Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Chimpy Business

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It felt like Spring today. The sun was out and there were virtually no clouds in the sky. Just like in Spring, Jamie and her group wanted onto Young’s Hill right away to finish their breakfast chow outside.

Jamie was really happy to enjoy her chow outside.

She really, really, really seemed to enjoy her chow outside.

But after her last bit of chow was finished, it was back to business. Jamie, Foxie, Annie, Missy, Jody, and Burrito patrolled their outdoor enclosure. On their way back, they were greeted by Negra, who was waiting for them on one of the platforms.

Though patrolling can be serious business, Missy and Annie chased each other all the way down.

As the others made their way back to the indoor enclosures, Foxie decided to get some alone time.

Burrito, on the other hand, was on a mission to find the last snow patch on Young’s Hill.

As they were heading inside, Missy tried to get a peek on her neighbors.

Unfortunately for Missy, her neighbors decided to be inside at the time. Honey B was grooming Willy B. It seemed like it was a sweet, tender moment between two friends. But as you know, these chimpanzees can rarely contain their shenanigans. This is demonstrated in this photo series:

Grooming

Thinking about tickling Willy B.

Commence tickling!

Personally, my favorite part of capturing this sequence of events is you can almost see the shift in Honey B’s thought process. This tickle session lasted for a couple minutes before it turned into a pretty epic game of chase.

From our family to yours, we hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday, Nancy and Darrell!

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This day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees was sponsored by Krissy Brasfield, one of our amazing chimp house volunteers, in honor of her parents, Nancy and Darrell Brasfield! Krissy shared this lovely note about her gift:

“I’m sponsoring this day in honor of my folks’ 75th birthdays! Mom’s is today, the 27th, dad’s was on the 25th. My folks are both very compassionate animal lovers, and passed that love on to me. Now, they are living vicariously through my volunteer experience at CSNW – reading the blog, watching the videos, and listening to me yammer on incessantly about every little detail about my new chimpanzee friends! I hope that they get the opportunity to visit the sanctuary some day! I love you, mom and dad! Happy Birthday!”

Krissy, you so clearly hold the chimpanzees in your heart and consistently think of ways to contribute to their lives. From our hearts, thank you for all you do.

Nancy and Darrell, happiest of birthdays to you both from all of the primates here at CSNW! We’re so glad to be able to celebrate your special days with you!

The boss of Krissy (and us all), beautiful Jamie:

On one occasion this winter when we were running low on snow at the sanctuary, Krissy made a special snow delivery for Burrito from the next town over!

Annie, Missy and Foxie:

The Elusive Honey B

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Honey B is anything but shy.

This bright, enigmatic chimp seemed to arrive at the sanctuary with one setting: investigate.

For example, Honey B constantly inspects human personnel for new cuts, scrapes, bruises, hangnails, freckles, accessories and even tattoos, which she then insists on eagerly grooming. Her first reaction to new volunteers is to spit water on them, measure their reaction, and then stare at them as if they were a peculiar piece of art in a museum. This not-so-warm welcome seems to make people feel a bit uneasy at first. To quote volunteer Becca’s reaction after meeting Honey B last fall, “I feel like she knows my SAT scores.”

Honey B tends to be the first chimpanzee to enter new areas after they have been cleaned and provisioned with enrichment materials, and she was the first to figure out the drinking fountains in her new home. Even when meeting new chimps, her strategy seemed built around a framework of testing boundaries and pushing buttons. Curiosity may proverbially kill felines but it somehow hasn’t gotten Honey B yet.

Her apparent rule that everything needs to be investigated in depth also applies to cameras and phones. While other chimps may be more curious about the reflective camera lens (like Willy B) or nervous about having their photo taken (like Mave), Honey B seems intent on somehow obtaining the camera. Her immediate reaction is to charge forward, get as close to the camera as possible, and ask the caregivers to let her groom the camera body. On rare occasions, she has asked me to drop a camera or phone in the food chute (which is not going to happen). We can only imagine what she would do with a camera, but it’s not impossible that she would actually attempt to take photographs with it. She’s learned how to clean by observing humans, so maybe the visual arts are next.

This tendency of hers to hover by the camera makes capturing portraits of her a challenge. Today, I got lucky. When I unlocked the wing of the building where Honey B and her two companions now reside, the three of them were sitting by the window in a beam of morning sunlight. I coincidentally had the camera by my side (armed with a groovy Canon lens that was generously donated by a supporter who saw it on our Wish List), making it a truly serendipitous moment. Honey B held still for a quick photo shoot as Mave lazily picked through her hair and groomed her shoulder. Perhaps I have Mave to thank for that whole moment.

Anyway, you’re all being treated to a rare portrait of Honey B as the cornerstone of today’s blog post. Enjoy.

The Sun King

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Despite having a bit of a sideways blowing snowstorm yesterday, we found most of it melted today. (Don’t worry, Burrito has eaten his weight in snow so far today as the shady spots still hold plenty for snacking). The sun is in full bloom, but we have a freezing prequel to the infamous spring winds of the area that have been thundering through the sanctuary like a freight train all day. Even though everyone has access to their outdoor areas, the wind is just too much for any of the chimpanzees to tolerate being outside in it seems, so everyone has been melted into their individual sun puddles on both sides of the chimp house.

Behold, Willy B, the Sun King:

Cuddle Puddles and Tricky Puzzles

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There was a lot of activity in the Chimp House on this busy Sunday, but this post just focuses on the happenings in the newer part of the sanctuary’s main building.

In that wing of enclosures, Honey B, Mave and Willy B have continued to settle in and seem to grow more comfortable with each passing day. Mave, of course, is an expert nest-builder and can make herself comfortable in any place, at any time, and with any partner. This was true on her road trip from California, it was true when we introduced her to a group of strangers, and it remains true each and every morning.

Willy B

During the late morning hours, Mave sprawled out on the heated floor in a beam of sunlight and lazily picked through the remnants of breakfast. She was soon joined by Honey and Willy in what became a massive raft of fuzz. Grooming is done for more than just hygiene and maintenance; it is the glue that bonds chimps together and also serves to alleviate stress. It certainly seemed to be doing all of the above as the three chimps took turns dozing off while gently picking through each other’s hair.

The Cuddle Puddle

Afterwards, though, the chimps began to act goofy and rambunctious. Lately, Willy B has been making raucous displays using a pink toy car that he can drag and push around the front rooms. Last week, he used this unusual object to make constant noise for the entire duration of our weekly staff meeting. Even with the doors between the chimp area and the foyer closed, we still had to shout just to hear each other. He continued to drag the little car around today, but he seemed to be in a good mood. He interspersed the loud drumming with quick play sessions. During these bouts of play, Willy waits for a caregiver to approach the caging and then skips away with his characteristic double stomp serving as a figurative exclamation mark. I tried to take photos of him and Honey B chasing us around the building, but both were fascinated by the camera and kept trying to groom and kiss the lens.

Honey B’s intense stare
Honey B’s nose hairs
Willy B’s pink lower lip
Willy B’s nose hairs and inquisitive gaze

The day ended with a challenging set of enrichment puzzles that today’s volunteer crew worked hard to stock with nuts, seeds and raisins. Chimps don’t seem to have the finely-tuned dexterity that most humans have, but they still tend to do quite well for themselves and can even learn how to use simple tools for grooming and foraging.The three new chimps were skilled with such tasks long before the even arrived at CSNW, but it’s still fascinating to watch them solve the puzzles in order to extract the valued snacks that are tactfully hidden inside. Today’s smörgåsbord of hanging puzzles included raisin boards, boomer balls, shake bottles, and drop-down puzzles; each type requires a different perspective and strategy, but the chimps are intelligent enough to figure most of them out eventually. The seven original residents are experts at these tasks and even last year’s arrivals are not far behind, so the pressure is on us caregivers to devise novel challenges that also meet our standards for safety and durability. Kelsi recently highlighted some enrichment activities on the blog, and we also curate a public enrichment database on our website.

Honey B teases peanuts out of a ball puzzle
Willy B shakes nuts and raisins out of a bottle puzzle
Willy B uses a plastic tool to drag the raisins into the enclosure for optimal snacking accessibility
Honey B uses a chopstick to work raisins out of the board puzzle
Honey B successfully punches a raisin out of the board

Provisioning the chimps with a steady stream of enrichment objects, foods and materials is a massive endeavor. For blog readers and Facebook followers, the best ways to ensure the chimpanzees have ample enrichment are to purchase items directly from our wish list or to become a Chimpanzee Pal. As Diana highlighted yesterday, an amazing supporter will be giving us bonus donations for every new Chimpanzee Pal and Bovine Buddy who signs up before the end of this month. Honey B, Mave and Willy B (the three chimps mentioned in this post) are all available to be sponsored. Of course, we appreciate all the generous people who have already made contributions to the sanctuary!

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P.S. I mentioned that Mave is an expert at maintaining a constant state of warm comfort. As I sit here putting the finishing touches on this blog post, I can see her silhouette on the security camera. Even with the limited night vision, her Ewok frame and hobbit feet are easy to distinguish. She’s snuggled up in a giant blanket nest on the heated floor of Front Room 7 and her right leg is propped straight up on the caging. She’s one of a kind.

P.S.S. Mave just lazily rolled over and I’m shutting down the Chimp House for the night. It’s easier to leave when you know that the chimps will be safe and warm in their nests until morning. I hope that you all do the same!

Run with the Wind

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The sun was out. The clouds were gone. But the wind was a force to be reckoned with. With weather forecasts predicting the winds to be in the range of 14 mph to 34 mph today, the wind could be heard all throughout the Chimp House.

When I gave the Group of 7 access to Young’s Hill, there were only a few takers to initially go out. Jamie and Foxie were the first to go out and conduct a patrol around their outdoor enclosure. As they came around to the last stretch of their patrol, both Jamie and Foxie were racing toward the Greenhouse.

Judging by Foxie’s sneer, she was not a fan of the wind and just wanted the patrol to be over with.

Missy initially watched as Jamie and Foxie began their patrol, but seemed to be at a crossroads on whether to join them or not.

But Missy is Missy, and without warning, shot out of the raceway onto Young’s Hill. So fast I was only able to lift the camera and get a somewhat blurry photo of her racing to catch up with Jamie and Foxie.

But the wind was too much for Annie. She stayed in the doorway between the Greenhouse and Young’s Hill and watched as Missy charged up the Hill.

Burrito took no time at all to make his decision: Stay in the Greenhouse and let the plexiglass paneling block the wind.

Negra decided to bypass all that. She remained in the Playroom, covered in blankets, basking in the rays of the sun through the window.

On the other side of the Chimp House, Willy B was eager to go into the Chute. He grabbed the best seat in the house so he could watch a train go by and the birds who are starting to return from their winter break.

Let’s hope this isn’t a false Spring so more outdoor adventures could be had.

Happy Birthday, Stanley!

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A day of sanctuary was sponsored for the chimpanzees by their amazing friend, Jamie Reagin, in honor of Stanley Friedman who is celebrating his 89th birthday today!

Jamie, thank you so much for being such an incredible part of the chimpanzees’ lives and all you do to make sanctuary possible for not only Jamie, Missy, Annie, Jody, Burrito, Foxie, Negra, Mave, Honey B and Willy B, and Betsy, Nutmeg, Honey and Meredith, but for each of those to come. We so appreciate you including the chimps (and us all!) in your celebration with Stanley!

Stanley, may this be the best birthday yet! We hope you have the most wonderful day and are so happy to celebrate with you! Thanks for sharing your day with the chimpanzees and making a difference in their lives.

Honey B, scootin’:

Boss lady, Jamie:

Burrito, being Burrito: