Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

What’s on the Menu Today?

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Mondays are never a drag here at CSNW! We had a pretty exciting menu today.

Breakfast: Started with a fruit smoothie (volunteers’/staff’s choice), two fruit options (pears & cantaloupe today), chow, and some vitamins

Lunch: We served some fresh kale, orange peppers (because why not), tomatoes, a little bit of corn, and chow

Now get ready for the main course because this is going to get interesting!

Dinner: We had a forage tonight and the chimps had roasted onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes (among a few other veggies as well)

The chimps enjoy fresh and cooked vegetables, but this forage combination really got their attention!

Today’s lunch:

Level 3 Volunteer Jake serving Jody:

Negra eating corn:

Annie:

Missy food peering for some tomatoes:

Annie (Left) & Foxie (Right) holding peppers

Jake serving Foxie tomatoes:

Burrito:

 

 

Some Days are Just Silly

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It was all fun and games today at CSNW! This morning I was greeted with breathy pants, grooming (Burrito & Neggie grooming one another), and chimps playing games of chase with each other (Annie, Missy, & Foxie). Jamie made a few of the staff and level 3 volunteers try on boots and after finding the right pair she couldn’t contain her excitement and took off for a game of chase!

Annie: Grooming her leg and secretly watching Burrito play chase

Annie: Later in the day enjoying kale from the garden

Missy: Hanging out in the greenhouse

Jody: Taking it easy and soaking in the warm sun

Foxie: Carrying her dora doll around

Burrito found a sweatband and put it on to play chase. Burrito put it on his head as captured in the photos, but he also put it around his wrists and ran around like crazy!

Burrito: Thinking about wearing the sweatband

Burrito: Putting the sweatband on, but still holding his wooden toys

Burrito: Playing chase

Burrito: Playing chase with volunteer Erin and the sweatband over his face

 

Missy & Negra

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Yesterday during breakfast, volunteer Jake and I watched Missy build an elaborate nest out of blankets and a hanging fire hose which she wove around her blankets in a tight circle. Just as Missy was putting the final touches to her bed, Negra approached with her chow bags in hand and promptly took over Missy’s nest to enjoy the last bit of her breakfast. Missy didn’t bat an eye and quickly moved out of the way for Negra. While to us humans this would seem like an incredibly rude thing to do, this sort of displacement is common in relationships between dominant and subordinate chimpanzees. Missy and Negra have an agreement that when Negra wants something that Missy has, she is going to get it. Missy is very relationship savvy and she very rarely complains when Negra takes things from her (most commonly her primate chow bags). I think there are also some constraints to their agreement, as Missy willingly gives up things that don’t mean that much to her, and Negra knows she can easily take things that Missy isn’t too attached to. This relationship seems to suit them both just fine.

Missy (on a different day, building a similar nest)

Negra (on a different day, napping in a similar nest)

Ever wondered?

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You might have a few questions running through the back of your mind after watching this video of Jamie and Burrito playing:

Well we’ve got answers!

Question 1:
What’s the story with the big pink bottoms?
Answer: Female chimpanzees have large pink swellings (called “sexual swellings”) on their rear ends. These swellings vary in size both between individuals, and also in the same individual over the course of the menstrual cycle. They advertise a female’s fertility by letting a male know when the probability of conception is at its peak. In this video, Jamie’s bottom is not very swollen, and therefore she is not at peak fertility.

Question 2:
Why are Burrito’s testicles so large?
A: Since chimpanzees are not a monogamous species, and a female chimp may have multiple mating partners in a relatively short window of time, male chimpanzees engage in what is known as “sperm competition” – a male who can produce a large number of viable sperm has a better chance of producing offspring. Large testicles are useful for accommodating these large quantities of sperm. Additionally, Burrito has a chronic heart condition that can lead to swelling in the scrotum.

Question 3:
Do the chimpanzees ever mate with each other?
A: No. Many chimpanzees who grow up in impoverished, unnatural situations (like research labs) often develop abnormally and don’t exhibit typical social and sexual behavior. It’s also possible that the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees consider themselves a family after living together as a group for so long, and therefore don’t view each other as viable mating partners. As an added precaution, Burrito has had a vasectomy.

Space and time

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Initially, Annie had no use for her party yesterday. While everyone else partied in the greenhouse Annie promptly bypassed the indoor festivities and ventured outside to Young’s Hill all on her own. She took her time foraging and scooped up most of everything that was out there, enjoying it all at her own pace. It was amazing to watch her sitting out there enjoying her celebration in peace and solitude.

If you’ve been following the blog for awhile you may know that Annie hasn’t always been so comfortable in her own skin. I think of all the chimps, her change over the last nine years in sanctuary is one of the most apparent. I still remember so clearly the early days after the chimps gained access to their outdoor enclosure and one day I watched Annie, sitting in the raceway to the hill wanting so badly to be with her best friend Missy who was zipping and zooming around out there with ease. Annie’s eyes were glued to Missy as she rocked with anxiety awaiting her return to the greenhouse.

It was heart wrenching to watch those moments. But of course, we trusted that Annie would find the courage to move forward in her own space and time. That’s one of the most beautiful things about sanctuary. Space and time. Space and time for each of the chimps to heal. Space and time for each of their battered souls to come back to them and explore, learn and remember who they are. After nine years in sanctuary, each of the chimps continue to surprise us every single day with their brave, daring, curious, creative, intelligent and beautiful selves.

What a gift that is. For all of us who have the privilege to watch them, and most importantly, for each of the chimps who with each passing day/week/month/year get to celebrate being their own person. However that looks.

Annie feet:

Bonus Negra photo from the party because, well, that face!:

Annie’s Birthday Extravaganza!

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Today is Annie’s 43rd Birthday! We are so fortunate to know Annie – she is a sweet, playful, and loyal friend to humans and non-humans. We celebrated her today with a fun forage full of veggies, chow, roasted onions, and smoothie in the greenhouse and Young’s Hill.  Annie also really LOVES kale especially from our garden. It was quite the party!

Annie standing bipedally while foraging on the hill:

Annie found some delicious kale from our garden:

Burrito scored a few presents:

Burrito (wonder what he found inside):

Annie enjoying a plate of corn and broccoli with a side of socks:

Jamie drinking smoothie:

Jamie unwrapping a present:

Jamie holding some boots in her pelvic pocket:

Negra basking in the sun and foraging:

Birthday girl (Annie):

Missy:

Jody eating some leeks from our garden:

Annie enjoying her kale:

Foxie eating chow:

Annie found one last plate: