Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Animal Welfare

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!

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

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It’s been a few weeks since Honey B, Willy B and Mave arrived from Wildlife Waystation, but it’s only been a few days since the Cle Elum Seven got their first glimpse of their chimpanzee neighbors.

The new arrivals get to access the outdoor tunnel (left) that will soon connect to the Young’s Hill enclosure.

As a staff, we’ve already noticed and discussed interesting patterns of behavior between the two groups. For example, Jody and Willy B have been spending considerable time staring at each other through the window. The three new arrivals have remained relatively composed and seem to be calmly sizing up their new acquaintances, while the seven original residents seem to be more excited. There was a huge mess by the windows in the Playroom this morning, indicating that the chimpanzees spent a lot of time looking outside at the adjacent tunnel.

The Playroom was trashed this morning.

Today was a bit unusual because we needed to briefly close off the outdoor tunnel and Young’s Hill for two separate maintenance projects. This meant that the groups were temporarily unable to see each other. Instead, Willy B. spent some time in front of the Howdy Door and made some noise to advertise his presence. On the Playroom side, Burrito and the others put on a concert of displays, screams and hoots.

Willy B. watches the Howdy Door, listening to the chimps on the other side.
Burrito’s hair stands on end, expressing his excitement.
Missy hoots.
Burrito hoots and displays in the Playroom.

For the seven original residents, checking in on the new cohort of chimps has taken up a lot of their time and effort, but has not completely derailed their usual activities. They enjoyed a lunch forage on Young’s Hill once the maintenance was complete, and Missy dominated the field by gathering up all the celery and bringing it into the Greenhouse.

Missy finds celery.
Missy carries celery.
Missy consumes celery.
Missy thinks about celery.

Also, naps happened.

Foxie naps with a doll.
Neggie naps with breakfast and blankets.

Now that the initial shock of seeing unfamiliar chimps has passed, the Cle Elum Seven seem to be monitoring their neighbors just as they keep tabs on the surrounding pastures, the volunteers, the tomato garden, and the refrigerator. The caveat is that these three new additions to the environment are also chimps, which means they are fully capable of responding right back.

Burrito looks out of the Playroom window at the chimps in the tunnel.

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.

Door Drama

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The seven resident chimps have something new to occupy their time: neighbors.

With Willy B, Mave and Honey B settling in next door, Burrito and the gang were busy trying to peer through the cracks above and below the Howdy Door. Last week, we locked a metal insert into place so that the door is a solid barrier while the new arrivals are quarantined. This additional surface restricts their ability to interact and see each other, but chimpanzees from the two groups can still hear each other. This is especially noticeable whenever a chimp displays or hoots and the individuals in the adjacent area react accordingly.

As seen in the above video, Foxie was particularly nervous about the door today. She kept returning to it and listening until something happened to make her retreat. Burrito was also inspecting it periodically, usually with his hair piloerect.

On the other side, Willy B seemed interested in the door and occasionally drummed a response. Mave has a habit of politely knocking on the door with her knuckles. So far, only Honey B seems more invested in watching the human caregivers and exploring her new surroundings.

As the days go by and the quarantine period progresses, the prospect of beginning the introduction process grows closer. It’s difficult to determine how each individual will fare when allowed to meet a complete stranger. The Howdy Door and adjacent enclosures will help the integration of the two groups to be a gradual and controlled procedure, enabling us to cater the environment to each chimpanzee’s needs and preferences. This way, when the doors finally open and the groups merge, none of them will be strangers anymore.

Missy’s 44th Birthday

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Missy had a tomato-filled birthday yesterday! Watch the video (with Jody pop-ups) to see Missy enjoying her day.

The three new chimpanzees continue to charm us all. We’ll be sharing more stories about them in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. We’re so very grateful to have had this opportunity to get to know them and to have cared for Missy and her six friends for the last eleven years. Each of these chimpanzees is so very unique and special, and it’s a joy to see them discover themselves at the sanctuary.