Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp sanctuary

Be Right as Rayne

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There was some slight reprieve from the heat today. The sky is blanketed with clouds and rain has been on and off since morning. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this reprieve because though it is cooler, it’s still a “brisk” 97º out, making the day more humid. The chimpanzees didn’t seem to mind though.

During lunch, Rayne chose to perch herself on a pool of diluted Gatorade in the Riverview Greenhouse. She ate her entire lunch there, taking sips in-between bites. I was able to get some photos of here enjoying her chow biscuits. This series of photos is also a good depiction of how a wadge is made.

Some bonus photos from today:

Negra watching her group embark on their first patrol of the day.

Honey B watching me as I was taking photos of the Gatorade pool.

Jody taking it easy in her Greenhouse.

Burrito coming over to tell me to stop taking photos of Jody and to play chase.

Lucky patiently waiting for dinner service.

Family Ties

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A few weeks ago, we asked you to submit your questions for us to answer. One question that was asked a few times by different people was if the siblings spend more time with each other than those not related to them.

In case there is anybody new, there are several siblings, full and half, in the group from the Wildlife Waystation. Cy and Lucky are full siblings. Rayne and Honey B are half siblings to each other as well as to Cy and Lucky. They all share the same father: Herbie.

Honey B:

Rayne:

Lucky:

Cy:

Dora and Gordo are also half siblings through their father: Les. Since Dora and Gordo were in the same group for several years and arrived here together, I assume the questions were based on the Herbie Clan. I will say that Dora and Gordo are great friends and spend a lot of time together.

Cy, Lucky, and Rayne arrived here last year with their group, while Honey B arrived here almost three years ago with Willy B and Mave. Though they are all related at least through their father, there is little to no indication they are aware of it. They all interact with each other at least once throughout the day in some way shape or form.

Lucky, for the most part, keeps to herself. Cy spends a lot of time keeping the group in order. Rayne is a social butterfly. Honey B interacts when and with whom she wants to interact at any given point.

Though Honey B shows the respect Cy deserves as the group’s alpha, they aren’t seen together that much. Honey B and Lucky do play with each other from time to time, but it’s not really a daily occurrence. Honey B and Rayne, on the other hand, do spend quite some time together almost every day with playing, grooming, or “mall walking.” I imagine they would be walking around their “mall” with coffees in hand if they had the chance.

Their is some physical resemblance between Honey B and Rayne, but it’s mostly if you catch them at certain angles. And if there is one thing all four of them have in common, they all can be very stubborn. (Examples: 1 & 2 ) It hasn’t been written about as much, but Rayne used to hold out when we tried to shift them out of an area early on when she first arrived. (Fingers crossed that was just a phase and I didn’t just jinx it!) Other than that, all four are very unique from one another. And ultimately, there is no difference between the time they spend with each other and the other unrelated chimpanzees.

If you still have some lingering questions, it’s never too late to submit them! You can still do so on the original post!

Rayne and Honey B:

Cy:

Lucky:

Some bonus photos of Burrito during today’s lunch forage:

The Unsuspecting Friendship

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Today, my phone sent me a notification of a memory from last year. One year ago, the quarantine period for the Lucky Six ended and got to be closer to their neighbors (at the time): Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. It doesn’t feel like it has been a year, but at the same time it feels like it’s been over a year. A lot has happened since, like the Lucky Six’s “neighbors” aren’t their neighbors anymore. They are one big group. Since they have been living together for almost three months, it’s hard at times to think they were ever two separate groups.

One of the budding relationships we didn’t anticipate in this new group was that of Mave and Dora. During the introduction process, Mave and Dora didn’t necessarily have bad interactions. Their interactions just were never the best. Lackluster is a word that could describe it. They were mostly low key and in short spurts. After the full integration, their friendship really started to come to fruition. At first, it seemed like Mave would just follow Dora constantly with Dora trying to get away. As the weeks went by, and Mave showed Dora what support she could offer as a friend, Dora stopped trying to escape Mave. Or at least as much. There are still times when Dora does want her alone time, but Mave now seems to get the hint when that is. Mave will leave her alone for a little while (but not too long), interact with the others, before returning to Dora.

It is now not an uncommon sight to find these two together in the afternoon, side-by-side.

One day, I even found them like this. Laying down, holding hands, and just staring at each other.

Later on, something startled Dora. I couldn’t see what caused Dora to become upset, but she started alarm calling, followed by screaming, before racing off into the Riverview Greenhouse. Mave was in the other room, but she heard Dora and followed the screams to the greenhouse. As Mave emerged from the Marmot Playroom, Dora leaped towards Mave and they embraced in the most endearing hug I have seen.

That hug seemed to calm Dora down.

I, for one, personally cannot wait to see how this friendship blossoms even further!

Here are some bonus photos from today!

Gordo eating some fingerling potatoes at lunch:

Jamie enjoying a raspberry branch as browse:

Terry in the Riverview Greenhouse with a mouthful of water and wadge in hand:

Jody watching some construction around Young’s Hill:

And resting in the afternoon:

Annie foraging for some pre-breakfast prickly lettuce:

Burrito racing toward me as I was taking the above photo, telling me it’s time to race:

Rayne relaxing inside where it’s cooler:

Dora in her patent Happy Dora Pose:

Cy grooming Mave grooming Willy B:

Cy catching up on all the latest celebrity news a couple of days ago:

We also want to thank our friends at Tru Earth! About a year ago, as an ongoing effort to reduce our environmental footprint, we switched the detergent we use to wash the chimpanzee’s blankets. Tru Earth were kind enough to start a fundraiser store just for us. Twenty percent of every purchase made from this unique URL will go toward the chimpanzees! If you are in need of cleaning supplies or other eco-friendly products, please consider shopping at this site!

Gordo’s 34th Berry Happy Birthday Bash!

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Today we celebrate Gordo’s 34th birthday! You’re not going to want to miss the video from today’s celebration! There are berries boxes, and bounces!

We would also like to thank Paulette Wrisley for being the second sponsor for today in honor of Gordo Chimpanzee, and followers Tom Austin and Dan Oksiuta! Thank you so much Paulette for sponsoring today in honor of these three amazing individuals! And happy birthday Tom and Dan! We hope you were able to celebrate today and had as much fun as Gordo did!

Here are some bonus photos from today’s celebrations!

Birthday Boy Gordo:

Rayne:

Honey B bobbing for berries:

Willy B bobbing for blueberries:

Pure bliss!

Jody:

Burrito with an oatmeal wadge:

Burrito, Jamie, and Missy fishing for berries:

Flourishing in Sanctuary

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If you read the blog daily you have probably heard us use the words elusive or aloof to describe Gordo at some point in time. Gordo has been coming out of his shell for a while now, but recently he has been REALLY playful with not only his chimp friends, but his human friends too. I use this word a lot when talking about the chimps, but it has really been a true honor to watch Gordo flourish in sanctuary. But that is what it is, an honor, especially a chimp like Gordo who always seemed more reserved than others. When someone like Gordo lets you into his circle how could you not!

Gordo’s birthday is on Tuesday, he turns 34! We still have a few party things on the wish list for him!

Bonus photo of Mave:

Thank you all for your questions and ideas! If you missed yesterday’s blog, check it out here! We are so grateful for your support and curiosity! We will be sorting through them and we look forward to writing these ideas for future blogs!

Welcome to Lucky’s Playhouse

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I am somewhat sorry for the redundancy of play videos, but I’m sure no one will mind. This play session happened a few days ago. It started out with Lucky playing a game of chase with caregiver Katelyn. Then Honey B couldn’t resist the urge to join in on the fun. Then slowly more and more chimpanzees joined in! And don’t worry! Though Cy and Willy B were not a part of this play session, they were elsewhere grooming with each other. They were off having their own quality time.

Here are some photos taken in between filming the play session:

Lucky, Dora, Gordo, and Terry play:

Dora and Rayne:

And here are some photos from today!

Rayne excitedly watching from a bird’s eye view as breakfast is being brought out:

Dora taking an afternoon nap in the Riverview Greenhouse:

Willy B excited about a pool full of Gatorade:

We are so LUCKY

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Lucky [luhk-ee]

chimpanzee

1. kind-hearted

2. engaged

3. first to greet her caregivers when they walk in the room; knows how to make someone feel special

4. observer of her surroundings

Lucky is truly one of a kind. And as cliché as it sounds, we are so lucky to know her.

When I first started at CSNW as staff, Lucky always made such an effort with me. Every time I saw her, she would storm across the room, no matter what she was up to, just to say hello. She was the head of the welcoming committee for me and she doesn’t even know it. She does this with all of her caregivers. She is easily excited and genuinely happy to see everyone 24/7.

You may have noticed in some previous blog photos or videos, Lucky uses blankets to scoot across the floor. You can see this behavior here (around 0:43). She will gather a few blankets, tuck them under her thighs, and use them to help glide herself across the floor. Closely related to rocking, this is a common behavior for chimpanzees in captivity. To phrase it in the simplest way I can, she does this as a comfort mechanism. As someone who was born in a laboratory, not raised by her own mother, and will live the rest of her life in captivity, it is understandable for her to seek comfort in any way she chooses. I believe even we, as humans, have our own individual ways to comfort ourselves in both good and stressful times. And that is okay.

As seen in the photo above, this is one of Lucky’s signature poses. Anytime you see a photo of Lucky from this angle, just know she is staring down whoever is behind the camera. Simultaneously, she is doing a motion with her mouth where she alternates sucking in her cheeks/lips. I presume that she is deep in thought every time I see this face.

We love you, Lucky!