes this scarecrow out? Will somebody else’s curiosity prevail?

Missy seems like she might be ready to see what this thing is all about.

I couldn’t choose between these next two photos, so you can choose which one you like better to fit this story.

Or will Jody comeback and claim her prize?

UPDATE:

As I was closing up I decided to take a gander to see if the scarecrow was still there. Only and empty shirt remains.

We will never know who the Scarecrow Destroyer is.

Two Years Down, Many More to Come!

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Today is a very special day! It marks 2 years since Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg arrived and began to call Washington their new home!

A photo from the first day they arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!
Photo from today as they watched Jamie and I sprint around Young’s Hill.

From the first day they arrived in Central Washington to today, these four individuals have been such an honor and treat to be able to get to know!

To honor their second year in Washington, we had planned something special for them. However, similar to the events that unfolded on Meredith’s birthday a couple of months ago, we were unable to photograph or film the events as they were more interested in their hay than their celebratory cob treat today.

So instead, here are some photos from their second year at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest!

Betsy in February eating some alfalfa in the Winter pasture.
That one time they were hiding from me in the Creek back in June.
Mobbing the Gator full of hay in April.
Making the march today to the other pasture where they were treated with cob, but decided hay was better. L to R: Nutmeg, Betsy, Meredith, Honey.
Betsy up near the pine trees that line the top of Young’s Hill in October.
Nutmeg in the Spring pasture in August.
Honey in the Spring pasture in September.
Meredith being beautiful in October.
Honey today!
Betsy (with Jamie in the background) in July!
Meredith in the Summer pasture on her birthday back in September!
Nutmeg making his was back to the barn today.

We can’t wait to celebrate more years to come!

Remember! You can help contribute to their care by becoming a Bovine Buddy to one or all of them! This will help us tremendously to make sure they have many more years to come here!