Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee sanctuary

Good Morning!

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Mornings in the chimp house are busy- there’s breakfast to make, smoothies to blend, lists to check, and chimps to greet. Some days, there’s only time to give the chimps a quick hello while you do other tasks (like safety checks to give them access to the outdoor enclosures). Other days, things take on a slower pace and you find yourself spending quality time with the chimps before breakfast. Today was one of those mornings.

As I was opening up both sides of the chimp house today, I noticed something- Jamie’s side, with Burrito immediately getting me into a game of chase and tug-of-war, felt like greeting a morning person with all the energy to do all the things right away! Cy’s side was like greeting people who need more quiet time in the morning- with lots of grooming and watching of the humans getting their tasks done. It’s not always this way- sometimes Burrito is off doing his own thing and sometimes Cy immediately snags you to play a game of chase, but this morning I felt two very different morning-vibes from each group of chimps. Personally, I categorize myself as a 10am to 2pm kind of person. This morning, though, it was really nice to spend time with morning-chimps and also some not-so-morning chimps. 🙂

P.S: There’s only one more day left of Early Giving for GiveBIG!! The event culminates in a 48-hour giving period on May 7th and May 8th, but you can help us get closer to our fundraising goal by donating early. Help us make BIG things happen here at CSNW! Click here to support us today.

Bonus Photos

Handsome Cy resting this afternoon

Sweet Gordo enjoying his groups’ lunch forage in the Greenhouse today

Boss lady Jamie, enjoying a lilac this morning

On the Daily

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Happy May, everyone! It truly feels like spring is here in Cle Elum, as the (arguably) gale force winds that arrive every spring are here with gusto today.

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, which is an important topic. We are pretty candid on this blog and have written about compassion fatigue and burnout, which are frequent experiences for those in care fields. We’ve also written about compassion satisfaction, a counterweight to fatigue and burnout. Like Kelsi wrote in her blog on compassion satisfaction, it’s all about finding moments that remind us of our why- why we’re here doing what we do, despite the tough moments. The last year has been hard on all of us, with the grief of Jody and Nutmeg’s passing omnipresent, and it’s been important for me to remember that joy and sadness are not mutually exclusive. That they can coexist in the same moments.

To honor National Mental Health Awareness Month, I thought I would share a list of things that bring me joy and compassion satisfaction here that happen almost every day. It’s a list I started keeping in my phone to look at when I feel overwhelmed. It’s not the big stuff, it’s the little moments- the ones that happen almost daily.

(Disclaimer: This list is not entirely comprehensive and all chimp-human contact is protected. Click here for more details.)

  • Going in to say hi to the chimps in the morning and being immediately greeted with excited breathy pants
  • Foxie asking me to babysit her baby dolls while she takes some time for herself
  • Terry kisses (especially when he sticks his tongue out and just kind of licks the back of my hand)
  • Watching the chimps enjoy the sunshine
  • Serving a meal item that the chimps find super exciting (corn, baked sweet potatoes, apples…) and hearing Mave and Burrito’s high-pitched excited food squeaks. All food grunts are joy-inducing sounds, but those two jump the octave and really just make you grin
  • Annie’s bird noises
  • Cy with his magazines
  • Walks around Young’s Hill with Jamie
  • Games of chase with Burrito
  • Grooming with Lucky
  • The way Gordo gently sets down his smoothie cup instead of tossing it to the floor
  • The way Gordo will find even the smallest piece of paper to sit on in the greenhouses for breakfast, instead of sitting directly on the cool ground
  • How the group of 9 will watch us prep meds in the morning from the front rooms with the clinic door open… It’s just nice.
  • How Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Gordo, Cy, Dora, and Honey B hold their smoothie cups during breakfast
  • Terry’s incessant raspberry sounds
  • Looking up to the corner of the playroom to see Negra cozy in a nest that looks like it’s as thick as four mattresses.
  • When the chimps decide they do or don’t want something (i.e. if Foxie decides not to give us the greenhouse for cleaning- we’ll get it the next day, but I love the moments where the chimps choose how the day goes)
  • How Jamie will save her chow and put it in a cup to let it soak in water before she eats it.
  • The noises Willy B makes when he wants us to set up our phones for him to watch YouTube while we clean.
  • How Missy will tight-rope walk across the firehose in the playroom at dinner to grab her food
  • When the chimps take food with their feet. 🙂
  • The little happy toe rubs that the chimps do during meals
  • Rayne sitting in boxes, all day, every day, no matter the size of said box

Some photos of these moments:

Foxie enjoying a walk on Young’s Hill after giving me her baby to watch.

Gordo + pear + foot

Terry, giving one of his morning kisses

Cy enjoying a magazine (and a coconut)

Family Ties

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Happy National Siblings Day, everyone! As the youngest sister to two older brothers, I confess that I didn’t know it was national siblings day until Chad told me today during our morning huddle. I feel like that tracks for my experience as the youngest sibling, though, and my brothers wouldn’t expect anything different. Now that I know, happy siblings day to my own brothers and to all who have siblings they wish to celebrate today!

One of my passions about sanctuary work is connecting the dots of the chimps’ family trees. While there’s information we don’t know, and details that we are learning as the years go by, what we do know is pretty special! We have quite a few siblings (both full and half) here at CSNW, so let’s take some time to celebrate them.

First up: Lucky and Cy are full siblings! They share the same parents (Herbie and Sally). They also look quite similar, especially when Lucky is worked up and her hair is pilo-erect (or standing on end). While Cy is more outgoing, when he’s not busy with his magazines, Lucky likes to hang back a bit. When I was in the interactions portion of my training, Cy immediately wanted to play chase while Lucky was more reserved and enjoyed hazing me a bit (her ability to jump on the caging in front of you when you don’t see her coming is uncanny). Over time we’ve built a special friendship with lots of grooming and some of the sweetest morning greetings. They both have a way of looking at you that makes you just stop and stare into their eyes for a while, while all your worries fall away.

Lucky (back) with full-brother, Cy (front)

While Lucky and Cy are full-siblings, they are also half-siblings to Rayne and Honey B since they share the same father, Herbie! What a group! Rayne is reliable and socially savvy, but with a spunky streak. Which makes sense, since she’s related to Honey B. As we creep up on the two-year anniversary of the integration of the six and the three, it’s really wonderful to see how Honey B’s relationships have grown- especially with Rayne!

Cy (left) with full sibling Lucky (middle) and half-sibling Rayne (right)

Honey B (Left) with half-sibling Rayne (right)

That’s not all! Gordo and Dora are also half-siblings, as they share the same father Les. Gordo can be aloof with the humans, but when he warms up to you he’ll engage you in a game of chase with his signature ‘bunny hop’! He also loves smoothies. Like, LOVES. Dora, while she can take or leave her breakfast smoothie, is known for her little head bobble. She has made a best friend in Mave, but her and Gordo enjoy fun games of chase.

Gordo (left) with half-sibling Dora (right)

Oh! And, speaking of learning family connections as we go, we can’t forget that we learned last year that Terry and Mave are also half siblings! They share a father, Conrad. We had wondered for a while, because they share a heightened level of floof and similar face speckling. I often think that they really do act like siblings- Mave will come up to Terry with one of her exaggerated, bouncing, loud greetings to which Terry often greets her quickly before turning away and moving on.

Mave (left) with half-sibling Terry (right)

While there aren’t any siblings in the Cle Elum 7, Burrito shares a father (Mack) with Clay, Jody‘s son, and with Noah, Negra‘s son. Both Clay and Noah live a life of sanctuary at Save the Chimps in Florida.

Handsome Burrito

Burrito arms crossed

And, of course, Missy is Honey B’s mom. Not a sibling-thing, but a family-thing.

Missy

Honey B

To add to the excitement, today has been a beautiful day and both groups got to enjoy a lunch forage in their outdoor habitats! Let’s start with photos of Cy’s group.

Who’s hand is that????

It’s MAVE!! While she’s been getting more comfortable on the Bray, today she participated in her first forage on the Bray. 🙂 Happy day!

She was anxious at first (she came out with a bit of a fear grimace and pilo-erect hair)…

But she got some reassurance from Lucky and began enjoying the forage.

Now, to Jamie’s group!

Sweet Annie-bird

Annie got a good stash of mini peppers…

But Jamie took the gold.

 

 

Playful Spirit

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The thing about Burrito is… everyone loves him, chimps and humans alike. Burrito’s light-hearted nature and playful energy is hard not to be contagious. Though at times his group does need him to settle down, they all love to play and interact with him. I mean who wouldn’t, just look at him!

A bonus photo of Jamie the fashionista:

An Intro to Smush Face

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Chimpanzees have many different facial expressions. From play faces to fear grimaces (often mistaken for a smile, but it’s not), their expressions vary depending on a variety of factors. One of my favorites, though, is affectionately (and scientifically, I’m pretty sure) known as ‘smush face’.

There are many different iterations of smush face, but one thing is consistent- once it’s been noticed, you will hear a caregiver give a little squeal. Smush face is one of the small, amazing part of our days here, but it can be elusive since it can be tricky to capture on camera. You have to be quick and nimble, so you catch it before they move, while also not giving them (or any sneaky bystanders) the opportunity to poke your phone out of your hand.

One version of smush face is when a chimp smushes their lips into the caging to give their caregiver a kiss (safely, of course, on the back of our hands). Here, we see Lucky with a 10/10 smush face:

Another version of smush face is when a chimp reaches maximum comfort by laying down and resting their face on something that causes their capacious lower lip to smush out. This is one of the best versions of smush face, in my opinion, because they just look so darn cozy. Here we have Cy and Terry showing us how it’s done.

To wrap up this ode to smush face, here’s some previous blog photos that show us the best of smush faces. Enjoy. 🙂

 

Celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with CSNW!

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Happy St. Paddy’s Day, everyone!

Today, we hit the jackpot (literally). It feels like early summer outside, without the wildly frigid wind that we get in the springtime, which made it the perfect day for both groups to have outdoor forages! We celebrated with forages of green Gatorade with a raspberry garnish, corn, fingerling potatoes, beets, and cabbage. The chimps have been in a great mood most of the day, with lots of grooming and playing, and it feels like a breath of fresh air after we’ve all been cooped up inside for the winter. As much as I prefer the cold or rainy days over the heat that comes with the summer months, it does good things for the soul to see the chimps enjoying the sunshine and blue skies.

Photos From The Day:

Annie, lucking out in today’s forage and snagging four pieces of corn

Burrito, enjoying his corn in the sunshine

Sweet, dear Cy relaxing in the afternoon

Foxie, watching the party prep

Jamie, enjoying a purple fingerling potato!

Brave Lucky, out on the Bray

Lasting Impressions

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One of our blog followers inquired about whether any of our team members sport chimpanzee-inspired tattoos. Indeed, we do! Our tattoos vary widely in design, from minimalist line sketches of chimps to intricate portraits, as well as impressions of a chimp’s footprint or symbols that evoke memories of a particular chimpanzee.

Featured below, you’ll find a collection of chimpanzee-themed tattoos that our staff have adorned themselves with, each with its own unique backstory and significance.

 

A boot for Jamie :

“The boot represents Jamie’s affinity for cowboy boots and the time I get to spend with her walking around the hill. Some of my favorite memories with her are going for walks. The tattoo also is for my dad who passed away and he loved western movies.” – Caregiver Kelsi

Annie (Grace):

“It’s funny that I love chimp feet because I loathe human feet” – Caregiver Grace

Jamie’s footprint (Grace):

Jody’s footprint (Grace):

Terry’s footprint (Grace):

 

Angelo (Chimp Haven):

“Angelo came from a lab all by himself, no group of chimps or even one friend was with him when he arrived to sanctuary. He was quickly introduced to a fairly large, stable group of 14 chimps and he really flourished. He found friends and worked his way up to be very close to the alpha, Hugo.

I always loved watching how how politically savvy this loner from the lab was when he was interacting with such a large group. He always seemed to know how to keep himself out of trouble and how to alleviate tension. I had the privilege of being his primary trainer for most of his time at Chimp Haven and he always got a big grin on his face when he knew I had come just for him. He would lead me to a secluded area of the habitat where he knew no one would find us and try to steal his snacks.

Angelo was not only one of the most intelligent chimpanzees I have ever encountered but also one of the most beautiful. As time went on, the group expanded to include 21 members. It was during this period of growth that Angelo’s health began to show signs of deterioration and he unfortunately passed away at the beginning of 2020.” – Caregiver Sabrina

Angelo:

Bubbles (Center for Great Apes)

Knuckles (Center for Great Apes):

Pansy (Chimp Haven):

“Pansy was one of the first chimps I met when I started working with chimpanzees at Chimp Haven. She had been moved from the lab only a month or two before I started and in that short amount of time she became notorious for her relentless poop throwing. When she came to Chimp Haven and for the first year or so of her residing at Chimp Haven, Pansy lived in a group of nine girls and she was clearly the one in charge of this girl gang.

This group of girls was the one I learned to shift around their enclosure for cleaning and each day, first thing in the morning, Pansy was ready for me. As soon as I would start to shut doors to close the group out of an area Pansy would come, she would seem to appear out of thin air, and she would fast ball poop at me. I’m not sure if she aimed for my throat or she was just lucky but she took my breath away daily. The negative behavior of poop throwing never made me walk away or give up on my shifting. This continued on for several months until one day she came up and stared me down with poop in hand.

In the end, we seemed to come to a truce this day and instead of the usual throat punch, she threw the poop softly on my boot. The truce did not extend to any other caregivers and we soon came to realize that Pansy always seemed to have fecal ammo…because she would store a piece on her back, near her shoulder that she could grab at a moments notice. We called it her shoulder holster.

Through Pansy, I learned the virtues of patience and resolve in the care of chimpanzees who have retired from laboratory life. Each arrives bearing unique histories and the scars of past traumas. In the sanctuary, our number one duty is to demonstrate to the chimps that they have the ability to make choices, and to assure them that we, their caregivers, are dedicated allies in their journey.

Unfortunately, Pansy passed in 2019 but she’s always with me still.” – Caregiver Sabrina

Pansy:

Whiskey (Chimp Haven):

“I have a portrait of Whiskey, my very best friend. Whiskey was a wonderful, sassy, smart, and opinionated chimpanzee. He quickly stole my heart with his bigger than life personality, his silly side, his quiet breathy laughter, and by choosing me as one of the few humans he allowed in his circle. He made me laugh every day with his antics, whether it was throwing a scarf over his shoulder while he was on the move, playing chase with those stompiest of stompy flat feet of his, or panting at me and staring sweetly into my eyes after just having been excessively (and perfectly, in my opinion) sassy to one of his other caregivers. His best friend was Donovan, the alpha of his group who he came to sanctuary with. Whiskey sadly passed away in April of 2020. I miss him dearly, and am grateful to have a reminder of him always with me, as well as an excuse to talk about him whenever people ask about my tattoo.” – Caregiver Ellen