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bamboo

A Spoon Full of Sugar

February 18, 2025 by Krissy Brasfield

As many of you know, there are several chimpanzee residents at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest who need daily medication.  Some require medication related to heart disease, such as Burrito and Cy.  Some take medication for pain management, such as Foxie and Negra.

So, how in the heck do we get chimpanzees to take medications?

You know what they say, just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down!

Most of the chimps are pretty easy, and take meds in a bit of Gatorade, such as Foxie, Terry, Lucky and Dora.   A few are a little fancy and want their meds in grape juice only, such as Cy, Burrito and Mave (I don’t know why I consider grape juice fancier than Gatorade, but I do!).  And then we have Willy B, Negra and Honey B.  We have to get creative with these chimps!  (In their defense, Willy B and Honey B are on several meds, and they change from time to time, so it’s understandable that they would require occasional changes to the meds recipe.  Oh, and Negra, well, she’s the Queen!)

We’ve been using honey pretty regularly these days with Willy B and Honey B and, knock on wood, we’re having some luck!

Check out today’s video to see Honey B enjoying her new meds concoction!

Filed Under: Chimpanzee, Honey B, Veterinary Care Tagged With: bamboo, Honey B, Medication, Tools

Postponing Winter

October 27, 2023 by Jenna

Despite the sudden cooler temperatures (it was a crisp 33 degrees arriving to the sanctuary this morning), the sun was out and shining today. The sun felt so good and warm, that I thought it’d be a perfect day for a forage on Young’s Hill. Jamie, Missy, Burrito, Annie, and Foxie agreed with me and were happy to do a lunch forage out on the Hill. Negra requested her meal to be inside for a lunch party of one, presumably so she can be where it is warmer.

One of the highlights of the morning, as you will see pictured below, is Jamie drinking from her tiny teacup. We made up a Gatorade pool, which is one of Jamie’s favorite things, in their Playroom. The entire group usually sits down and drinks up. Jamie loves using a cup to drink from, but today it was especially funny to see her use the tiniest cup possible to drink from.

On the other side of the building, Cy’s group is also soaking up the sun in their Greenhouses, their chute, and the Bray.

Rayne:

Cy:

Annie:

Burrito:

Jamie:

Missy:

Rayne:

Drawing on a package we received from a donor 🙂

Filed Under: Annie, Burrito, Cy, Jamie, Missy, Rayne, Young's Hill Tagged With: bamboo, Burrito, Cy, foraging, Jamie, portrait, Rayne, stick, young's hill

Keeping things interesting

October 30, 2015 by J.B.

We’ve always considered Young’s Hill a work in progress. This was partly out of necessity, because it started as an empty horse pasture and it would have taken a lot of time and money to build everything at once. But it was also in part by design, because life in captivity can be boring, and adding even a few plants or a simple climbing structure to the hill each year keeps things interesting for the chimps.

The structure we built last weekend is a big hit.

Annie:

web_Annie_on_bar_look_away_YH_jb_IMG_0011

web_Annie_hang_bar_YH_jb_IMG_0015

web_Annie_swing_bar_YH_jb_IMG_0018

web_Annie_hang_bar_YH_jb_IMG_0020

Foxie:

web_Foxie_climb_down_troll_bar_YH_jb_IMG_0078

web_Foxie_climb_bar_troll_YH_jb_IMG_0066

web_Foxie_sit_top_bar_YH_jb_IMG_0068

web_Foxie_hang_bar_troll_YH_jb_IMG_0072

Jody has been sampling the new bamboo plants, but it seems they are best enjoyed while relaxing in the greenhouse, so each day she breaks off a new cane and hauls it downhill. Yet another reason why we need to keep planting more…

web_Jody_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_0033

web_Jody_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_0039

web_Jody_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_0046

web_Jody_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_0052

Filed Under: Annie, Foxie, Jody, Young's Hill Tagged With: bamboo, browse, chimpanzee, climbing, forage, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, structure, young's hill

Taking it as it comes

September 26, 2015 by Diana

Today was a little different. I don’t think there’s any such thing as normal, ho-hum day in the chimp house, but some days stray more from the routine than others.

This morning we set up the Summer Lovin‘ party in the greenhouse. Big thanks to everyone who gave for Summer Lovin’ during our recent Summer Biddin’ online auction!

I chose to have the party today because I knew the chimpanzees wouldn’t have Young’s Hill for all or most of the day, and I figured they could use a party to distract them from this. It was for good reason – a team of volunteers were helping J.B. plant some new bamboo on the hill and hang new fire hose!

The party was a blast, and Anna and I took a lot of photos, which kind of put us behind schedule by a bit.

Below are just a few of the photos we took.

 

The beach-themed Summer Lovin’ Party set-up. Volunteer Lizz and Anna set up the party. The “cocktail” was fresh pressed watermelon juice and seltzer water.

summer lovin set-up

 

Negra with one of the beach ball pinatas:

Negra holding beach ball pinata

 

Missy with a lime, a cocktail umbrella, and a coconut:

Missy in windowsill with cocktail umbrella and coconut

 

Jody who got and held on to the top of the pineapple (you can see it sticking up behind the beach ball pinata – she’s holding it with her feet as she eats a peanut from the pinata):

Jody eating peanut

 

Burrito with a coconut and Foxie in the foreground:

Burrito and Foxie

It was fun watching the chimps enjoy their party as the volunteers were hard at work planting bamboo on the hill.

Saturdays is one of our disinfecting days, and that takes longer than just a regular cleaning, so the whole day we stayed behind schedule. Which was fine, really – the schedule is just an outline for the day, not something to be adhered to with fanaticism.

The good news is that the chimps did get to go out onto the hill in the late afternoon. We put out a forage of roasted corn, which was a big hit, tomatoes, and onions.

 

Annie on “round two” looking for more forage:

Annie foraging

 

Jamie enjoying the corn:

Jamie eating corn

 

After the dinner forage, Missy decided to check out the new fire hose and the bamboo. J.B. got these photos of her:

Missy sitting on new fire hose

Missy reaching for bamboo

Missy with new bamboo in mouth

 

And then there was Jamie, who needed to make up for the time she didn’t have on the hill today. So, I’ve spent the last couple of hours walking around the hill with her.

Jamie walking by the memorial walkway.

Jamie walking around hill, memorial stones in foreground

 

Sometimes it’s impossible to both please your boss and get all of your work done… so, I haven’t yet put together the video clips from the party with a thank you to everyone who gave summer lovin’ donations.

But that just means you have something to look forward to tomorrow!

Good night, everyone – from the Cle Elum Seven, who are all now sleeping, and their human crew.

Filed Under: Annie, Jamie, Negra, Party, Sanctuary, Thanks, Young's Hill Tagged With: bamboo, chimp, chimpanzee, corn, csnw, northwest, outdoor habitat, pacific northwest, Party, Sanctuary, summer lovin'

All you can eat

May 15, 2015 by J.B.

Chimpanzees seem to have a pretty good sense of time. Even if we haven’t started preparing dinner yet, the chimps at CSNW begin to gather near the window to the kitchen around 4 o’clock. They want to see what’s on the menu and remind us to hurry things along. But every once and a while, it remains ghostly quiet as dinner time nears – no one blowing raspberries at us, banging on the caging, clapping their hands, or stomping their feet. When this happens, it usually means one thing: They’ve started on dinner without us.

Chimps in captivity rely on humans for so much. Those who were wild caught, like Negra and Annie, were torn from their families, deprived of their native cultures, and forced into complete dependence on humans. And in some ways, they were the lucky ones, because those born into captivity never even got to experience a moment of independence in their lives. So when they learn to take back a tiny bit of autonomy, as they do when they choose when and what they’d like to eat, it is cause for celebration. And with two acres and a greenhouse full of bamboo and native plants, the chimps are able to make these choices every day.

Eating plants is good for their health, too. Chimps in the wild eat large quantities of rough fiber in the form of shoots, stems, and leaves. And while I don’t think we know yet exactly what role all of these foods play in their diet, we do know that this type if roughage allows captive chimps to snack all they want without putting them at risk for diet-related illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.

There are currently seven species of bamboo growing on Young’s Hill, and the chimps harvest from them year-round. Surprisingly, the bamboo on the hill seems to be prized most for its leaves, and the chimps tend to leave the fragile (but I would imagine tasty) shoots alone.

web_Jody_wide_eyes_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_3720

A few other species of bamboo that are more sensitive to Cle Elum’s chilly winters do very well in the chimps’ greenhouse enclosure, and send up their tender shoots (Chusquea gigantea shoots seems to be a delicacy) as early as March.

web_27_jody_eat_bamboo

But in May, all of Young’s Hill becomes an all-you-can-eat salad bar. Even Negra will sit outside to snack on fresh dandelion greens.

web_Negra_eat_dandelion_YH_jb_IMG_2523

Missy, always on the move, takes hers to go.

web_Missy_dandelions_YH_jb_IMG_1864

Spring grass is a favorite of nearly all the chimps. Annie collects only the best blades to bring back to the greenhouse.

web_Annie_grass_mouth_YH_jb_IMG_1872

In mid-summer, some larger plants begin to grow. Most people would consider them weeds, but the chimps think otherwise. Jody likes mullein, which I imagine to be the equivalent of eating bitter craft felt, but Jody must have a more refined palette.

web_Jody_weed_v_thapsus_mullein_YH_jb_IMG_0320

Missy and a few others like prickly lettuce, which we mistook for dandelions for a while until we picked up some of their leftovers – they are just as prickly as the name suggests. Just like in the wild, captive chimpanzees will sometimes eat foods that are physically difficult to ingest. While many of the plants consumed by wild chimps have been shown to have medicinal value, such as the anti-parasitical Aspilia leaves, we don’t know if captive chimps are attempting to self medicate or are just eating adventurously.

web_16_missy_with_pile_of_prickly_lettuce_weeds

The bane of my existence is this wild mustard. It grows so big and tough that it will break your weed eater. But when it grows inside the chimps’ enclosure, it gets taken care of by nature’s weed eater, otherwise known as Jody.

Jody carry weed on head

 

The chimps could never live on these plants alone, even if they do supplement with the occasional live frog like Negra does. But they are important in other ways. Like tonight, when the chimps all disappeared onto the hill just before dinner, you could almost hear them saying:

To heck with the humans, let’s eat!

Filed Under: Annie, Chimpanzee Behavior, Food, Jody, Missy, Negra, Sanctuary, Young's Hill Tagged With: autonomy, bamboo, chimpanzee, choice, eat, forage, northwest, plants, rescue, Sanctuary, weeds, wild

Nature

September 5, 2013 by J.B.

The chimps all have different ways of interacting with the natural world. Jamie seems to revel in the opportunities that nature provides. If the rest of the gang would join her, she’d stay out all day hiking, climbing, exploring. There is territory to defend and there are squirrels to hunt (she hasn’t caught one outside yet, not for lack of trying).

web Jamie_on_log_bridge_YH_mountains_jb_IMG_4342

web_Jamie_on_log_bridge_mountains_look_at_camera_YH_jb_IMG_4369

Unfortunately for Jamie (but fortunately for the deer), some parts of nature will always be out of reach. When that happens, the best you can do is sit back and observe.

web_Jamie_watch_deer_GH_jb_IMG_4443

web_Deer_near_barn_IMG_4436

Jody loves being outside in the natural world, but sometimes she’d rather take hers to go. Every day, she breaks off a piece of bamboo and drags it inside so that she can enjoy it from the comfort of the greenhouse. To each her own.

web_Jody_breaking_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_4398

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Filed Under: Jamie, Jody, Young's Hill Tagged With: bamboo, chimpanzee, deer, hunt, nature, northwest, outdoors, rescue, Sanctuary

New bamboo on the hill

May 19, 2013 by J.B.

The site that we now call Young’s Hill was once just an empty horse pasture. Here it is in 2010, before we started construction:

YH before IMG_5898

A wide open pasture may be great for horses, but it’s awfully boring for chimps. And growing a forest from scratch takes a long time. Thankfully, we were introduced to Jackie Heinricher of Booshoot Gardens (now Provitro BioSciences) and she found a solution for us: bamboo!

We initially planted two groves on Young’s Hill and just recently planted some in the chimps’ greenhouse. It’s a great source of shade in the summer, and it’s also great for climbing, nesting, and eating.

Yesterday, we planted three new species of bamboo on the hill, including Phyllostachys nigra, which has beautiful black culms. All were generously donated to us by Provitro.

web Black bamboo grove YH IMG_2030

The chimps were really excited, though I admit it may have had a little to do with the corn, leeks, onions, and carrots that we spread around the hill.

web Missy pant hoot jody open mouth black bamboo YH IMG_8289

We’ve never heard the chimps so vocal on the hill before. As they foraged, everyone was pant-hooting with excitement.

web Negra eat corn jamie leeks jody open mouth YH IMG_8300

Foxie is always suspicious of new things, so at first she and Dora kept kept their distance from the new bamboo:

web Foxie suspicious of bamboo dora annie YH IMG_8312

And Jamie wasn’t quite sure what to make of it either:

web Jamie hold and inspect black bamboo YH IMG_8461

But soon everyone took a turn sitting under the new plants:

web Annie eat onion under black bamboo YH IMG_8452

web Jody sit with back to camera new bamboo YH IMG_8391

web Negra eat carrot new bamboo YH IMG_8384

web Jody bite black bamboo YH IMG_8405

Yesterday was a great day for all of us and Negra must have gotten caught up in the excitement because she did something we have never seen her do before: she climbed up onto the shaky bridge!

web Negra climb onto shakey bridge YH IMG_8359

Negra has lost over 10 pounds since coming to the sanctuary, and probably gained a lot of muscle, but she is still not in good enough shape to keep up with the activities of some of the other chimps. If she keeps this up, though, she may soon be giving Missy a run for her money!

web Negra eat carrot on shakey bridge black bamboo YH IMG_8367

We built a few of the structures on Young’s Hill specifically for Negra – they are close to the building and can be accessed without a lot of climbing. Maybe they’ll come in handy when she’s older because for now, Negra has decided that the whole hill is hers.

Filed Under: Annie, Construction, Enrichment, Food, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Negra, Sanctuary, Thanks, Young's Hill Tagged With: Annie, bamboo, booshoot, chimpanzee, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Negra, northwest, provitro biosciences, rescue, Sanctuary, young's hill

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