Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee sanctuary

A Window to New Friendships

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Introductions between Cy and Willy B’s groups have been progressing along. Today we decided to do something new and different. There are panels between the two greenhouses that provide a visual barrier between the two groups. We removed one of the panels so the two groups can now see and safely interact with each through this portal.

When the groups were given access their greenhouses, Lucky and Rayne were the first ones to notice. Rayne waited around the portal for some time, but nobody showed up. It took a while for Willy B and Mave to realize there was a panel missing. As with new things, a lot of excitement can happen. Usually a lot of screaming and displaying. Surprisingly, there wasn’t as much as we expected. There was mostly positive interactions.

The paneling is located on the second story of the greenhouses, so getting photos up there is almost impossible especially in the winter when the outside paneling is up to keep the chimpanzees warm. I was able to catch a couple of photos from the ground floor of Willy B during one of his displays.

Willy B looks at his neighbors looking at him.
He begins to work up his display with hooting.
He stands bipedally and become piloerect.
Just a blur.

Here are some bonus photos of Gordo and Cy enjoying some snow snacks!

Gordo
Cy

 

It Flakes One to Snow One

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The Pacific Northwest is projected to experience a snowy La Niña winter, but I personally wasn’t expecting to have this much snowfall so early. Today’s local forecast predicted only a couple inches of precipitation yet we just shoveled at least triple that amount from the same sidewalks we just cleared yesterday evening.

The chimps are warm, cozy and entertained (hanging out in their heated indoor areas by choice), the cattle are fed and dry in their winter paddock and barn, and the other caregivers are busy finishing up the daily tasks. There’s also a formidable amount of shoveling and plowing to do outside so today’s blog is unapologetically brief!

As much as I love plowing the driveway with the new tractor, the brightest moment of my week actually occurred yesterday afternoon while doing farm chores. As I drove out to muck the cattle barn, I spotted a distinct trail of animal footprints crossing the pasture. The tracks had the telltale shape and gait of a coyote’s, registering four clawed digits from each paw. Of all the region’s native carnivores, coyotes are perhaps the best suited for living in proximity to humans; their adaptability makes them one of my favorite animals to observe and learn from. I followed the creature’s path across the driveway and stopped where its trail plunged into the brush, eventually crossing the nearby highway and descending towards the wooded riverbank below. As I tend to do, I took a photograph to share with you all.

A close-up of a coyote print

Here are a couple more shots from yesterday:

Meredith
Nearby mountains as seen from the winter barn

Christmas in sight

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It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just a little over a week away! This morning, Caregiver Kelsi moved one of the fresh Christmas trees into the mechanical room for the chimps’ viewing pleasure. Each chimpanzee group will get a decorated tree complete with presents underneath for their holiday party next week. If you are interested in contributing to the chimps’ seasonal joy, check out our Amazon Wish List!

Cy and caregiver Sam

 

Cy peruses a magazine with Dora snuggled in next to him.
Gordo with his foot up on a box.
Lucky with background lights
Rayne

Bonus! Negra and her breakfast pomegranate.

 

 

 

CSI: Chimp House

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One of the many reasons why chimpanzees should never be pets is their natural destructive behavior. On the daily basis we enter enclosures for cleaning and find destroyed toys, ripped blankets, broken night time enrichment, and on many occasions stuffed animals with severed limbs and stuffing coming out. This is why we follow rigorous rules that dictate the type enrichment and toys that each group is allowed to have. Ranging from choking hazards, to possible obstructions if ingested each item is checked by at least two caregivers before the item is placed inside an enclosure to ensure that the chimpanzees, as individuals and as groups will be safe. Every item that is placed inside is potentially going to be destroyed, and sometimes we encounter crime scenes that may never be solved. I mean we could, we can just watch security footage, but working around mysteries is more intriguing.

Case #1

First on the scene: Special Agent de Bree

Victim: Stuffed teddy bear

Cause of death: Severe stuffingloss by limb amputation and decapitation. Strangulation has not been ruled out.

Location: Greenhouse 1

Evidence collected: Plaid ribbon scarf

Case #2

First on the scene: Special Agent Castro-Loza

Victim: Stuffed tiger

Cause of death: Severe stuffingloss by amputation of left hind leg and tail.

Location: Front Room 3

Evidence collected: Unopened pumpkin seed

Number of suspects: 7

But three individuals matched our previous offense data base. Jamie, Annie, and Burrito are on the top of the suspect list pending investigation and forensic analysis.

Jamie de-stuffing a lion

Click here to access our Amazon Wish List with an assortment of approved enrichment. The Holiday list is up!!!

Click here to view our Enrichment Database.

The Unlikely Meetup

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This week is an intro week and I spent a lot of the day trying to get Dora alone so she could spend time with Honey B’s group. However, Dora is really hard to get alone. To make Dora a little more comfortable we decided to try to do a quad with all girls. Rayne kindly stayed with Dora and I think Willy B had a good laugh when I thought I could get just the girls. With all my best efforts Willy B decided he could not be left out. So today’s meet up was Honey B, Willy B, Rayne, and Dora. This intro made us all a little nervous, Willy B isn’t always the best at giving the girls the reassurance they might need and Dora is still a wild card for us. We had decided that we would just stick to the mesh unless there were a lot of positive behaviors at the mesh. Well, right off the bat they were breathy panting, grooming, reassuring each other, giving kisses, and playing through the mesh. We had to open the door, so we held our breath and we let them in together. Overall, it went really well! Near the end Dora and Willy B had a miscommunication, which led us to separating them. As you will see in the video Willy B was having a blast with Rayne and Dora! What you all might not know is that Willy B and Dora have met a few times and they were non-eventual, but today Willy B really learned how Dora wanted to play! At first he was overwhelming her, so he backed off and waited for her to come to him. To see how far Dora and Willy B have come is really spectacular. Though it didn’t end on the highest note there was a lot to take away from this intro!

Also Rayne is the best at introductions! She is so good at making the other chimps feel at ease, she gives reassurance when needed, and distracts others by instigating play instead of screaming when they are nervous. She is one of a kind.