Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp enrichment

Security Video of Mall Walkers

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As mentioned on Saturday, I have been working on putting together security camera footage from a couple of weeks ago that captured Honey B and Rayne “mall walking” along with some other fun highlights of that morning. I was able to finally figure out the technical issue with exporting the video, and I wanted to share it with you asap.

I just love that the chimpanzees have their own busy lives completely separate from us humans, and seeing them have so much fun makes all of the anxiety of integrating the two groups well worth it!

Observant watchers will note that the time as shown on the camera footage jumps when the scene switches to the black and white / night vision of the mezzanine. That’s because that particular camera is on a different camera system and the times between the two are about six minutes off. This made it a bit challenging to piece together all of these separate clips.

It would have taken me a really long time to label all of the chimpanzees, so you’ll have to use your best id skills to figure out who is who.

I hope you enjoy this extra long video!

 

A Little Negra for Your Day

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Today has been a blur of a day. We humans were very busy cleaning and doing other tasks around the Chimp House. Today really flew by. Luckily enough, Negra is my saving star for today’s blog!

This morning, when her group was given access to Young’s Hill, I was taken aback when I saw her out there so early in the morning.

There didn’t seem to be a motive to go out other than to just go out. As you know, when Negra does go out first thing in the morning, there’s usually a purpose (i.e. foraging for prickly lettuce). But every once in a while, we are gifted with seeing her just enjoying the outside.

As the the rest of her group went on their morning patrol, Negra stayed put. As they returned, she greeted everyone as they returned.

Negra seemed to be in such a great mood today. At lunch, she was offering kisses and wouldn’t allow me to leave her as caregiver Grace served her. Every time I got up, she would put her lips through the caging to offer a kiss, knowing I would stay.

As we speak, Negra is doing her tour of the Frisbee Puzzles that are hanging up in her playroom.

In fact, right now Negra is telling us that dinner time is rapidly approaching. She let’s us know by finding the best position that looks into the kitchen, bangs on the caging, and claps her hands, which is my cue to hurry things along.

Always for you, Negra!

Here are some bonus photos I was also able to get today.

Rayne in the Riverview Greenhouse:

Honey B plotting her next mischievous move:

Mave hanging out in the Riverview Greenhouse:

Burrito watching me through a mirror:

So I don’t forget

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As the newest staff member, I have spent the last four months building my relationships with the chimpanzees. I was fortunate enough to be a student intern here in 2019-2020 (up until the pandemic), which means I had previously met Jamie’s group, as well as Willy B, Honey B, and Mave when they were just a group of three. However, I was not trained to interact with the chimps as an intern, so all my relationships truly started when I joined as a staff member.

I do believe that knowing the dynamics of Jamie’s group previously, as well as having glimpses into the personalities of Willy B, Honey B, and Mave, has helped me transition into my role. Throughout my training and up until now, I have tried to be intentional with my time with the chimps. I want them to know I care and that they are my priority. I want them to know I am happy to be here. While some days cleaning takes up a lot of our time, every day matters to them. Even if I don’t spend quality time with each chimp every single day, showing up every day matters to them. Greeting them every morning and every time you see them matters. Every little thing I have done has helped and will continue to help build my relationship with each of the chimps.

I have had a few moments recently that meant a lot to me, so I captured a photo during/after with my phone.

For example, Missy is very particular with the humans she chooses to interact with. She would much rather spend time with her chimpanzee friends. The other day, I went out to the Greenhouse to play chase with Burrito and Missy was out there as well. She was looking out to Young’s Hill, appearing deep in thought. Out of nowhere, she flung her back around and pushed it up against the caging, which is a signal that she would like to be groomed. To say I was shocked was an understatement! This was the first time Missy had initiated an interaction with me. I took full advantage of the opportunity and groomed her back for several minutes. Burrito gave me a look like he knew it was unusual for Missy to interact with me and patiently waited until I was done before he started playing chase again.

I captured this photo with my phone after so I would never forget this moment.

Burrito and Missy:

On Tuesday, it was a rainy day and everyone was absolutely stoked about it. The cooler temperatures, even for just one day, are so appreciated this time of year. During the afternoon, I went on a walk around Young’s Hill with Burrito. When we reached the top, Burrito sat down and was taking in the view. Or maybe he was letting me catch my breath after the steep incline, we may never know. Either way, it was a beautiful moment I knew I wanted to capture, so I would never forget.

A few days ago, Foxie dropped her dolls down to me. These are two of her absolute favorite dolls out of her collection. As you can see, they’re her brand new birthday dolls! You can tell they’re new if they still have clothes on (her preference). Something inside of me feels extra special when Foxie gives me the things she loves the most. I quickly snapped this photo while Foxie was waiting for me to toss them back to her, while sitting up in the “Loft” of their Playroom. I didn’t want to forget this.

To be honest, there are so many moments working this job that are so special. I’m sure if we asked all caregivers out there, they would all have photos like these ones so that they don’t forget the special moments. And mine are just from the past week!

*Bonus photo of Rayne – Here is proof that Cy is not the only fan of magazines!*

New Boot Goofin’

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It’s no secret that footwear here at CSNW is an important topic, one that is taken quite seriously. For example- a few months ago before I had my first shift, I had to pick out a pair of work boots online to be my chimp house boots. I am not normally that picky a person when it comes to fashion, but it took me longer than I would like to admit for me to settle on a pair of boots- I was way more concerned about whether Jamie and the other chimps would like my boots than I am about my normal day-to-day fashion choices.

A few weeks ago, a company named Planone reached out to us and asked if we would be interested in receiving a few pairs of their rain boots. They were super cute (and so shiny!) so of course we said yes! They came in the other day and the chimps have been very into them- Jamie, Honey B, Lucky, and Terry have been all about them since they saw them for the first time.

One of the pairs they sent us, a cream yellow short rain boot:

Check out today’s video for more on the chimps reactions! And thanks so much, Planone, for the gift! 🙂

Jamie, completely bliss-ed out about the new boots:

 

Wind and Willows

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Today we awoke to an entirely different climate from last week. Cooling wind relief rolled in overnight to Central Washington and we are enjoying a perfect (although blustery) day in the upper 60’s.  I even had to click on my car’s heated seats on my way to work!
Chad and I spent the morning cleaning the original side of the building and I sensed the chimpanzees were all enjoying the drop in temperatures. Jamie went for frequent explorations on Young’s Hill as she needed to check on J.B. and the progress being made on the new enclosure fence line.  She skipped a playroom cabbage forage and opted to go outside instead of letting me close of the Greenhouse for cleaning.  Meanwhile, Negra covered her head with a leopard print blanket to add that extra layer of comfort back into her nest.

I captured a few random moments from the day.

Portrait Studio Jamie:
Jamie examining her new book about Egypt (and mummies):
Here Jamie lovingly looks at her favorite book about Bonobos:
Since we didn’t get the Greenhouse closed off, we opted to put out some browse in the front rooms after we fully cleaned and disinfected them. Chad and Grace harvested fresh willow on the property and the chimpanzees eagerly collected the branches for consumption.  No one was more eager to eat the willow than Missy:
Missy even kept a good grip on her willow during a quick wrestling match with Burrito:
 
Jamie again:
Burrito:
Meanwhile on the other side of the building, Kelsi captured this pretty spectacular moment. We counted seven chimpanzees in this grooming puddle!!
“Home! That was what they meant, those caressing appeals, those soft touches wafted through the air, those invisible little hands pulling and tugging, all one way.”
-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Missy’s Big Harvest

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Missy harvested gold today! I was watching Missy looking around Negra’s cabin. She ever so slyly ran back into the greenhouse with something in her mouth. She had a good sized wasp nest! As Missy delicately ate the larvae her friends took turns food peering, except Jamie. Jamie found her own gold, leftover fingerling potatoes from a forage. She found a large handful and was quite pleased with herself!

I spy…

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Today, caregiver Anthony took off additional panels to the Greenhouse for Jamie’s group. In addition to more air-flow through the Greenhouse (which is why Anthony did this), this allows Jamie’s group a new angle to sneak a peak at Cy’s group (which is always very exciting).

As you can see, chimpanzees don’t spy very discretely.

Burrito:

Can you spot Foxie?

The seven typically like to spy on their neighbors through the Playroom 1 windows. The Playroom 1 windows give them a decent view of the Oakwood Greenhouse as well as one of the Playrooms for Cy’s group. Can you spot Burrito? He likes to set up a barrel for himself so he has seating.

I think his arm propped up on the window sill is a nice touch.

Don’t worry, Cy’s group was pretty unbothered by their nosy neighbors.

Rayne relaxing in the cool front rooms:

In our recent call out for questions or ideas for the blog, some wondered if the chimps still pay attention to the “howdy door”.

All the time!

For those unfamiliar with the “howdy door”, you can watch a video about the door here. It is a door that separates the two sides of our building and our two chimpanzee groups. Any time there is drama on one side of the building, it is nearly a guarantee that at least one chimp will try to see if they can get a peak of the action through small cracks in the “howdy door”. It is also not uncommon for the chimps to target the “howdy door” during their displays.

Willy B and “Howdy Door”: