Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee retirement

The Oversight Committee

by

As if unanimously appointed, the chimpanzees have taken on the responsibility of supervising the ongoing expansion.

As the interior of the new wing nears completion, Gary and the team are making quick progress on the exterior renovation. The keystone of this project is an immense archway tunnel that will soon allow chimps to move freely between the expansion’s indoor areas and the existing outdoor habitat, Young’s Hill.

Just last week, pieces of the new tunnel were brought to the sanctuary, assembled, and set in place. Today, the crew began the extension of Young’s Hill that will align the end of the tunnel with the outdoor enclosure’s primary fence.

The chimpanzee residents are not visibly distressed by all of the commotion. In fact, they seem to be intrigued by the people operating heavy machinery right in their backyard. Diana took these photographs as the chimps used the high ground provided by Young’s Hill to keep watch over the crew.

Foxie
Missy (foreground) and Foxie (background)
Jamie
Foxie
Annie (left) and Foxie (right)
Annie (left) and Foxie (right)

Back in the Chimp House, the only drama seemed to be entirely unrelated to the construction. It revolved around onions.

Onions and Green Beans

While serving lunch, I dropped some onion petals and green beans outside of the caging of the Greenhouse (above). Any items dropped in this area are usually claimed by Jamie and she makes an effort to pull them within reach using whatever tool is at her disposal. Apparently, someone else made an attempt to retrieve some onion scraps and Jamie threw a tantrum, causing a fiasco in the Greenhouse that spilled over into the Playroom. Eventually, everyone else gave up and Jamie triumphantly ate her onions in the front rooms  (below).

Jamie then spent the rest of the afternoon watching all the humans dig holes, clean enrichment, chop produce and fold laundry. Although she supervised from afar, her plans consisted of nesting with boots, foraging for more leftover onions, and flipping through books about shoes.

 

Nothing

by

Today, the chimps reminded me of a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip by cartoonist Bill Watterson.

The comic goes something like this:

Hobbes: You know what I like about summer days? They’re just made for doing things… even if it’s nothing.
Calvin: Especially if it’s nothing.

Nothing is exactly what the chimps decided to do today. The vibe in the Chimp House was one of tranquility and peace. It was, as the kids say nowadays, “chill.”

The day began with a lengthy breakfast that was followed by relaxation in the Greenhouse.

Negra
Missy

Jody and Burrito spent a good chunk of time grooming each other…

Jody (left) and Burrito (right)

…and all the chimps made trips into the shady building to relax, cool off, and observe the caregivers.

Jamie
Burrito
Jamie
Negra

Throughout the morning Jamie remained calmly engaged with Level III volunteer Chad, who dutifully wore Jamie’s favorite cowboy boots while she used a length of plastic hose to groom them.

Chad (left) and Jamie (right)
Jamie’s boot

Foxie had the best plans of them all. She found a quiet, secluded corner of the Greenhouse and played with a couple of dolls. She even allowed me to sit outside of the caging with my camera and take a few quick shots.

Foxie

At a time with so much commotion and activity around the sanctuary on this hot summer day, the chimps seemed especially carefree and calm this morning.

 

The Golden Years

by

I spent some time watching Negra this morning.

I had just opened the hydraulic door that allows the chimpanzees to access Young’s Hill, so the seven chimps were all free to forage and roam across their spacious outdoor habitat for the rest of the day. Neggie, of course, had other plans.

The Queen, pictured above, was lounging on the upper level of the Greenhouse- the optimal location for a morning nap. As she basked on her side in the summer breeze, her lackadaisical bliss reminded me of a sea lion hauled out on a busy fishing pier, unconcerned with the activity going on around her. She had a plaid blanket draped over her shoulders and an assortment of fleece items piled around her legs. Her chin rested on her wrist, giving her the appearance of being deep in thought. She was the definition of comfort. Negra looked glorious.

Negra’s life wasn’t always like this. Neggie was likely captured in the wild as an infant in 1973, making her approximately 46 years old. We often think of her as the most senior of the CSNW residents, but the five other females are also well into their fifth decade of life. Even Burrito, born in the early 1980s, is well past the median life expectancy for captive male chimpanzees and has even exceeded the average life span for males in one of the healthiest wild communities studied by primatologists. According to what we know about chimpanzee life history, this leads us to classify all of our residents as geriatric individuals. We are prepared to manage their health and provide daily care for them accordingly, but it also shapes our expectations for the future of our sanctuary’s residents.

At larger chimpanzee sanctuaries, the populations are typically composed of individuals who vary greatly in age and background. Chimp Haven, a chimpanzee sanctuary in Keithville, Louisiana, just announced the passing of their oldest resident, Sarah Anne. Sarah Anne lived to be almost 60 years old, but didn’t retire to Chimp Haven until 2006 when she was already in her late-40s. As evidenced by the vivid descriptions and heartwarming stories shared by the Chimp Haven staff, Sarah Anne was undoubtedly an amazing individual who made the most of her time in sanctuary.

After reading about the famous Sarah Anne, I see many parallels between her life and Negra’s. Both were taken from the wild and brought to the United States as infants, presumably orphaned. Both were exploited for decades in order to advance scientific investigations. Both were shuffled from one location to another when they were no longer needed for research. Eventually, both found peaceful homes at reputable sanctuaries where they could spend their days doing their favorite things. Both became known for their extravagant blanket nests, and both became known as “queens” for their strong will and dignified demeanor. Remarkably, both overcame their pasts to become cornerstones of their social groups.

Most importantly, their stories demonstrate how chimpanzees who have already endured long and difficult lives can still grow and thrive once retired to sanctuary.

Last year, just three years after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ended biomedical research on chimpanzees, the number of chimpanzees living in sanctuary eclipsed the amount still living in laboratories. Concurrently, there was an exhaustive debate regarding which chimpanzees should be considered candidates for relocation to sanctuary. The discussion focused on older chimpanzees, particularly those with chronic health conditions. After receiving comments from the public and input from experts, the NIH eventually concluded that all but the frailest chimpanzees should be given an opportunity to experience sanctuary, regardless of age and despite manageable health conditions.

As sanctuary caregivers around the country can testify, life does not end at retirement for chimpanzees any more than it does for humans. In Negra’s case, she has already had more than a lifetime’s share of traumatic experiences and solitary confinement. It’s only fitting that she can now live each day to the fullest, whether that includes scarfing down heads of lettuce, playing with the other chimps, participating in positive reinforcement training, or trekking up the hill to pick wild greens.

Every day, chimpanzees just like Negra and Sarah Anne get to enjoy a peaceful and enriched retirement. As many in the primate sanctuary community are taking time to fondly remember Sarah Anne and reflect on her golden years, we can also use this moment to celebrate the unique opportunities that sanctuary can give to chimpanzees of all ages.

They Know

by

The Cle Elum Seven Chimpanzees spent decades in biomedical research laboratories and holding facilities in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.

The minimum space requirements for housing chimpanzees under the Animal Welfare Act remain shockingly, well, minimal. It’s still legal to keep a chimpanzee in a 5’x5’x7′ cage. These days, however, most laboratories that are still housing chimpanzees allow them to live in social groups and give them some sort of outside access. The National Institutes of Health recommends (though doesn’t require) enclosures that provide at least 250 square feet of space per chimpanzee. As a point of reference, for our group of seven, that’s a total of 1,750 square feet. Think about the size of your apartment or house as a comparison. Now think of yourself having only that amount of space for the rest of your life. Still, 250 square feet is way beyond the twenty-five square-foot cages that the Cle Elum Seven spent much of their lives.

The changes in how labs house chimpanzees came about in part due to pressure from a public that had gained insight into the deep intelligence and social lives of these beings that are so closely related to us.

Beyond just amount of space, providing an enriching, stimulating, interesting environment for chimpanzees is about giving them lots and lots of choices. Even if they only use some of their space a fraction of the time or only pick up a certain object one out of every five times it’s available, simply living in an environment that provides a large amount of variety is a huge part of giving intelligent primates at least some of what they need.

After spending decades in small spaces without access to the outside, I wonder if the Cle Elum Seven could have imagined a place like CSNW with 85,000 square feet of space.

Once they were at the sanctuary, their bodies and their minds knew what to do.

They followed their instincts, put their muscles to work, and got down to the business of exploring.

They reached into their imaginations and indulged in private games and adventures.

They broadened their palate and relished opportunities to search for and gather food.

No one had to teach them to be chimpanzees.

(Just a note about these photos – they were all taken today! The photos include Foxie, Jamie, Annie, and Missy.)

The Unknown

by

The chimpanzees have been remarkably nonchalant about the giant wing that was added on to their building this spring. Curious at times for sure, but for the most part just going about their days as usual. With the exception of Annie.

Ever since that day last year when we moved the trailer away from the barn doors in preparation for construction to begin, Annie has spent time at those doors peering in, as she is in this photo (she’s the one standing up), or just sitting next to the doors, listening:

The other chimpanzees have been tuned in when something really interesting and new happens, like at the end of January when the hydraulic door on the other side of the barn doors was operated for the first time:

Today though, it was Missy who was spending quite a bit of time hanging out near that doorway to the unknown.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, she did not spend the whole day camped out there. She had other things to do:

I’d love to know what Missy is thinking, what all of the chimpanzees are thinking, about what awaits them on the other side of that door.

Missy has no idea that next month she will be able to look through that door and see the face of her 30 year-old daughter, Honey B. We have the same question as everyone else – will they feel a connection to one another?

They spent less than 24 hours together when Honey B was born to Missy at the Laboratory for Experimental and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP), so it would be extraordinary if they recognized each other by sight. Chimpanzees’ sense of smell is just about as lousy as ours, so that’s not going to help them know each other. It really is like a human mom and baby who were separated at birth. Maybe there will be some kind of connection that even they don’t understand; or maybe it will be the same as Missy with Mave and Willy B – strangers (as far as we know) meeting for the first time.

There are a lot of unknowns.

What is certain is that the chimpanzees are ever more curious about what is going to happen on the other side of that door. Tonight when I went in to the playroom to spot clean I discovered that someone had used a willow branch as a tool to reach a lock on that door.

Soon, chimpanzees, soon.

For Ned and Noreen

by

Joan O’Flaherty graciously sponsors this day each year in loving memory of her parents, Ned and Noreen O’Flaherty:

“This is my parents’ wedding anniversary. They loved animals and supported conservation and would be glad that the chimpanzees enjoy this special day.”

Joan, we so appreciate your continued support and love for the chimpanzees as you celebrate your parents and their lovely legacy. Thank you so much for the difference you make in the chimpanzees’ lives. We’ll be thinking of Ned and Noreen today and wish you all the good that comes with memories of loved ones.

Negra and Annie:

Annie and Missy:

Burrito and Jody:

Jamie and Foxie: