It’s always lovely to catch the chimps in moments of play, relaxation, or grooming. Last week I caught Foxie & Jamie spending some quality time together and it was a nice moment of calm in the middle of a busy day. I hope you enjoy it, too!
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Never Dull!
It’s never a dull day when working with chimpanzees, each individual is so their own and also has their own agenda for the day! As you will see in the video, most days Gordo just wants to go on the Bray not giving his caregivers a second look, but on this day Gordo decided it was time to play chase with his caregiver from the chute to the Bray. While, Terry just wanted to give sweet kisses in the morning. I think we all know Honey B’s agenda is to derail the schedule for her caregivers as much as possible, as she should! But she also tries to carve out alone time with one of her close friends, Dora, which can often play into derailing her caregivers schedule, too. She is such a multitask-er :)!
Though somethings may “derail” our day, it’s also the fun part about our job. We don’t know what we are going to walk into, but what we do know is that everyday they are provided with as much choice as possible!
Gordo eating a pear series:
Bonus!!
Foxie playing a lazy game of poke the doll and maybe camera with me:
I just love her eyes in this one:
And a very snoozy Willy B! So snoozy I don’t think he even knew I took this photo:
Five Years Later
Five years ago to the day CSNW grew by three and welcomed home Honey B, Willy B, and Mave. After beginning their lives in biomedical research and then living at Wildlife Waystation, a wild animal shelter outside of Los Angeles that closed its doors after more than 40 years, they arrived here on August 18, 2019.
A lot has happened in five years- their group grew by 6 in their integration with Cy’s group and they gained access to and gained confidence exploring their 2-acre outdoor enclosure (The Bray). These are just two examples out of many. Their worlds have grown quite a lot since arriving here and ours have, too. Every day with them is exciting and we are so glad to know, and adore, them!
Check out today’s video to see how we celebrated (hint: pasta!).
But first! Thanks to those of you who filled out the survey from Diana’s blog post about the series Chimp Crazy. The first episode airs this evening (August 18th) on HBO and streams on Max at 10 p.m. PT.
The North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW), along with a special guest, will be hosting a discussion of the first episode. Join us this Tuesday, August 20 via Zoom at 6:00 PM PST/9:00 PM EST to explore Episode 1: Monkey Love. We will be discussing the contents of the episode as well as some history around the use of primates in entertainment and the pet trade, the legality of owning primates as pets, and the Captive Primate Safety Act. Register to join this discussion!
We understand that there may be scenes in the series that could be difficult for primate welfare advocates to watch. Our goal is to provide a space where people can openly share their thoughts and learn more about how they can help these remarkable primates.
Mave:
Honey B:
Willy B:
The Pudding Situation
There are a lot of important roles here in the chimp house that have to be filled daily that staff members rotate through. We have our lead caregiver who shifts Jamie’s side of the building and writes the blog, a second shifter that shifts Cy’s side of the building, a second staff role that is in charge of meds prep and receives safety checks, and a cattle care role who is in charge of cattle for the day. Everyone cleans and helps with the task list, but these roles change up how your day looks.
Each role has its challenges, from chimps not shifting to cattle trying to steal each others food. The second staff role, though, can definitely be challenging- depending on the day, the meds, and the chimp who needs them. 🙂
Negra, lovingly referred to as the Queen of CSNW, is our nearest, dearest, eldest resident. She has arthritis and she receives pain medication to help with her symptoms. She prefers to take her meds in a dixie cup mixed with non-dairy chocolate pudding, naturally, and it’s been a pretty consistent strategy to make sure she gets them daily. It used to be peanut butter that she preferred and it wouldn’t surprise me if, at some point, she decided that she was totally over the pudding, but that’s a worry for another day (and for the unlucky individual who is second staff when it happens).
This morning Negra allowed me to film her as she enjoyed her pudding cup, while she watched the rest of her group explore Young’s Hill. I hope you enjoy her happy food grunts, kissy lips, and general contentedness.
Pre-lunch Shenanigans
Working with chimps can be a little loud and even overstimulating at times. That is why when there are quiet moments or sweet interactions, they mustn’t go unnoticed. Those moments can fill our cup up! Jamie’s side of the building has been pretty calm today, while Cy’s side has been making quite the ruckus for some of the morning. It did make for great “TV” for Burrito, but tension on one side can often cause tension on the other. However, Burrito’s side has been pretty easygoing. Jamie has even let individuals like Foxie and Annie have their fruit this morning. The best part of the day so far has been watching Burrito and Missy get so excited for their lunch forage that they had to play and laugh it out, even Jamie and Foxie decided to groom! My cup definitely got filled today :).
Negra watching her noisy neighbors on the Bray in the morning:
Jam Packed Week!
Wow, have we had a jam packed week and it’s only Wednesday! We had a procedure on Monday, a presentation on Tuesday, and Foxie’s birthday tomorrow!
Speaking of presentations, some of our favorite outreach events are the ones in our community! Yesterday Jenna, Grace, and I participated in the Summer Reading Program at the Carpenter Memorial Library in Cle Elum, hosted by the Cle Elum Fire Department. The Summer Reading Program has an array of different guest speakers that cover topics from learning about bee keeping, to exploring the fire station, to learning about wildlife tracking from Fish and Wildlife, and of course learning about the chimps!
Grace, Jenna, and I had different interactive stations for the kids to go to. For the first station, we showed the kids how to make enrichment for the chimps like raisin boards, paper braids, and fire hose knots! The second station was learning how to build a nest, which is always so fun to learn about, but obviously we had a nest building competition. For our third station we taught everyone about chimp vocalizations & behaviors, which obviously we taught everyone how to pant hoot!
Jenna teaching how to make raisin boards:
Here is Grace showing everyone an amazing nest she built:
Anna had to work yesterday, but Luna stopped by and built her own nest. I would say Anna has taught Luna well:
Here I am showing different vocalizations:
Thank you to the Carpenter Memorial Library and the Cle Elum Fire Department for having us! We had such a blast being apart of the community and teaching everyone about the chimps we love so dearly!
Bonus photo of Jamie:
Here is Willy B in recovery today! He is doing well and enjoying his stories on the TV:
It Takes a Village: Willy B’s Trip to the Clinic
One of the amazing things about sanctuary work is how it brings together so many different people. Individuals with different skills, backgrounds, and interests collaborate to ensure that all the residents of CSNW receive the top-notch care that they deserve. From behaviorists, to veterinarians, to anthropologists, to dentists, to ultrasound experts, to fundraising gurus- it truly takes a village.
And, in this line of work, it takes a village of people who are always ready to step in and help- no matter the day, time, or situation. Today was one of those days where we needed the village. 🙂
During a fight yesterday, Willy B sustained a traumatic near-amputation of the tip of a toe on his right foot. In other words, someone bit the end of his toe off but it was still attached. This was clearly a wound that was not going to heal easily or comfortably on its own without surgical intervention. After seeing the wound, Ellen, Chad, and Krissy immediately worked together to get Willy B isolated in the front rooms to better assess it and contacted the staff who weren’t on site. Erin and JB got to work on the logistics of the procedure.
Unexpected plot twist: a caveat of working with nonhuman primates is that we have to take very seriously not exposing the chimps to any illness that we might have. If we feel like we are coming down with a cold, sore throat, etc., we are not in the chimp house until we feel better. You likely have seen photos of staff wearing masks, which is a precaution we take since chimpanzees are so susceptible to human illnesses. Sunday morning we learned that JB and Diana would be out due to illness and yesterday evening we learned that Erin wasn’t well either, so the three of them would have to avoid the chimp house if at all possible.
It’s for this very reason that Dr. Erin and the team here at the sanctuary have worked so hard to establish a network of veterinarians, physicians, technicians, and nurses that can lend a hand or even take over entirely when primary veterinary staff aren’t available. It’s also the reason why Dr. Erin includes roles for staff members in every procedure, even when she has enough support, so that we all feel comfortable jumping in to help when it’s truly needed. Like today.
While Dr. Erin worked to put together a team for the procedure, we were also navigating the logistics of staffing to meet the needs for the chimp house. We needed people in the clinic and we also needed people taking care of our three bovines and other 14 chimps- cleaning, laundry, meds prep, meal prep, enrichment, etc. Since today is Monday, half of our staff were also on their weekends. Kelsi, Jenna, and Anna all sacrificed their Sunday to come in and help with the procedure and also with the running of the day.
Dr. Erin is amazing for a lot of reasons- not just because she is so wonderful at her job. From last night to this morning, she was able to put together a team of experts from her network for today’s procedure. Today, we had the pleasure of working with Dr. Donna Mensching (DVM and CSNW board member!), Dr. Yousef Jafarey (DVM), Spencer Soffe (CRNA), Christin Burns (Vet Assistant), and Jessica Mace (LVT). This was my first procedure that Erin hasn’t been on site for and I realized how much I’ve taken for granted the comfort that comes with having her here, because we all know she would do anything for these guys. I think I can speak for all of us, though, that as soon as the team she assembled arrived we all immediately felt like Willy B was in great hands. The team worked together to ensure Willy B got the best care. The last two bones in the injured toe were removed in order to get good wound closure and optimal healing and we will be keeping a close eye on him as it heals.
Dr. Donna Mensching working on Willy B’s toe:
Dr. Yousef Jafarey (DVM), Christin Burns (Vet Assistant), and Kelsi (Outreach Coordinator and also now X-Ray Technician?!) getting x-rays on his foot before toe amputation:
From left to right: Dr. Yousef Jafarey (DVM), Jessica Mace (LVT), Spencer Soffe (CRNA), Christin Burns (Vet Assistant), & Dr. Donna Mensching (DVM)
The procedure went smooth and Willy B has been recovering very well. As I write this, Ellen and Kelsi are by his room keeping an eye on him. 🙂
A huge thank you to everyone who helped today run so smoothly. This is a darn good village to be a part of.
