Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee retirement

Females in Charge

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We’re getting ready for the small groundbreaking ceremony this afternoon! The actual construction on Phase 1 of the expansion will start in a little over two weeks, but today we’re having a ceremonial start to this huge project. I can’t even express how happy we are to have arrived at this day and how incredibly grateful I am for every single person who has donated these last two years as we fundraised to begin this project.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s amazing to be finally at the first step towards bringing more chimpanzees home.

 

In the meantime, I bring you my thoughts this morning as I walked around Young’s Hill with Jamie, Missy, Jody, and Foxie walking together on the inside of their habitat…

In the wild, chimpanzees societies are patriarchal. With their might, size, and testosterone, even low-ranking adult males are said to outrank all of the adult females in any given group. In captivity, things are often quite different. Every group of chimpanzees that I have worked with for an extended period of time has had a strong female that clearly called many of the shots and at least occasionally put their foot down with males in the group.

Maybe it’s because the chimpanzees I’ve known have not been socialized into a normal chimpanzee society – they were raised in human environments or spent much of their time living alone or in pairs within laboratory settings. Or maybe part of it is that chimpanzees are flexible and adaptable, figuring their relationships out as they go rather than having a rigid, strictly biologically-driven social order. Most likely it’s a bit of this and a bit of that.

Even though it’s not what they would be doing in the wild, and it would likely be much better if they were living in a more balanced male-to-female group, I can’t help but admire the female power that exists at the sanctuary.

Like today, when this all-female patrol walked around the perimeter of their territory.

After the party

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The chimpanzees, and particularly the boss lady, started the day out a little tense and have pretty much stuck to that theme all day. There have been a lot of minor arguments and screaming, tension at meals, all stuff that is normal at times in the realm of chimp society. And if even one person is feeling tense, it affects the entire group. Who really knows what the cause is today other than the chimps.  There has been a lot of excitement and new happenings in the last week, perhaps an argument between them last night, getting used to the sudden warmer weather, or maybe just waking up on the wrong side of the nest like we all do sometimes. At any rate, a breakfast forage in the cool morning air with time to explore the hill together, and apart, seemed like a good way to start the day.

We’ve been writing all this special week of celebration about a new side of Negra we’ve been seeing. And today’s been no different. With what seemed like an extra purpose in her step, Negra was the first to lead everyone onto the hill this morning and she explored and rambled around on her own for quite some time:

Annie and Negra (background):

Jody chose ALL the watermelon then high-tailed it back to the greenhouse to relish it all while making her classic happy dinosaur (low moan) noises as only Jody can do:

Missy looking so little out there:

Jamie: “This is serious business.”

Foxie and France Dora were busy exploring up and down and hither and yon:

Even within a day of rest and relaxation after all the excitement of the week there have been things happening left and right! As the weather heated up this afternoon we decided to serve snow cones using the chimps’ shaved ice machine with a few frozen grapes and watermelon mixed in.

Then later in the day there was suddenly a huge ruckus with Annie screaming at the top of her lungs. We assumed a disagreement was happening when everyone broke out into alarm calls and we ran in to see a rather large (and harmless) snake, a beautiful yellow-bellied racer, in the playroom who was desperately trying to find his/her way back out the barn doors they had crawled under. The chimps will usually grab or hit smaller garter snakes, but I think due to the size of this one no one was willing to touch it (thankfully, for the snake). But that didn’t stop Jamie from toppling her kitchenette over onto them and throwing random items in attempt to squish the snake. The poor thing was doing their best to get the heck out of there, but couldn’t get traction on the slick floor! We humans were all quietly cheering the snake toward the door, holding our breath (because these things don’t usually end well for the snake) when who but brave little Foxie (and without Dora!) finally took one big swipe and pushed the snake back outside! Yeah, Foxie! Kelsi and I ran outside just in time to see the snake racing off through the fence, unscathed and probably trying to figure out what the heck just happened.

As I write this, all the chimps are settling down into their night nests after a wonderful dinner forage of fresh summer veggies and a favorite evening food puzzle of grab bags. These bags are filled with a variety of enrichment and toys and most importantly to the chimps, some kind of food. Tonight it was stacking containers that screw together filled with small amounts of peanut butter. To say Jamie adores these bags is an understatement. She typically runs around collecting as many as she can, tossing them over her should into a big pile that none of the other chimps would think to touch. As we said our goodnights she was literally surrounded by all her bags, happy as a clam.

Somewhere in all the happenings today I unfortunately lost a few extra photos from yesterdays party I was going to share. Who knows, maybe they will resurface. But! I did capture a priceless bonus photo from today! Often when Jamie builds a nest she likes to incorporate larger items to surround her, rather like a fort. Today she seemed to have had enough of everyone and went all out creating a wall to surround herself with from her kitchenette (notice the doors open to provide more cover) and the brilliant move of using the shopping basket to secretly peer through and watch our every move. All she needed was a moat. A little creepy, a lot brilliant! She is amazing. But we knew this.

More firsts after ten years

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The featured photo (the one at the top of the page) literally brought tears to my eyes this morning. Well, not the photo itself, but seeing Negra in the grass with that very relaxed face. She has come so far in the last ten years, and has made new strides just in the last two weeks since I wrote about her (and Foxie’s and Annie’s) independence. And she’s not the only one (there’s a bonus Burrito story down below the photos of Negra).

Two days ago, following our PRT session, I was starting on a walk with Jamie, when I noticed an unmistakable figure ahead. Though I knew it could only be Negra, I really questioned my eyes when I saw this chimpanzee person climb into the hammock. Luckily I had the camera with me and was able to get evidence of what I believe is a first-ever event.

 

Negra’s main purpose on the hill these days is to find prickly lettuce. She sets off on these expeditions with a certain amount of determination, so it was very special that she stopped and took in the view from this new perspective. And just look at her face in that photo of her in the hammock and the featured photo – she is relaxed, content, and at home.

After this pause, she continued on her journey:

 

almost disappearing into the sea of grass:

 

Once she happened upon a spot to forage for the plants she is so fond of, she disappeared again, this time into a sea of wild mustard:

 

I moved to get a better angle (Jamie was being quite patient with me taking photos of Negra, waiting to continue the walk we had begun):

 

Here’s one for perspective. Negra is at the very top of the hill, beyond the tower structures:

 

Lately on these treks, another chimpanzee, usually Jody (below) or Missy, will join Negra. Perhaps they are ensuring everything is okay, or maybe they are hoping to share in her harvest:

 

At 45, after decades of living in confinement, Negra proves that it is never too late for anyone to try something new and become something you never thought you would be.

 

Perhaps Burrito has been observing Negra’s new sense of adventure because today he climbed up onto to the bar structure!

Sometimes I don’t notice when someone hasn’t done something until I see them do it for the first time.

 

I am pretty sure that Foxie was aware that this was a new occasion because she was very excited to see Burrito up there next to her.

 

and he seemed pleased with the experience too:

 

What a fantastic week of firsts as we head into tomorrow’s celebration of the ten year anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

 

HOOT! Success and Negra’s Aging Backwards

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Last week at this time the chimpanzees were partied out, Katelyn was watching over the sanctuary, and the rest of the staff and a ton of volunteers and supporters were having the annual fundraising party in Seattle. HOOT! 2018 brought in more funds than any previous event. The night-of fundraising was over-the-top and many people who were unable to attend sent in donations from across the country. It was the eighth such event that we’ve had, starting in 2009 and skipping 2012. Each year the love seems to grow stronger!

Andy of Inland Networks TV created the highlights video below. One of the biggest moments was during the Give a HOOT! part of the evening where supporters raise their paddles to make donations. Overall, the event raised over $200,000, and a full half of that was just from Give a HOOT! It was nothing short of amazing! Big thanks to EVERYONE who donated with a special nod to Karen Emmerman Mazner, James & Jennifer Douglas and Ross & Karen Barde. Also thanks to challenge pledges from Kathy Cochran and Leah Roberts who were not attending but helped inspire others to donate.

 

Part of my talk at the event was about not knowing how long the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees would be with us when they arrived a the sanctuary on June 13, 2008. Negra was 35 years old at the time, which is considered elderly. But she’s still going strong and demonstrates the “aging in reverse” phenomenon that seems to have happened for all seven of the chimpanzees.

Here is the photo of Negra that we put on the home page of the website on the first day that the chimpanzees arrived:

Negra on day one

 

Today, Negra climbed to the top of the new (still unnamed!) structure on the hill – the top! I didn’t get a good photo, but I took some others of her exploring.

 

 

We celebrate Negra’s birthday on the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival because she is the epitome of what the sanctuary is all about and it was certainly a new beginning for her. Thank you for being a part of it, whether you have been following for ten years or ten minutes.

 

The Boss’s Day Off

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As the self-appointed boss, Jamie rarely achieves total relaxation. Between monitoring all the humans coming and going from the sanctuary, and keeping her chimp family in line, she has a hard time letting herself go. But this afternoon caregiver Anna found her looking pretty blissed out.

The Inspector

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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.

So many reasons to party!

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Spring is in full swing at the sanctuary! Old friends returned from the long winter and we’ve seen the first butterflies, bees, and even our friend, Ellie, the neighborhood elk is back from her roaming. The air is literally humming with bird flight and birdsong and buds and flowers are finally unfurling under a bluebird sky and warming sun. We’re suddenly supposed to see temperatures in the upper 70’s, near 80 by week’s end. Also springing up over the weekend was the chimpanzees’ brand new play structure on Young’s Hill!

The new structure was funded by donations from HOOT! 2017 from Pat Cattolico, Meg Lunnum, and Richard and Lisa Stuverud, who donated during the event at the Care Corner towards a “new small structure” – J.B. maybe has a different idea of “small” than most people!

With plans and materials in hand, we had an incredible group of volunteers spend their weekend to help J.B. execute his plans. After a great crew on Saturday to include Andy, Drew, John and Ray, we were fortunate to have another amazing bunch to finish things up on Sunday, which included chimp house student volunteers, Caroline, Ruth and Blanca, and members of our local community, Natalie, Greg and the Habitat for Humanity crew! If you saw the Sponsor-a-Day post earlier today you had a glimpse of the building in progress, but here’s a few more perspectives of the process:

Even pine trees and raspberries were planted on the hill (we’ll see if they survive Jody’s adventurous eating habits!).

So with today being our ninth annual honorary “Love a Chimpanzee Day” (thanks to long-time friend of the chimps’, Monica Best), naturally, the only thing left to do was throw a big party! We had a breakfast forage on the structure and the chimps’ had an amazing mix of fresh jackfruit (!), oranges, tomatoes, watermelon, banana, grapes, primate chow, and the cherry on top? One whole fresh coconut placed at the very top of the structure.

When I opened the door to the hill the entire family headed out together with Negra leading the way out of the raceway! While everyone else headed straight for the structure, Negra made a stop at her cabin first to check for treats:

Missy was first up!

Everyone quickly made their way to the top. Here’s Jamie:

Missy with a beloved WHOLE tomato!

Foxie:

Missy:

Either no one immediately noticed the coconut at the top, or everyone was just played it cool until they saw an opportunity to grab it without attracting the attention of the others. Jody walking right on by (for now):

Foxie and Dora:

Missy and Jamie:

Missy:

Even Negra made it up the first couple of levels:

Jody and Foxie:

Annie!

And it was Jody who veeery carefully snatched that coconut! Somehow she kept it together all during the forage, acting nonchalant while keeping an eye on boss lady, Jamie (who being the boss, per chimp society, has the right to claim that coconut from anyone). Once Jody made it back to the greenhouse she could no longer contain her excitement and stopped to give us all a bouncy greeting and then sit with her spoils while making her classic “dinosaur” noises (low moans, Jody style). But she ended up leaving the coconut behind to head back out for more of the forage and who do you think was sooo happy to find that coconut unguarded??…

Burrito!! In the end, Jamie did wind up with it, but by day’s end everyone got to share in a second coconut.

To be honest, we have SO many photos of the construction of the structure, the chimps’ first moments checking it out last night and today, that these are the tip of the iceberg. There will be many more photos in the days to come.

To be able to continually improve the chimpanzees’ home with new and exciting forms of enrichment, to make each year of their lives better than the last, to see so many individuals come together to support the chimps in so many different ways, it’s nothing short of a privilege and honor to witness and be part of. From our hearts, we thank all of you who made this possible for the chimps.

And oh! I almost forgot! What are we going to name this new climbing structure?! We are spinning some ideas around, but we welcome your suggestions for possible names!