Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.
We give out over 70 fleece blankets each day so that the chimps can sleep in clean, comfortable nests. Night nests are usually built up off the ground on the catwalks in the playroom or on benches in the smaller front rooms. Sometimes the chimps sleep near each other, other times they seek privacy.
Annie often gathers blankets from the playroom and front rooms to build her nest on a front room bench. Its takes a lot of work to get the nest just right.
We’ve reached the time of year where the days are still warm but the mornings are cold enough to remind you that summer’s days are numbered. When I arrived at the chimp house this morning I had trouble finding Negra. After calling her name a few times, she poked her head out of this mountain of blankets in the Greenhouse just long enough to greet me with a few soft grunts.
Before long, a breeze had cleared out the wildfire smoke that had settled overnight and things began to warm up. Jody and the gang took to the hill to enjoy some sunshine.
The chimps had a surprise treat at lunchtime. Volunteer Patti brought watermelon and Field Roast veggie dogs so that the chimps and their caregivers could have an End of Summer party.
Foxie was still on the hill with Jody when lunch was brought out. When she came back and saw what was on the tray, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Without context, the behaviors and body language of fear and excitement can be difficult to distinguish in chimpanzees. Foxie grimaced, baring all of her teeth, and sought reassurance from the other chimps and her caregivers. When chimpanzees are overwhelmed with emotion, good or bad, they seek comfort in their friends.
It was also Patti’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Patti!). We wholeheartedly endorse this idea of bring food to us on your birthday, Patti, and hope that it is the beginning of a new trend wherein anyone who has a birthday brings us lunch.
Even party lunches have to end with bags of primate chow, lest we upset The Queen. By lunch, Negra had shed all of her blankets except for the bare minimum needed to maintain a sense of comfort and security.
Chimps nibble on certain foods, while other foods are almost always stuffed into their mouths as though they are trying to set a Guinness record. Primate chow makes excellent wadge material and the chimps often chew it into a thick paste and spit it back into their hand periodically to admire their handiwork. Missy has additional reasons for stuffing her face with chow – it’s much harder for Negra to steal pieces out of her mouth than it would be if they were still in the bag…
Normally the humans around here lament the end of summer but this year feels different. It’s been hot and dry and smokey for too long. We’re looking forward to some gray, rainy days and the opportunity to throw on an extra blanket or two.
Today’s enrichment theme was “tea party” so we took that literally and made two types of tea for the chimps to enjoy after we had finished cleaning their castle.
Post-tea time was spent on important things like diving into the nesting position, staring at a troll doll, and some lazy play with friends. Watch the video with sound.
Who can resist being thoroughly charmed by these chimpanzees?
Evenings are a special time at the sanctuary. With their bellies full, the chimps choose spots to settle in for the night. They make elaborate nests with the 70 fresh blankets we give out each day. Their nest grunts are a chorus of contentment – a series of soft “hoo” sounds and low breathy vocalizations that signal to each other that all is well. Beside them or buried within their nests you can see some of their favorite things: For Burrito, his wooden toys; for Negra, her food puzzles; for Jamie, her cowboy boots; and for Foxie, her beloved troll and Dora dolls.
If you’re having a bad day, this should make you feel better:
Amazingly, this is only the second best video of chimps holding hands that you will see this week. If you haven’t yet, check out this story about Terry and Jeannie from our friends at Save the Chimps.
This post may reflect what I would like to be doing on this cold and damp day…
In any case, below are some photos – some oldish and some newish – of the chimpanzees getting snuggly with blankets. We give out at least 60 blankets a day. Sixty is a somewhat arbitrary number, but it’s based on the amount that we can successfully get washed in a normal day with our current washer. We (and the chimps) like fleece blankets, because they are very comfy and the wash and dry fast and easy.
As you probably know, Negra is never far from a blanket, and she often has one draped over her head and/or shoulders:
The photo above is on the holiday card available for purchase in our Zazzle merchandise store!
Missy sometimes “imitates” Negra’s blanket style, even nesting in Negra’s usual spots:
Always the athlete/acrobat, however, Missy incorporates interesting moves when she is nesting. For the full nesting sequence the photo below was taken from, see this post:
Jamie also occasionally sports a blanket over her head when nesting:
though she often chooses a sheet instead of a blanket for the job:
Jody is known for her nest making (she also likes straw nests – see this video from 2009 as an example):
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jody with a blanket over her head, but she still looks darn cozy when she’s curled up in her blanket nest:
Annie is also a nest builder, and can frequently be found gathering nesting material and moving it to another area:
Once she’s made her nest to her liking, she always strikes me as very satisfied:
Burrito and Foxie are not much into building nests. Though nesting has a strong instinctual component, it seems there is a period of learning involved. Both Burrito and Foxie do mostly what we call “phantom nesting.” Once in a while, Foxie will actively nest with blankets:
but more often than not, she has a more passive relationship with all of the blankets we give out:
Burrito is also more on the passive side of the spectrum when it comes to nesting, though he does like to snuggle up, particularly when someone else has done the work of making the nest:
Let us not forget, blankets are not just for nesting, but can also be great props when playing too:
I hope this inspires you to get snuggled up in your own nest tonight, or maybe play a game of ghost with a friend?
I recorded several clips of happy nesting today. Like wadging, which was the subject of yesterday’s blog post, nesting is a fundamental behavior for chimpanzees both in the wild and in captivity, which is why we make sure that the chimps always have lots of materials (blankets and straw are favorites) so they can choose to create their beds no matter where they are. Watch the video below!
