Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

behavioral enrichment

Doll Wars: The Chimpire Strikes Back!

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A long time ago in a sanctuary far away…

The story begins with the great hero: Fox Hillwalker.

As a fearless defender of the Sanctuary Republic, Fox had learned the ways of the Enrichment Force, mastering this ancient art in order to maintain good chimpanzee welfare across the galaxy. Her weapon of choice was the Doll Saber, an elegant instrument of comfort and cheer that could be tossed, carried, and even used to scout distant worlds inhabited by strange creatures. Across the stars, Fox and her Doll Sabers were known for their extraordinary enrichment potential.

“I am no monkey!”

All was in balance until, one day, the ferocious leader Darth Jamie secured an especially powerful Doll Saber for herself.

Darth Jamie had already bent the peoples of the known universe to her will, offering them order and security in exchange for their obedience. (Those who did not submit met a messy and smelly fate.) By wielding the other side of the Enrichment Force, she trained an army of loyal boot-wearing caregivers to patrol the furthest reaches of the galaxy at her side, thus creating the First Galactic Chimpire.

“I find your lack of cool footwear… disturbing.”

Fox knew that the Doll Saber could not remain in the hands of such a powerful leader, but Darth Jamie was too powerful to take on alone, and her Chimperial associates would not turn on her lightly. Knowing that she would need friends if she hoped to win a rebellion, Fox ventured out in search of allies…

“I’m one with the Enrichment Force. The Enrichment Force is with me.”

First, she visited the palace of Negra the Hutt, a respected local warlord. Because she preferred dimly-lit comfort, Negra’s Palace was located near the galaxy’s heated core. When the bright sun rose above her planet that day, Negra grumbled something in her native tongue and closed the blanket shields, indicating that she wanted no part in the drama unfolding elsewhere. Fox knew she would have no success persuading Negra to leave her stronghold, and left alone.

“Ko rahto kama wahl bak? Bring me peanuts or leave my Playroom now!”

Further out in the galaxy, Fox encountered the charming renegade smuggler Han JoJo, but the latter had better things to do than get involved in politics. JoJo was more interested in pulling off unlikely stunts to acquire more vegetables. This was another dead end for Fox.

“Never tell me the odds.”

In the Greenhouse System, Fox ran into Annie-Wan Kenobi, a wise old master of the Enrichment Force. Annie-Wan advised Fox that Darth Jamie had become too powerful, and counseled that she let the Doll Saber go. She would not join Fox Hillwalker’s rebellion.

“Oh, I’m not brave enough for politics…”

Fox then reached out to an old friend, the bounty hunter Bubba Fett, who was cruising the Greenhouse System in his new spaceship. Despite biting off the tip of Fox’s ear long ago, the two were still friends. However, Fox was dismayed to find out that Bubba had recently aligned himself with Darth Jamie and was reluctant to join the rebellion. He briefly considered his friend’s intriguing proposal, but was quickly distracted by a passing caregiver and decided to play tickle instead. This is the way.

“I’m just a simple chimp trying to make my way in the universe.”

Fox’s last hope was Lando CalMissyan, a Chimperial magistrate who she hoped to turn against Darth Jamie. CalMissyan had grown rich in tomatoes by willfully submitting to Darth Jamie and enforcing her rule.

“Yeah, I’m middle-ranking these days. It’s the price you pay for being successful.”

When Fox went to CalMissyan begging for aid, the latter immediately went to the newly-crowned Chimperor and told her everything, reaffirming her boss’s trust. Darth Jamie was pleased.

“I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

The tables were turned. Fox now knew that she would have to face Darth Jamie alone if she wanted to wrest the Doll Saber from her grasp.

“I am a chimpanzee, like my ancestors before me!”

The two met in the Playroom Temple, a sacred place in which the Enrichment Force flows strongly, and began “aggressive negotiations.” Fox seized control of the Doll Saber, forcing Darth Jamie’s hand. There, they dueled for control of the sanctuary galaxy.

“Let her go, Fox!
“Let… her… go!”
“You turned her against me!”
“You have done that yourself!”
“You will not take her from me!”
” Your anger and your lust for power have already done that… now, you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.”
“I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Chimpire!”
“Your new Chimpire?”
“Don’t make me tickle you!”
“…my allegiance is to the chimpanzees, to sanctuary!”
“If you’re not with me, then you’re my enemy!”

The duel seemed like it would never end, until Darth Jamie took the high ground.

“I will do what I must!”
“You will try!”
“It’s over Fox, I have the high ground!”
“You underestimate my power!”
“Don’t try it!”

Suddenly, as the two were embroiled in the throes of combat, their combined power separated the head of the Doll Saber from its body. Just like that, the weapon no longer had any connection to the Enrichment Force, and both Fox Hillwalker and Darth Jamie lost the will to possess it as their own.

Soon after, the Sanctuary Republic and Galactic Chimpire began an era of peace and restoration. Former rivals met in the Greenhouse System to forgive each other and engage in affiliative rituals to rebuild their friendships. Once again, the chimps had brought balance to the Enrichment Force.

Little did Darth Jamie know, Fox Hillwalker was recruiting an army of Doll Clones to join her cause and overthrow the Chimpire!

The saga continues…

[Also, if you still haven’t figured it out, this post is a Star Wars parody, then I apologize. It’s mostly fiction. The chimps weren’t really fighting over dolls (or waging war on a galactic scale, for that matter), but Jamie and Foxie really did have an epic wrestling session this morning that resulted in a Strawberry Shortcake doll being decapitated! That’s actually pretty normal around here.]

Cuddle Puddles and Tricky Puzzles

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There was a lot of activity in the Chimp House on this busy Sunday, but this post just focuses on the happenings in the newer part of the sanctuary’s main building.

In that wing of enclosures, Honey B, Mave and Willy B have continued to settle in and seem to grow more comfortable with each passing day. Mave, of course, is an expert nest-builder and can make herself comfortable in any place, at any time, and with any partner. This was true on her road trip from California, it was true when we introduced her to a group of strangers, and it remains true each and every morning.

Willy B

During the late morning hours, Mave sprawled out on the heated floor in a beam of sunlight and lazily picked through the remnants of breakfast. She was soon joined by Honey and Willy in what became a massive raft of fuzz. Grooming is done for more than just hygiene and maintenance; it is the glue that bonds chimps together and also serves to alleviate stress. It certainly seemed to be doing all of the above as the three chimps took turns dozing off while gently picking through each other’s hair.

The Cuddle Puddle

Afterwards, though, the chimps began to act goofy and rambunctious. Lately, Willy B has been making raucous displays using a pink toy car that he can drag and push around the front rooms. Last week, he used this unusual object to make constant noise for the entire duration of our weekly staff meeting. Even with the doors between the chimp area and the foyer closed, we still had to shout just to hear each other. He continued to drag the little car around today, but he seemed to be in a good mood. He interspersed the loud drumming with quick play sessions. During these bouts of play, Willy waits for a caregiver to approach the caging and then skips away with his characteristic double stomp serving as a figurative exclamation mark. I tried to take photos of him and Honey B chasing us around the building, but both were fascinated by the camera and kept trying to groom and kiss the lens.

Honey B’s intense stare
Honey B’s nose hairs
Willy B’s pink lower lip
Willy B’s nose hairs and inquisitive gaze

The day ended with a challenging set of enrichment puzzles that today’s volunteer crew worked hard to stock with nuts, seeds and raisins. Chimps don’t seem to have the finely-tuned dexterity that most humans have, but they still tend to do quite well for themselves and can even learn how to use simple tools for grooming and foraging.The three new chimps were skilled with such tasks long before the even arrived at CSNW, but it’s still fascinating to watch them solve the puzzles in order to extract the valued snacks that are tactfully hidden inside. Today’s smörgåsbord of hanging puzzles included raisin boards, boomer balls, shake bottles, and drop-down puzzles; each type requires a different perspective and strategy, but the chimps are intelligent enough to figure most of them out eventually. The seven original residents are experts at these tasks and even last year’s arrivals are not far behind, so the pressure is on us caregivers to devise novel challenges that also meet our standards for safety and durability. Kelsi recently highlighted some enrichment activities on the blog, and we also curate a public enrichment database on our website.

Honey B teases peanuts out of a ball puzzle
Willy B shakes nuts and raisins out of a bottle puzzle
Willy B uses a plastic tool to drag the raisins into the enclosure for optimal snacking accessibility
Honey B uses a chopstick to work raisins out of the board puzzle
Honey B successfully punches a raisin out of the board

Provisioning the chimps with a steady stream of enrichment objects, foods and materials is a massive endeavor. For blog readers and Facebook followers, the best ways to ensure the chimpanzees have ample enrichment are to purchase items directly from our wish list or to become a Chimpanzee Pal. As Diana highlighted yesterday, an amazing supporter will be giving us bonus donations for every new Chimpanzee Pal and Bovine Buddy who signs up before the end of this month. Honey B, Mave and Willy B (the three chimps mentioned in this post) are all available to be sponsored. Of course, we appreciate all the generous people who have already made contributions to the sanctuary!

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P.S. I mentioned that Mave is an expert at maintaining a constant state of warm comfort. As I sit here putting the finishing touches on this blog post, I can see her silhouette on the security camera. Even with the limited night vision, her Ewok frame and hobbit feet are easy to distinguish. She’s snuggled up in a giant blanket nest on the heated floor of Front Room 7 and her right leg is propped straight up on the caging. She’s one of a kind.

P.S.S. Mave just lazily rolled over and I’m shutting down the Chimp House for the night. It’s easier to leave when you know that the chimps will be safe and warm in their nests until morning. I hope that you all do the same!

The Gang Goes Counterclockwise

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Chimpanzees thrive on routine.

Of course, we don’t want every day to be exactly the same for them. As caregivers, we strive to provide the chimps with an enrichment program that balances variety and predictability, which is a never-ending challenge. The result is that we work hard each day to facilitate a range of new experiences for the chimpanzees within the framework of a regular schedule. Knowing what’s going to happen next helps the chimps to plan ahead, make choices, and be agents of their own comfort and happiness.

Jamie enjoys boomer balls, an enrichment device that we prepare once every few weeks. The chimps get some form of enrichment device each morning, but the type varies from day to day.

With so many new events occurring at the sanctuary, sticking to a familiar routine also seems to help the chimps adjust to each change. For example, even though Jamie and the Girl Gang are now residing in a previously unfamiliar area of the Chimp House, we still provide them with their favorite enrichment items at the same time each morning, serve their meals on the same schedule, and open the hydraulic gate each day so that they can explore Young’s Hill.

Fall at the sanctuary (Note: there’s a wild Nutmeg hidden in the background)

We’ve had some perfect fall weather for the past few days, and the Girl Gang (Annie, Foxie, Jamie, Jody and Missy) have been eagerly spending time outdoors. Just this weekend, J.B. and a group of committed volunteers built a new multi-level wooden structure on Young’s Hill. As Kelsi noted yesterday, the females were quick to investigate this new addition to their habitat. Even though nobody modified or enhanced the structure overnight, the girls needed some extra time today to reacquaint themselves with the new tower.

Annie warms up in the sun.
Foxie surveys the landscape from the highest perch.
Jamie conducts what appears to be an OSHA inspection.
Jody squats on the fresh grass growing around the tower.
Missy hangs out on the lower deck of the multi-tiered platform.

The new structure is located near the entryway into the chute. Now that they’re in the new area, Jamie and the others access Young’s Hill via the chute and therefore begin their patrols over on the southeast corner of the enclosure. Even though their patrols no longer start over by the Greenhouse door, they still walk in the same clockwise direction as they have since they first started exploring the Hill almost a decade ago. I have never seen them patrol in a counterclockwise direction. Just a few days ago, I jokingly asked J.B. if we could try to get Jamie to walk counterclockwise around the Hill with us. He dryly answered “No. You can’t do that.” We agreed that Jamie has a routine and it would be a crime to disrupt it.

So, when I opened the hydraulic door and the chimps hustled out of the chute onto the Hill, the unthinkable happened.

*** Imagine that the iconic jingle from the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia title card is playing right now ***

Anna and I were quite stunned when all five of the females started plodding their way uphill along the southeastern boundary of the enclosure. Missy led the charge, of course, but Jamie seemed a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. She started to follow the others, then fell behind, and was soon looking back at Anna (who was watching the events unfold from outside the electrified fence).

Sure enough, Jamie returned to the bottom of the slope and began to patrol in her normal clockwise pattern, gesturing at Anna to follow along. She encountered the others about halfway up the northwestern boundary and it was hella awkward. As Jamie trudged past each of the others, they had to stop and greet each other with a touch and a chimp kiss. Then they all just stood there, lined up along the fence, and watched her defiantly continue up the slope on her own.

Jamie passes Missy…
…and Annie…
…and Jody…
…and then leaves everyone behind…
…including Anna.

Jamie seemed a little off after that, because she abandoned her patrol, ditched Anna in favor of the Twister, and cut straight through the bamboo forest on her way back to the chute. Jamie can handle wildfires, social integrations and even snakes, but going counterclockwise around the Hill is too much.

This exemplifies the power of routine. Some chimps, such as Jamie, have personalities that seem to thrive on discipline and repetition. She likes to be in control. She did three patrols today, walking at the same pace in the same clockwise direction using the same path. The other four females, who tend to be more easygoing, didn’t seem scared by the idea of hiking the trail backwards.

Of course, there is the possibility that Jamie, like Derek Zoolander, cannot turn left. Let’s not rule that out.