Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

animal rights

Giving Days and Days of Gifts

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Today’s theme: gifts, giving, and gifts given.

Before we get to today’s update, though, I want to remind everyone that Giving Day for Apes is this Tuesday! It’s not too late to set up your own fundraising page via the sanctuary’s Giving Day for Apes page (just click on the big “Fundraise” button to get started). To see pages that others have created, scroll down on our page and look under “Campaigns supporting this organization.” All donations made on any of those campaigns will go directly to the sanctuary and will be eligible for the cash prizes offered!

Of course, the special fundraisers aren’t the only times that our supporters make generous gifts to the sanctuary.

Earlier today, we posted the following message:

Mary Horton sponsored this special day of sanctuary for her mom and long-time friend of the chimpanzees, Vicki Fagerlee… Vicki, you make a lasting difference in the chimpanzees’ and cattle’s lives, helping us ensure their joy, well-being and comfort for all their days forward. We’re so grateful to have you as part of our chimp and bovine family. Happy Birthday, from all of us here at the sanctuary!

It may have been Vicki’s birthday today, but she has been the one buying gifts for the sanctuary lately. Last week, we received notice that someone purchased a new mirrorless digital camera from our Amazon Wish List. Shortly after, the device arrived at our front gate with all the accessories we need to keep taking photos for the blog. The new Canon RP is much newer, lighter, and versatile than the donated Canon Rebels we have been using, and it has many new features that we have yet to master. Today, I spent some time to tinker with the auto-focus settings, low-light capabilities, and preset modes, but it definitely feels like learning to take photographs all over again. This technology has advanced quite far over the last ten years, so we appreciate that Vicki is helping us to stay current. I can’t wait to see what content we can create with this generous gift, and I really can’t wait to share the final products with you all.

Annie
Foxie and Missy
Jody and Foxie
Burrito
Burrito

P.S. Even the newest cameras have a difficult time focusing on Burrito’s face when he plays chase and tickle like an absolute maniac. In this case, I think I focused on his tiny white nose hairs. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tuesday is the Big Day + Feeling Good

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First, a reminder to all that Tuesday (just a few days away!) is Giving Day for Apes.

In addition to our main fundraising page, if any one person or group out there wants to create their own fundraising page to raise funds for the sanctuary, you can do that! It’s pretty easy. Just go to our Giving Day for Apes page and click on the big “Fundraise” button and it will walk you though the steps. To see pages that others have created, scroll down on our page and look under “Campaigns supporting this organization.” All donations made on any of those campaigns will go directly to the sanctuary and will be eligible for the cash prizes offered!

Did you go look? Okay, good, now here’s the blog for the day:

Yesterday during the video event with Senator Tom Udall hosted by Animal Protection of New Mexico, animal welfare scientist Dr. Katie Cronin said something that really struck me. She said that having an enrichment program is not about what you provide but rather about how the animals feel about it. This is obviously true and yet somehow profound because it is not historically the way enrichment programs have been talked about or evaluated.

Enrichment is all about engagement and finding things that interest the individuals in your care, so if you give some type of enrichment to an animal and they don’t engage with it all, well, it’s not enriching for them and that means new things should be tried and evaluated.

So, fast forward to today. Kelsi and I were cleaning the greenhouse and I looked up at an eye bolt that Anthony had put under the top platform of the structure last year sometime. I said outloud that we should hang something there, so Kelsi and I talked about it for a bit and she mentioned wanting to get another hay feeder like the one filled with lettuce that Mave and Honey B enjoyed so much recently.

That made a dim light bulb go off in my (above my?) head, and I got to work filling the hay feeder with layers of blankets and lettuce to hang from the aforementioned eye bolt. I admit that I thought I was being quite clever. I had to stand on a step stool to hang the feeder and thought to myself that this was going to be a great challenge for the group of seven.

After letting the group into the greenhouse, I anxiously turned the corner to spy on the chimpanzees to see if they were engaged with the hay feeder. I was presented with a very rewarding scene: Annie was on top of the platform lying down to reach the lettuce and Missy was down below standing as tall as she could to reach the enrichment.

I left, once again feeling very clever.

I returned just a few minutes later, and Missy had solved the puzzle her own way, beating me at any contest for cleverness.

Soon, Negra came out to the greenhouse from the playroom and discovered all she had to do was sit below and wait for the lettuce to fall down as Missy picked through the blankets.

Meanwhile on the other side of the building, Mave and Willy B enjoyed some enriching social time in the outdoor chute in between rain showers:

While Honey B performed magic tricks with some new scarves:

All in all, I would say today was enriching for both the chimpanzees and me, and now I hope for you too.

If you enjoy the blog, please do consider making a donation to our Giving Day for Apes page. To get the most bang for your buck, donate between 10-11am PT on Tuesday, October 13th, but any donation at any time helps! Thank you for helping enrich the lives of the chimpanzees!

Celebrating World Animal Day… with Mediocre Haikus

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This past week has been warm, but the transition into autumn is unmistakable. The sun is setting earlier, the morning air is crisper, and the elk are passing through the valley as they migrate to their winter ranges.

Even if you’re not into drinking pumpkin spice lattes, harvesting your crops in a worn-out flannel, or listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors while walking through fallen leaves, this season’s potential silver lining is that it contains some great holidays.

Giving Day for Apes, Jamieween, Dia de Los Muertos, Native American Heritage Day, Election Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday… it’s always hard to pick a favorite! Of course, the best strategy is probably to cherish each one in its moment, just as we make the most of each passing season.

To kick things off, we honored today, October 4th, as World Animal Day. The first celebration of this holiday, which occurred in Germany in 1925, was chosen to honor the Catholic Saint Francis of Assisi who is regarded as a protector of nonhuman beings. In 1979, Pope John Paul II actually declared that Francis would also be the patron saint of the science of ecology, protecting the Earth’s fragile ecosystems. Rock on, St. Francis!

In celebration of this unique day, Chad and I thought it would be fitting to highlight our nonhuman friends: the cattle. Is there a better way to honor these bovine lawnmowers than with four amateur haikus, accompanied by some of my favorite seasonal photographs?

 

“Betsy”

Before the new grass

Look for her in the creek bed

In Nutmeg’s shadow

 

 

“Nutmeg”

Warm gentle giant

Mowing sanctuary lawns

Saxophones taste good

 

 

“Meredith”

Strolls the golden woods

Black mask over sweet nature

Real Jerseys have curves

 

“Honey”

Tan fur capped with frost

She awaits the alfalfa

Do not touch the horns

 

Happy World Animal Day, everyone!

Moments with Jamie

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I had approximately 25 ideas for a blog post today, from the flighty and frivolous to the deeply profound (at least in my head).

This video is neither. Or perhaps it is both.

As one of her caregivers for more than twelve years, I can tell you that some of the best days in the chimp house are when Jamie is in a good mood, which seems to be the case more and more lately.

Not all of the clips in the video were from today. The one from today is the opening clip with Jamie wearing a troll scarf;  the others were moments with Jamie that I had recorded on my phone that I have been hanging onto.

Right now, while the other chimpanzees are eating the last scraps of dinner, working on their food puzzles (nuts in kongs tonight), and gathering up their blankets for their nests, Jamie is sitting in the doorway that goes out to Young’s Hill, the outdoor habitat.

She might be waiting for the rain to subside so that we can go on another walk, or maybe she’s just making sure I remember that she’s the one who runs this place.

I just love Jamie.

If Looks Could Kale

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Jody has a healthy appreciation for fresh, hand-picked greens.

Recently, local volunteer Krissy has been delivering bags of primate chow to the sanctuary’s front gate. More often than not, she also leaves behind a large bin of produce from her home garden. This weekend, we added the generous assortment of leafy greens to the chimps’ lunches, which we then dispersed in Young’s Hill so that they could spend the afternoon foraging.

Most greens are cultivars of one species: cabbage. In its wild form, cabbage (Brassica oleracea) grows on the seaside cliffs of Europe. Over millennia, the domesticated variants have become a common food crop for humans around the globe. Despite their distinct grocery names, kale, collared greens, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts are all just types of cabbage that have been shaped by artificial selection. Of course, “Farmer Jo” loves them all equally.

Today, Jo did her usual thing (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) and gathered up an impressive bundle of greens. Although it was an unusually quiet day at the sanctuary, even around the chimps, the loud crunch of woody stems filled the Greenhouse for a short while. Negra spent the early minutes of the forage collecting the grapes and chow biscuits nearest to the Greenhouse, but missed out on the kale. Upon returning, she sat behind Jody and begged for a piece. Jo ignored her, but eventually discarded enough leafless stalks to satisfy Neggie, who promptly scooped them up and waddled inside.

Compared to the usual dynamics, today’s drama was relatively tame.

The Bounties of Sanctuary

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First, the news you’ve been waiting for: Burrito is back with his group! It’s been two weeks to the day since his encounter with the rattlesnake.

I’m going to be completely honest here. I thought we were going to lose him the day that he was bitten. I also thought we were going to lose him those many months ago when the big conflict that ended our attempts at integrating the groups occurred.

I’m not the most optimistic of people, so take that into consideration (I can picture J.B. giving me a look that says, “you don’t say?!”).

Burrito, however, seems to be an optimist with an incredible will to live. That, combined with an amazing staff and quick-acting veterinarian in Dr. Erin, who has a whole network of medical professionals on speed dial (a particularly grateful shout-out to anesthetist Dalila Fairchild), gave me hope.

What was truly heartwarming, however, was the immediate outpouring of support you all showed, which carried over into last week’s HOOT! virtual event. I really just can’t get over it. THANK YOU!!! You all remind me that there are good, no, not just good, but great people in this world who truly care and take action when needed. It was the bounty of love, even more than the financial contributions, that was so moving.

Anyway, enough of my yammering, here are some awesome photos of the day, most of them taken by Anna and J.B

First order of business for Burrito on the hill: approach Jody for some reassurance:

which she deftly provided, even while managing a bounty of cabbage leaves (thanks, Krissy!)

Burrito decided to stick close to Jody for a bit:

Then he ventured towards Negra, who gave him a reassuring extended arm gesture:

Negra’s bounty was kale:

Appropriately reassured, Burrito settled into foraging on his own:

 

 

Later in the day, it was time for the other group to have access to the Courtyard. To carry the theme of this blog post, I noticed that there was a bounty of grapes hidden under the grape vines on that side of the building.

Here’s a photo of the vines with Honey B at the top of the chute in the background:

Here’s what I picked in just 20 minutes:

Willy B was watching my activity from the Courtyard, so of course grapes were on the menu as part of dinner:

I hope you experienced a bounty of something good this past week too.

Veterinary Clinic Tour

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The sanctuary’s upgraded veterinary clinic has come up quite a bit lately.

We have utilized this area frequently over the past year, and it recently gave us the ability to respond to an unexpected emergency. Thanks to its impeccable usefulness and immediate relevance, the clinic was also mentioned several times during last night’s virtual auction: HOOT! 2020. As we explained to the event’s participants, your generous contributions have built this on-site clinic for the chimpanzees and will help us to add additional equipment and vital supplies in the near future. We caregivers are all comforted to have such a modern and secure facility located just across the hallway from the chimpanzee enclosures so that any necessary procedures can be done safely and effectively.

Because we are so grateful for all of the support and we love to teach people about our work, Dr. Erin and I thought it would be fitting to take you all on a virtual tour of the veterinary clinic! In the video, Dr. Erin also explains some of our protocols and we would love to answer any questions that you may have.

Thank you once again for making all of this possible!