chimpanzee retirement

Personality Anecdotes

December 12, 2020 by Diana

As you may well know, this sanctuary is chock full of personalities, and the more you get to know the chimpanzees and cattle, the more you appreciate each individual’s many sides.

First, I want to say how incredibly thankful we are for the donations that have been coming in for our year-end fundraising. At this moment we are 35% towards our goal!

Each and every donation is even more meaningful to us this year, and we are so appreciative of all of your support as we work towards the day when we will be telling you all about the personalities of the new six chimpanzees who we hope will be coming from Wildlife Waystation in 2021!

On with the show—

Personality exhibit #1: Betsy

Every once in a while when we go to hang out with the cattle, we discover Betsy has mud caked on all over her face. Our best guess is she dips her head into the soft banks of the creek on purpose. She’s the only one of the four who does this. She seems quite content with the mud, so maybe she’s on to some sort of mountain mud facial.

Personality exhibit #2: Jamie

Today Jamie decided to use the “foot box” as her own personal boot box.

She stored her boots in there for about a half hour, until she was ready to move to another part of the building, boots in hand.

Personality exhibit #3: Negra

Negra is continuing to construct over-the-top, really quite outrageous blanket nests. The photo below is the last view I had of her this evening before turning the lights out.

Looking at that photo above, and learning that Negra often pouts her lips through the caging to kiss her caregivers’ hands generally elicits the impression that Negra is a very sweet chimpanzee.

I’m not going to say that she’s not sweet; she certainly can be, but her personality really is more sharp than saccharine.

As we’ve mentioned before, she has a bit of a mafia boss relationship with Missy in particular. I witnessed this aspect of their relationship yesterday.

The chimpanzees were finishing up their breakfast and I was lucky enough to walk by the front rooms just at the right moment to see Missy attempting to pass Negra while carrying several pieces of primate chow. Negra whimpered and held out her hand. Missy paused just for a second and then proceeded to put all of the chow into Negra’s outstretched hand.

Now, if you didn’t know their individual personalities and just witnessed this moment, you might understandably surmise that Missy was being nice to Negra and her hand off was a moment of altruism. But, Missy also wouldn’t generally be described as “sweet” by those who know her well. Don’t get me wrong, she and Negra have very sweet moments together:

but Missy is a very politically shrewd chimpanzee.

Missy likes primate chow, but she doesn’t love it. So it’s not a bad deal for her to give up something that she may consider low value as a “pay off” to keep in good standing with Queen Negra. I would probably do the same thing myself.

Just a Couple of Wishes

December 10, 2020 by Anthony

What a week! Sunday was weird, Monday was better, and Tuesday and Wednesday were both busy and fun. It’s been another busy day of construction projects, produce shopping and delivery, routine cleaning and caregiving, and planning for the winter holiday season.

Speaking of which, we’d love if you all took a moment to consider purchasing something off of our holiday Wish List! Outreach Coordinator Kelsi curates the list and has added some special items. The additions include a new skateboard for Honey B, books for Jamie, fleece blankets for all the chimps, and hardware that will help us to furnish the new playrooms.

If the item you hope to donate is already purchased, there are always items such as dietary supplements, storage totes, cleaning products and office supplies that are equally important! I can’t speak for the other staff, but I get pretty stoked when people donate mundane items like wet erase markers and refills for the label printer. If you feel like making my day (or contributing to the welfare of the chimps), you can access the list directly by clicking here.

Additionally, we caregivers have two primary wishes that are not Prime items but are equally tangible: for all chimpanzees to reach their sanctuary homes and for all the sanctuary’s residents to stay happy and healthy.

Of course, this wish also applies to the bovines. As Katelyn mentioned on Monday, Meredith looked much better than the day before and her check-up went well, so we’re not too concerned but are still taking precautions.

To facilitate the health exam, we shifted the cattle into the Bud Box and then isolated Meredith in the narrow chute. Dr. Erin plays the role of “quarterback” during veterinary exams, managing the team and doing the specialized tasks that require her expertise. In this case, J.B. and I served as her assistants (and Chad also helped on a couple of occasions by promptly running some supplies up from the sanctuary’s vet clinic).

Erin listens to the activity in Meredith’s rumen.

Frost covers the pasture and surrounding forests.

Meredith’s mother, Honey, watches attentively.

In summary, Dr. Erin did a full visual inspection, palpated and listened to Meredith’s gut, tested her reflexes and responses, collected blood and fecal samples for diagnostics, and used the opportunity to administer some preventative antibiotics. We then let Meredith back out with the herd and monitored her for further discomfort or difficulties.

Since then, we’ve been frequently visiting the barn to check on Meredith and give her supplements. These include minerals, probiotics, electrolytes and anti-inflammatory meds. Surprisingly, though, Merry looks fantastic. She’s eating heartily, breathing normally, moving with the herd and laying down in the straw bedding at night. As happy as we are with this improvement, it makes her Sunday troubles even more mysterious. Dr. Erin and the staff are working to rule out some possibilities, but our initial diagnosis of “ain’t doin’ right” currently still stands. This whole thing loosely feels like a low-budget episode of House, M.D. where the team wears Carrhart overalls instead of lab coats.

The best part of the exam, however, was this series of opportunistic portraits that depicts Nutmeg showing affection for his mother, Betsy…

…to the point of being mildly annoying.

P.S. I took all of these photos with the new mirrorless camera and an 85mm portrait lens. A generous supporter purchased both of these items for us via the same Wish List I mentioned above. Consider it further evidence that your contributions help us to do our jobs!

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

December 5, 2020 by Diana

I stand by Katelyn’s post from the summer that there is no doubt that Honey B is her own unique person, quite separate from her biological history of having been born to Missy. But just as time shows us her own special uniqueness, new similarities between mom and daughter have also revealed themselves.

These two formidable and intelligent beings were tragically separated from one another at the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP), shortly after Honey B was born on June 11, 1989.

Missy was forced to continue her life of servitude as a laboratory test subject and breeder and Honey B went to the lab’s “nursery” where she was raised by humans in preparation for the same future. Unlike many other chimpanzees at LEMSIP who moved to a notorious laboratory in New Mexico called the Coulston Foundation, Honey B escaped that future when she and dozens of other young chimpanzees were moved to Wildlife Waystation in California as LEMSIP closed permanently.

Missy and Honey B were only reunited here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest 30 years after their separation.

As Katelyn mentioned in her post, there were no signs of particular recognition or even fondness between the pair when they met face to face before we abandoned the introductions of the two groups last fall.

Though they do not share the same rooms or have close interactions with one another, they do still see each other every day.

Just today, I spied Missy in a window of the playroom spying on her daughter as Honey B snacked on some lettuce in the Chute.

To be clear, there are shared preferences, quirks, and other similarities among some of the unrelated chimpanzees (the stand-out example is both Honey B and Annie wearing stretchy headbands around their waists), so who’s to say if the similarities between Missy and Honey B are inherited or simply coincidental. If you’ve ever taken a psychology or biology class or just on your own pondered the “nature vs nurture” question, you know the answer is almost always “both”.

Yet, it’s fun to consider that some of these traits just might have an element of heredity to them.

Similarities were brought up by other staff earlier this week, so it seemed a good time to reflect on what I’ve noticed that seem to characterize both mom and daughter.

Athleticism

Kelsi’s and Chad’s posts earlier this week that included the videos below clearly showed that Honey B and Missy are both quite quick on their feet and run for sheer enjoyment. That is not really the case for the majority of the other chimps.

It’s not just running that defines their love of movement. On any given day we see both of them climbing, swinging, leaping, and balancing.

Playing Ghost

This was again inspired by a post earlier this week, this time Anna’s. Check out Missy’s ghost play with Annie from a few years ago compared to Honey B playing with Mave this week in the two videos below:

Playing Ghost is not specific to Honey B and Missy. Notably, Jamie sometimes ghosts around too:

Even when by themselves, Honey B and Missy seem to enjoy their version of ghosting.

A Love of Tomatoes

If Missy could have one food for every meal for the rest of her life, that food would be tomatoes. I have never known another chimpanzee to like tomatoes with the sincerity and fervor of Missy.

Honey B, however, comes a close second, though she is pickier about the quality.

Headstands

Perhaps this goes along with athleticism? I’m really not sure. Either way, both mom and offspring seem to like being inverted, both during play and sometimes when making a nest.

The photo above of Missy comes from a blog post that I wrote over ten years ago. For some reason I remember putting it together like it was yesterday.

Socks

The photo of Missy above with a sock on her arm is from the first month that the seven arrived at the sanctuary. You can still see Missy’s shaved belly from the medically indicated hysterectomy she had before coming here. Our photography equipment and file saving procedures were in their infancy – that’s why I couldn’t find a larger photo.

To be fair, Mave and Jody are also pretty into socks:

Jody’s style is to wear the sock just over her toes

I was reminded of one other similarity today as I was shifting the chimpanzees during meals to make it safe for us to enter a space for cleaning; if you were a betting person and you had to bet on which chimpanzee in each group would hold up shifting, it would be very safe to put your money on Missy and Honey B (Willy B’s more recent bout of rebellion notwithstanding). Missy is generally the last person in her group to leave a space and the least motivated by food. Her daughter? Pretty much the same.

Fun Inside, Outside, and In-between. Subtitle: Caging is OK

November 28, 2020 by Diana

With the right camera lens and the right distance, we can “focus through” the fencing that surrounds the outdoor habitats so the fencing disappears or turns into blurs in the foreground.

It’s a trick of the camera. The fencing doesn’t actually go away.

But our eyes perform the same trick. This is roughly where Willy B was looking in the photos above and exactly what that hillside looked like to my eyes too.

We love sharing the sanctuary with loyal supporters and new interested folks too. One comment that people often make when they see a video from us for the first time on Facebook or Instagram is that the chimpanzees shouldn’t be indoors or “in a cage.”

I tried to answer this years ago in this blog post, but I felt it needed an update.

It is helpful to begin as that post did with the image of the type of cages that many of the chimpanzees at CSNW spent the majority of their lives:

That is a cage.

At the sanctuary, there is also caging.

Caging makes people uncomfortable. They want to see chimpanzees outside “where they are meant to be.” They want to imagine that they are free and close to nature.

I’m not immune to it myself.

Just yesterday, I noted what a lovely afternoon it was and tried to implore Jamie to go outside. The voices of my parents echoed in my head as I said, “you should be outside, it’s beautiful.”

When my parents issued similar sentiments, I’m not sure if I ever responded out loud “well then why aren’t you outside?” If Jamie could speak, she would have been right to ask me the same question. She was perfectly happy making a nest by the window in that moment.

We all have individual preferences, and how we want to spend our time can change from one moment to the next. The chimpanzees are the same.

They like different spaces for a multitude of reasons. I hope the video above illustrates both the utility of caging and also how the chimpanzees might view it differently than we do; without all of the symbolism that we humans put on it.

It took us a little more than three years from the time Negra, Burrito, Jamie, Foxie, Missy, Annie, and Jody arrived to give them Young’s Hill – their two-acre habitat surrounded by double electric fences.

In those three years, the chimps were not unhappy. They played, foraged, nested, and spent lots of time in the indoor/outdoor greenhouse.

We knew they should have more, and we wanted to see them truly “outside.”

I can’t imagine Jamie not having Young’s Hill now. She loves it. She owns it.

Negra, on the other hand, can take it or leave it. Seeing her outside in the spring, though, still takes my breath away.

We can’t get inside the heads of the chimpanzees. We can’t ask them what they are thinking. But we can observe them and watch where they choose to spend their time and how they utilize different spaces.

We can (and should) do things to encourage them to GET OUTSIDE, but it’s worth asking ourselves if we are doing that for their sake or for our own – to fulfill the vision we have of what chimpanzees in captivity should be doing instead of what they want to be doing.

These chimpanzees cannot live in the wild. Our job is to give them the best possible captive life possible, with lots of choice and variety, based on their individual needs, personalities, and quirks.

We’ll continue to blur the fencing out of some photos and put the cameras up to the caging for an unobstructed view, but it’s not because we want you to forget that it’s there; it’s so you can fully see the unique and wonderful chimpanzees who are choosing to do whatever they are doing in the moment when the camera shutter closes.

All Smiles

November 24, 2020 by Chad de Bree

Chimpanzee smiles are one of the greatest things to see. Granted let’s not confuse a true chimpanzee smile with a fear grimace. What most humans recall when they think of a chimpanzee smile are those usually found on cards or advertisements. Usually a juvenile chimpanzee dressed up in some costume, and full teeth showing with the edges of their mouth going from ear-to-ear. For those of us who work with or study chimpanzees, fully showing the upper and bottom rows of their teeth is the indication they are fear grimacing. Chimpanzees use the grimacing to show that something is causing them anxiousness or fear, or to show off their impressive canine teeth to intimidate another.

A true chimpanzee smile, one used for play and enjoyment, only the bottom teeth are usually exposed. I say usually because there are occasions where something may be super exciting or really funny is too hard to contain. In these circumstances, other chimpanzee behaviors are looked for such as laughter, breathy pants, etc. But once we, as caregivers, confirm they are indeed chimpanzee smiles, and if directed toward us, it makes the day so much brighter.

Here are a few I was able to capture of Mave. Both the lead up and the actual smiles.

First was last week as I entered the Willy B, Honey B, and Mave’s side of the building. She really wanted to play an interaction called “shoe tickle.” As J.B. described in his blog a few weeks back, “shoe tickle” is when the chimpanzees fully extend their fingers through the mesh and can only touch the bottoms of our shoes with just the tips of their fingertips. This is to avoid them grabbing us in some way.

Then there is this sequence from Sunday of her in serious play mode.

Yesterday I was able to catch Honey B’s smile during a play session as well!

(Note the coloration of Honey B’s eyelids! It’s one of the many, many, many things I love about her that makes her unique!)

I tried to round this off by getting some photos of Willy B’s smile and play face. However, as some of you know, he is really difficult to get photos of. Either he’s too close for the cameras we have on hand, or he stops doing what he’s doing if a phone is brought out. Though Willy B is serious about 85% of the day, the other 15% he can really be a goofball. Though most of the time he doesn’t showcase a smile or play face, once in a while he’ll let one slip and it’s amazing!

I tried to supplement it with someone who almost always has a smile on his face and can be heard throughout the sanctuary laughing nearly 95% of the day.

Though Burrito spends nearly the entire day laughing and playing, it actually can be difficult to get photos of his smile. But this is what I could get.

Hopefully these smiles brightened up your day as they do ours!

And remember:

When you’re smilin’, keep on smilin’ and the world smiles with you.”

-Louis Armstrong

The Reflection of Oneself and Others

November 17, 2020 by Chad de Bree

Chimpanzees are an highly intelligent species. You probably know this by now if you have been following the blog for a while. One test chimpanzees have passed numerous times is the Mirror Self-Recognition Test. This test simply shows that an individual knows that the reflection they are looking at in a reflective surface (i.e. mirror) is in fact their own and not a separate individual. Only a handful of species have passed this test to date, including all the large-bodied apes (including humans), elephants, dolphins, orcas, and magpies.

The chimpanzees here are no exception. They all seem to like to look at their reflections. Willy B absolutely loves staring at himself in the mirror!

While Willy B, and most of the other residents, like to stare at their reflection, Honey B uses it a tad differently.

First and foremost, the large Looky Lou mirror in the Mezzanine is a giant swing toy!

Once she has her fun swinging on this giant pendulum, she will stand there holding it. Then ever-so-slightly, turn it to make sure the humans watched her “coming in like a wrecking ball.”

And she will make sure we were watching from multiple angles.

Even when we arrive with camera in hand, she will watch us intently taking pictures, but through the reflection of the mirror.

Honey B is so clever and fun spirited. Her intelligence never ceases to amaze us, as do all the residents here! Just the other day I was quickly reminded of how clever they really are, especially with the use of mirrors and other reflective surfaces. As I was in a (what I thought was) blindspot in the kitchen, I heard Burrito Bronx cheering and banging on the mesh from one of the front rooms. This is usually Burrito talk for, “Hey you! It’s play time!” I didn’t think it was possibly directed to me because how could he see me? Then it hit me! The door leading to the chimp area was positioned ever-so-right that he could see me through the reflection of the window on the door! Since this discovery, I’ve noticed he will position himself in the front rooms if he has the slightest hint any of us are in this blindspot trying to get some work done. “Silly humans!”

As a bonus to end the day, here are some photos of Negra and Jody today!

Terroir

November 15, 2020 by Anthony

As I drove through the canyon on my way to the sanctuary this morning, I thought of a passage from science-fiction author Jeff VanderMeer.

Natural places are no different than human cities. The old exists next to the new. Invasive species integrate with or push out native species. The landscape you see around you is the same as seeing an old cathedral next to a skyscraper.

VanderMeer’s work, perhaps best described as ecological horror, explores how humans perceive and withstand environmental changes. Watching their surroundings undergo both subtle and dramatic transitions, no matter how neutral they are at their core, alters the emotional fibers of his characters.

Driving up the sanctuary’s driveway, I could see that the contractors had just finished covering the new wing of the chimpanzee building, which is hopefully just a few months away from completion. I reminded myself that I was an intern here just a couple years ago. Now everything looks a bit different. We have a new driveway, new barn, new structures, and new wing of enclosures. There are new residents (both bovine and chimp), new staff, and new protocols. It’s hard to believe that sanctuary itself hasn’t even existed for two decades yet because it hasn’t stopped evolving.

The land where the Chimp House sits was once an uninteresting pasture, but there were saloons and homesteads all along our stretch of highway. The nearby towns were base camps for coal miners and pioneers, and the surrounding forests have been sculpted by the flames of many wildfires and saws of many loggers. If you go back far enough, the Yakima and Snoqualmie people served as stewards of these lands for thousands of years. On a grander scale, massive herds of prehistoric bison and elk grazed the icy tundra that existed before humans arrived on the scene. Now, in a plot twist that would be just as confusing to the coal miners as it would to the prehistoric bison, ten retired chimpanzees call this place their sanctuary home.

What has not changed, in my lifetime at least, is the terroir of this place. For those of you who share my apathy for wine, terroir is a French word used to describe the suite of environmental and agricultural factors contributing to a wine’s quality. Importantly, though, terroir is not something that can be measured. It’s not just a composite of rainfall, or soil, or topography. It is an amalgamation of all these things into one noticeable character, and it can only be sufficiently experienced via taste.

One of the ecologists in VanderMeer’s novels uses the concept when describing a mysterious landscape, the feeling of which he cannot sufficiently explain using scientific language alone. It resonated with me when I first read it because it makes so much sense. I thought of all the places I’ve been lucky enough to live and work in, including this sanctuary, and recalled the unmistakable terroir of each. I wish the followers and donors, many of whom have never even visited this part of the country, could all come to this place and (without disturbing the residents) experience it for themselves. There’s nothing quite like walking around a dew-covered Young’s Hill in the morning and hearing a chorus of anticipatory pant-hoots rise up from the Chimp House, and words don’t do that experience any justice.

I know that having you all visit wouldn’t be possible, even in the absence of a global pandemic, so I hope you will all be content to view some photos that I’ve recently taken of this beautiful place as it continues to evolve into something else.