Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Animal Welfare

Negra’s amazing nest

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This morning when I walked into the chimp area, everyone was super quiet (usually it’s a little noisy first thing in the morning) and I saw Negra sleeping in her favorite spot on the catwalk beside the window. The nest she was lying in was huge—way bigger than any nest I’ve seen before! It made me smile so much, just knowing how comfortable and content Negra looked. I took a short moment while everything was still and greeted Negra by reaching my arm out and nodding my head. She gave me a quick head nod in return and then shifted in her nest a little bit. A couple minutes later, the other chimps started to get up and it became the usual noisy morning, but Negra stayed in bed. This is typically how it goes—while everyone else is eagerly watching the humans prepare breakfast and get ready for the day, Negra sleeps in until we are about to serve. But today especially, her nest was so expansive and comfy looking, I thought she might stay in bed all day! But as soon as she saw the peanuts we were serving as a breakfast appetizer, she quickly jumped out of bed and headed to join the rest of the chimps in the greenhouse. The pictures we got of her nest were a little dark, and I did my best to brighten them up but I apologize for the poor lighting due to the sun in the window! The first picture shows just how big the nest was (24 big, fluffy blankets in all) and the second is a close-up of our Queen’s beautiful face.

Negra simply enjoying her big nest this morning started making me think about how awesome it is that she can do that now, after 30+ years in a lab. I thought about it all during cleaning, and as soon as I had a chance I went to our blog to find an entry from before the chimps ever arrived—one about Negra trying to make a nest with scraps of newspaper in the lab she was in before coming to CSNW. It was written almost exactly 5 months before the Cle Elum Seven arrived at their forever sanctuary home. It’s here if you want to read it, but be prepared to get teary-eyed. As Diana says in the post, “Negra deserves to be forever free from the fear of life as a laboratory subject. She deserves to have choices in her life. She deserves to have room to walk, run and climb. She deserves to have access to the outdoors. She deserves a daily supply of a wide variety of food. And she deserves lots and lots of blankets so she can finally make the bed that will truly make her feel content.”

I am so happy that her new sanctuary life has given her the opportunity to build a bed that Diana thought she might enjoy. It’s days like today that make me realize how amazing and resilient chimps are, after all they’ve been through that they can still find joy and contentment in life. It’s admirable.

Tune in tonight

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Eric Jensen and Eric Johnson won an Emmy for their story about the chimps’ release onto Young’s Hill last year, and we were happy to have them back today to film a story about the Taylor Bridge Fire and our recovery. Tune in tonight at 5pm to KOMO 4 if you’re local to the Seattle area, or check KomoNews.com later this evening for the full story. We’ll post the link when we have it.

And while you’re waiting, wouldn’t you just love to know what Foxie was thinking when I snapped this picture earlier today? We often get asked to interpret what the chimps might be thinking, and that’s generally an impossible task. But whenever I see Foxie looking at her troll dolls, especially a new one, I’m struck by how intense the connection seems.

Negra and Jody play

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Negra and Jody are two out of our seven residents that are more relaxers and not as much rough-and-tumble players, like Foxie or Missy. So, it’s a nice treat getting to see them playing with anyone—and even more so with each other!

Missy’s birthday

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Today is Missy’s birthday, and we decided to set up a whole frozen fruit forage in the greenhouse this morning. Volunteer Patti brought some awesome ’80s-style headbands, leg warmers, and socks in honor of Missy’s goofy and kooky athleticism. After decking ourselves out in the gear (and of course putting most of it in with the party enrichment for the chimps) we let the chimps into the party area and listened as they food squeaked with excitement over the whole frozen fruit. I have been around chimps for 7 years, and this group for nearly the whole time they’ve been at CSNW, and I have never heard so many food squeaks at once. They loved it, and it is just what we needed after the last week and a half of recovering from the Taylor Bridge wildfire. All of the staff were present as well as volunteers Patti and Jennifer. Watching the chimps happily enjoy their forage was definitely just what the doctor ordered—both for staff and for the chimps, too! They have certainly been through a lot in their lives, and getting to see them enjoying their time here so much brought such a huge smile to my face. All I could think about was that we are all so fortunate to be here with them.

Enough of that sappy stuff — here’s some pictures from the party!

Negra enjoying some fun forage boxes (that look like Rubix cubes) made by Patti, and filled with pieces of chow:

Foxie:

Annie:

Jamie, looking very regal as the boss should:

Jody, taking a huge mouthful of watermelon:

Burrito, mid-food squeak:

The birthday girl herself, Missy:

And lastly, some of the ’80s gear on us humans (Diana was taking the picture, but she was also decked out, and somehow J.B. stayed out of the photo even though he was wearing an awesome pink headband)

From left to right: Jackie, volunteers Jennifer and Patti, Elizabeth, Sarah, and myself (Debbie)

Thank you so much to Robbi & Dick Brown and Patti for the fun enrichment, to all that have been so supportive and donated the amazing amounts of produce we were able to freeze for the party, and everyone that has been so willing to offer their help as we cope with the effects of the fire. And of course, to all of Missy’s pals!

Business as usual?

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Today, for the first time in a week, has been pretty calm around here. No fires, no firefighters, no smoke, clear skies, and cooler weather. It’s far from over in our minds and flare ups can happen any time, but so far so good. We’ll take it!

As tough as the Taylor Bridge Fire has been for us humans to process, the chimps have been champions. They have been eerily quiet at times over the last week and have occasionally been caught just staring out the window watching helicopters and firefighters– especially Annie, Jody, and Foxie. I have had several moments similar to the one Sarah described last week between her and Jody, where as soon as the chimps get the “okay” from us, they go right back to business as usual– which is usually play! Late last week, I watched Missy go around to every single person in the greenhouse engaging them in play, including Jody, who is not usually all that playful. Missy is always playful, but I have been thinking of her behavior this week as her own personal coping mechanism- keep everyone happy so you don’t have to think about the craziness going on outside.

I’ve been watching her employ this “tactic” since the day after the fire. As Sarah mentioned, the fire incinerated the water lines to our well, so because of possible chemical contamination, we have turned off the water to the chimp areas and have been giving the chimps lots of water bottles and Gatorade instead. They have been loving it! We’ve given the chimps water bottles before, but because it’s not the most sustainable practice, we haven’t done it all that often and certainly not in this quantity. But they have been so enriched by it! And thanks to so many of you out there- we have plenty to keep them happy and hydrated for a long time. Here’s a video of Missy being goofy with her water bottle the day after the fire broke out (August 14th). If you listen closely you can hear helicopters flying overhead as Missy just keeps on playing– it’s a good coping mechanism!

So, as things settle down outside, things get more relaxed, but also rowdier and goofier, inside! Jamie has been crazy playful all day. This morning, she and Foxie got into a thunderous game of chase and were tickling each other and laughing so loud it was hard for us humans to hear each other speak. Burrito was spotted walking in between the Front Rooms with a box on his head and Annie has been lounging in the greenhouse clapping her feet- a sure sign she’s relaxed. Jody and Negra have been kicked back in their nests sipping on water bottles all day. And every time I make eye contact with Missy, she springs off in a full speed run, engaging me in a game of chase. It’s business as usual around here. Chimps are such an inspiration.

Take Action: Good news for CJ, and how to help Crystal

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I am shocked it’s already Friday! With Foxie’s birthday being this week and our (successful!) fundraising drive, this week’s Take Action Tuesday post was a little delayed—but not forgotten!

Last month, we were once again reminded about the tragedy behind keeping chimpanzees as pets. CJ and Buddy, two pet chimps from Las Vegas, escaped from their backyard cage. Though CJ survived the ordeal, Buddy was sadly shot to death. Chimpanzees are not safe as pets, and they can and will bite. They are capable of terrible damage, as seen from the infamous incident with Travis and Charla Nash a few years ago.

Thankfully, last week CJ’s owners decided the best thing for her would be to send her to a reputable sanctuary that would be dedicated to providing quality lifetime care. Chimps, Inc. has agreed to take CJ and give her a home where she can be with other chimpanzees and live in an environment that will fit her needs.

This is great news for CJ, but it is also a reminder of the remaining chimpanzees in the U.S. that are kept as pets and used for entertainment purposes. Chimpanzees are portrayed on TV and in movies as cute and cuddly attractions, which seriously misinforms the public about the true nature of these beings and perpetuates the pet trade.

This problem is not just unique to chimpanzees—monkeys are also very prominent in the media, and it is estimated that thousands of monkeys are kept as pets in this country. Unfortunately, NBC is planning on airing an entire series featuring a capuchin monkey, Crystal, in their upcoming premiere of Animal Practice. Although the show doesn’t start until the fall, NBC is airing a special sneak preview episode immediately following the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games on Sunday night. Please don’t watch it, and tell your friends not to also! Read this Action Alert to find out how you can speak up for Crystal. Post on the show’s Facebook page, send tweets to your followers telling them not to watch it, and send an email to the Chairman of NBC expressing your feelings about the exploitation of Crystal.

Sadly, this show will only perpetuate the unfortunate pet trade when people watch a monkey living with a human for a companion. The truth is that their complex social, psychological, and physical needs simply cannot be met in a human environment. Nonhuman primates are not meant for our world, and captivity is never an ideal place for any monkey or ape. Take Action today to help Crystal (and join our mailing list, too, to get alerts right in your inbox).

Bouncy Bridge!

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The other day, volunteers from the Boy Scout Troop 336 from Federal Way finished up a fun bouncy bridge (I can speak from experience because Jackie and I just had to, for safety reasons of course, test it out. There is no video of that, however). The video we have is a combination of footage we took from the chimp house and also the chimps’ view from the GoPro camera. Thanks so much to the Boy Scouts for putting this together! I can’t wait to see wild games of chase on the bouncy bridge.