So many things have changed for the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees in the last ten years since they moved from a research lab to the sanctuary.
One of the most striking is their new view.
chimp
In memory of Robert Ruggeri
Rachel Ruggeri sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in honor of her father, Robert Ruggeri. Rachel shared this touching message:
“I saw on the blog today the word…independence. And no single word could better describe my father, Robert Ruggeri, who would have been 82 years old on this day. Though he passed away five years ago, we think of him each and every day and we are grateful for the independence he fostered in each of his children. He loved all animals, most especially chimpanzees, and he would be so happy to know the gang of seven was discovering their independence in the hills of the sanctuary amid the Eastern Washington skies. “Freedom over security” was among one of the many of my father’s favorite sayings. Like the gang, here’s to hoping that my father has found the freedom and independence he so desperately craved…”
Rachel, thank you for sharing such a loving and powerful tribute about your father. It seems beautifully apropos for the chimpanzees. We are so honored to celebrate Robert’s memory with you and your family.
Ten years in sanctuary, and the chimpanzees continue to explore and embrace freedom and independence in their own meaningful ways more and more with each passing day. And we couldn’t be more honored to bear witness to their daily self-discoveries of bravery, adventure, joy, love, and healing.
Foxie relishing the accomplishment of her first courageous climb to the top of Twister:
Negra bravely traversing the shaky bridge for possibly the first time:
Annie, first to the top of the new structure:
Jody, enjoying the freedom to rest:
The Inspector
Whenever we add a new feature to the chimpanzees’ home, we have to make sure it’s chimp-safe and chimp-proof. Jamie and Foxie can both be relied upon to give any new structures a thorough once-over; Jamie because she wants to try to take them apart, Foxie because she wants to make sure they’re safe.
Life is Good
It’s probably safe to say that there is nothing better on this planet than spring at the sanctuary. The doors are thrown open and a warm breeze blows through the chimp house. The chimps alternate between napping in sunspots and frolicking in the bright green grass outside on Young’s Hill. Everyone’s feeling light and free.
Spring has put an extra bounce in Burrito’s step today. Each time a caregiver passes by, he stomps his foot playfully and passes them this sock for a game of tug of war. Life is good.
A Special Visit and Some Special Ordinary Moments
There are so many little moments in any given day that we caregivers find endearing or funny or amazing or otherwise noteworthy.
Early this morning, for example, I saw Burrito sampling the grass for the first time this spring. I was overjoyed because I know what’s to come in the next couple of months – the chimpanzees sitting outside and stuffing their mouths with handfuls of grass. It’s one of my favorite times of year. I didn’t get a photo this morning, but you can bet there will be many to come.
At lunch, the chimpanzees had a very exciting visitor: Dr. Birute Galdikas, the famous anthropologist who is for orangutans what Dian Fossy was for gorillas and Jane Goodall is for chimpanzees. These three remarkable women were initially supported in their observational research of great apes by Louis Leakey and they each changed the collective view of our closest living relatives. Dr. Galdikas, nearly fifty years after starting her field research in Borneo, still spends more than half of each year in Indonesia running the field site and directly working to protect orangutans in their native habitat. Much of the rest of her time is spent raising awareness about the perilous situation facing orangutans in the wild and raising funds for Orangutan Foundation International.
Dr. Galdikas spoke last night to students and community members at nearby Central Washington University, thanks to one of the most unique primatology programs in the world. We were so honored that she chose to visit the sanctuary during her brief stay. I think she made a connection with Burrito, which was very sweet.
I neglected to get my own photos of her visit, maybe because I was flustered to be in her presence, but luckily others had their phones at the ready. So, below is a photo from Katelyn of Jake Funkhouser, Dr. Galdikas, and Ruth Linsky. Ruth and Jake are the students who arranged for Dr. Galdikas’ visit to CWU through the Primate Awareness Network.
Later in the afternoon, Anna and I donned some new favorite boots of Jamie’s and took off on a walk around the hill. Missy and Annie came out too and proceeded to twirl and slap and wrestle their way across the hill. Guess what? I didn’t have a camera in hand for those moments either. But, please do take a second to picture it – they were having a great time.
You may be wondering at this point whether I visually captured any part of the day at all to share with you. I did!
Jody was on a mission all day to snack on some of the spruce trees on the hill. I saw her at least three times going back and forth to the “Christmas tree lot” with pieces of tree in her mouth. She looked very satisfied by her foraging
Sooo sleepy
The chimpanzees usually start gathering up blankets and heading for their night nests as soon as dinner and the evening enrichment are over. With one exception, that is. Jamie. Even if Jamie doesn’t choose to stay out for walking, she has indoor projects lined up for the evening by the time we leave for the day. But on the nights she does choose to stay out and walk, the chimp house often grows dark as everyone else is curled up in their nests starting to drift off to sleep. But with staff quietly going in and out to walk with Jamie while we wait for her to decide to come in, it’s not always the most conducive to sleeping. And sometimes the chimps just don’t fully settle into slumber until everyone is in for the night.
So when Jamie chose to stay out the other night, every time I walked down the human hallway past the frontrooms where Burrito had made a nest, he’d look at me sleepily and throw his arm out toward me, barely keeping his eyes open, trying to be patient for the boss lady to come in so he could go to sleep.
Shortly before Jamie finally decided to come inside for the night, I found Burrito sitting on one of the benches, sleepily holding onto his blanket and yawning, as if to say, “Please tell her to come in now, I’m sooo tired.”
A Personal Holiday
We hear it’s National Burrito Day…
