animal rescue

An afternoon in the greenhouse

July 22, 2015 by Katelyn

Grooming is an important part of chimpanzee culture and whether in the wild or captivity, chimpanzees spend a lot of their time engaged in this behavior. If you think about it, so do we humans! Chimpanzees will groom each other or themselves to remove dirt and debris, attend to wounds, during times of relaxation, and most importantly to build and maintain bonds with one another. Grooming is key to social interactions and is often used by chimpanzees to gain support and remain in good standing not only in the community, but with higher ranking chimps.

The chimp house was very quiet this afternoon before lunch so I went to check on everyone and found several people grooming Jamie, as she basked in her role as the boss lady. (Clockwise: Jamie, Burrito, Foxie and Jody):

Jamie being groomed by Burrito in background:

Jody appointed herself the paparazzi police and immediately positioned herself next to me, at the ready to poke the camera should I continue to take photos of the boss. Though she eventually decided it was more fun to play a game of tickle (a rare Jody happening!):

Lunch service arrived and after a lot of excitement everyone headed up to the top of the greenhouse. (L to R) Foxie, Annie, Jamie, Negra (barely visible in between the blue chairs) and Jody:

Each of the chimpanzees has their way of attempting to gain the server’s attention, especially when they see something they really want (or want more of). Because Jamie is the most dominant in the hierarchy we typically offer things to her first. And she has no problem gesturing if she wants us to serve something other than what’s being offered at the moment for something she prefers on the tray. She will also let us know if there is a particular piece, or color, of fruit or vegetable she wants. For example, she will ask for red peppers over green if she sees them in the bowl and she refuses carrots that aren’t peeled. She will even gesture for us to return any offending carrots to the kitchen for peeling.

Foxie blows incessantly loud raspberries, Negra claps and sometimes clacks her teeth on the caging, Annie blows raspberries and stomps her feet, Missy shakes her head vigorously, and Jody just positions herself in front of the server. If someone is being served something she wants more of, she will just move in front of them or reach across to take it from the less dominant chimps. (This is all part of a normal chimp hierarchical society.) And then there’s Burrito who shakes, rattles and rolls, with a soundtrack of raspberries for pretty much everything on the menu. Just so we don’t forget he’s there…

Annie above and Burrito below (hair standing on end with excitement):

Missy pulls up a chair for her lunch:

On the other side of the caging was their server today, Whitney, one of our volunteer caregivers extraordinaire, getting a workout. Chimpanzees make for a rowdy lunch crowd.

Burrito:

Foxie decided to eat her lunch with me and made her way back to me with each serving to sit in the sun as I took photos next to her.

First course: tomatoes!

Back again with the second course: green peppers!

And finishing up the meal with primate chow in to-go bags:

Burrito, very pilo (hair on end), is often high arousal during mealtimes. Food is just very exciting if you’re Mr. B:

Jamie headed back inside with her chow to make an lunch nest:

The Watchdog

July 15, 2015 by Elizabeth

As the alpha, Jamie has a lot of responsibility. It’s her job to make sure all the chimps and humans at the sanctuary are following her rules. Anyone who’s ever worked in management knows that this isn’t always the most enviable position. But Jamie is diligent and dedicated to the task. She is a great overseer. One of her self-assigned job duties is to know everything that’s going on at the sanctuary at any given time. She keeps track of when people arrive and when they leave. She knows who’s authorized to be on site and who isn’t.

She spends a lot of time spying on the driveway from various vantage points within the chimp house or outside on Young’s Hill. The other day I caught her in one of the front rooms keeping an eye on a UPS delivery.

Today is for Derek Johnson!

July 11, 2015 by Katelyn

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Andrea Ogg in honor of Derek Johnson! Andrea surprised Derek with this special gift last Christmas and shared the following message about today: “Derek has spent a significant portion of his adult life studying, caring for and about chimpanzees. We will be coming to the sanctuary on July 11, 2015. We can’t wait to “meet” your chimps!”

Andrea, what a wonderful gift to give for both Derek and the chimpanzees! That it is complimented with your attendance of our summer visit program makes it even more meaningful and we are so touched that you would think of the chimpanzees in honoring Derek today. Thank you so much for caring about the chimps and making a difference for them.

We look forward to your visit and hope you both have a wonderful day!

Our guy, Burrito:

Happy Birthday, Harry Hmura!

July 6, 2015 by Katelyn

This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Alison Chapot in honor of Harry Hmura’s birthday! Alison has been a long time supporter and friend of the chimpanzees and in celebrating today she shared, “Harry is a dear friend and advocate for apes around the world.”

Harry Hmura is a musician and volunteers his performances to bring awareness to great apes and the sanctuaries that many of these individuals call home and assist with fundraising. Gaining inspiration from Dr. Jane Goodall and all of the great apes, Harry created a unique project called, I AM, I AM, in which he composed and produced an album using great ape vocalizations. “The entire collection of great ape vocal recordings, beginning in 2007, of chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons including background environment sounds were recorded at sanctuaries or in natural indigenous habitats around the world.”

“I AM, I AM Project’s mission is sharing half the proceeds for much needed funding with sanctuaries around the world. Sanctuaries are amazing places, innocent beautiful lives, the spirit between humans and great apes. They are home to individuals, each unique from the next with different names and faces rescued from laboratory research, the entertainment and pet industry, the bushmeat trade and loss of habitat. They provide life time care, rehabilitation, companionship, shelter, protection, even sometimes reuniting family members, bringing new meaning and desires to life.”

Alison, thank you so very much for thinking of the chimpanzees and giving them a special day as you honor your friend, Harry, and celebrate his life!

Harry, we are so grateful to you for the work you do to advocate for great apes and sanctuaries worldwide. Thank you for sharing your talent and compassion by bringing awareness of these incredibly special beings to so many others and helping to make a real difference in their lives.

Jamie, always living her life to the fullest:

Snippets

July 1, 2015 by Katelyn

Some of the most important things we can provide the chimpanzees are choices. The choice to explore their outdoor area or to nest inside. The choice to play with their chimp and human friends or nap. The choice to play with enrichment or ignore it. The choice to stay in one area or not when we are trying to shift them for meals or cleaning. The choices are many and we particularly love it when the chimps take it upon themselves to engage throughout the day in what they find interesting as long as we provide the options.

Choices relieve the inevitable bouts of boredom these intelligent, curious and active people experience at times being in captivity. And choices of how the chimps wanted to spend their moments and days was not something they often received prior to living in sanctuary. Yes, they are still in captivity and ultimately, the humans control their environment and schedule, but we do our very best at all times to work cooperatively with the chimps and give them choices at every possible opportunity. We want the chimpanzees to feel as much as possible that they finally get to call the shots. And really, they do.

These photos will hopefully provide an idea of how the chimpanzees choose to spend their days, in snippets:

Negra, dozing in the morning sun in the greenhouse when I first arrived:

Foxie and Dracula troll enjoyed a toothbrush while waiting for breakfast:

After breakfast, Burrito headed up Young’s Hill to climb one of the structures:

He is exhibiting a fear grimace here (notice it looks very similar to a human smile, but means quite the opposite for chimpanzees – when chimps smile they only show their bottom teeth). Burrito sometimes fear grimaces when doing new things on the hill until he feels more comfortable. He may be feeling a little nervous as he courageously walks out to the end of the plank:

Feeling more comfortable back on the platform:

Jody wasn’t far behind Burrito, but decided to survey the area for some wild greens instead:

Success! And she decides to head back to the greenhouse:

Annie chose to head straight for the new structure and enjoy a little quiet time and the view from Carlene’s Tower:

Missy decided to take the swinging bridge over to the other side:

Jamie decided to join Missy on Jamie’s Tower, but climbed the pole as opposed to taking the “simple” way up of the ladder:

Foxie joined Jamie a bit later:

While all this was occurring on the hill, Negra changed nests and took a post-breakfast nap:

Back inside later in the day, Jamie was thrilled to find one of her favorite enrichment items out – her “kitchen sink” filled with water and paper towels at the ready. She immediately wiped her nose:

And washed and dried her hands:

In between lunch and dinner the chimps also enjoyed checking out their growing garden and sampling some fresh peas and green onions, playing chase and grooming with caregivers and each other, cooling off with an ice cube snack, and napping throughout the day. And Jamie went on to check out new boots and enjoy an evening of walks around the hill while the other chimps headed to bed in the cooler playroom after dinner.

Annie, utterly relaxed:

As caregivers, continually providing the chimpanzees with new and interesting options of how to spend their time is one of our biggest challenges. And seeing them utilize all their options and sometimes create their own, is one of our biggest joys. And hopefully, one of their biggest joys as well.

The gift of Annie

June 23, 2015 by Katelyn

For weeks, no, months, I have had the idea to do “A Day in the Life of…” each of the chimpanzees on the blog. Seems simple enough, right? Well, when you consider each individual chimp, their moods and varying preferences for being photographed (let alone being followed around all day by a photographer), not to mention all the things that can occur during a day working in the chimp house, it’s not as simple as I’d envisioned. Case in point: Annie. Attempting to be systematic in my approach, I’ve wanted to start with her. Beautiful, dear, sweet Annie, who doesn’t always prefer to have her photo taken or is often running at mach speed with her best friend, Missy. So my idea keeps getting pushed to the back burner of the blog.

But I’ve found myself thinking of Annie a lot these past days because her son, Virgil, (who resides at Save the Chimps) celebrated his birthday this week. Annie gave birth to her first son, Tobias, when she was just a child herself, probably a mere 9 years old. In the wild, chimpanzees typically have their first child around the age of 14. But being used in the labs as a “breeder” Annie was forced to begin breeding with many males starting at the age of 7. All for the purpose of supplying more chimpanzees for biomedical testing. Over the next decade, Annie gave birth to six more babies – Abby, Petra, Brooke, Virgil, Mariah and Damien. Two of her children, Virgil and Mariah, who both are so fortunate to be living at Save the Chimps in Florida, are her only living offspring. Tobias (Chimp Haven) and Damian (Save the Chimps) were also fortunate to have made it to sanctuary, but have sadly passed away. Petra, we believe, passed away while still at New Iberia Research Center (NIRC), and sadly, we don’t have much information on Abby or Brooke, but believe they have passed away as well.

Annie was never allowed to care for her babies for more than a few days. In each case she was anesthetized and her children were taken from her and moved to the nursery to be raised by humans until they were, themselves, used as lab subjects. Chimpanzees are highly invested in the raising of their children, much like humans, and under natural circumstances chimpanzee mothers will nurse their infants until they are 4-5 years of age. Their bond is incredibly strong and often remains so throughout their lives.

One of the things I love most about looking at photos of the chimpanzees’ children, are seeing their mothers in them. In the gaze of their eyes, their smiles, the way they hold their body, or even certain mannerisms. To see that even though their histories are tragic, their mothers are there with them in some way. I love seeing beautiful Annie in her son Virgil (photo credited to Save the Chimps):

Annie:

Annie’s history is devastating. To revisit it, however briefly, takes the breath out of me every time. Annie’s history is not unique to the chimpanzees residing here, nor is it unique to all chimpanzees who have suffered, or suffer still from a life in biomedical research labs, entertainment or the pet industry. But I choose to revisit it today not to feel sorry for her, but to celebrate her. To pay honor the incredible person she is. The internal strength and resilience of spirit that speaks to who she really is. Her ability to find joy in her life each day, to increasingly overcoming the sometimes debilitating anxiety she demonstrated when she first arrived here, and her finding enough comfort in her own skin to enjoy peace and solitude.

Annie’s ability to do these things never excuses what was done to, and stolen from, her. But she is not a victim. She is a strong, intelligent, resilient, sweet, gentle, loving soul. A sweet soul who took another step away from her past this morning and for the first time (with me) flopped on the floor and asked me to tickle her head and ears, laughing all the while. This amazing chimpanzee woman is a gift to us all. It’s a gift for her to be able to share herself with us and for us to be able to witness her healing. But more importantly, it’s a gift for her to live her life in peace, and to be her amazing self, each moment of every day. And none of this would be possible without you.

So in celebration of Annie (as she enjoys a tea party):

And goodnight from Annie, yawning from her nest at the top of the greenhouse. Out there all on her own, her eyes growing heavy as she looks out over Young’s Hill and the summer breeze occasionally ruffles her hair:

Learn more about each of the chimpanzees’ history on our Eyes on Apes page and celebrate the amazing and unique individuals they truly are.

Today is in memory of Jean Davidson

June 18, 2015 by Katelyn

Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored in memory of Jean Davidson. Today’s sponsor shared this lovely message about her gift for the chimpanzees:

“Jean was a wonderful friend who lived to celebrate her 100th birthday. She loved animals, and would have celebrated the seven chimpanzees I’ve fallen in love with!”

To our sponsor, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees in honoring Jean’s memory. I think we would all hope to be remembered by our friends and loved ones in such a thoughtful and meaningful way. It’s incredible to think about the difference each life makes. The people one person can bring together in the most unexpected ways and whose life continues to make a difference to so many, even after they’ve gone.

In celebration of our sponsor, her dear friend, Jean, and of course, the chimpanzees, it seems fitting to revisit the joy that can only ensue with Burrito’s patented “Blanket Fling”: