Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp sanctuary

Band of Mothers

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This sanctuary is full of mothers. We spent the day honoring them.

For those of you who may not already know, five of the sanctuary’s ten chimpanzee residents (Annie, Foxie, Jody, Missy, Negra) were used for breeding in their past lives as biomedical research subjects. All of their children were taken from them immediately after birth, thus denying them the ability to care for and raise their offspring. Their infants were raised in laboratories as a scientific resource, but this practice was incrementally brought to a halt. Some of their sons and daughters made it to sanctuaries where several are still enjoying their retirements.

Missy’s daughter, Honey B, was transferred to this sanctuary last summer when the facility that previously cared for her, the Wildlife Waystation, permanently shut down. It was unfortunate that so many individuals lost their homes, but it was serendipitous that we were finishing a new wing of enclosures exactly when Honey B and her companions needed it most. (Note: The sanctuary community is currently raising funds that will care for the Waystation’s remaining chimpanzees and help create new homes for them at reputable sanctuaries. You can visit this page to learn more!) Missy and Honey B were able to meet, but it’s unlikely that they recognized each other. Amid the drama of attempting to integrate their two groups, their face-to-face meeting was relatively uneventful. Still, we sometimes notice that Honey B has a tinge of Missy infused in her personality and appearance. There are many ways in which they differ, but Honey B occasionally behaves with a Missy-like flavor. Notably, they both play chase the same way. Today, Chad managed to capture portraits of the two in the same pose and posted it on the sanctuary’s Instagram, so you can all see it for yourselves.

Today’s festivities weren’t centered around that relationship alone. Every year, we celebrate Jody‘s birthday on Mother’s Day. Nobody knows Jody’s real birthday, but we do know that she gave birth to nine infants during her time in the laboratory. All were taken from her. We would never allow the chimpanzees to breed since we would be furthering a practice that we aim to end and condemning yet another chimpanzee individual to a life of captivity. Nevertheless, Jody possesses a tender maternal spirit and serves as a guardian and peacemaker within her group of seven adult chimps. It seems like Jody was born for motherhood and, despite her tragic past, she has found a new way to fulfill that duty with enthusiasm.

The chimps aren’t the only ones who have brought new life into this world. The sanctuary’s small herd of four cattle consists of two mother-offspring pairs; the enormous steer Nutmeg is Betsy’s son and Meredith is Honey’s daughter. Among the humans, current staff members Erin and Anna are mothers to children of their own when they aren’t busy caring for chimps. Recently, we received the good news that our friend and former coworker, Keri, joyously welcomed her second child, Skyler, into her family. This is just one of the many ways by which the CSNW family continues to grow.

For all of these reasons and more, today is an important day to celebrate mothers of all species, whether they were allowed to raise their own children or not.

Chad, our Enrichment Coordinator, assembled a celebratory forage of lilac flowers, corn, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes. Honey B and Mave tried lilacs for the first time and loved them, although Willy B wouldn’t even give them a taste and seemed way more interested in climbing the outdoor structure yet again. Of course, Jody savored her floral snacks while her six companions scoured the Hill for caches of food. As a whole, the chimps thoroughly enjoyed the midday celebration and spent most of the afternoon resting and foraging in the warm sunshine of late spring. I have included some photographs of today’s events (taken by Katelyn, Chad, and I).

Honey B smells and tastes lilac flowers, possibly for the first time ever!
Mave preferred to carry the flowers around but eventually nibbled on them with interest.
Jody loved the flowers, but first she had to secure a whole ear of corn on the cob.
Negra (L) and Missy (R) climbed structures to search for food.
Annie brought her lilacs into the Greenhouse.
Foxie initially ignored the flowers and searched for chow and potatoes instead.
Eventually, Foxie ate some lilacs but Jody (“Farmer Jo”) had already amassed a large collection of them.
Missy delicately smelled her flowers before gingerly picking the entire bouquet apart with her lips.

Whether you are a mother or not, we hope you enjoyed this celebratory Sunday and showed appreciation for the people who shaped you into the person you are today.

Honey B’s Paper Escapade

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Honey B’s excitement over paper is just one of the many things that endear us to her. If you’d like to buy more paper for more escapades, I just added some to our Amazon wish list.

I had to add in a little update at the end of the video about Willy B, of course. He’s getting more and more comfortable in that Courtyard!

 

A day of sanctuary

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Marcus Andrews sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees and cattle today in honor of “My other half.”

Marcus, thank you for celebrating your special person by making a difference in the lives of fourteen more special individuals! We truly appreciate you thinking of them all in this way.

Missy and Annie:

A bounty of lilacs and courage

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It got down to freezing last night, but by the time the chimpanzees were ready for breakfast it was warm and dazzlingly sunny outside. My neighbor and her incredible grandmother of a lilac tree graciously allow me to bring blossoms galore for the chimps to enjoy each year, so today was their first taste of the brief lilac season with a breakfast forage on the hill.

Jamie:

Negra’s food squeaks could be heard across the land, though she was all about the chow:

Missy joined her, but she was all about the lilacs:

Then Jody joined in, but she was all about the fruit. So it worked out well for everyone:

Jody:

No one seems to outdo Missy’s love of lilacs, but each year it seems someone new is suddenly interested in them and much to my surprise, this year Foxie was really enjoying them. Her face!! Guh, my heart!:

After the seven returned to the chimp house later in the morning, it was time for the three to have access to their courtyard! And of course to wait with bated breath as to what Willy B (or Mave or Honey B) might decide to do today. We put the forage a little bit further out on the platform, with some high value items (a bunch of grapes and a whole apple) the furthest out to encourage Willy B’s continued courage at venturing into the great outdoors. And it worked! It took him a little bit to drum up his courage, but he went the furthest he’s been today!

We are careful not to overwhelm them with our presence and want to decrease their worry that something unexpected will happen, so right now we try to have 1-2 staff stay nearby, but in a bit of stealth mode. J.B. managed to get these photos and look at this guy! Willy B! Outside!:

Getting a little more comfortable:

We really cannot impress the level of courage this involves. Imagine leaving the comforting familiarity of the only thing you’ve known, enclosures with caging, and then stepping onto a strange platform, under open sky, surrounded by strange feeling wood chips. Every single sensation something new and strange and potentially very frightening and unpredicatable. Some chimpanzees, understandably so, are never comfortable enough to leave their enclosures. We’re just so proud of this guy our hearts are ready to burst!

And while we weren’t able to capture any photos, Mave decided to venture down to the doorway to the platform today! She saw Willy B enjoying all that forage and while she wasn’t ready to go out, she did reach out at one point on her own and touch the platform. She spent quite awhile at the doorway sitting with Willy B (and probably admiring his food) and we have high hopes she will be next to take a step outside. I know that may not seem like much, but for someone who’s first time touching the earth under open sky to have been a bit rocky (after touching the electric fencing), it’s taking an incredible amount of bravery for these guys to give it another go. Honey B is not yet showing any interest, but she has all the time she needs to choose what feels best for her.

Once the chimps came back inside later in the afternoon Willy B was the craziest, most playful guy. We always say we can’t know what they are thinking, but honestly, it really felt as though he was just elated with himself at the adventure he’d conquered. As well he should be.

And last, but not least, our bovine family continue to revel in their newfound summer pastures. Here’s Nutmeg with Honey licking Betsy in the background:

Another Few Steps, Another Adventure

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The sanctuary has a relatively small staff, so each of us knows how to do the essential duties and can safely manage the sanctuary on any given day.

Still, we all have certain skills and interests that translate to specialized roles apart from the core caregiving responsibilities. Anna leads the volunteers and staff, Katelyn manages the office, Kelsi coordinates our outreach program, Chad curates the enrichment program and has a mustache, Dr. Erin is the dedicated veterinarian, and I have started focusing on projects related to animal health and behavior. At the helm of all this are the sanctuary’s co-directors who do most things as a team (although Diana is chiefly responsible for the development of the organization while J.B. primarily oversees the sanctuary’s operations).

It’s somewhat unusual for sanctuary directors to participate in activities like cleaning enclosures, maintaining the property and folding laundry. Anyone who knows Diana and J.B., however, won’t be surprised to read that they are still involved in various tasks around the sanctuary on a daily basis. For example, it’s not unusual to see J.B. play chase with Burrito, fly the drone, do hours of office work, hang up safety signs, drive to Wenatchee to pick up produce, help serve chimp dinner, weld together a Foot Box, and then mow the lawn in the span of a single work day. Diana and J.B. have regular shifts when they are scheduled to do chimpanzee care, but that doesn’t prevent them from helping out on most of the days in between. Sometimes, they even do things for the chimpanzee and bovine residents when we’re not expecting them to be working at all.

That’s exactly what happened this morning.

As Sunday’s lead caregiver (a responsibility we all share on a rotating basis), I pulled into the driveway a little before 9:00am. I always scan the surroundings as I cruise up the dirt road towards the Chimp House, but my heart skipped a beat this morning because there were cattle in a place where we don’t usually have cattle. Had anyone been sitting in the passenger seat, they would have heard me mumble “Oh, $#%&.”

Betsy, Honey, Meredith and Nutmeg were trotting around the expansive pasture which separates the chimpanzee’s outdoor enclosure from the neighboring ranch to the South. As of Thursday evening (the last time I was here), the fencing was incomplete and it looked like it might be a few more days, if not weeks, before the pasture would be ready for our herd of four rescued bovines. Some projects, such as giving the cattle their spring hoof trim and breaking ground on the new wing of chimpanzee enclosures, have been temporarily postponed due to the ongoing public health crisis. We had previously discussed hurrying the fencing project to give the cattle some more grass to turn into mass and gas, but it was unclear when we would get around to it.

Before accelerating up the driveway, I squinted at the distant fence-line and was both relieved and shocked to see that the posts were connected by shimmering aluminum wire. This wasn’t a jailbreak event and the cattle were still safely enclosed. Someone had finished securely enclosing the pasture.

I looked further up the hill and eventually spotted J.B. on the Gator, proudly watching over the three cows and one enormous steer-child. Sure enough, he had just finished enclosing the pasture by himself on a Sunday morning so that the cattle could have a full day to acclimate to their new digs. I probably shouldn’t be surprised by this sort of thing anymore. It’s become normal that the sanctuary looks like a slightly different place every time that I leave for a few days, and little changes can accumulate quickly. It really makes me appreciate how Anna can return from a three-month maternity leave and jump right back into managing the Chimp House during a global pandemic. To see such changes taking place, even in the most uncertain of times, is evidence of the slow but steady growth of the sanctuary.

That wasn’t the only big change to happen while I was away. We have recently been brainstorming ways to help Willy B, Honey B and Mave to adventure out into their section of Young’s Hill. On Friday, just two days after we all decided to start putting out more food on the boardwalk that extends out into the grassy enclosure, Willy B took his first steps out of the chute and into the open courtyard in order to retrieve some scattered food. Even though he appeared hesitant and calculating, it also clearly took some extraordinary guts. We’re not sure when the new three were last able to walk on real grass or go outside without caging overhead (if ever), so Young’s Hill must be a scary place for them. I wasn’t at the sanctuary on Friday, but I was happily bombarded by texts and videos from the staff who were working. Willy did it again on Saturday and I, once again, spent my afternoon smiling while watching the uplifting video over and over on my couch at home.

Today, I had the joy of seeing two amazing events first-hand: Willy going out into the courtyard for a third straight day and the cattle being brave enough to venture out into a new pasture. It’s strange to see how the two events parallel each other despite the obvious fact that cattle and chimpanzees behave quite differently. I’m ecstatic that the sanctuary’s residents are opening up to new experiences, regardless of whether they have hooves or big hairy feet. I’m also really proud of our sanctuary’s team (and community of supporters) for providing them with these opportunities to go beyond their past experiences. It gives me confidence to see us surging forward, one little unexpected step at a time.

The Cattle
Betsy
Honey
Meredith
Honey (L), Betsy (C), Nutmeg (R)
Nutmeg (L) and Betsy (R) [Note that despite the obvious size difference, Betsy is actually Nutmeg’s mother]
Honey
A swallow perched on the electric fence today
The view from the sanctuary during last week’s initial wildflower bloom
Missy eating a kiwi while watching J.B. drive around the pasture this morning

The Honey B Chonk

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Chimpanzees are intelligent, emotional, and complex. They deserve the utmost respect.

This is their home and their retirement, and it’s their right to be however they want to be. This fact makes me appreciate how chimpanzees can be not only relaxed but also downright goofy. When they group is in a playful mood, even the most stoic of chimps can be a total dork. For us caregivers, stopping to appreciate these weird moments helps to keeps things lighthearted and reminds us what this sanctuary thing is all about. It’s perfectly okay to laugh along with them.

In the past, we’ve highlighted some of the comical new behaviors that the chimpanzees invent in their spare time (e.g., Annie’s and Honey B’s waistbands, Willy B’s slinky moves, Missy’s choice of grooming tools, Mave’s toe socks and Jamie’s flamboyant scarves). Of course, none of these creations are purely spontaneous and random. Even the most innovative aspects of their behavior are influenced by both their current surroundings and past experiences.

Honey B’s behavior seems to be especially shaped by her previous and ongoing interactions with humans. As one of the more inquisitive and interactive chimpanzees at the sanctuary, she likes to be involved in whatever her caregivers are doing and seems to enjoy making us happy. It’s in her nature to be helpful. We try not to bother the chimps with unnecessary requests, but we do have to ask them for certain favors that help us caregivers to do our jobs. On a daily basis, for example, we ask the chimpanzees to shift from one enclosure to another so that we can safely go inside and clean up. They usually do this without any coaxing because there is something more interesting to do elsewhere. Sometimes, however, there are objects or materials blocking the hydraulic doors that prevent us from remotely operating them and therefore delay shifting. In those moments, we can usually ask a passing chimpanzee to kindly remove the obstruction. Honey B, however, exceeds the expectations.

A few weeks ago, the three chimps who live in the new wing were shifting out of the upstairs Mezzanine and into the new front rooms and chute on the ground floor. There was a tangled slinky that was preventing Kelsi from remotely shutting the door behind them. We asked Honey B to remove the toy, which by then resembled a bird’s nest, and she eagerly scrambled to disentangle the entire thing before tossing it through the open doorway. Then, for safe measure, Honey B collected nearby slinkies (which weren’t tangled and weren’t blocking the door) and chucked them downstairs as well.

In the following weeks, she has surprised us all by continuing to throw available enrichment items through doorways before they we close them. Every morning she flips the previous night’s blankets and night bags through the lower-level doors before heading up to the Mezzanine for breakfast, and she has even started to hurl larger toys down the incline of the chute and out into her group’s alcove of Young’s Hill (now known as “The Courtyard”). With the input of a few enthusiastic and amused volunteers, I have unofficially named this behavior The Chonk. I’m not sure how well this name fits the behavior since the term chonk is usually applied to overweight cats on the internet, but the sound of the word makes me chuckle. (Thanks, Elizabeth C!)

I would love to know exactly what Honey B is thinking as she yeets enrichment out onto the Hill, but I can only speculate. I sincerely hope that, whatever her motivation may be, that she’s having as much fun as I am.

Keep on chonkin’, Honey B.

Alarming adventures

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I feel like today was easily the warmest of the year so far, unseasonably so at almost 70.

And as such, J.B. and Anthony decided it was a great day to usher our bovine family, Betsy and her son, Nutmeg, and Honey and her daughter, Meredith, back to their summer pasture alongside Young’s Hill. Much to the cattle’s delight. And well, with mixed reviews from the chimpanzees.

Meredith, Betsy and Anthony:

The bovines didn’t even have time to delight the humans as we all stood in hopes of seeing a lot of running and kicking and jumping about, they set straight to work chomping all the spring grass suddenly at their disposal.

Betsy, Meredith and Honey (Nutmeg was hanging out just to the left with J.B., but I missed a photo!

Of course, the chimps had to investigate this situation immediately and everyone but Negra marched straight up the hill to check things out. Jamie, naturally, led the way and promptly took a seat on Twister (see our Sponsor a Day today for the wonderful story behind this amazing structure!) to assess the situation. The funny thing about Jamie though is that she made virtually no acknowledgement of the cattle, though if her face was to tell any tale, she appeared rather vexed with their return. She asked for her caregivers to accompany her on several walks to the top of the hill throughout the afternoon, but each time we reached the top she promptly “ignored” the cattle and marched back to the chimp house.

Jody, Burrito and Foxie (and Dora) were close behind:

Foxie and Burrito:

Foxie and Burrito were moderately unimpressed by the return of their summer neighbors and headed back to the greenhouse (Missy and Jamie, background):

At some point, sweet Annie had made her way up the hill, but seemingly once she spotted those “demon” cattle she screamed at the top of her lungs and high-tailed it all the way back to the safety of the greenhouse where I found her surrounded by Burrito and Missy. So it appears cows are now on the list with snakes. It’s really curious as Annie has shown zero concern regarding the cattle in past seasons, not to mention she can see the neighbors’ cattle in the pastures below. I’m guessing she just wasn’t expecting the return of the summer neighbors.

Once Annie was safely ensconced in the greenhouse, we heard a huge ruckus erupt from the chute where we found Mave, Willy B and Honey B expressing their thoughts over the cattle. Honey B in particular seemed very alarmed by their presence (perhaps taking a cue from Annie) and climbed to the top of the chute where she repeatedly vocalized alarm calls and asked Chad and I for reassurance. Poor Honey B eventually calmed down and returned to Phase I just in time for Mave to come screaming inside and flee upstairs into Honey B’s arms where she sounded alarm calls for several minutes. Chad and I discovered it was due to a low flying helicopter.

Willy B and Mave:

So the chimpanzees and the cattle and the humans were enriched with adventures of all manner today. Just as we all hope our days to be (though, perhaps, a little less alarming to some of us). 😉