Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

cattle

Be Mine, Betsy

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Lovely Betsy Cow is one of the bovine family of four we currently have at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Just like the chimpanzees, each of the cattle have their own very distinct personalities and roles within their group.

Betsy, as the video says, is the quintessential “mom” – much like Jody was for her chimp friends before she passed away.

Betsy is so motherly that she nursed Meredith when Honey had mastitis and she continued to let Nutmeg nurse for years, even after he was twice her size!

Also similar to the chimpanzees, Betsy had a varied past before reaching sanctuary. We know that she was used in the dairy industry for a number of years. We don’t know how many calves she had in total before she was purchased, along with Honey Cow, to be part of a reality television called Utopia where urban folks were brought to a farm in California to learn how to live a rural life. The series didn’t last too long, and when it ended, the producer wanted to send pregnant Betsy and the rest of the family to a sanctuary rather than back to the dairy. So, Farm Sanctuary was contacted, and pregnant Betsy, Honey, and baby Meredith went to their northern California sanctuary.

In 2018, after acquiring some more land, we were contemplating rescuing farmed animals to graze on the greatly expanded pastures. It just so happened that Farm Sanctuary was shutting down their northern California site and looking to place Betsy and her family!

Betsy is someone who I liked right away. Some animals (including humans) take a while to get to know and need a lot of space. Not Betsy. Though she’s she’s very vigilant, she is also curious and is usually the first to approach new people (and lick them, if they will let her).

She’s also the most likely to boldly walk out of her space if there’s a gate open (something Jenna and I both know well now), while the rest of her family watches with more apprehension. She has no hesitation going into the creek to eat the greens there or dunk her face in some mud.

I am so glad that Betsy found her way to us. She has brought me joy  since the day she stepped off the trailer.

Thanks goes to her admirers and current Betsy Buddies: Monica, Jackie and (human) Betsy.

You too can help us celebrate all that Betsy embodies by becoming her Bovine Buddy!

Become a Bovine Buddy

Be mine, Nutmeg

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Today we celebrate Nutmeg’s 9th Birthday! He came here to CSNW with his mom Betsy, along with their friends Honey and Meredith from a sanctuary in California. Nutmeg is a lucky guy since he has been able to live his entire life in sanctuary!

Here at CSNW Nutmeg likes to spend his day with his bovine family eating from the apple trees scattered around the property, getting head scratched from his human friends and enjoying his cob and applesauce for a treat!

 

 

You can read more about Nutmeg here!  Nutmeg is blessed to have two Bovine Buddies, Monica and Jackie, but if you are interested in joining them you can find information about the buddy program here!

 

Welcome Home, Meredith!

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Last week, we caught a break in the weather and were able to bring Meredith safely back home from WSU. While she has to remain confined to a pen in the barn for a short while during her recovery, she and her herd mates are happy to be together again. Notice in the video that you can see the exact moment when Honey realizes that Meredith is back…Mom sure missed her daughter.

Despite this, Meredith may actually wish she had stayed an extra week at the hospital, as yesterday we woke up to a temperature of -12.5F, which is the coldest I can remember in my nearly 16 years here at CSNW. Despite the extreme cold, the chimps and cattle are all doing well, and we’ve only had to deal with a few equipment freeze-ups so far. As a cold-climate sanctuary, we’re pretty well prepared for winter weather but these extremes certainly put all of our preparation to the test. In a couple days, we’ll climb out of these arctic temperatures and get to enjoy a regular old snow storm.

Caring for Meredith

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Meredith has always been a bit different from her herd mates — standing up when the others are lying down, facing east when the others are facing west, and so on — but this past summer we noticed that something other than her independent streak was causing her to lag behind her herd as they moved between pastures. By fall, a change in her gait became noticeable. Dr. Erin performed several evaluations, and Meredith even took a trip to the large animal hospital at Washington State University (WSU), but the veterinary team was unable to hone in on a specific diagnosis. Pain management and other therapeutics seemed to help, but not enough.

During her most recent exam at the sanctuary, however, Dr. Erin found radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in Meredith’s front right foot, which meant that we had an explanation for her discomfort and, potentially, something we could treat with greater focus. Dr. Erin consulted with several large animal veterinarians and Meredith was booked for another appointment at WSU.

Meredith, in the chute, undergoing a recent exam:

Dr. Erin obtaining radiographs of the feet and spine:

Amanda treating Meredith with laser therapy:

Another Dr. Erin (Erin Thorlakson, Family and Animal Chiropractor), evaluating Meredith, with Honey observing:

Nutmeg, Assistant to the Regional Chiropractor:

The treatment, known as facilitated ankylosis, would involve fusing the affected joints and would be performed by the veterinary staff at WSU. With everything arranged, we drove Meredith across the state again and the procedure was performed this past Tuesday.

Getting a cow to an appointment 3 1/2 hours away requires starting early, bribing the herd with hay and grain to sort them, and praying to the cow gods that Meredith will load into the trailer without problems:

One last safety check before we depart on our road trip:

Meredith on the exam/treatment table at WSU, surrounded by faculty veterinarians, residents, and vet students:

Dr. Oliverez performing an ultrasound on Meredith’s foot:

Right now we are making preparations so that Meredith can be on restricted activity for a while within her own cozy section of the barn. Weather permitting, we hope to pick her up on Wednesday and reunite her with her family. It will take some time before we can determine if or how well the procedure has worked, and she will likely have to make repeated trips to see her friends at WSU for follow-ups on this treatment and possibly treatments on other feet, but we are hopeful that she will be able to graze the upper pastures with her herd this spring.

Meredith’s home-away-from-home at WSU while she receives her treatment:

By the way, some of you may know that we’ve been hoping to acquire a more powerful portable ultrasound machine for many years now. Thanks to a a whole team of people, including a wonderful family in Montana, our favorite veterinary cardiologist Dr. Nelson, and supporters Brad and Becky (who generously donated the funds!), we were able to purchase a very lightly used machine from an estate at an amazing price.

Don’t forget to vote in the photo contest – it ends tonight, January 8th at 6:00pm Pacific!

 

Brrrrrrrr….itto

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It always takes me by surprise when there is a dramatic shift in the weather. Just a couple days ago we were sitting comfortably in 70º weather. Even just yesterday we were still in 60º weather. But the forecast today is a high of 45º and the rest of the week’s forecast is a little dimmer with the highs not expected to surpass 37º and the low expected to be around 15º by Friday night with some snow sprinkled here and there. This dramatic shift in weather doesn’t just surprise me, it surprises every one. I type this as J.B. is now running around winterizing the Chimp House to ensure the chimpanzees are warm and cozy.

Gordo watching J.B. putting up the winter panels to the Riverview Greenhouse

With the chimpanzees retreating to the warmest spots indoors, it was almost impossible to get any photos that weren’t worse quality than that one of Gordo. Or, on the flip side of things, trying to take a decent photo of a chimpanzee who is constantly in motion is also almost impossible.

Case in point: One Burrito Chimpanzee

The only decent photos I was able to get today are:

Dora and Lucky grooming

And the Marvelous Miss Mave

So to reminisce of warmer times, here are some photos from the past couple of days!

Terry sitting on a barrel and watching while Lucky grooms the back of my hand

Nutmeg and Betsy chowing down on some supplemental hay in addition to their grazing opportunities in the pastures

Ok. This next one to me is just the epitome of Dora and her relationship with others.

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Dora sitting above Mave and Honey B as they groom

Young’s Hill as I was leaving the sanctuary last night

After looking at that last photo again, in hindsight I should have seen the signs this kind of weather was coming up. We can only hope things get slightly better for Jamieween!

Speaking of Jamieween, there are still a couple of items left on our Amazon Wish List with just enough time to make it here for the party. But today is sort of the deadline for them to make it in time.

And lastly, a quick update! As some of you know, we use Tru Earth laundry strips. The people at Tru Earth were kind enough to gives our own fundraising page where 20% of sales will go toward the care of the chimpanzees and cattle. We just wanted to make people aware the link to our fundraising page has changed. Every purchase made at this link will have 20% of the purchase go towards the sanctuary!

The Cattle Apple Saddle

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Please join Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg for lunch! During the colder months, we supplement the cattle’s diet with grass hay, oat hay, and alfalfa. During the warmer months, other than the cattle’s other supplements that we provide, caregivers generally allow the cattle to roam and graze on whatever their hearts desire. In this video, Nutmeg and Meredith are eating some apples from the apple tree in their pasture, Betsy is munching on some willow near the pond, and Honey was just getting done grazing on some grass.

Here are some bonus photos from today!

With the weather holding out with temperate conditions, Negra’s group had a nice lunch forage on Young’s Hill.

Negra

Burrito and Foxie

Foxie

Missy

Here are some Bonus-Bonus photos!

Burrito

Foxie taking it easy

Annie making her bird noises

And Jamie taking notes

Recently, we added Sprout Pencils to our Amazon Wish List as a new type of enrichment. These pencils have a capsule full of seeds where the eraser is supposed to be. When you are done with them, you can plant the pencil and different types of plants are supposed to grow. There are still some on the Wish List if you would like to help us stockpile some of them for the chimps!

Mornings

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One of the best spots to build a morning nest is the upper platform in Greenhouse 1. From there the chimps can watch the sun rise over the trees above Young’s Hill as they wait for the staff and volunteers to bring them breakfast. Foxie’s nests aren’t really nests, per se, as she doesn’t like to lay on blankets or anything soft, nor does she like anything that even hints of being natural, like leaves or straw. It’s all bare floors and benches for this girl—but she is always sure to have a favorite doll tucked in close to her chest.

Negra, on the other hand, likes her nests well-padded. While her evening nests can be works of art, these morning nests are often hastily arranged. No matter, she barely awake anyway and it won’t take much for her to drift back to sleep.

If you climb to the ridge above Young’s Hill, you will find another pasture with a large spring-fed pond. This is where our small cattle herd spends much of their summer, often choosing to sleep under the stars instead of returning to their barn at night. This year I purchased some portable fences, which can be set up on a temporary basis to manage how the cattle graze the pastures. Early one morning I set some up to rotate the cattle through an ungrazed section of this upper pond pasture. It’s always a joy to see the cows run through a new pasture, especially one that still grows some green grass during these dry Central Washington summers.

Betsy:

Meredith: