Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee sanctuary

Puzzles

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Today’s blog is centered around a short video of chimpanzees extracting food from enrichment puzzles.

All of the chimps are given enrichment activities and items every day, but we’re giving additional enrichment to Willy B to keep him entertained while in recovery. So far, his favorite activity has been to tease grapes, walnuts, and other coveted snacks out of the transparent puzzle feeders. These specialized devices were purchased by our supporters from a helpful company, WildlifeToyBox.com. We’re always in need of more durable enrichment items, so Chad has set up a wish list on their site. You can see this special list by clicking here.

You also visit our Wish List page to learn more about our needs or go directly to the Amazon Wish List to see which other items we currently need for the chimpanzees (and cattle)!

Thank you all for your continued support of the sanctuary!

Let’s Not Forget

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There is no rhyme or reason today, I just wanted to share that Jamie is the coolest. Jamie is so genuinely herself and she doesn’t waiver from who she is, it is something to admire. There is never a day that goes by when I don’t say out loud or in my head: “Jamie is so cool”. I just thought I would put this info right here just in case anyone hadn’t heard it in a while!

Jamie sat in the window ledge of the Green House to watch JB and I clean for a while. I stopped by to hang out with her for a few minutes.

While we cleaned the front rooms, Jamie had to monitor JB as he tried to snake the drain. Jamie was there to ensure JB was using his tools correctly.

Recall Me by Your Name

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I recently discussed the behavioral training program in this blog post: “Are the chimps trained?”

The post summarized our efforts to improve the chimps’ lives by promoting cooperative behaviors. However, I neglected to mention one of the simplest and most important behaviors of all: recall.

In plain terms, recall behavior is approaching another individual’s location when they call you. Those of you who care for a domestic dog may already know the importance of reliable recalls, especially if your surroundings allow them to be off leash sometimes. In fact, recalls are often the first thing that companion animals learn, either intentionally or by accident, and that’s a good thing.

The chimpanzees are not pets, but we practice this behavior with them to ensure they cooperate when we need them to vacate an enclosure.

This ability is especially important when the chimps have access to outdoor areas such as Young’s Hill and the three greenhouses. Although they are enclosed in a mesh snake fence that prohibits easy entry, snakes and other wildlife occasionally find their way inside the perimeter and end up face-to-face with gangs of screaming chimpanzees. In these situations, caregivers need the chimps to leave the snake alone so it can be safely translocated back outside. Other scenarios that would also necessitate a recall include nearby wildfire, dangerously strong winds, a sudden drop in air quality, or an unexpected problem with the electrified fences.

The chimps in Jamie’s group mobbing a snake in 2018:

Caregiver Grace relocating a non-venomous snake last summer:

A non-venomous racer that Caregiver Chad relocated away from the Chimp House:

As with the behaviors mentioned in the other post, we encourage cooperative recall through the process of operant conditioning using only positive reinforcement. To initiate a recall, one caregiver rings a loud bell and yells “recall!” This combination of sounds serves as the cue for the desired behavior: shifting from the space they’re in into the space closest to the caregiver. When everyone chooses to shift into the preferred enclosure, a second caregiver closes the doors separating the areas. Once the doors are safely closed, the first caregiver marks that as the correct behavior using the clicker and rewards each chimp with a banana.

We give whole bananas every time to ensure the chimpanzees associate the cue and its corresponding behavior with the universally-loved food item. It’s likely that some individuals will occasionally choose not to participate in recalls, in which case we’ll have to “up the ante” with a reward of even higher value.

So far, we’ve had good success getting entire groups of chimpanzees to come in from their outdoor habitats. Earlier today, we asked the chimpanzees in Cy’s group to come into the playrooms so we could rescue a garter snake that had wandered into The Riverview Greenhouse. The entire squad came back inside without objections!

Lucky keeping an eye on the elusive serpent before the recall signal:

Willy B also received banana reward; he is still recovering from his recent procedure but heard the bell and probably would have cooperated if given the chance!

Willy watching the commotion while eating his complimentary snack:

Of course, one way for a chimp to beat the system is to voluntarily stay close to the Chimp House, ready to receive a free banana for staying exactly where they already wanted to be.

Negra has perfected this art:

Ties to LEMSIP

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Many of you may have noticed, several of our chimpanzees have a common origin story: LEMSIP.

Today, I wanted to scratch the surface on this topic. There is so much more to say about non-human primates in laboratories. Much of this blog is from online sources that I have found while researching LEMSIP, because my personal knowledge is limited. I was blown away by what I found.

LEMSIP stands for the Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates. LEMSIP was a research facility at New York University, beginning in 1965. The original goal was for LEMSIP to be a federally funded primate research center, although it remained a private laboratory until their closure. At one point, LEMSIP housed around 300 chimpanzees and nearly 300 monkeys, who were subjected to intensive biomedical research in areas such as reproduction, blood transfusions, hepatitis B, and HIV.

Ultimately, LEMSIP shut down in 1998. Many believe one of the contributing factors to the demise of the facility was the revision of caging requirements prescribed by the USDA, which would cost the University roughly $2 million to accommodate.

This made me think…

Back in 2019, I completed a summer internship at fellow sanctuary, Fauna Foundation, located in Canada. During that internship, I heard a lot about LEMSIP, because just like CSNW, many of their chimps had been at that laboratory. Although it has been over three years since my internship, I remember so vividly learning that this (pictured below) was the type of cage the chimps spent their lives in. The “home” they would not leave unless they were anesthetized and used for a biomedical research study.

Photo of cage from LEMSIP, which is on display at Fauna Foundation:

Plaque in front of cage:

“For decades they languished in cages like this

Victims of research

Until the day of their rescue

By a place that would come to be home

FAUNA Foundation

Founded in 1997 for

Annie, Jeannie, Pablo, Donna Rae, Billy Jo, Rachel, Sue Ellen, Binky, Jethro, Regis, Chance, Petra, Pepper, Yoko, and Tom”

At LEMSIP, the majority of the chimpanzees were housed singly in these small cages. It wasn’t uncommon for the chimps who were young enough, to be housed in pairs. But, that was short-lived as chimps grow quickly.

All of the cages hung above the floor. The founding director, Jan Moor-Jankowski, MD believed that “allowing feces and urine to fall out of the cages would maintain a healthier environment, opposed to hosing out the cages, creating dampness – a contributor to the widespread upper respiratory problems in captive primates.”

However, the design ultimately created a permanent foul stench from beneath the caging that the chimpanzees were forced to breathe in every single day.

Chimpanzees were denied any outdoor access because Moor-Jankowski believed that this would limit their germ exposure.

Adult chimpanzees were given little enrichment.

Infant chimpanzees were taken from their mothers and raised by human caregivers (in the “nursery”) to accustom them to being handled for procedures.

Chimpanzee mothers were bred repeatedly so more babies could go into research. None were allowed to raise their children past one year, if at all.

When NYU withheld the funds earmarked for increasing the size of the chimpanzees cages to comply with the updated regulations, Moor-Jankowski filed a complaint against his employer with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) highlighting the deficiencies.

In the early 1990s, the USDA charged NYU with 378 violations of the Animal Welfare Act at a separate university lab. The charges were in regard to water deprivation and other cruel treatment of monkeys used in addiction experiments. The charges stemmed from Moor-Jankowski having revealed information to the USDA about problems at that lab.

In 1995, NYU announced the sudden closure of LEMSIP and that all its primates will be sent to Coulston Foundation, a New Mexico-based toxicology laboratory. NYU made this placement decision despite knowing that the USDA had filed charges against Coulston for the negligent deaths of both chimpanzees and monkeys. Shortly after NYU’s announcement, Moor-Jankowski was fired from his director position of 30 years.

In 1997, around 100 chimpanzees were sent to Coulston Foundation, following the closure of LEMSIP.

However, James Mahoney, D.V.M., Ph.D, LEMSIP’s veterinarian managed to quietly place 109 chimpanzees and 100 monkeys in sanctuaries around North America. Those sanctuaries included Fauna Foundation, Wildlife Waystation, and the Primate Rescue Center.

Picture of Dr. James Mahoney conducting a biomedical procedure at LEMSIP (Source: National Geographic)

Primate Rescue Center says Mahoney approached them asking, “How many chimpanzees can you make room for?”.

In 1998, Coulston Foundation was “awarded” 111 chimpanzees who were deemed “surplus” by the U.S. Air Force.

In 1999, the USDA settled three sets of charges against Coulston with a $100,000 fine and orders to restrict breeding and divest itself of 300 chimpanzees (half of their population) by 2002.

Coulston had many documented USDA welfare violations including temperatures in cages as high as 150 degrees, to botched medical procedures such as experimental spine surgery.

In 2002, most of the LEMSIP chimpanzees that were sent to Coulston years prior, were rescued by Save the Chimps, when it took over Coulston.

However, an unknown number of chimpanzees who remained incarcerated in lab cages, were transferred to the Alamogordo Primate Facility, which is owned by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and operated under contract by Charles River Labs.

“Chimpanzees have not been used in invasive biomedical research – any research that causes injury, pain, or distress – in U.S. laboratories since 2015. But what to do with the former research chimps – and how to pay for their costly lifetime care – is a continuing conundrum.” – National Geographic

In 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed captive chimps as endangered. This meant that research and experimentation could be done on chimps only if the institution could show the work will enhance the survival of chimps in the wild.

Today, five biomedical research facilities across the U.S. hold chimpanzees once used for research that was funded in some part by NIH.

With all of this said, these are all reasons why we do what we do at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest and why sanctuaries are important. We have sixteen chimpanzees who were apart of the biomedical research industry. Their past lives were unfair, to put it simply. Although still in captivity, we hope what we do here everyday for our 16 chimpanzee residents helps make a difference in their lives.

**Special shout out to everyone involved in HOOT! last night. From attending the event in person, participating in the online auction from afar, or heck, even sharing our posts on Facebook…. As always, we appreciate your continued support for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. We wouldn’t be where we are without you!

Don’t Be Suspicious… Don’t Be Suspicious

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New foods for chimpanzees can either make them excited, or suspicious. Today, the chimpanzees were introduced to mangosteens. I know that some of you know about Annie’s allergy to mangoes. Don’t let the name of these super fruits confuse you. They are not related to mangoes. They are more closely related to things like starfruit and lychee, though they are really in their own class. The taste has been described as a combination of strawberries, peaches, pineapples, bananas, pomegranates, and lychees, among other things. Again, they really are in a class of their own and hard to describe.

Mangosteens are indigenous to Southeast Asia. Found in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is known as the “Queen of Fruits.” Besides being extremely tasty, there are also many health benefits to mangosteens. They are packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, support blood sugar control, and some studies have found they may also help promote weight loss.

Overall, everyone in Foxie’s group loved them! Cy’s group, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. Some didn’t even bother to try them. Those who did try them, however, seemed to love them!

Bonus photo of Cy watching me as I was cleaning their mezzanine yesterday:

Also, don’t forget to check out the online auction items! You can begin to bid on the items you want now! And for those who are attending in person, you can start thinking about which items you are going to bid on! I’m quite partial, and biased, on this beautiful painting of Mave!

Graze Anatomy

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Before I dive into today’s blog, I have an exciting update to share: The HOOT! 2022 online auction started today!

You can visit the online-only page to decide which amazing items to bid on. Tickets are still available for the live event which will be held on Friday, Sept. 16 at The Foundry by Herban Feast in Seattle! You can learn more about the event by clicking here and buy tickets here.

We caregivers also enjoy viewing (and occasionally bidding on) items that commemorate our favorite sanctuary residents. Although there are some great chimpanzee-themed items, I must admit that I am quite partial to the plush Cuddle Clone of the Jersey cow, Meredith.

As many of you already know, the pastures that surround the sanctuary’s Chimp House provide a home to four rescued cattle: Betsy, Honey, Meredith and Nutmeg. This little herd helps the sanctuary by consuming vegetation that could potentially fuel wildfires. In turn, we give them food, water, shelter, enrichment, veterinary care, and everything else they need to thrive. Caring for these creatures is often quite different from the work we do with chimpanzees, so I’m taking a moment to share some interesting trivia about the sanctuary’s lovable, living lawnmowers.

  • Domestic cattle (Bos taurus) are often called bovines because they belong to the subfamily Bovinae. This group also includes bison, buffalo, yaks, and other species of wild cattle. Sheep, goats and antelope are their closest living relatives and belong in the same family: Bovidae.

  • The ancestor of all living cattle is the extinct aurochs (B. primigenius). Aurochs once ranged across Eurasia and North Africa and were commonly depicted in prehistoric art (e.g. the Lascaux cave painting shown below). People across the Roman Empire commonly used them in bullfights, but they likely went extinct due to deforestation, over-hunting, and competition with domestic cattle. The last known aurochs cow lived in Poland and died in 1627.

  • Jersey cattle are specifically adapted to life on Jersey, one of the United Kingdom’s Channel Islands. The island’s human inhabitants carefully bred these cattle to yield milk with a high percentage of butterfat, and even prohibited the importation of foreign cattle in order to maintain this quality.
  • Jerseys are not the most popular dairy breed in North America. That title belongs to the black-and-white Holstein-Friesian, which are larger and produce more milk per cow.

  • Newborn cattle are called calves (e.g. newborn Nutmeg with mother Betsy, shown in the Farm Sanctuary photograph above). Immature females are called heifers and are only considered cows after birthing their first calf. Calves gestate for nine months and typically remain dependent on their mother’s milk for ten months before naturally weaning.
  • Ranchers often castrate male calves so they don’t develop into adult bulls, which are difficult to house and manage. Young castrated males are called steers until they eventually mature into fully-grown oxen. Historically, humans utilized oxen as draught animals for pulling plows and carts. Even though they are a relatively small cattle breed (females are usually around 800 pounds), Jersey bulls and oxen can grow up to 1,800 pounds.

  • The glands on cattle noses make distinct patterns that are as unique as human fingerprints.

  • Cattle horns and hooves are bony structures encased in sheaths of keratin, the same protein that makes up human nails and hair. Hooves generally grow ⅕ -¼ of an inch each month. The hooves of domestic cattle must be trimmed periodically to prevent a variety of health issues (below).

  • The common safety practice of horn removal is called polling. The remaining knob is called a poll and any subsequent horn growths are called scurs.

  • Cattle and other ruminants have a complex, multi-chambered stomach that specializes in breaking down fibrous plant matter. They do not have four stomachs. The chambers are called the rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum (diagram below)  . The rumen alone can hold up to 25 gallons of plant material. Each chamber contains a unique microbiome that is critical for proper digestion and overall health.

  • Cattle regurgitate chunks of semi-digested food called cud. They chew these again before re-ingesting them. This process is called “rumination” or “chewing the cud.” They chew in a conspicuous circular motion, grinding the forage against a leathery dental pad that they develop in place of upper incisors

  • Bovines are quite intelligent and have excellent long-term memories. Experiments show that cattle can discern between individual humans and learn to avoid humans who treat them roughly and trust humans who treat them kindly.

  • Cattle herds are complex societies that regularly split up and reunite (fission-fusion behavior). When not managed by humans, cattle form matriarchal hierarchies where bulls only associate for competition and breeding.

  • Domestic cattle can run up to 17 miles per hour (for short distances).

  • Cattle develop friendships with familiar individuals and reinforce their social bonds through grooming. Their preferred method of grooming is to lick each other with their raspy prehensile tongues (which also help them to grab food).

  • The USDA estimates the current global population of domestic cattle to be over one billion head (individuals), up 13.2 million from the previous year. These populations contribute significantly to anthropogenic climate change. The methane released from cattle ranches accounts for around 14% of global emissions.

  • Red meat consumption peaked in 1976 and has fallen dramatically since, but the average American still consumes around 57.2 pounds of beef each year. Ranching remains a key industry in the communities near the sanctuary (below). Recently, the availability of plant-based meat substitutes, the rising costs of beef production, and the recent drought in the American West may all be contributing to this decline.

Now you’re all prepared to absolutely slay a Jeopardy category on the subject of bovines. You’re welcome.

Don’t forget to check out the HOOT! page to get your bovine collectibles and contribute to their sanctuary home!

The end of an eventful weekend!

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We have had so much to celebrate this weekend!

Yesterday, Annie turned 48 years old AND our awesome caregiver, Kelsi, got married!

The chimp house has been full of play sessions, laughter, special treats, and relaxation. Check out today’s video to catch moments from our eventful weekend!

*Bonus* photos I have been saving from my phone:

Dora (L) and Honey B (R) meet the skeleton for the first time:

Gordo meeting the skeleton with a mouthful of water:

Foxie:

Gordo holding his carrot with his foot:

Gordo smelling said carrot:

Negra’s nest:

Disclaimer: others may have contributed to the building of this nest. However, Negra claimed it!

Have a great week!