Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp sanctuary

In memory of Ashley

by

Today, Cynthia McCloskey sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in memory of Ashley McCloskey:

“This day marks six months of missing Ashley. Ashley loved animals and we’d like to honor her memory today by sponsoring a day for the chimpanzees. She would love this, doing something for animals in her name. We love you and miss you Ashley! Hope all the chimps have a great day today. We love following their stories.”

Cynthia, we’re so sorry for your loss. Our hearts are touched by your choosing to honor Ashley in this way for the chimpanzees, thank you. We hope some of the comfort and joy you’ve helped provide the chimps surrounds you and all of Ashley’s loved ones as you hold her in your hearts today, and always.

Annie and Missy grooming one another:

Missy and Annie:

Annie:

Pre-Lunch Naps

by

After cleaning the enclosures today, I set off on my journey to find the chimpanzees and ask to take photos of those who were willing. On a normal day, they would be scattered about between their different areas. However, today was a little different.

With the weather bouncing back and forth between light rain and sunshine, it has brought the perfect conditions for napping. Throughout the entire day, it wasn’t too difficult to find any of the chimpanzees. A majority of them were found on the top platform in the Greenhouse, the perfect napping spot.

Annie gave me a quick glance over when I walked up, before rolling over to continue her nap.
Jody grabbed some blankets to ensure maximum comfort for her lounging around.
Even Jamie took most of the day off to lounge around. Even the Boss needs at least one day off from monitoring those pesky humans.

Though it seemed there was nothing that could ever convince any of them to get out of their perfectly cozy spots, lunch arrived and they all sprang up. On today’s menu was carrots, onions, and tomatoes.

Jody savored every bite of her carrot.
Burrito had some minor difficulties juggling his food.
But once he got it, he was in Noms-ville.

Most of the chimpanzees are now tucked away for the night in their nests. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring. Will it be another lazy day, or one filled with adventure.

Bonus photo of Annie enjoying her slices of dinner orange.

The After-Party

by

Chad and I were just watching Honey B sitting on a pile of enrichment as a dragon would perch upon piles of stolen treasure. Chad remarked “Honey B is the kind of person who would leave their Halloween decorations up for months afterwards.” He’s right.

With all of the celebrating we’ve been doing lately, we’re standing beside her decision to preserve her hoard. Heck, we’ll even help her out.

This past week, we celebrated Honey B’s first birthday as a resident of CSNW (her 31st overall). Then, we briefly paused to celebrate Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day with some vegan pizza and a group walk around Young’s Hill with the chimps. Finally, the festivities culminated in yesterday’s massive birthday bash to celebrate Negra’s 47th year on Earth (and her 12th as a fully-retired sanctuary resident).

In addition to reflecting on the twelve years since the chimps arrived, we’ve also been absolutely thrilled with the success of our virtual online event, the Queen’s Brunch, through which we will continue to provide for chimpanzees. If you’re inclined to bid on any remaining items or simply make a donation, the event is still going on! In light of everything that has gone on this year, we are blown away by how amazing our supporters have been. This most recent outpouring of contributions, along with all of the assistance we had received previously, has been incredible. Thank you.

Today’s blog features a video of Honey B looking proudly content amid the piles of craft paper, plastic toys and fleece blankets that are left over from her epic birthday party. As J.B. mentioned on Friday, Honey B was reluctant to leave her spread of enrichment items so the crew decided to put everything back as soon as they were done cleaning the floors. We continued that tradition today, and will probably continue to do so until Honey B is ready for some new experiences. For now, though, we’re enjoying the after-party as much as she is.

Happy birthday, dude.

Happy Birthday, Karen!

by

Julie Olson, and her sister, Karen Olson, have been a such wonderful friends of the chimpanzees for years, and today, Julie is sponsoring a day of sanctuary in honor of Karen:

“I want to sponsor a day for the chimps for my sister Karen’s birthday. She is the one who introduced me to the fact that the chimps arrived in Cle Elum in 2008. She is a huge animal lover and I know this is more meaningful to her than any present I could give her.”

Julie and Karen, you’ve both made a lasting difference in the lives of the chimpanzees and we’re so grateful to have you as part of their family. We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate your special day with you, Karen, and hope you have the most beautiful time of celebration! Happy Birthday from all of us here!

Burrito, always the life of the party:

Health and Happiness

by

Here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we take the physical health of our residents quite seriously.

Each day, the staff works as a team to make sure all of the essential tasks get done, and one necessary chore is the administration of medications to individual chimpanzees. Today, Chad was responsible for getting everyone their prescribed doses and recommended dietary supplements. Currently, we monitor conditions and treatments using paper forms that we then transcribe into a digital database. One of my ongoing projects is to coordinate our transition to a more modern system that allows us to record, discuss, warehouse, summarize and retrieve all of this information in a more centralized fashion. It’s a daunting endeavor, but I’m hopeful that it will enable us to be more efficient while continuing to provide the chimps with optimal health care.

The whiteboard, currently

Some of the chimps’ health concerns are chronic conditions that require long-term solutions. Burrito, for example, receives a daily cocktail of meds to manage his known heart condition. At other times, we may give chimpanzees short courses of anti-inflammatory or antibiotic drugs to help temporary wounds heal. It’s no secret that primates, even in the best conditions, occasionally have altercations that result in injury, so the number of individual chimps on meds waxes and wanes on a weekly basis. Right now, Jody and Foxie are being treated for unrelated, minor bite wounds located on each of their right feet. Jody’s injured foot is the same one that Dr. Erin investigated during her most recent trip to our on-site veterinary clinic. For the most part, though, the other chimps have been loyally serving as Jody’s primary “doctors” by keeping the site clean. Hygiene is almost always a group project for social primates such as chimpanzees, so it’s normal to see them tending to each other’s injuries as the lacerations and bruises slowly heal.

Annie (back left) and Missy (right) groom Jody (laying down)
Jody groomed Foxie a few weeks ago; what goes around comes around!

The cattle have also received some preventative health care lately. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with bovines, their feet are covered by cloven (two-toed) hooves. These structures are composed of keratin, just like claws and nails. The hooves of domestic cattle grow at a constant rate because their wild ancestors ranged across vast steppes and prairies; the constant travel across such rough substrate would gradually wear down their hooves if they didn’t offset the process with new growth.

Betsy, one of the four cattle

Modern cattle, especially those inhabiting large-scale dairies and ranches, need their hooves trimmed regularly since they generally roam over shorter distances and softer terrain. The CSNW cattle have been exploring and grazing a variety of areas since they arrived, including the sanctuary’s expansive South Pasture, so they don’t need trims as frequently as other cows. Still, they need to have their feet checked and their hooves trimmed at least once a year (although we delayed this last trim due to the public health crisis). Overgrown hooves could lead to further problems, such as painful split nails, so we scheduled a professional hoof trimmer to take care of them this past week. He was excited to help out a sanctuary and was awed by Nutmeg’s massive frame. In the beef and dairy industries, steers like Nutmeg don’t live long enough to reach that size. He took a selfie with Nutmeg to show his friends and family, and the gigantic bovine seemed to make a new friend.

The professional trimmer shaves down Honey’s hooves
Nutmeg licks the truck…

The trimming process is fascinating and, admittedly, a bit tense. The cattle have to be herded into a small corral and then led one-by-one down a chute into a tilt table. The tilt table firmly sandwiches them while they’re standing upright and then tips them on their side so that the trimmer can safely shave down the ends of their hooves. This step goes remarkably fast, though, and also gave Dr. Erin an opportunity to give the cattle their injectable annual vaccines. Within seconds, each cow is lowered back down and released. You’d think that they would be upset or afraid, but each of them seemed more interested in the trimmer’s truck and table apparatus. Nutmeg tried to sniff and lick everything, including the truck itself. Just minutes later, the cattle were already marching back to the pasture like nothing had happened.

…and does a blorp.

Of course, health involves much more than medications and procedures. Over the past few decades, countless studies have supported that there are both tangible and intangible health benefits generated from having active lifestyles and enriching environments. Professionals in our field generally use the term enrichment to refer to puzzles, nesting materials, play structures, and other provisions that were once considered non-essential. More broadly, the term can be used to encompass anything and everything that contributes to the health and happiness of the chimpanzees. Burrito’s sanctuary experience, for example, is often enriched by rowdy play sessions in the Greenhouse. Foxie’s is enriched by a variety of dolls. Jamie’s is enriched by exposure to new footwear (and pictures of footwear arranged in a photo book, apparently).

Burrito goofs around outside
Foxie sits in the Greenhouse with a doll
Jamie sits inside with her new book

That brings me to today’s video (embedded above). One of the caregivers on the Saturday shift (Diana? Kelsi? Anna? J.B.?) threw a roll of surplus raffle tickets into the enrichment baskets that were specially prepared for this morning. Maybe the idea was inspired by the ongoing virtual auction and upcoming Queen’s Brunch celebration. (Note: You can see the items up for auction > here <. Have you seen the print of Willy B that’s receiving bids? What a cool-looking dude…)

Mave lays amid the shredded tickets

Whatever the case, the raffle tickets were a hit with Honey B, Mave and Willy B, and we all took a break from our chores to watch them roll around in the piles of torn paper. Staying healthy, after all, can’t be done purely through paperwork and pills. Sometimes it’s having fun (and watching chimpanzees have fun) that makes the biggest difference. Burrito knows this well.

 

 

 

 

Spring snippets and bidding begins!

by

As you may have seen over the last few days, we’ve been growing more and more excited for The Queen’s Brunch, our first ever virtual event celebrating the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to the sanctuary AND the birthdays of Negra (June 13th) and Honey B (June 11th). Naturally, I was unable to get photos of either of these two beautiful women, but! And as of today, online auction bidding is now open! Woot!! Hurry! Go look!

All proceeds will go to the direct care of the chimpanzees, as well as to our continued expansion so that we may bring more chimpanzees in need, home. Every single thing that makes it possible for these ten amazing chimpanzee people (and the family members to come), as well as our sweet bovine family, to live the lives in sanctuary they do is because of you. Every single thing is a direct result of your heart, your compassion and your dedication to helping ensure that their lives are full of joy, well-being, comfort, family and love. There are no words to thank you for all you’ve created here, for them, but from our hearts, we have the deepest gratitude for you.

In chimp house happenings, today was a bit scattered for the humans from the get go as Jody decided she wanted to make some changes to our daily routine. Of course, that’s one of many beautiful things about the chimps’ lives in sanctuary – the choice to make, well, their own choices about how their day will go and how they spend their time. As a result, I have some scattered springtime snippets from the chimps’ home to yours.

The mountain lupine that fills the sanctuary with the most beautiful, ethereal of scents:

Foxie decided to take her doll and brave the infamous spring winds rushing over the hill:

But quickly decided it was too much, hence the sneer face:

At which point she brought her doll back to the comfort of the greenhouse:

Missy loves a particular dandelion that grows around the sanctuary – the goat’s beard dandelion. She walked the entire perimeter of Young’s Hill with us this morning gathering armfuls and mouthfuls of the flowers which seemed to have bloomed overnight:

Sister honeybees busy at work on the blooming elderflowers:

Willy B continues to amaze and delight us in his growing comfort spending time in his outdoor enclosure. Today he could barely wait for me to open the gate and squeezed underneath it, heading out without an ounce of hesitation. And he even climbed up to the top of the climbing structure where he took a brief nap in the open air and sunshine! It’s incredible that he’s feeling comfortable enough to rest with ease in the most exposed location:

I was sitting outside eating my lunch today when I heard the loud chitter of baby birds being fed by their parents. I assumed it was one of the many swallow and wren families who typically take over the bluebird nesting boxes we have up. A supporter kindly made and donated these to us years ago, but I’ve yet to see a bluebird pair successfully hang onto one and they typically end up nesting in old woodpecker nests in the surrounding Ponderosa pines. Still, I can’t help but be happy to know any birds are using them to raise their families and so when I went to have a closer look I was THRILLED to see a family of bluebirds in the box! If you look closely, you can see one of the baby birds mouths wide open:

This spring the hillsides surrounding the sanctuary have been a literal sea of gold with the native balsamroot:

Burrito and Jody grooming quietly in the greenhouse:

Foxie and Jody enjoying their after lunch chow together:

And this! Staff caregiver, Kelsi, made this amazing book for Jamie! Almost all of the staff wear Salmon Sisters XTRATUF boots for cleaning and Jamie has decided they are THE boots de jour. This wonderful book is full of photos of all the boots, as well as each of us wearing our respective pair.

Because of the rubber, they aren’t safe for the chimps to have (in the event they were ingested) and while Jamie knows she can’t have them and doesn’t ask, she adores them all the same. She spends ages having us wear them in mixed variations, walking around the hill in them and just sitting with her so she can groom them. She knows every single pair we have and exactly which ones she wants to see at any given time (they each have different sea-themed linings). Let me tell you, she is CRAZY HAPPY about this book and it’s been the most amazing gift for her. She’s even figured out (of course) that she can use it as a guide for the humans. Today she turned to the page with the boots she wanted to see and shoved it under the door for Chad to fetch the boots and bring them on a walk.

From all of us in the chimp house to all of you out there, we’re hoping some of the ease and joy you make sure the chimps’ hearts are full of finds its way back to your hearts this evening.

“Inspiration is for Amateurs”

by

Today’s day of sanctuary (including this blog post) was sponsored by Jenara Miller to celebrate the birthday of our dedicated supporter, Carrie Miller. Carrie is a friend of ours and is a pal of Burrito’s, and we wish her entire family nothing but happiness as they commemorate this special occasion!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of anniversaries, it’s almost been a year since I joined the CSNW staff last summer. It’s been a weird trip around the sun, to say the least, but there is nowhere else I would rather be despite all of the unusual circumstances. In the absence of a global pandemic, our organization would currently be preparing for our annual gala and auction which has traditionally occurred every summer in Seattle. With the event postponed, we’re hosting an online auction and a spectacular event called the Queen’s Brunch (and bidding starts tomorrow!). In this way, we plan to celebrate the birthdays of Honey B and Negra while uniting our community virtually. As the new mantra goes: Together, apart.

It’s very exciting, but that’s not what this entire blog post is about. This post is a case study.

When people ask me what the best part of my job is, my default answer is always, to keep it simple, “the chimpanzees.” It’s an answer based on subjective truth. They’re really, really great, even when they’re at their worst.

To be honest, though, there are more specific reasons why I love working at this unique sanctuary.

As caregivers at CSNW, a significant responsibility of ours is to serve as advocates, historians, and storytellers for the chimpanzees since they cannot act as such for themselves. Some organizations are large enough to employ personnel specifically for this purpose, but our small team shares the workload on a rotating basis. Our most valuable tool for this (as you may have guessed by now) is the sanctuary’s blog. I had already been a blog reader for a couple of years before I first visited the sanctuary as an intern, and I developed an appreciation for and familiarity with the individual chimpanzees through this virtual experience.

Years later, I’m occasionally on the other side of the keyboard. It’s certainly a privilege to write the blog each Sunday, and it’s sometimes unnerving to imagine hundreds of people receiving my words in their email inboxes. It can also be difficult to keep the content fresh and original without veering too far away from our reader’s comfort zones. We constantly walk the line between being creative and being familiar, and we hope to entertain just as much as we strive to inform. When you divide a year’s worth of daily posts among seven staff members, we each write about fifty-two posts annually and each one ends up being a new page in the documented history of the Cle Elum chimpanzees.

That’s a lot of creative work that needs to be completed amid all of the other tasks that we caregivers are also expected to get done (including everything from cleaning the drain filters to walking around the Hill with Jamie). Therefore, although writing the blog can be fun and is always rewarding, it can sometimes feel like another chore to add to our never-ending to-do list.

Today, I went to work with a rough idea of today’s blog theme in my head. This is NOT it. As the day progressed, my tentative ideas unraveled. By mid-afternoon, I had trashed the entire concept and was ready to move on. The necessary decision to change directions left me without a plan as the clock continued to tick. I wasn’t too worried, though. Blogs tend to work themselves out. I doubt that J.B. started his day on Friday with the expectation that Foxie would turn a routine session of positive reinforcement training into a heartwarming and hilarious game of tag. In the words of renowned artist Chuck Close,

“Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself… Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”

So, I got to work. In this case, “work” consisted of disinfecting an enclosure, looking at some stool samples in the vet clinic, and then following Burrito’s excited head-nods and poignant sputters out to the Greenhouse for a rowdy game of chase. I had my camera with me, just in case one of the other chimps was napping photogenically in a sunbeam or something. Capturing photos of a rambunctious Burrito isn’t usually an option, so taking his picture didn’t even cross my mind. Usually, his style of chase involves banging on the caging, stomping around, and poking fingers and toes through the steel mesh that separates him from his human caregivers. He’s a flurry of limbs and laughter that cannot be captured.

He surprised me with a flash of opportunity, though, and I was unexpectedly prepared. Between his joyful bounces and hearty chuckles, he suddenly flopped onto his belly and calmly stared at me. Time seemed to slow down for a second. I lifted the camera up to my squinted eye and fired the shutter, expecting him to already be a shapeless blur by the time the photons hit the sensor. Shockingly, he laid in that prone position for what felt like a few seconds, allowing the tiny computer in my digital camera to construct several portraits of his goofy and lovable face. Even after he sat back up, he stayed just far enough away from the caging for my 35mm lens to keep him in focus for a few more snaps. Just like that, going to work had given me inspiration. You can all thank Burrito for today’s blog.