Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Eye Contact

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Eye contact can be a powerful and effective way of communicating between individuals. Sometimes all it takes to form a deep and everlasting connection with someone is to stare into each other’s eyes. No words need to be exchanged to solidify the connection or explain what the other is thinking. A long gaze into each other’s eyes can act as a recognition of kindred beings; an exchange that allows for acceptance of one another.

Sharing such an intimate act as eye gazing with each of the chimpanzees here at the sanctuary is something I truly cherish. It has helped create and solidify a bond of friendship, connection, acceptance and compassion over the years.

I understand that many of you may not have the chance to personally look into the eyes of a chimpanzee, so I wanted to share with you as best I can what it is like to look into the eyes of these seven magnetic beings.

Can you guess whose eyes are whose?

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You Win Some, You Lose Some

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Jamie lost a fight this morning. (Don’t worry – only her pride was injured.) Volunteer caregiver Denice and I were cleaning the playroom when shrill screaming broke out in the front rooms. I didn’t see what started the fight, but once I got to a place where I could observe, I could tell that some of the chimpanzees had a bone to pick with Jamie. Because Jamie is the alpha, it takes a lot of guts to stand up to her. Sometimes it seems that once one chimp works up the courage to tell Jamie what’s what, the others are more likely to join in.

During this morning’s dispute, Negra, Jody, and Annie had Jamie cornered in one of the front rooms. (Foxie and Burrito were doing their best to stay out of things, and Missy was hedging her bets and backing everyone up.) While most fights don’t actually involve a lot of physical contact between the chimps, there is always a lot of screaming and posturing. Eventually, everyone will say what they need to say, someone will back down, and the fight will be over. This morning it was Jamie who backed down; there really wasn’t much she could do against Negra, Jody, and Annie’s trifecta of fury.

Jamie runs a tight ship around here, and it’s not surprising that once in awhile the other chimps reach the end of their ropes and let her know. But I always feel a little sorry for Jamie when this happens. Her sense of self is completely intertwined with her dominance, and it can’t feel good to lose the control she works so hard for, even for a moment. Imagine that it’s your job to manage an office full of employees, typically obedient, who one day revolt against you without warning. You’re likely to feel angry, unsettled, and a little afraid.

But if there’s one thing we know about Jamie, it’s that she never loses her footing for long. After today’s fight she spent some time outside to clear her head:

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and then took a rejuvenating rest.

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Take Action Tuesday: One Direction’s wrong turn

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Last month, we sent out an action alert about the band One Direction’s new music video with a chimpanzee named Eli. Several advocacy groups, experts, and supporters from around the world wrote to the band, but so far we haven’t heard any kind of commitment from the boys to avoid working with apes in future productions. Since their new album is releasing next week, we want to continue to put pressure on the band and ask that they make the pledge before their album release—and until they do, we will spread the word to fans and tell them not to buy the album.

Many of our readers are aware of the tragic lives of chimpanzees in entertainment—chimps like Jamie, for instance, live with trainers when they are young and when they are too big to be managed, they have to live inside a cage for the rest of their lives. Jamie is lucky to have reached a sanctuary, but many others have not had that chance. Some of Eli’s trainer’s former chimp “actors” have been cast off to decrepit roadside zoos. The trainer himself, Steve Martin, has been cited numerous times for things such as failure to have an environmental-enhancement program to promote the psychological well-being of primates, failure to supply adequate shelter from the elements and inadequate ventilation, failure to provide animals with minimum space, filthy cages, and improper feeding.

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We’re so disappointed that the One Direction band members are promoting the exotic animal trade rather than using their celebrity statuses to protect chimpanzees, who are critically endangered in the wild.

We urge you to continue to put pressure on One Direction to remove the photos and promise to never use apes again. Please post on their Facebook and Twitter pages and let them know that chimps like Eli should not be used in entertainment. Not only are there numerous welfare concerns, but seeing chimpanzees in close contact with humans perpetuates the idea that they can be treated as pets.

You may also send a letter to the band c/o Lisa Wolfe at [email protected]

Sample Comment on One Direction’s Facebook:

I am disappointed to see that One Direction went ahead and included clips with Eli in the Steal My Girl video, despite hearing from concerned advocates. Chimpanzees do not belong in music videos and you should know that Eli’s trainer is cited for dozens of animal welfare violations (www.eyesonapes.org/eli). Showing these images perpetuates the idea that chimps make good pets. Please make the compassionate decision pledge to never exploit great apes for entertainment purposes again. I won’t be buying your new album until you make that promise, and I’ll tell all my friends to do the same. Thank you for your consideration of my comments on this urgent matter.

Sample Tweets to One Direction:

@OneDirection sad to see Eli in #StealMyGirlVideo. I won’t buy your new album until you pledge to never use apes again! www.EyesOnApes.org/eli

@Louis_Tomlinson @zaynmalik Eli had a nasty chain on his neck in the #StealMyGirlVideo pics! Please promise you won’t work with apes again.

We would love to see Eli and all remaining chimpanzees in entertainment reach a sanctuary, so they can receive the lifetime quality care they deserve and get a second chance at life like Jamie. We’d love to hear stories about sanctuary life someday for Eli and others like this one of Jamie:

This morning, new volunteer caregiver-in-training Lizz kept Jamie busy for quite awhile by dropping a piece of banana just outside the fencing. Jamie first used a magazine, but when that didn’t help much, Denice gave her a plastic tube which was much more helpful. Once she got the banana up against the fencing she used her fingers to delicately move the banana to spot where she could pull it through. We’ve talked a lot before about Jamie’s knack for projects and keeping busy, but when she’s not working on various projects—she’s quite talented at nest-making, and consequently, nap-taking.

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The final thing you can do to help Eli is to spread the word! Please share this blog on social media and encourage your friends to speak up for him, too.

Kongs for Evening Enrichment

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Another one of our evening enrichment puzzles is putting nuts, peanut butter or mashed up banana into holes in kongs. The chimpanzees use their fingers or a tool (or a combination of both) to get at the tasty treats inside, but sometimes the treats can be pretty tough to get out.

Jamie spent the better part of the morning working on her kong that was left over from the previous evening. Evidently, there was a hazelnut that was trapped inside and she could not free it. She tried using all the tools at her disposal, including her finger, her tongue, the arm of a troll doll, and a short wooden tool. When none of them worked I offered her a hard plastic chop stick to use.

Taking in the view

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Negra spends a lot of time in front of windows. She has a few spots that she seems to have claimed as her own, all with great vantage points for watching the goings-on of the sanctuary property.

Her usual spot is in the catwalk in the playroom—from that window she can watch the cows, horses, goats, and elk wander about, the humans walking around the hill with Jamie, the cars drive along the highway, and the train go through the river canyon below. It’s a pretty great view so I understand why she spends a big chunk of time watching from there. Another spot she has claimed is in the corner of the greenhouse by the Young’s Hill raceway, which is actually the same view as her catwalk spot.

To get a look at the other side of the property she has a spot in front of the highest window in the loft area, and the same view can be seen from the window immediately below the loft, in one of the front rooms. This is the first place the chimpanzees had a chance to look outside when they first arrived at the sanctuary.

When I found these photos below on our computer from a couple weeks ago, the look in Negra’s eyes as she gazes out the window is all I could think about. And it made me think about the day the chimps first arrived. Though I wasn’t here that day, I anxiously waited for this very special blog post announcing that the chimps were in their new home (with a picture of Negra at the same window) and one from the next day including a video of Negra leaving her transfer cage, entering her new home, and greeting Sarah.

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We can’t ever know what must go through Negra’s mind as she’s gazing out at the valley below, or watching staff, volunteers, visitors, or delivery people come and go from the other side of the building. Whatever it is she’s pondering, I would imagine it’s much different than when the chimps first arrived. Those first few days I’m sure it was thoughts of wonderment, curiosity, and even fear of the unknown. I hope now that her thoughts are more about what she might see Ellie up to today, or who’s walking up the driveway to visit, or how long the train will be this time.

Evening Enrichment

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Each day we put out various enrichment items for the chimpanzees based on some sort of theme like “tea party day” or fort day”. These enrichment items include things like blankets, dora and troll dolls, boots, wooden and plastic toys, containers etc. This way the chimps can choose to use or not use the enrichment items throughout the day.

Each evening, after serving dinner and before turning out the lights, we also give the chimps some sort of puzzle to work on. The evening enrichment is aimed at keeping the chimps (mostly Jamie) occupied. The evening enrichment sometimes includes kongs with a few nuts inside, raisin boards, hanging puzzles, drink buckets.

Last night, we put out drink buckets for the chimps. This involved filling each bucket half full with water and adding in a few slices of tangerines (other nights we may use slices of lemon or lime). We set the buckets outside of the front rooms and playroom and gave each of the chimps a long “straw” to use to get at the flavored water.