Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Rayne Rayne Don’t Go Away

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I think many followers often wonder how we identify the chimps. It’s a fair question. Once you know them you will feel silly for ever having a hard time telling them apart. We obviously look at physical features, behavior, and even body language. For instance, when Foxie goes out onto Young’s Hill, even when she is far away I can see it’s her by the way she walks. She is quite stomp-y. I can also identify her by her sexual swelling that we describe as a bow tie at the end, her white beard, her tiny figure, the intensity in her eyes, and a very sassy personality. We can not go off of things like areas they commonly nest or if a particular chimp is holding a doll because we have fake Neggie’s among us and from time to time Jody carries a doll around. But for you viewers you only get photos and videos which can be hard. So I thought in this blog I would help you all identify a new member of ours, Rayne!

Rayne has kind and curious eyes, when you look into them you feel a sense of calm.

Rayne has a longer face and slender body. Rayne also has a white beard. She seems to have bigger ears than the others in her group and has a pronounced brow-ridge. Rayne also has a lack of freckles. Rayne’s forehead is also a little ashy, which we hope to be able to help with :).

Rayne also looks like Tatu. For those who do not know Tatu, she lives at the Fauna Foundation in Quebec Canada. Rayne and Tatu are also sisters! I worked with Tatu for many years and I see a lot of Tatu in Rayne.

Rayne’s sister Tatu knows sign language. Tatu is very articulate when she signs. Rayne’s long fingers remind me of Tatu’s.

I hope this helps everyone identify Rayne a little better!

Hi-Diddly-Ho, Neighborino!

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As you may have heard, the quarantine period for the Lucky Six has ended. This means we are able to give them access to different areas, while still keeping them separate from Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. So today, we gave Willy B and crew access back to one of the playrooms and greenhouses as well as the front rooms and outdoor chute, while Cy and gang were given the other playroom, greenhouse, and mezzanine. It was filled with a lot of firsts. The two groups met each other closer than they have been able to since being here. It was also the first time Cy and gang were able to check out the upstairs mezzanine.

With this, we know the question will be ask if and when they two groups will be merged. Something like that that takes a lot of careful planning, which we are currently doing. At this time, we do not know an exact date, but when the times comes, you will be sure to know.

Here are some photos from today:

Willy B looking out into one of the Greenhouses through the window.
Cy reading one of his magazines in the Mezzanine!

Mave looking down at her neighbors from the platform in her playroom.
Dora testing out different spots in the Mezzanine!

Block You Like a Hurricane

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This morning, supporter Kathy Benson swung by to drop off some new enrichment items for the chimpanzees.

Kathy has been giving to the sanctuary since 2008 and avidly follows the daily blog. Over the years, she’s donated enrichment items which were so cool that they made it onto the daily blog. Kathy’s always friendly to the care staff and enthusiastic about helping the sanctuary, so we’re happy to meet her at the gate and accept her gifts on behalf of the chimpanzees!

Today, Kathy’s bag of donated goods contained some new books for Jamie and brand new wooden toys for all the chimps, including some of the same painted blocks that Burrito famously totes around.

Since they’ve proven to be a bit more destructive than the other chimps, we decided to give the toy blocks to the new group of six chimpanzees to see if they would pass their inspection. We weren’t sure how it would go, but it’s safe to say that the blocks were a big hit. So far, they seem durable enough for the chimps living in that wing of the building.

Throughout the late morning and afternoon, the chimps were all seen carrying the little wooden cubes in their hands, mouth and feet. Only Cy seemed completely uninterested in the blocks (in favor of his beloved magazines). The following images (from a couple hours ago) show some of the inquisitive chimps hanging out with these new enrichment items.

Terry (close-up!)
Terry
Gordo
Cy

Even though the chimpanzees provided me with ample inspiration, I still had to think of a catchy title for the blog post. According to J.B., Chad and I are developing a reputation for egregiously using puns in our titles and captions (even roping Sam and Kelsi into our corny games). As someone who likes to casually “rock the boat” around here from time to time, I’m not about to let a controversy like this just fade away.

Naturally, I spent the afternoon turning the word “block” over in my brain until something came to mind. I kept gravitating towards songs and movies featuring words that rhyme with “block.” The winner, of course, ended up being “Block You Like a Hurricane.” I knew it was perfect when I suggested it to caregiver Sam and she wordlessly walked out of the room.

(For the record, “We Will Block You / We Are the Chimp-ions” was the runner-up.)

Now that you’ve seen the cool new blocks and read the not-so-cool puns, here are some additional portraits that I’ve collected over the last couple weeks. Thanks for your continued attention and support!

Annie
Gordo
Honey B
Lucky
Gordo
Cy (watching a video on a caregiver’s phone)
Gordo
Jody
Rayne
Gordo
Cy
Terry

Afternoon Photos

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Today was the first day The Lucky Six were out of quarantine! They have been in quarantine since they have arrived and during that time we took turns working with them each day. So it was nice to be able to pop over from time to time today and say hi! You will notice a lot of my photos are of them, as I was taking advantage of this. Sometimes it’s hard to get photos in the first half of the day since we are busy cleaning. This afternoon I spent some time walking around between the three different groups to see what photos I could get. Not only did I get some photos this afternoon, but a relaxing grooming session with Jamie and a play session with Dora!

Sweet Dora drinking from the extra tub of water we set up in their enclosure.

Gordo relaxing in one of their Playrooms.

Rayne was all about finding good resting spots today.

Lucky watching me from above.

Cy flipping through one of his magazines.

Cy taking a little break from looking at his magazines.

Jamie waiting to have a grooming session with my boots.

Foxie and her doll resting in the Greenhouse.

Honey B with her makeshift table and chair.

The Elusive Gordo – A Contrast in Characters

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Jamie is a chimpanzee who does not hide anything. She’s not shy. This was evident even the first time we met her at Buckshire before her group of seven came to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

She doesn’t hold back when she has an opinion about something. She can be challenging (she’s the only chimpanzee at the sanctuary who throws feces, for example), but we all appreciate that she is not only able to express herself, but feels quite comfortable letting the humans know if she wants something or is displeased with us. When she likes something she REALLY likes it, and it’s a joy finding those things (like boot books), and being able to enrich her life in very specific-to-her ways.

Here’s a photo I took of the boss today:

Gordo, on the other hand, has been very aloof so far.

He arrived just one month ago from Wildlife Waystation, and we are still getting to know him and the other five in his group. We were told that he takes some time to warm up to new people, and so far he’s definitely the least interactive with the caregivers.

The other two males in his group, Terry and Cy, are usually front and center and wanting to play chase. Upon seeing the caregivers, Lucky will present her belly for rubs, Dora likes gentle games where she touches the back of our hands with her outstretched fingers, and Rayne is showing herself to be a fun-loving friend.

Gordo is very interested in food, so when serving meals has been the main opportunity to interact with him. He will take food from us without hesitation, but it’s normally a very one-way transactional interaction.

I feel no shame in admitting that I have been on a mission to win over Gordo. I make eye contact with him (eye contact with chimps is a good thing, though that’s not the case with some other primate species) and attempt to instigate games of chase whenever I can. Most captive chimpanzees, particularly males, really like to play chase.

Often, Gordo is against a wall in one of the new playrooms or in a doorway, observing at a distance. The photo below isn’t very good, but it shows Gordo in one of his spots with one leg crossed over the other – this, along with the full splay, is a classic Gordo pose.

I’ve noticed that he’s also been hanging out in the corner of the far greenhouse. Whenever I pass by, I stop to talk to him for a bit. Often I don’t get much of a response.

I was beginning to wonder if I was perhaps coming on too strong, when, last Saturday, Gordo did grant me a game of chase. It was wonderful. And brief.

Today, Kelsi and I were being goofy with the whole group, and Gordo joined in the fun! I don’t know if you can tell how elated Kelsi was in these photos, but let’s just say she’ll be riding this high for awhile.

When he was done playing with Kelsi, I caught his eye and went out to the greenhouse hallway. To my great surprise, he walked towards me. On purpose! And I didn’t have food!

It was a great moment to kick off my weekend.

Thank you, Gordito.

 

Special spots

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This afternoon I found Jody relaxing in one of her favorite summer spots, the bottom platform of Greenhouse 1. I have seen her in this pose (with her arm up on the next platform above) more than I can count.

Jody loves to use the upper deck of the greenhouse as her personal table. We’ve captured the moment many times throughout the years:

Just as you probably have a preferred side of my couch or a designated spot at the dinner table, the chimps all seem to have favorite places they spend their time.  Their preferences change with weather, season and time of day.

Honey B in one of her commonly found spots in the chute.
Negra in her usual Greenhouse nest.
Upside down Jamie on her barrel. The best spot to casually monitor the humans from Playroom 1.
Gordo has already decided he enjoys the doorways that go out to the greenhouses.

Jamie’s Day

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Let’s be honest, everyday is Jamie’s day. But today, Jamie had no problem stopping us from whatever we were doing to help her. Don’t tell Jamie, but we love doing this. It’s the best when Jamie gestures for something in particular and you know exactly what she wants. It’s a great feeling to be able to give her exactly what she had in mind. For example, when she gestures for a specific boot or book. She will nod her head for the one she wants and then once you hand it to her she makes the low groan of excitement. That is the best. So all day felt like Jamie’s day because she had a belly full of raspberries, walks around Young’s Hill, naps, groomed with friends, and most importantly Jamie got to tell us exactly what she wanted all day.

Jamie is her amazing nest. Jamie was modifying blankets to help weave her blankets through the caging, there were book pages included in her nest, and a cardboard box. Not to mention she has a boot close to her while she reads a magazine. I think tucked under her chin is a boot page from one of her many boot books.

I can’t take credit for this photo because Chad took it yesterday, but it needs to be shared. Jamie deep asleep on a boot.

So on Friday Gordo seemed to be coming out of his shell a little bit. I thought this also needed to be shared. Gordo in a BOX!

We have some more birthdays coming up soon so keep check up on our wish list! Also, check out our new Wildlife ToyBox wish list too!