I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching the chimpanzees eat. They chew as if no one is watching.
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
In gratitude
As the Office Manager and a Caregiver for CSNW, I have the wonderful opportunity to not only work with all of you, our amazing supporters, but to see the direct results of all of your contributions toward caring for the chimpanzees. Each and every one of you play a part in this. Whether it is through donations, volunteering your time, sending troll dolls, cowgirl boots, and a myriad of other enrichment items, following the blog, “liking” us on Facebook, participating in our events and campaigns, sharing your love for the chimpanzees and helping to educate others, or just sending us good thoughts, it all counts, it all makes a difference. You add to the collective consciousness of how special the chimpanzees are and what issues both captive and free-living chimps are facing. You are helping to create hope for their future. And you renew my faith in the human spirit every day.
Because of each of you, the chimps are able to have good friends…
good food…
and choices.
Thank you for enabling us to do the work that we do and most importantly for providing the chimpanzees with a home full of the joys, comforts, and love they so deserve. We couldn’t do it without all of you. On behalf of all of the primates here at CSNW, thank you and please know how much each of you are appreciated!
Jacky
As part of our guest blogger series, here is a post by Dr. Sheri Speede. Sheri founded In Defense of Animals-Africa (IDA-Africa), after working as Northwest Director of In Defense of Animals. While working for IDA, she helped advocate for companion, farm, and research animals in the US. After a couple of trips to Cameroon, her focus shifted to providing sanctuary for chimpanzees in Africa who had been part of the illegal pet trade or were bushmeat orphans. In addition to founding IDA-Africa, she also opened Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon. You might recall that J.B. posted a blog a couple of weeks ago about life and death. He mentioned a very moving story of how the Sanaga-Yong chimpanzees grieved after the passing of one of the residents, Dorothy.
CSNW has had a long-time connection with Sheri and IDA-Africa, and we will always be grateful for her advice on the electric fencing during the development of Young’s Hill!
Here, Dr. Speede tells the story of Jacky.
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All but one of our 73 chimpanzee residents at Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon’s Mbargue Forest were born to free-living mothers. Each was orphaned as a nursing infant when a poacher killed his/her mother to supply the illegal bushmeat trade. Working with the government of Cameroon, we rescued some of the orphans from hunters and dealers while they were still infants. Others suffered decades of abuse on chains or in small cages before we reached them. Resilience and capacity for emotional recovery seem to vary among individual chimpanzees as much as these life-defining qualities do among humans.
Although I am equally committed to each of our 73 chimpanzees, the gentleness coupled with profound inner strength of some individuals have inspired my deepest respect and admiration. One awe-inspiring chimpanzee who has touched me deeply is Jacky. He lived in a small cage at a hotel, first taken in as a tourist attraction, for over 30 years. When I met him in 1997 Jacky was furious and dangerous. Local people called him the “mad chimpanzee,” meaning he was crazy, and it wasn’t difficult to see how he had earned that reputation. He refused to make eye contact with us, and his various forms of stereotypy, while heart wrenching, did make him appear lost to the sane world. In one of his most disturbing and frequent manifestations, he placed one open hand in his mouth while rapidly and forcefully pounding the top of his head with his other fisted hand. He abused himself like this frequently and for minutes at a time, causing the top of his head to be bald. Anyone who accidentally veered too close to his cage paid a high price for the mistake. With lightning speed and certain intent Jacky could grab hapless hands, pull them into his cage, and with a single bite inflict irreversible damage.
Jacky in his cage at Atlantic Beach Hotel, where he lived for 30 years. Photo © Sheri Speede.
After we finally succeeded in bringing Jacky to Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in 1999, he soon stopped his self-abuse. I cautiously kept my distance from him until one day he initiated a change in our relationship. After watching me care for the wound of another chimpanzee, he turned to present me with a laceration on his own back that needed care, and we became friends. While these changes in his temperament were remarkable, his rapidly evolving relationships with other chimpanzees at the sanctuary were most amazing, and his capacity for leadership that survived so many years of deprivation seemed nothing short of miraculous. He formed an alliance with adult female Nama (who had been shackled by a chain at another hotel for 16 years), and together they led a social group of chimpanzees for ten years. Under the gentle and just leadership of this powerful duo, we were able to introduce many young orphans, eventually expanding their social group to twenty-six.
Eventually, a younger, stronger male persistently challenged Jacky, and after a struggle for dominance that lasted many months, he eventually pant-grunted his submission and handed over the reins of leadership about three years ago. Today Jacky is a respected elder, and although he is no longer the alpha male, we still call the group “Jacky’s group.” Without a lot of responsibility, he spends his days playing and avoiding conflict, which seems a form of contented retirement.
Jacky at Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center. Photo: Carol Yarrow.
Sheri has written about Jacky and other chimpanzees in her book Kindred Beings, which will be published by HarperCollins in September 2013.
Play Bows
Play bows are one of my favorite behaviors in a chimpanzee’s repertoire. They’re used to initiate play, and they’re almost always effective. This short video was taken a few years ago. You’ll see Foxie use a play bow to get Negra to play with her.
These photos were taken this afternoon in the greenhouse when Burrito was trying to get me to put the camera down and play with him. We see Burrito’s play bow frequently, and it’s almost always directed at his human friends. He presses his belly to the ground and drums his hands repeatedly. As soon as we respond, he springs up and runs off so we can chase him.
Jamie’s not-so-serious pants
There are some people who are simply intense, even their resting face is intimidating to the uninitiated! Their approach to life and every experience in it can seem so serious that it’s hard to imagine them ever being a kid. If you asked my husband, that’s a fairly accurate description of me. If you asked me I’d say it’s a fairly accurate description of both Jamie chimpanzee and me. I do love Jamie’s serious face. Isn’t it intense?
But I also know that, just like me, Jamie doesn’t always wear her serious pants. We’ve often posted about Foxie’s ability to draw out Jamie’s silly side but, really, she can be silly all on her own when she chooses. Today, during cleaning, Jamie initiated an exuberant game of chase, roll, repeat with me and I was happy to oblige. Taking Jamie on her own terms allows her to express her complex character completely and I’m so thankful to provide her that opportunity, especially when it involves laughter!
Here’s photo evidence of Jamie with a not-so-serious face. You may notice that the only photo evidence I could find of Jamie with a playface was in the company of Foxie!
My friend, Foxie
One of the most common, if not impossible, questions I get about the chimpanzees is, “Who is your favorite?” Impossible! They each are, for their individual uniqueness. To me it’s a privilege just to be in their presence let alone be able to call them my friends. We all have different relationships with each of the chimpanzees, built in their own time and way. Some of the chimpanzees choose to engage with their human caregivers frequently, whereas some of them prefer the company of their chimpanzee friends. And just as with human friends, you find that for whatever reasons you seem to just “click” or bond with certain individuals in a certain way. You’re especially happy to see each other when you’ve been apart, you enjoy just spending time in each others company, you learn from each other, respect each other for who you are, and you laugh together often. Maybe one of you even does pirouettes and back flips when you see each other! For reasons you cannot often articulate, you consider them one of your dearest friends. And so it is for me with Foxie. Sometimes I feel my heart will burst with all the love I have for this chimpanzee woman.
While we all hope that we are making each of the chimpanzees lives better given their life circumstances, we certainly wish they had been able to live the lives they were meant to. When acknowledging that their lives would have been better off not knowing humans at all, it can sometimes be difficult to also acknowledge that this includes me. And while I wish Foxie’s life could have been different, I am so honored to call her my friend.
In memory of Simone
Today, tomorrow, and the next day (!!!) are sponsored by Tracy Dunham. Tracy shared this wonderful story about Simone:
“In memory of Simone who came to me because one person saw something in a dog that had a ‘1000 mile stare’ and was so afraid that she crawled instead of walked. She spent her last days walking the beach on the Oregon coast, greeting every human with kindness and listening to the ocean with her head in my lap. Thank you to all the wonderful people who have given the chimpanzees a chance to enjoy life. I would like to sponsor 3 days for the last three days Simone and I spent on the coast.”
Tracy, we are so touched that you chose to not only sponsor 3 days for the chimpanzees, but also to include them in such a special memory of Simone. Thank you so much!