Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee retirement

Volunteers Behind the Scenes

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Last week I wanted to focus on Spring Negra, which meant there were some photos that didn’t make the cut for the blog. Luckily, I just remembered them! Look no further than the end of this post for the non-Negra photos from last week’s lunch forage.

But first, a word about volunteers.

Probably everyone reading this knows that the pandemic has drastically reduced the number of volunteers that are onsite helping with the daily operations of the sanctuary. There are currently just two volunteers who have basically been additional part-time staff members, cleaning alongside us and trying to keep up with Burrito. We owe them a huge amount of gratitude for all of the hours they’ve worked.

In addition to halting our regular volunteer program, we also put the Central Washington University daily intern shifts on hold until we feel that we can safely loosen restrictions without putting the chimpanzees at risk.

Volunteers and interns have been helping in other important ways, however.

They have been making paper braids in the shed near the chimp house, proof-reading marketing material, delivering totes brimming with lovingly-rolled chow bags, organizing community outreach events like the art contest and upcoming showing at Gallery One in Ellensburg, helping write grant proposals, entering historical medical data into new software, painting mountain murals in the new playrooms (we’ll share photos soon!), helping plan virtual fundraisers (The Queen’s Brunch coming to a computer near you on June 13th), and much more.

While volunteers continue to contribute to the smooth operation and outreach efforts of the sanctuary, our all-volunteer board of directors focuses on the really high-level behind-the-scenes work that you may never even hear about, like creating policies that ensure the sanctuary as an organization can carry on the vision of helping primates for a long time to come.

This strange past year has provided a lot of lessons and new perspectives, but, no matter what, we will remain grateful to those who choose to give their time to help the chimpanzees and bovines too. The sanctuary wouldn’t be what it is today without the unpaid yet hard and important work of so many people.

Thank you all!

Here are those promised photos. This first series is, “Foxie and the Carrot”:

 

This is simply: “Missy in Profile”

And this I was going to call “Burrito with Tomatoes” but I realize that might be confusing… so perhaps, “Burrito Enjoys a Forage Break” is better:

Rejoice

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Spring is still in its infancy in Cle Elum. The nights are cold, and we will likely see more snow, but it will be the kind of snow that is there one minute and gone the next. There’s no holding back the change in the seasons now.

This change from winter to spring is often the most dramatic. It surprises me every year. I don’t forget that the days gradually stretch in synchrony with the plants reaching for the sun, but I do forget what it really feels like. I can’t seem to conjure up the experience unless it’s authentically occurring.

I remember that the group of seven chimpanzees spend more time outside, and that we often scatter their meals out across Young’s Hill, the two acre habitat. We have thousands of photos of this. But still, watching and feeling the first forages of the season is familiar, but also new all over again.

This winter was, overall, remarkably mild. You may recall that we had a very notable Christmas celebration forage on the hill on December 19th. It was notable because Negra climbed up to the lookout for the first time in pursuit of a pineapple top. Go ahead, go re-live that glorious day.

Today we set out a lunch forage for the group of seven. Negra was the first one out of the raceway and onto the hill. She didn’t go even halfway up the hill, but she did seem to be remembering, like me, what spring feels like.

I couldn’t help but take a ridiculous number of photos of her as she sat, as she stretched to reach pieces of food, and as she walked, in all her glory, back inside. I encourage you to pause on each of the photos and remember. Remember that feeling of warmth and life and hope.

Maybe there are more pineapple climbing adventures in Negra’s future. But, even if there are not, today’s emergence was fulfilling.

 

On the other side of the building, Willy B spent some time sitting on the boardwalk.

We did a forage of a different sort by placing lettuce on top of the chute. I didn’t get any great photos of this forage, but Honey B, Willy B, and Mave all partook of the bounty, with Mave in particular getting into the foraging spirit.

In just a few months, the three will have new spaces to explore while we will work on creating their version of Young’s Hill that will be called The Bray. And six more chimpanzees will join that side of the building.

There’s a lot of hope in the air.

Morning Adventures and Afternoon Naps

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The staff will continue our positive reinforcement training this afternoon. But before we dive into our training, here are some photos of some chimpanzee adventures and naps.

Jody eating her breakfast clementine orange while looking out onto Young’s Hill.
Jody, Foxie (above) and Missy (below) take in this morning’s scenery from a platform after going out onto Young’s Hill.
Burrito later soon joined Foxie on the platform after Jody and Missy left.
Annie took some time for herself high above the bamboo on Young’s Hill. She later joined Missy and Jamie on a patrol around the parameter.
Foxie embraces one of her new Strawberry Shortcake dolls on the top platform in the Greenhouse.
Jamie embracing a cowboy boot while snoozing off. You may wonder why she doesn’t elect to lay down while taking her afternoon slumber. She is the boss you know and has to be ready to go at the drop of a hat. This photo was from yesterday, but Jamie is currently in this same position and I couldn’t get a better photo from today.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite piece of art! The three designs with the most votes will win the People’s Choice awards! So be sure to vote before March 14th!

little random moments

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The video above is a little bit random, but the days are a little random.

Little moments catch my fancy, like Jody with her great big eyes and Jamie and Burrito running with the Gator.

Spring is definitely in the air. The killdeer and red wing blackbirds are calling, the trees are starting to bud, the bovines are shedding their extra winter hair, and Mave is sunning herself at the top of the chute.

It’s the simple and subtle things that pull me forward towards the next day of random moments.

Training Continues

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Today, the staff continued our PRT training. However, I was able to take a few photos from today of the Seven enjoying Young’s Hill!

The days have been getting warmer and the snow is disappearing quickly. Just like yesterday, the Seven (minus one) spent a lot of time today exploring Young’s Hill.

When the door leading to Young’s Hill first opened, the first order of business was to take in this warm morning.

Annie and Foxie with Orange Blossom, of course!

Well, that was most everybody’s first agenda item. Burrito’s agenda item was to run around the hill.

This was from yesterday, but he may have had an advantage in pathways during our races today as well.

Right behind us came Jamie and Missy, with Jody in tow.

Before Jody continued on the walk, she first tried to look for some ice treats in a hanging tire.

None found, she went for one of her other favorite foraging items, a pine branch.

Coming up behind Jody was Foxie, with two Orange Blossoms!

Annie waited at the bottom of the hill for everybody to return. Though she didn’t partake in the first patrol, she was seen out and about since.

Missy stopped for a snowy treat before making her way inside.

Along the way, Jamie decided she want to climb the Twister and take in the surroundings.

At this point, you may be wondering about the “minus one.”

She did poke her head out in the morning, but decided to stay under a pile of blankets in the Greenhouse.

Unexpected Gift

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Do you know the word lagniappe? It’s an American French (think Louisiana) word. From my perusal of dictionary definitions it refers to a bonus “something” given to a customer when they are making a purchase. It’s now used in broader terms and refers to any unexpected bonus that comes with something else.

I’m glad I looked it up! I’ve liked the sound of the word since first hearing it and sometimes it’s just floating around up there in my head for no reason. But now I realize that my understanding of the definition as simply “an unexpected gift” was somewhat incorrect.

On Thursday afternoon, J.B. headed out with the sanctuary truck to pick up the weekly produce, which was much needed because the fridges were looking quite bare with the glowing exception of a particular fruit that I believe Anthony will be writing about tomorrow.

I want to say that the filling up of our fruit fridge was a lagniappe, but that would be using that unique word incorrectly – it was just a wonderful and unexpected gift.

I digress.

In the middle of a zoom call after J.B. had left to get produce, I got a call from him on my phone. I decided I should answer it because it was strange that he was calling me just 20 minutes after leaving. I rudely existed the view of my computer camera with no explanation and took his call. Indeed, my intuition was correct. The truck had an issue and he was parked on the side of the highway. There would be no produce run that day.

Instead, after the truck was towed and I picked up J.B., he made a quick jaunt to the local grocery store to hold the chimps’ over until the truck was fixed and he could do the full produce run this afternoon.

To my surprise, one of the produce items he brought back was corn. Corn! In February! This was indeed a lagniappe. Oh wait, no – that’s using the word incorrectly again.

Nevertheless, the chimpanzees were delighted with this unexpected gift:

Negra:

Missy:

Jody got two ears because Jamie was at first very focused on the mini sweet peppers at lunch, putting her ear of corn down near the watchful eyes of Jody. Jamie was okay with Jody taking it, but decided later she did in fact want some (maybe the sounds of all of the delightful crunching by her friends made her change her mind). If you are on Instagram, go to our page to see a little video clip of Jody crunching her double lagniappe gift.

Everything worked out in the end because Foxie rejected her corn full stop. So, I gave Jamie Foxie’s ear of corn and I gave Foxie Jamie’s carrot.

Whew!

Jamie took her corn up to the top window for some private dining.

Honey B, Mave, and Willy B got their corn for dinner and it was very much appreciated by all three of them. Here’s Honey B:

Thank you for all of you Produce Patrons out there who help provide the chimpanzees with much loved and unexpected gifts of fresh fruits and vegetables!

Side note – if anyone knows of a word that actually means “unexpected gift”, I would like to know! I might send you something as a thank you for your linguistic prowess.

Sense of Humor in Chimpanzees

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Someone recently donated two cardboard forts for the chimpanzees. Mave and Willy B had a really good time playing in and destroying theirs yesterday, while the group of seven left theirs intact to see another day. It’s hard to tell in the photo below, but these are big forts – big enough for a chimpanzee to fit inside.

This morning as we were just opening up the chimp house, Foxie was in the room with the fort, just walking past it. We both did a double-take when we heard some rustling and what sounded like knocking coming from inside. I’m not much of a morning person, so I wasn’t 100% sure of what I heard. But then out popped Burrito!

It reminded me of two things: First, this is my kind of humor. I remember years ago I hid inside a brand new garbage can to surprise a friend. I think it was a lot funnier to me than my friend. Second, also years ago, I did my masters thesis on play initiation in chimpanzees, specifically five chimpanzees who were living at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute at Central Washington University (the two chimpanzees who are still living from that group, Tatu and Loulis, now live at the Fauna Foundation in Quebec).

Gathering data for my thesis was a joy because I spent hours watching videotapes (yes, actual videotapes – I told you it was years ago) of chimpanzees playing. From what I recall, most of the instances of play initiation were between friends Moja and Tatu, and I remember more than one instance of Tatu hiding behind a wall and then jumping out at Moja when she walked past, with a raucous game of chase ensuing.

We witness the chimpanzees initiate play all of the time here at the sanctuary, and often the initiator is Burrito. He’s a very funny and fun-loving guy with his human and chimpanzee friends.

Even when he’s spending time alone, he seems to amuse himself. While we were cleaning the playroom, I looked into the greenhouse and saw Burrito sitting in a box eating breakfast leftovers. He had pulled his scooter up next to him.

Without a doubt, humor has gotten me through some otherwise tough times and made good times even better. Maybe joke-telling or sharing humorous thoughts is the human equivalent of initiating play. I think that’s how I will think of it now.