Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

animal rights

TEAPSPA Day of Action

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In addition to being Annie’s birthday, we have something important for everyone to do for Take Action Tuesday.

We are one of several groups invited by Animal Defenders International (ADI) to support TEAPSPA (the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act) to ban traveling wild animal acts nationwide.

Read this post about chimpanzees in circuses and why we support the end of the use all wild and exotic animals in these acts.

This bill was introduced in the House as HR2863 and companion bill S2121 in the Senate.

Studies on the use of wild animals in traveling acts show that circuses cannot meet the physical or behavioral needs of wild animals. Animals are confined in small spaces, deprived of physical and social needs, and spend excessive time shut in trailers and train cars. These animals often demonstrate abnormal behaviors – rocking, swaying, and pacing – indicating they are in distress and not coping with their environment. Video evidence shows these animals are forced to perform tricks through physical violence, fear, and intimidation.

Use this link: bit.ly/SupportTEAPSPA to find your legislators, send them an email, Facebook post and tweet asking them to support TEAPSPA. Direct calls to your legislators are very effective and ADI has lots of talking points here. If you can schedule a meeting, you can let ADI know and they will send you a pack with even more information.

If you are on Facebook, let others know you’re supporting TEAPSPA by uploading a Facebook frame to your profile pic! Simply click this link and type “Animal Defenders International” into the search box, click on the “Support TEAPSPA” frame, then click “use as profile pic.”

Thanks for standing up for the animals!

Willy B + Jody

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First, the photos that go along with the story in today’s blog are not going to win any awards. But the story is good, so I hope you’ll forgive my quick cell phone pics.

Second, if you are new to the sanctuary and the photos make you wonder why the chimps are in cages, please read this blog post that answers that very question!

Speaking of questions, I know there are SO MANY questions about how we are going to go about doing the introductions between the seven and the three. We still have a lot of questions ourselves that we have been mulling over. It’s daunting and scary and incredibly exciting all at the same time.

We’ve talked to a few different people who each have experience with hundreds (hundreds!) of introductions of chimpanzees, and each of them has a different general system they use and a philosophy behind it. On Tuesday, one of these very knowledgeable people, Amy Fultz from Chimp Haven, came out in person to talk to us about introductions. It worked out perfectly that she was here when the groups got the first good look at each other.

We are taking in all of this information and combining it with the data that Jake Funkouser recorded and analyzed of the social networks of the seven chimpanzees, and combining that with what we are observing of the new three and their interactions with the seven at a distance.

We also will let the chimpanzees dictate the process once we start. All that is to explain that we cannot share with you the step by step details before they happen because it’s not that kind of process and we are not there yet. We do plan to share details with you after the fact, though!

So, that brings me to today’s story about a connection/attraction between Willy B and Jody that is continuing to develop. It actually started before the three arrived at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. When J.B. and I were at Wildlife Waystation, we showed some videos of Jody to Willy B on my cell phone, and he immediately moved in to get a closer look,  paying more attention to the Jody videos than videos of any of the other chimpanzees.

Now they get to see each other in person every day, and Willy B continues to show an interest in Jody. And now we can say that the interest is mutual.

This morning, Jody made a special foray onto the hill and stood up just to get a glimpse of Willy B who was at the end of the chute:

Willy B returned the glance:

When Jody was heading back into the greenhouse, Willy B climbed to the highest spot in the new chute to have the best view:

Jody noticed his new position, and climbed up high on the caging in the greenhouse and made a low moan vocalization. Jody is famous for her various low-moans, most of them associated with food, and all of them indicating that she is happy.

With Jody’s cute hand wave/reaching out that J.B. included in the video yesterday and today’s friendly overtures to Willy B, our predictions about Jody being inviting towards the newcomers seems spot-on, unlike our inaccurate predictions of how Burrito would react to the sight of unfamiliar chimpanzee people.

Burrito, by the way, continues to be obsessed with the new three and spends most his day hanging out by the windows just waiting for them to appear.

Can you imagine how strange and exciting it must be to see new chimpanzee strangers for the first time after over a dozen years?!

A Tale of Two Pineapples

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“A day wasted on others is not wasted on one’s self.” – Charles Dickens

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Volunteers Miranda and Elizabeth prepared breakfast this morning, with the centerpiece being a pineapple-strawberry-protein smoothie. The chimps ate their raw fruit and then drank every last drop of the bright pink smoothie. Of course, we couldn’t just throw the prickly pineapple tops into the Vitamix and we didn’t want to toss them in the compost bucket, either. Because the weather was so pleasant this morning, we ended up hiding the pineapple tops out on Young’s Hill at lunch, along with a forage spread of beets, carrots and potatoes. The chimps gathered themselves (and their dolls) and headed out to forage with gusto.

Of all the chimps, Jody is known for her expertise as a forager. We predicted that she would find at least one of the hidden treasures among the grass.

Surprisingly, Annie was the first to find a pineapple (the one that had been placed on a structure in the middle of the Hill). She triumphantly carried it back down the slope to the Greenhouse.

Negra found the second one since it was hidden in her favorite spot (a straw-lined cabin ear the bottom of the slope). She also carted her pineapple and vegetables back to the shade and shelter of the Greenhouse.

Annie’s pineapple wasn’t hers for very long before Jody casually took it from her. Annie didn’t seem to mind, though.

Jody reclined on the lower deck and relished every spiny leaf of the pineapple top. She held it lovingly and slowly picked it apart.

Neggie was a bit more industrious. Her mechanical breakdown of the pineapple top was quick and purposeful. She ripped off each spine and chewed it to a pulp before spitting it on the deck below. She soon had a pile of peels and discarded wadges at her feet, then chomped into the juicy core.

Jamie was not interested in either pineapple, preferring to eat beets and supervise from afar.

Burrito, meanwhile, ate anything and everything that he could find.

 

A Journey to the Sanctuary

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If you are signed up to our e-newsletter, you received a link to this video of the journey that Mave, Honey B and Willy B took to get to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, but we know you want to watch it again and again.

Help welcome them home by participating in the Summer Biddin’ Online Auction!! It lasts just a few days, ending on Tuesday, September 3rd.

The New Three

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You guessed it – Willy B, Mave, and Honey B are incredible, and we are all newly in love with them with each passing hour. It’s hard to believe they’ve only been here a few days from Wildlife Waystation.

Click on the video above for some recent clips of the three, and stay tuned for a video of their journey to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, which we will be showing as part of the Summer Biddin’ online auction that beings August 28th!

Willy B is starting to relax enough to play games of chase and was seen playing with a plastic slinky today. He loves watching videos and looking at photos on our phones. He seems to particularly like photos of Jody. Despite his grand entrance seen in the video he hasn’t been displaying very much. We suspect his displays will increase when he is able to see the other chimpanzees through the howdy door.

Mave, at least on the outside, appears to be most relaxed chimpanzee I’ve ever met. She was even making a nest and lying on her back during the transport! Today, she discovered troll dolls and carried one around with her this morning, tucking it into her pelvic pocket before greeting J.B. She has a way of casually shuffling across the new floors that makes it seem like she’s wearing slippers.

We’ve been told that Honey B is uber smart, and we’re definitely seeing glimpses of that. She has a way of looking right into your soul. She is a very enthusiastic groomer with her new human friends and is very excited when she finds a scab. She’s decided the mezzanine is the place to be and has been nesting up there at night using everything available.

There’s so much more for us to learn about these three chimpanzees, and we’re so glad to have all of you following along so you can get to know them too.

Structural Enrichment

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I have occasionally heard the word “enrichment” defined as items that are given to animals once their basic needs have been met.

In contrast, I think of enrichment as an entire philosophy, not just something extra that we do when our other work is done. For these chimpanzees and all other captive animals, enrichment is a basic need. Although survival would be possible without enrichment, thriving would not. Here at the sanctuary, every aspect of our daily routine, from meal preparation to cleaning, is done with the ultimate goal of keeping the chimpanzees happy and healthy. There is no easy way to group items or activities into “enrichment” or “not enrichment.” We just enrich everything.

In addition to distributing troll dolls, cowboy boots and slinkies, our team designs and builds new structures for the chimpanzees. The way in which we design and furnish the facility is considerate of the chimpanzee’s physical and emotional needs, and we often add or change components of the enclosures to keep the surroundings interesting and functional for the chimps. A great example is the network of firehose “vines” that transects the Playroom, Greenhouse, Hill, and new wing of enclosures. The video posted above shows how Jamie gets to use the firehose however she wants, giving her a greater degree of choice in addition to the obvious security and stability that such additions provide.

We’re also excited to share a photo of a new firehose hammock, modeled by Level III volunteer and CWU graduate student Chad. Several volunteers and interns helped staff and contractors to furnish the chimpanzee areas of the Phase 1 expansion with benches, firehose, hammocks, and ladders. The new hammock is hanging in the upstairs mezzanine enclosure, and will hopefully be enjoyed by the sanctuary’s newest residents once they arrive!

Video: A Day in the Life

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We were really busy last week preparing for our big event in Seattle. HOOT! 2019 was a great success, due to the staff and volunteers who put in hours and hours over the last year preparing and planning, plus the staff and volunteers who gave it their all at the event on Saturday.

But the gala is just a small part of what they do. This video is a look at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest that provides a glimpse into all that goes into a day of sanctuary.

We’re sorry we were so busy last week to not give #SanctuaryCaregiverDay its due. The sanctuary would be NOTHING without paid and volunteer caregivers. So, please watch this video and thank them for all of their hard work. We appreciate them so much!