A peek inside the busy day of our staff and volunteers!
caregivers
The Greeting Committee
At the sanctuary, a way to know spring has officially ended and summer has kicked off is the Greenhouse panels coming down. The Greenhouse panels keep the Greenhouse secure in the winter months from snow and rain. It also maintains temperature quite a bit, which while helpful in the fall/winter, it would be quite brutal if we did not remove them in the summer. Once Washington gets warm enough, which is usually late May or early June, the Greenhouse panels come down and the chimps get to take in the fresh air and breezes, apart from being in their outdoor habitats and chute space. The Greenhouses are a popular hangout spot year-round, but the chimps definitely get excited for the panels coming off. Specifically this year with the panels coming off of Greenhouse 1, there was much excitement because it allowed Jamie’s group to watch Cy’s group more closely on The Bray and in their chute.
One of my personal favorite things about my job is the greeting committee every morning. Is it considered a committee if it is just one person? Either way, one of my most favorite things is driving up the driveway on my way into work and seeing Cy waiting to greet me in the Riverview Greenhouse. Some days, he sits there quietly and stares. Some days, he bipedal swaggers with excitement. I decided to record Cy’s morning greetings randomly so I could make a blog video about it. Apologies in advance for having to listen to my high-pitched, excited voice greeting Cy back!
Contact with the Chimps
Every time I meet a new person and explain my job to them, it is inevitable that they ask about how much contact I have with the chimps. Lots of questions come up, such as, “Do you hug them?”, “Do you hold them?”, or “So you just sit and hang out with them?”. If you are new to our blog and our sanctuary’s mission, the quick answer to all previous questions are NO. At all times, caging separates the chimps and the humans (unless they are under anesthesia). This is for everyone’s protection. Chimpanzees, on average, are 3-8x stronger than humans. Unintentionally (or intentionally), a chimpanzee could easily hurt us.
Any physical contact we have with the chimps is done in a safe manner based on strict protocols.
One example, is grooming. We often let the chimps groom us as it is a natural behavior for them to strengthen relationships and remove debris or parasites from one another. To groom with them safely, we will allow them to groom the back of our closed hand, with the chimp’s fingers fully extended, or use a tool from a safe distance.
Grace and Rayne demonstrating this perfectly:
Jamie grooming Grace with a tool:
We often also let the chimps groom our shoes. We have a few chimps (like Terry, Jamie, and Lucky) who absolutely love footwear. To let them groom our shoes safely, we will present our shoes to them from a safe distance (where they can only touch, not grab or pin). We do not put our feet up against the caging, but only close enough where they can touch the boots with their fingers extended.
Terry grooming boots:
Another way we may physically interact with the chimps is through play.
Burrito’s favorite game is to poke the back of our hands, as fast as he can. I’m sure you have seen many videos of this over the years. Again, to do this in a safe way, we ensure our fingers are tucked and Burrito’s finger is fully extended. We also make sure to not push our hand against the caging but only where he can reach us from a safe distance.
J.B. and Burrito:
Chad and Burrito:
Playing tug of war allows us to hold onto the end of a blanket or scarf from a safe distance, while still being fully engaged with a play session with a chimp. We make sure to not wrap the material around us in any way, to avoid unexpectedly being pulled close to the caging. We also ensure we are fully balanced on our feet before beginning to play. If the chimp pulls hard on the blanket to win the game of tug of war, we immediately let go so we don’t get too close to the caging.
Dr. Erin and Burrito playing tug of war
Food
We hand-serve all of the meals to the chimps. This is the best way to ensure each chimp is getting their own food portions. To serve the food in a safe way, we use two fingers to grab the item at the furthest point, and then push through the caging where the chimp’s hand awaits. That is quite hard to explain. Here are some pictures that show this process!
Grace serving Cy:
Anthony serving Foxie a smoothie (with his hand at the bottom of cup only):
Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT)
Positive reinforcement training is a wonderful tool to allow the chimps to participate in their own medical care. While doing PRT, we can do everything at a safe distance and we never put our fingers inside the caging.
Chad taking Mave’s temperature:
J.B. asking for Burrito’s foot during PRT:
So while we limit our direct physical contact with the chimps, it is for both parties safety, to respect their space, and to let them be chimps! If you do see content online or in-person where the humans are directly next to a chimpanzee without caging, you should be questioning the type of facility the chimp is in. It is not an accredited zoo or sanctuary if you are seeing this type of content.
A gentle reminder, primates are not pets.
Stay Awhile
Stay awhile! If you do, you might experience some beautiful, sweet, and/or relaxing moments.
I have noticed that the best moments of my day are when I spend time with the chimps and not rush to move on to my next responsibility. You may be thinking that I am stating the obvious, but our chimp house is BUSY and there is always a to-do list item waiting to be checked off. Sitting down and taking in your surroundings with Negra (like in the video) does not happen nearly as much as it should. Whether it be gazing into their eyes (like you will see with Cy in the video above), quietly watching them eat, witnessing an amazing play session, grooming together, or just spending time together separately, taking the time to be intentional with the chimps is so important. When I have stuck around, it almost always leaves me in a better mindset than I was going in. I’ll never regret those moments either. Enjoy today’s video of when I “stuck around”…
Photos from The Bray today!
Cy:
Lucky:
Gordo and Rayne – A Series:
BONUS! Yesterday, many trees got planted on The Bray. Keep in eye out for them in future pictures! Shout out to all the staff who aren’t pictured that put in work (cough Chad cough Grace)!
It’s Volunteer Appreciation Week!
It’s Volunteer Appreciation Week! Please join us in sending some love to our hard working volunteers at CSNW! Here’s a peek at some of our amazing volunteers in action!
Bonding with our Newest Caregiver
One of the most rewarding and fun aspects of being a caregiver is building the relationships with each of the chimpanzees. Our newest caregiver, Sabrina, has been working hard on creating bonds with the chimps. One of the best ways to form friendships with the chimps is participating in their favorite activities, such as grooming or playing chase. As you will see in today’s video, Sabrina is doing just that! Enjoy 🙂
Teeny Tiny Terry
Teeny Tiny Terry sits on a teeny tiny block,
Blowing raspberries at caregivers all around the clock.
Teeny Tiny Terry is goofy with his teeny tiny friends,
Hoping that his play sessions will never come to an end.
Teeny Tiny Terry and his teeny tiny tongue,
Greets every caregivers’ hand with nothing but love.
Teeny Tiny Terry loves eating his teeny tiny food,
Making sure everything in his mouth is evenly chewed.
Teeny Tiny Terry lets out a teeny tiny hoot,
Making everyone else follow in suit.
Teeny Tiny Terry and his teeny tiny toes,
Gets caregivers’ attention for drinks from the hose.
Teeny Tiny Terry has captured all of our teeny tiny hearts,
No one could ever imagine a life being too far apart.
Photo Captions:
1: Terry seems to have found the wooden block toys are the best chairs!
2: Terry and Mave play during lunch today.
3: Terry sticks his tongue out to greet caregivers in the morning.
4: Terry eats his chow biscuits during lunch.
5: Terry begins hooting as the others are doing as well.
6: Terry loves receiving drinks from hoses!
7: Terry and Cy!
Bonus photos of Honey B at lunch:
