Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee retirement

Blanket Gathering as seen from the security cameras

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There’s something so sweet about chimpanzees making nests.

In the wild, chimpanzees use branches and leaves to create their beds. In captivity, blankets are a favorite of everyone who nests.

Watching the cameras over these last several weeks, I’ve learned that some chimpanzees are more creatures of habit than others. Gordo, for example, definitely has “his spot” on the catwalk in the Lupine Playroom. He’s not much of a nest-maker, so he usually has just a couple of blankets and some paper, but he also pulls up a fire hose hanging down near his spot and sometimes incorporates that into his nest. Some of the other chimps, on the other hand, stake out different nest sites on different nights. Rayne made a big nest in the Oakwood Greenhouse last night and stayed out there for quite a while before coming in and nesting on one of the “leaves” of the “tree” in Marmot Mountain Playroom.

Mave, Honey B and Willy B, from day one of the integration, claimed the Front Rooms as their bedroom. Just in the last couple of weeks, though, Mave has, once in a while, opted to sleep in the Lupine Playroom in the mix with her new group-mates. And sometimes Honey B will begin her nesting in the Mezzanine and later move down into the Front Rooms, like you see Mave doing in this video.

It will be so interesting to see how their chosen nesting sites evolve as time goes on!

I know you all likely want an update on Jamie, given J.B.’s blog post yesterday. Right now she is nesting in the front rooms on her side of the building. She’ll probably be isolated for another day or so as we monitor her surgical site, but she’s doing great! She rested a lot today, but clearly was interested in getting back with her group soon.

 

Playtime with Dora and Honey B Part II

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This may seem redundant since Diana had posted a video only a couple of weeks ago of Dora and Honey B playing, but I had to share this play session between the two from yesterday. It just makes me happy knowing that these two are now back together after being separated years ago. It’s almost like they are trying to make up for lost time.

Since this is a semi-repeat, here are some bonus photos!

Honey B up close and personal:

Terry grooming Dora:

Meredith enjoying the green grass of their new pasture:

Sunday Rest & Relaxation

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Happy Sunday, everyone! Here at the sanctuary, it is cloudy and in the low 50’s (before adding in the *aggressive* wind that hits every spring). This means that it has been the perfect day for some much needed R&R… and the chimps have been vibing. Us humans have been enjoying it too – the last few weeks have been so busy, with the integration of the 9 and Negra’s procedure, that we have all been operating under some level of stress.

Today, though, both humans and chimps seem content to go through the day calmly and intentionally. We have been checking things off our daily tasks while the chimps enjoy time together or with the staff. It has been so nice to walk through the chimp house and hear breathy laughter coming from some of the chimps playing or teeth clacking from some serious grooming sessions (looking at you, Willy B). It seems that we all needed some R&R and we are more than happy to soak it in!

Lucky taking a moment for herself in the Oakwood Greenhouse this afternoon. Her brother, Cy, was nearby and they seemed to just be enjoying each others company.

Willy B (read: Chaos Coordinator) about to catch some shut eye after lunch in the Front Rooms.

Terry enjoying a quiet moment in the Oakwood Greenhouse after breakfast. That floof is something else!

Cy watching Terry as Terry watched me take pictures of him (Terry)… make sense?

Burrito taking a nap in-between play sessions.

Annie enjoying the quiet in the warmth of the greenhouse.

Negra is still healing up great and enjoying her mini-staycation, complete with movies on demand, food puzzles, and dancing caregivers.

BONUS PHOTO: Dora from the other day- not in rest or relaxation mode- but in full play mode. The photo from my phone is a bit grainy, but I thought the moment between her and the slinky was too great not to share.

Hope you are able to have some rest and relaxation today, too!

(And knock on wood… I don’t want to jinx the quiet chimp house. 🙂 )

The Nightbag Ritual & Your Questions About Integration, Again

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Before I get to the brief content of this blog post, I have a question for you, or, rather I have a request for your questions.

Several months ago, I recorded a conversation with Jen Feuerstein about integrating groups of chimpanzees with one another. Before that conversation, I invited blog readers to submit your questions for Jen. Then I made that recording available for a small donation.

I am going to be talking with Jen again in just a few days so that I can follow up with her now that she helped us make the final leap in putting the two groups of chimpanzees together. The group of nine has been together for just over a month, so the timing seems right.

Once again, I am inviting you to submit your questions about the integration process and now also post-integration considerations, worries, and expectations.

Your questions can be general to captive chimpanzees or specific to the integration that we just did. My thought is to add the follow-up conversation to the original video and make the whole thing more widely available for anyone who is interested in watching it (perhaps with a donation suggestion but available for free).

Let me know what you think, and write your questions in the comments to this blog post or send them to me by email at [email protected]. Thank you!!

 

On to today’s musings:

We’ve written about nightbags before. They are the post-dinner packaged treat that we give the chimpanzees. I’ve never met a chimp who didn’t like them.

It’s more than just the food at this point, though.

It’s the ritual.

The crinkling of the paper as your caregiver twists the bag to hand it to you though the mesh.

The cracking open of the bag (however you might choose to get into the contents of your bag – some break the twisted bag in half, others carefully unroll it, open the bag, and reach in).

The immediate gratification of staying right where you are to partake or taking your bag and going to your favorite spot, away from everyone else.

The spreading out on a surface, then sorting with your fingers or lips, or just shaking the contents and pouring the seeds, peanuts, popcorn, and dried fruit right into your mouth (your individual method has been honed to your personal preference over the years).

The finding someone else’s nightbag spot and picking through the leftovers to see if there are any surprise shells with seeds still contained.

All of it is so satisfying.

Just ask Annie:

Or Foxie:

New Friendships and Lots o’ Play!

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We’ve talked a lot about the introductions of Honey B’s and Lucky’s groups on the blog over the last few months. After opening the last door 12 days ago, we have been watching as they sort out their social dynamics and build the trust needed to be a cohesive group. It is still very early in the process and we cannot pretend to know what the future will bring, but we can have hope! A common phrase heard almost daily throughout the chimp house, along with talking about how proud we are of the 9 chimpanzees, is- so far so good!

Integrating the two groups provides multiple benefits to everyone, with a key benefit being an increase in social partners. Each person now has eight other individuals they can choose to hang out with (or not), which provides increased opportunities for friendship, play, and all the other benefits that can come from having a bigger social group. As they figure out their place in the new social structure, we have been able to watch new friendships form and bonds strengthen. Some of these have been surprising (go, Mave!) and some have been more expected based on previous smaller introductions.

Today, I was able to catch an amazing moment of play between Honey B and Rayne on camera. It was lunchtime, they weren’t at the meal, and when we went looking for them we couldn’t help but smile. 🙂 Check out the video to see why!

 

 

Mave’s Feminist Uprising

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Mave is currently living her best life. She seems to thrive in a larger group with more chimpanzees to interact with and look after. These last few days, she’s virtually never alone.

The video above is of a very fun play session between Mave and Rayne, but the blog post title is more about these two stories…

You may remember from a blog written by J.B. entitled “It’s Only Natural” that Terry and Dora are the only two chimpanzees who express a certain natural behavior. We know from their former caregivers at Wildlife Waystation that they haven’t always done this – they did it for a while, stopped for a very long time, then started again in recent years. Terry only requests that Dora mate when food is brought out for meals. Yep, food is VERY exciting for chimpanzees. From our observations so far, Dora is not always in the mood for Terry’s advances, but she eventually gives in to his requests.

Enter Dora’s new friend Mave.

Mave, apparently, is not willing to tolerate Terry’s behavior and will not only yell at Terry if she catches him requesting Dora to copulate, but will physically “protect” Dora. Chad wrote up the first instance of this the other day. To quote Chad, “Mave began screaming at Terry, and blocked Dora from him via hugging her.” She apparently spent the rest of lunch guarding Dora while also trying to reconcile with Terry. At that point, Terry was more interested in lunch. He did reassure Mave that all was okay, and did not make another attempt that day.

We’ll have to see how this plays out in the end, but I can tell you that the female humans at the sanctuary were feeling a certain feminine solidarity with Mave.

 

The second story is from last night when everyone was getting ready for bed. I was watching on the remote security cameras. Every night prior to last night, Mave, Willy B, and Honey B have slept in one of the Front Rooms while the six chimpanzees from the other group spread out among the two playrooms.

Last night, Cy was still up taking some alone time (or so he thought) in the Mezzanine. I watched as Mave gathered some blankets from the Marmot Mountain Playroom. I expected her to take her large pile of blankets through the Mezzanine and down through the door in the floor that connects to the Front Rooms. What she did instead was make a nest right in the “cubby” of the Mezzanine, blocking the door that connects it to Marmot Mountain. She made a beautiful nest and lied down.

A few minutes later, Cy approached where she was lying down. It was clear to me that he wanted to vacate the Mezzanine. Mave, however, remained lying down, not moving a muscle. He got a little closer and patiently waited again. Still no movement from Mave. After about ten minutes, he climbed over her to get out the door. She still didn’t move.

Mave is a female figure that we all can admire. She’s a friend to everyone but is strong and confident in her position.

If you haven’t already, I suggest you celebrate Mave by getting a Mave hoodie. I will wear mine with even more pride and admiration now.

The Grass is Always Greener

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As caregivers arrived this morning, the sun was bright and the weather was warm. So one of our first orders of business was to conduct our security checks to let Negra’s group out onto Young’s Hill as soon as possible. As the door that leads to Young’s Hill opened, all seven filtered through, with Negra in the lead.

As I watched Negra sitting in warm sun, seemingly taking it all in, I was amazed at how green the grass was. It’s just one of those things I don’t notice as it’s happening until I see it through the view of the camera lens.

On her way in, Negra found a pine cone that she wanted to bring back to her Greenhouse.

It was at this point I knew a lunch forage was in store today. How could I not let them have a forage on such a beautiful day?

On today’s menu was sweet potatoes, mini bell peppers, carrots, and chow biscuits.

Annie:

Burrito:

Foxie:

Jamie:

Jody:

Missy:

Negra:

Jamie watching Missy tightrope walking across the firehose:

Burrito taking his chance on the firehose:

Have you ever had that feeling you’re being watching?

Oh, it’s just Burrito:

Burrito relaxing and enjoying his lunch in the privacy of the hammock:

As you read about Negra’s group enjoying their lunch forage on Young’s Hill, please don’t forget that construction is well under way to complete the outdoor habitat for the new group of nine! One way you can help us is to donate, and what better way to donate than to help with Monica and Diana’s WA GiveBIG wish? Every little bit helps ensure the construction continues to move along and helps us get closer to letting Cy’s group enjoy a forage on their own hill.