Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

animal rights

Another Mother’s Day for Jody

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It’s Mother’s Day.

At the sanctuary, our celebration of this special day always includes a birthday party for Jody. Her actual date of birth is missing from her original records, but the date aligns with both Jody’s history as a biological mother and her honorary status as the group’s “den mother.”

Like Jody, Annie, Foxie, Missy and Negra (four of the sanctuary’s eight female chimps) also had offspring during their tenure as “breeders” in the laboratory. Altogether, we believe they gave birth to at least twenty-five infants. The newborns were each taken from them shortly after birth by the company that owned the chimps, and the separated infants were destined to be raised by humans in nurseries and sold as biomedical research subjects. At the time, this was a life sentence for chimps.

As advocates began to successfully pressure the laboratories to retire their captive chimpanzees from research, some of the aforementioned offspring were lucky enough to find sanctuary homes. In fact, Missy’s daughter Honey B found her way to CSNW thirteen years after her mother- almost three decades after they were pulled apart at birth. The two don’t seem to recognize each other or have any special bond, which is unsurprising given that chimpanzee social bonds are maintained through lifelong interaction and communication, not mere genetic relatedness or physical likeness. Still, they sometimes behave in ways that reveal some similarities that may be more than just coincidence, giving a bit of magic to their familial relationship.

I won’t add much more since we have written about this topic in the past and I feel like other staff could offer more heartfelt and insightful perspectives than mine. All I have to say is that, as someone who watches Jody interact with her companions and surroundings on a daily basis, she is a natural protector and shepherd to all around her.

Jody would have been an excellent mother to those nine children. She got robbed of that experience, and so did they.

The gravity of that injustice cannot be expressed through any words that I know.

The best that we can do now is provide Jody and her friends with a safe and comfortable sanctuary home, with opportunities to live a fulfilling life, and tirelessly advocate for non-humans who are still being exploited elsewhere.

So, on this well-deserved Mother’s Day, we celebrated not just Jody but all the mothers in our lives who have helped us to grow, learn, and live meaningful lives. We’re thankful that you exist and we love you all.

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Finally, since I was unable to take many photos while filming the embedded video, Chad was willing to share some images he captured of the big event!

Annie:

Jody:

Missy:

Burrito:

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P.S. Just in case you missed the usual title pun, I almost named this post “JO Mother, Where Art Thou?” but decided to keep it a bit more serious this week. I’ll think of something really corny for the next post. I promise.

they’re called playrooms for a reason

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Or maybe they should be called multi-purpose rooms?

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed watching these clips over and over!

I had many technical difficulties with computers and software today, so you are seeing this video after a great deal of perseverance. I almost gave up a few times, but I’m pretty stubborn.

I was thinking of you all in my stubbornness. I wanted to deliver some quality footage of the Californians in part of the new playroom space. It’s fun to be able to film through the windows for those close-up views, even when Willy B videobombs the camera.

50 Shades of Hay

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A friend of me recently told me that they find observing cattle to be emotionally grounding. For sure, a serenely grazing cow radiates peace.

It’s difficult to tell when cattle are truly happy since they express their emotions in a way that seems alien to most humans. Still, there is a notable contrast between a calm bovine and an excited or anxious one. We who work with these creatures learn to differentiate between these various behavioral states and use this wisdom to safely provide optimal care.

In a more spiritual sense, I also love to watch the Moo Crew peacefully munch on a bale of grass hay, browse through the willows along the creek, or mow down an overgrown pasture like a band of professional landscapers. They bring me joy.

Today, we’re sharing the Jerseys and their zen-like bliss with you all. Please feel free to hop in your Gator, grab a bale of your own, and join in.

The Gang Grooms the Day Away

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Today has just been one of those busy days. Every time I would go to get some photos of the chimpanzees, they were in spots that are extremely difficult to get photos from. And the times the Seven were exploring Young’s Hill, I was in the middle of cleaning and didn’t make in time to take many photos. I was starting to get worried that today’s blog would just be a hodge podge of random photos I was able to get. In one final attempt, I just went to check to see what was happening in the Greenhouse. And there was the grooming party of all grooming parties.

Annie grooming Jody grooming Burrito:

Jamie and Foxie grooming:

Burrito left Jody and Annie to groom with Missy:

Jamie left Foxie to groom my boots:

And Negra passed on grooming to monitor the progress of dinner being made. Priorities.

And if you’re wondering about the hodge podge of random photos, here they are as a bonus.

Annie trying to spy on her neighbors from Young’s Hill.
Foxie returning from her own little adventure on Young’s Hill.
Foxie flexing to show how tough and fierce she is! (Ok! maybe she was just in mid-stride when this photo was snapped, but it doesn’t make it any less true!)
Honey B enjoying one of the artificial tree branch platforms!
Then climbing down to play chase with caregivers.
Willy B also enjoys this platform as well!
Honey B watching me clean one of the new playrooms in true Honey B fashion.

Health Care for the Bovines

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With the exception of the occasional snow flurries, we’re welcoming the arrival of spring here at the sanctuary.

For the small herd of rescued Jersey cattle that resides here, the onset of spring corresponds with green pastures for grazing and warm sunshine for sunbathing. They’re already nibbling at the carpet of new growth that has emerged from the muddy winter paddock and we’ve begun to catch them delving into the creek to eat the vegetation. Soon, we’ll open the path to the summer pastures so they can roam the hillsides on either side of the chimpanzee enclosures, grazing and napping the long days away until next winter.

The cattle grazing in the winter paddock… note that Meredith, as usual, is just a little out of step with the others!

The cattle may require less attention than the chimps, but they’re not entirely independent. In fact, they require a bit of maintenance, especially in the spring and fall. Each year, there are a few things that need to happen before the cattle can go on summer vacation.

First, we need to make sure the pasture grass is ready for cattle. Domestic cattle aren’t native here and turning the herd out to pasture too soon can damage the vegetation and terrain (and can also be harm their sensitive guts).

We also need to check the pasture fences and make sure nothing was damaged during the winter storms and freezes.

Then, we have to wean them off of the supplemental hay that we provision through the colder months.

Finally, we prefer to have their annual veterinary exams completed while they’re still hanging out in the winter paddock.

We’re gradually working our way down that checklist. Even though the pastures aren’t quite ready yet and we’re still giving the bovines a bale of hay each morning, we were able to do their annual exams last week.

To facilitate these procedures, we closed the cattle in the Bud Box and then did a quick exam on each individual before letting them back out into the larger paddock. Dr. Erin led the exams as J.B. and I took notes and provided a little extra muscle (although even the two of us are relatively useless when the rowdy patient weighs over a thousand pounds).

The routine exams consisted of full body check-ups, hoof inspections, annual vaccinations, and follow-up diagnostics related to any minor health issues that caregivers had previously documented (e.g. Meredith’s brief “ain’t doin’ right” in January). As usual, Dr. Erin worked quickly; even the tamest of domestic cattle don’t particularly enjoy being confined and restrained for very long, which can cause them to grow fractious in a hurry.

Fortunately, we successfully completed the essential tasks and the cattle resumed their normal routine almost immediately. In addition to our meticulous documentation of the exam procedures and findings, we also managed to take some quick snapshots to share with you all.

Nutmeg assists Dr. Erin
Honey waits patiently in the chute
Dr. Erin rewards Honey with some scratches
Dr. Erin cleans Nutmeg’s ears as we hold him steady with a halter

We’re happy to report that everyone looked great and seems to be in prime physical condition. (Nutmeg, especially, is the epitome of health and oozes masculine confidence. If you’re not yet convinced, check out some of our past blogs about him. You’ll be in awe of this majestic lad.)

Betsy
Honey

Now, the cattle only need their annual hoof trims and a little more growth in the pastures before they can resume their summer landscaping duties!

That’s the Spot

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Today was a quintessential early spring day in Cle Elum that started with great gusts of wind driving snow across an otherwise peaceful green landscape. This attempt of winter to make a resurgence was no match for the sun, however. The snow was gone by midday and the scenery was back to being spring-like.

It’s been just a few days since Willy B, Mave, and Honey B first got access to the two new playrooms. They are still experimenting with the new space and trying out different areas. It will be fun to discover what their favorite hang-out spots are.

Today, Mave laid down to groom herself in a puddle of sun on the catwalk of Playroom 3 (also known as the Marmot Room because of the marmot silhouette painted on the wall downstairs in honor of a special supporter).

On the other side of the building, I found Jody in one of her all-time-favorite spots on the lower platform in the original greenhouse doing much the same as Mave.

Not one to spend much time lounging, Jamie was busy perusing the sanctuary’s site plan…

If you are on Facebook, you might have caught a Live Lunch Service (recorded video available on Facebook here). We hope to do more of those live videos in the future, most likely on a random and spontaneous schedule.

Whether you are more in the mood to relax or all about keeping active, if you are a local supporter, I have the thing you need to do this month!

Get yourself to Gallery One in Ellensburg and check out the display of designs that were submitted to last month’s art contest. Note – Gallery One is currently open at a limited capacity – check out their Covid protocols for more information.

You won’t go home empty-handed – there’s merchandise available for purchase that features the winning design of Fabulous Foxie by artist Thyra Rutter. There are also brand new postcards of all ten of the current chimpanzees; plus a really great display of information that the creative students in the Primate Awareness Network at Central Washington University put together. If you are not local, you will miss out on the displays, but you can still get stickers from the top four People’s Choice winners and merchandise of Fabulous Foxie in our online merchandise store.

Have fun shopping!

Nor’Easter

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In my native Rhode Island and the surrounding New England states, the locals have a unique name for winter storms that blow down from the north Atlantic: nor’easters. These tempests bring sideways rain, chilling temperatures, and powerful gusts of wind.

The eastern slopes of the Cascades don’t have the same maritime climate as the northeast seaboard, and we lack a consistently strong breeze. However, early spring in eastern Washington is known for the blustery winds that signal the transition to warmer days. Such is the weather in our valley right now; Mother Nature seems to be torn between winter and summer, snow and sunshine, and the alternating fronts seem to churn past the sanctuary by the hour.

This morning, Easter Sunday, was one of the windiest days we’ve had all year. I’ve decided to call it Nor’Easter.

The howling winds provided us with a soundtrack as we did the morning chores, set up a big celebration for the chimpanzees, and watched them venture outside to gather up all their treats. Due to the turbulent weather, the chimps brought their harvested carrots, beets, lettuce and eggs back to the sheltered Greenhouse where they happily feasted away the afternoon.

We decided to make a video of the day’s festivities for all of you to enjoy. I know that some of you love to hear food grunts and breathy panting, so I tried to edit out the harsh background noise while leaving the best chimp vocalizations intact. Despite the gusty weather, it ended up being a beautiful day for everyone.

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Also, in case you missed our earlier post, today’s holiday had TWO sponsors (and they have quite the connection to each other).

First, our friend Lisa Stuverud sponsored this special day in memory of her sister-in-law, Linda Vazarre. Additionally, Lisa’s husband Richard Stuverud also sponsored this day in honor of her birthday:

“I’d like to sponsor today in honor of my wife Lisa’s 63rd Birthday (she will not be upset with me for sharing that). I know she believes that the Chimps and everyone associated with CSNW has contributed immensely to her making it this far. The chimps continue to bring her joy and lighten up the sometimes difficult days especially of this last year in ways only you and they can do. Much love and Thanks!!”

We really can’t thank them enough for all they’ve given to the sanctuary over the years, and we owe them our deepest gratitude for sharing their love with the chimpanzees. They’ll be glad to know that the chimps had a great feast!

Happy Birthday, Lisa!! We hope you had a beautiful day!