Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimp sanctuary

Some Things Never Change

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As we cautiously move forward with the group of 9 chimps, we are all trying to adjust to a “new” normal for schedules, shifting, and cleaning. Though we don’t know what the future holds for this group, I do want to express that even though we are “cautiously optimistic,” the chimps have worked so hard to build these relationships and their hard work has paid off! We are so proud of them and the way they have been able to navigate difficult social situations so far! While we humans may have helped facilitate these meet ups, they really deserve all the credit for making this group become nine, especially Cy! That guy really knows how to defuse a situation!

Meanwhile, on Jamie’s side of the building, some things never change. This morning Jamie took a nice leisurely stroll while I drove the gator beside her. Burrito and Missy chased each other up Young’s Hill as Annie followed peacefully behind. I took great comfort in doing something so familiar while we have all this change happening. So if today you needed something familiar to ground you and bring you comfort, I hope this video of the chimps on the Hill bring you some joy.

Don’t forget today is the last day for GiveBIG! We are so close to our goal, and you can help us get there!! Also, check out the article written about us in the Yakima Herald!

Grace took these awesome photos of Rayne relaxing in a box in the Oakwood greenhouse:

Social Studies

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It’s been about four days since the newly-integrated group of nine rescued chimps spent their first full day together. We caregivers have been closely observing with our fingers crossed that things keep going smoothly, but we’re already impressed by how well the chimpanzees have adapted to cohabitating with their former neighbors.

We have previously touched on the challenges and benefits of socializing captive chimpanzees. If things continue going well, Cy, Dora, Gordo, Lucky, Rayne and Terry will keep living with Honey B, Mave and Willy B in the newer wing of the Chimp House.  It was evident from the first introductions that these chimpanzees have some sort of affinity for one another, and our observations since then have largely reinforced those beliefs. There have been displays, disagreements, misunderstandings and (occasional) fights, but the chimpanzees have repeatedly found ways to resolve their differences through grooming, play, and a great deal of measured politeness.

Although free-ranging chimpanzee communities consist of fluid subgroups that change membership frequently, merging entire communities is not something that they naturally do. Even so, it’s clear that these nine individuals want to do exactly that. For these captive chimps, all rescued from the closed Wildlife Waystation, expanding their social network will enrich their lives in ways that puzzles and climbing structures cannot.

Our team will continue to post occasional updates and will probably produce some sort of comprehensive summary once we know more about the group’s long-term compatibility. Our daily routine currently includes all the usual chores plus additional observation and discussion, so the blogs may continue to be a bit atypical for a while.

Today’s blog post features a simple assortment of video clips we have recorded during the last couple days! Most of these are close-up shots taken “through” the caging with an 85mm lens; the steel mesh is often visible as a square vignette around each frame (always reminding us of the unusual environment these chimps reside in). Hopefully this post gives you a glimpse of current events at the sanctuary and some more excitement for the future!

Terry (right) grooms Willy B (left) in the shady Oakwood Greenhouse.
Gordo extracts raisins from a “raisin board” enrichment puzzle
Honey B perches on a firehose “vine” inside
Cy sits amid the foliage outside
Gordo literally puts his feet up in the front rooms

The Grass is Always Greener

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As caregivers arrived this morning, the sun was bright and the weather was warm. So one of our first orders of business was to conduct our security checks to let Negra’s group out onto Young’s Hill as soon as possible. As the door that leads to Young’s Hill opened, all seven filtered through, with Negra in the lead.

As I watched Negra sitting in warm sun, seemingly taking it all in, I was amazed at how green the grass was. It’s just one of those things I don’t notice as it’s happening until I see it through the view of the camera lens.

On her way in, Negra found a pine cone that she wanted to bring back to her Greenhouse.

It was at this point I knew a lunch forage was in store today. How could I not let them have a forage on such a beautiful day?

On today’s menu was sweet potatoes, mini bell peppers, carrots, and chow biscuits.

Annie:

Burrito:

Foxie:

Jamie:

Jody:

Missy:

Negra:

Jamie watching Missy tightrope walking across the firehose:

Burrito taking his chance on the firehose:

Have you ever had that feeling you’re being watching?

Oh, it’s just Burrito:

Burrito relaxing and enjoying his lunch in the privacy of the hammock:

As you read about Negra’s group enjoying their lunch forage on Young’s Hill, please don’t forget that construction is well under way to complete the outdoor habitat for the new group of nine! One way you can help us is to donate, and what better way to donate than to help with Monica and Diana’s WA GiveBIG wish? Every little bit helps ensure the construction continues to move along and helps us get closer to letting Cy’s group enjoy a forage on their own hill.

Busy Chimp House Day!

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As Chad wrote on Sunday, this week has already proven to be busy for the entire chimp house. I think today’s blog is all about Burrito!


As an intro update, so far so good!

Mave and Terry grooming:

Cy and Willy B grooming:

Lucky:

Big Yawns

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As I walked around the chimp house today I felt really tired. I kept thinking, how could I feel so sleepy? Then I figured it out! I was looking at these cozy lumps all day ;).

Dreamy Cy:

The handsome Terry:

The ever so wonderful Lucky:

And of course the beautiful Jo in the portrait studio:

Negra Hibernates

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April has surprised us with a lot of snow. Personally, I think we paid our dues back in January, but here we are. Negra saw her shadow and decided 2 more weeks of winter and went back into hibernation.

Negra breakfast in the front rooms:

 

Bonus photos!

Rayne sitting comfortably on firehose:

Cy day dreaming:

The Mondays

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Do you all know that bit from Office Space about “The Mondays”?

(Here’s a link for those of you who have never seen the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AB9zPfXqQQ.)

I’ve been thinking of that scene a lot today.

To be clear, I have a neutral opinion on Mondays. For that matter, I don’t hold grudges against any arbitrarily-named days of the week. Still, I can’t help but feel like the chimps have been grappling with a case of “The Mondays” for a few days now. This morning began with more of the chimpanzee drama that J.B. recently described in Friday’s blog post: Grooming. Although everyone seemed to be contributing to the chaos in one way or another, Terry remained at the center of the maelstrom which continued to churn up the social waters throughout the day.

To paraphrase one of J.B.’s passages: chimps simply cannot keep going “full throttle” for long before someone calms down and starts putting the pieces back together again. In today’s case, the chimps eventually stopped screaming long enough to catch their breath. Within minutes, they had begun to groom each other in a collective act of reconciliation that lasted for quite some time. Chimps may have physical altercations more frequently than free-living humans do, but their ability to put that animosity behind them and quickly reach a bipartisan solution makes up for it.

I didn’t manage to record much of the action with a camera, but I did take some photos during the peaceful moments between the storms.

Cy looking down at caregivers through the overhead caging
J.B. adding to the wall murals in the new front rooms
Rayne grooming Cy
Rayne
Terry reaching through the caging to inquisitively touch a caregiver’s boots.