Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Weird and Routine

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Since Anna included it in her Top 10 Sanctuary Videos of 2020, you may have been reminded recently of the video of J.B. and I in the gator racing Jamie at sunset. Thanks to J.B.’s transcription, you know I said, “This is the weirdest job.”

That’s true, in many ways.

The weird, however, has a way of becoming quite routine round here.

Jamie now frequently asks us to get the gator so she can race it, or us in it, or maybe just the boots we are wearing while driving it, around the hill.

Today, she made this request of Kelsi as they were starting off on a walk (you just need to know Jamie and how to interpret her gestures to know what she’s asking for – it’s a learning curve).

Kelsi ran back into the barn and started up the gator and Jamie took off at a sprint to get a head start. This time Burrito, Missy, Annie, and Jody joined the race. I climbed up to the observation deck to get a few photos.

 

Jamie up top, Missy standing bipedally, and Jody’s and Annie’s behinds

Annie catching up

 

Jamie in the lead

 

Missy likes to do things the hard fun way!
Annie and Missy taking in the sights at the end of the walk
Annie seems to really like the view from the top of the Escher structure
Jody sporting a classic drooped lip

Later in the day, Mave was having me play a fun game of chase where she ran around the mezzanine and I went from the human area of the mezzanine, downstairs via the rungs, through the door into the new getting-closer-to-being-finished playrooms, and upstairs to the window, where she was waiting for me.

She thought this was great fun.

While I was playing with Mave, I looked out one of the upstairs playroom windows, which have great views of the hill. Honey B was in the chute and spotted me through the window, so then she and I played a little game of chase where she ran back and forth in the chute and I went from one window to another.

Like J.B. yesterday, my batteries seemed to run out at an alarmingly accelerated pace compared to the chimpanzees.

It was all kind of weird, kind of routine, and very special at the same time.

The Eve of Burrito

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It was a normal day within all the CSNW Chimp House,

The chimps were grooming, while caregivers tidied the house.

But there was one person who just couldn’t sit still.

He wanted to play and laugh until his heart was filled.

The sounds of kicks and Bronx cheers grew ever so loud,

Should I abandon my duties? Is this even allowed?

I looked to my staff with a quizzical stare,

“I must keep cleaning, but he does not care!”

“Go! He is requesting you! But be sure you stretch! 

For he will run you tired, and an ambulance we might fetch!

He deserves everything his heart would ever desire,

But be cautious, or he will make your body retire!”

And within a flash we were off to the races,

With giggles and laughter, even play faces.

Out the gate and through the snow,

I trudged my way up my steep uphill foe.

I gathered my breath and prepared to run,

While his face seemed to scream, “This will be so much fun!”

My muscles were burning and as I was gasping,

I thought about lying down and just collapsing.

After not once, twice, but thrice around the snowy hill,

We returned to the Greenhouse to continue to play still.

I wished for a break in such long play session,

But none was granted by his absolute obsession.

“Buddy, let’s take it easy today, for there is much more in store,

Tomorrow is your big day, and we will play even more.

There will be treats and snow for the whole fam,

Why, I even heard there may even be a Pasta Cam.

“2020 was just a doozy of a year,

You survived a fight, procedures, and even a rattlesnake scare.

You pulled through, and inspired us all.

Staff, volunteers, interns, and donors big and small. 

“It was you who got us all through this pandemic,

Your joyous laughter, and foot stomps that were seismic.

We hope you have the best of days tomorrow,

Because it was you who helped us through the pandemic sorrow.”

“Happy Birthday, Burrito!” The world will all scream.

You are one of the chimpanzees of our dreams.

So have a good night, and sleep real tight,

Because tomorrow, we will celebrate you with no end in sight.

A Wintry Mix of This and That

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For those in more mild climates free of cold winter weather, when the forecast calls for a wintry mix, you can expect a little rain, a little snow, a little sleet, a little bit of everything. A little of this and a little of that.

For most of the day, there was rain, though it was more of a drizzle. While tonight calls for some slight snow before it turns to rain again. Though the chimpanzees had access to go outside, everybody felt it better to stay indoors with weather like this. For them, it was a good day to wrap themselves up in blankets and nap.

Willy B felt this was the most optimal course of action for the majority of the day.

While I was taking photos of Willy B, it almost felt like he was modeling different takes for me, which if you know Willy B, he likes to review the photos of himself.

He soon climbed down to take a look.

While he napped, Honey B and Mave groomed.

Before the napping and grooming sessions commenced, they were treated with firehose cubes in the afternoon.

Maybe their excitement over one of their favorite food puzzles put them in a relaxing mood afterward.

While the Seven stayed indoors all day today to avoid walking in the remaining snow and mud, they also felt today called for naps and resting.

Negra was fully onboard with this plan.

Though today was a day of relaxing and staying warm indoors, we just can never truly know what each day will bring and what choices they will make.

Though yesterday had similar conditions minus the rain, the Seven were dashing around the hill, climbing structures, and collecting snow.

Annie was really into her snowy treats yesterday and made several trips outside to grab some of the nearest snow.

Foxie decided she had to try to find some of the further reaching patches left on the structures.

While Foxie had a purpose of collecting snow on the structures, Jamie climbed from structure-to-structure just because she could.

After climbing most of the structures, she returned piloerect, possibly because of the chill factor outside or because she was happy and satisfied with her winter adventure.

Days like these are possible due to our followers and donors who help us care for these 10 unique individuals and to provide them with fun and interesting activities.

This day of sanctuary was sponsored by Marcus Andrews. Thank you so much, Marcus. With your generous gift, you made it possible for us to provide the warmest blankets, fun enrichment, and good meals on a wintry mix of a day.

There are many ways to help support the chimpanzees and cattle who call Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest home. You can become a Chimpanzee Pal to one of the chimpanzees, a Bovine Buddy to one of the cattle, a Produce Patron who helps us provide the freshest of foods, or Sponsor-a-Day of sanctuary like Marcus. These forms of support help us provide a comfortable lifestyle for these individuals who haven’t had the most comfortable life before being brought to sanctuary.

Tracks

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The chimps did some phenomenally interesting things today. Unfortunately, these moments rarely overlapped with the times when I had the camera nearby.

As lunch passed and the afternoon rolled on, I needed to get some content for the blog but was still uninspired. At moments like that, I usually decide to grab the camera and take a walk.

Over the past week or so, the sanctuary has received a lot of snow. However, the weekend’s medley of rain, sunshine and freezing temperatures quickly converted the snow into a patchwork mosaic of slush, mud and ice. The surface provided poor footing as I slogged up the hill from the Chimp House, but I soon realized it was preserving my boot prints with almost perfect detail. Sure enough, as I passed the electrified barriers of Young’s Hill and crossed into the cattle pasture, I began to see tracks left behind by all sorts of critters. There were countless rodent trails furrowing their way through the grassy fence-lines, but I was distracted by the signs of larger animals.

The bobcat prints were easily noticeable and went just about everywhere. Katelyn also saw some bobcat tracks while patrolling a couple of weeks ago. They look like a domestic cat’s paw print, but larger and awesome-r. Much like other felines, though, they slink from cover to cover while hunting and thus leave a meandering track behind them. They’re not incredibly social animals so the numerous trails were almost surely created by only one or two individuals traveling alone. (FYI, Katelyn is a better tracker than I am. I had to text her recently to confirm that I had found goose tracks in the pasture, which were way bigger than I expected them to be).

I also found some coyote prints which reflected the purposeful demeanor that is typical of wild canines. The individual who created these prints seems to have loped through in a hurry last night, surveying the landscape with its ears, eyes and nose without breaking stride. Although roughly equal in size to the paws of an average domestic dog, the coyote prints are easily distinguished by their overall shape and the negative space between the toe pads. Also, unlike dogs, coyotes don’t continuously veer off-course to investigate every last scent. The only creatures who have time for that kind of aimless curiosity are those cared for by humans.

Of course, as far as large-bodied mammals go, mule deer are responsible for 99% of our wildlife encounters at the sanctuary. Their tracks were also ubiquitous, often crossing over the paths of other animals and obscuring their prints.

 

In the following image, you can see the coyote tracks going left, parallel to the creek, while the deer seemed to have gone right, trudging straight across the ravine.

Even with all of the tracks left behind by wild animals, it’s still only a “drop in the bucket” compared to all of the trodden earth left behind by the sanctuary’s cattle and the horses that live next door. You can see that the neighbor’s horses have been using the energy company’s access road quite frequently.

Of course, the walk ended with a view of the new chimp enclosures being built. The following image shows the framework of the new greenhouses and the exterior façade of the new playrooms.

One chimp who will be residing in that wing of the building, Willy B, did not leave any tracks in the snow today. Instead, he preferred to look down at the snow with what appeared to be confusion, annoyance, and/or wonder. It didn’t help that he seemed to have lost track of a walnut somewhere in the slush-covered outdoor courtyard.

 

Top Caregiver Posts of 2020

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Being a caregiver for captive chimpanzees in a sanctuary is not always easy. It can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Burn out and compassion fatigue are not unusual. As someone who has worked at varying levels within sanctuaries, I know the difficulties as well as the many perks. I’m so grateful for those who choose this field.

We have a truly incredible team of caregivers. They are dedicated beyond what their positions require and strive to give the chimpanzees good days, every day. They are talented, witty, and kind. I admire each of them as individual people and as coworkers. I learn from them all of the time, and I love reading their blog posts for their unique perspective and insights.

For a sanctuary, the staff are the most important, and often the largest, expense in the budget. No one is getting rich as a caregiver, but they do need to be paid fairly so they can continue their good work. Some sanctuaries attempt to rely on volunteer labor, but this more often than not is unsuccessful in the long term. We miss all of the CSNW volunteers greatly, and are beyond thankful to those who have been able to meet our strict guidelines and worked so hard alongside us this year.

The pandemic was a big reminder of just how crucial paid staff are in providing for the care of the chimpanzees and cattle and the running of the sanctuary.

Donors to sanctuaries get this. You get this! You all are so wonderful, and every single staff member here is grateful every day for your support. Thank you for your donations and your nice words as 2020 came to a close. We are buoyed by your generosity and the love of the chimpanzees and bovines that you have.

With the start of the new year, I thought I’d nominate my favorite 2020 blog posts from the non-director staff (that would be everyone except me and J.B.). It was very challenging to narrow this down!

I’ll start with Chad.

Chad is our newest caregiver, though now that we’ve all been through a pandemic year together, and with all his time as an intern before he was on the staff, it seems like he’s been here forever, in a really good way. His post A Morning Stroll and Confession of a (New) Caregiver from the end of September makes me cry and smile every time I read it. One reason I smile is thinking about how many times he’s gone on walks/runs around the hill with Burrito since he wrote that. J.B. and I have a good view of the hill from our house and the office, and it’s not unusual for me to look out the window on my weekend and see Chad in his red shirt running on the other side of the fence as playful Burrito leads the charge.

Anthony started his job at CSNW about two months before Honey B, Mave, and Willy B arrived at the sanctuary. I think they call that baptism by fire. He wasn’t an unfamiliar face, however. Like Chad, he had interned and volunteered at the sanctuary while working on his master’s degree in the Primate Behavior and Ecology program at Central Washington University. I can’t imagine 2020, much less the later half of 2019 without him as part of the team.

I’m going back pretty far in the year for this one, but I really appreciated the blog post Anthony wrote that he entitled The Tough Questions about public perception and the potential for videos and images of captive primates (and all wildlife) to perpetuate misconceptions and even contribute to their continued harm. It provides much fodder for contemplation.

Anna has had quite a year in her personal life – she has a one year old now! My favorite blog post of Anna’s in 2020 is What Did I Miss?, mostly because of the glimpse of her daughter Luna meeting the chimpanzees for the first time, but also because I am reminded of the happiness I had that she was back from maternity leave and ready to whip the chimp house into shape.

I’m pretty lucky because I get to work with Kelsi on Saturdays. As I put this blog together, Kelsi is doing the approximately one hundred chimp house chores in her usual efficient and upbeat fashion in between entertaining Honey B and Willy B and giving snow snacks to Missy. My favorite blog post of Kelsi’s, one that I go to whenever needed, is Breathe in Mave. It’s perfect, and really everyone should bookmark it.

Katelyn’s work life during 2020 has changed quite a bit. Like thousands of other people, instead of coming in on her office days, she works from home. Office cat LouLou really misses crowding her out of her chair and licking her lunch, and I miss chatting with her about how amazing our supporters are. When Katelyn is in the chimp house, she makes the most of her time with the chimpanzees, posting to the blog on Mondays. My favorite blog post of Katelyn’s is Being Honey B because she beautifully captured the essence of Honey B and why just about anyone who has ever met her has loved her.

I could have chosen any number of other blog posts these great caregivers have written. Maybe you too have some favorites?

Top 10 sanctuary videos from 2020

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The year has been tough for sure but it definitely hasn’t been all bad, especially for the 10 chimpanzees and 4 cattle that call the sanctuary home.

Join me as I count down my top 10 favorite blog videos of the year.  What was your favorite sanctuary moment from 2020? What video did I miss?

10) The Californians vs a roll of raffle tickets. A timeless classic!

9) Our positive reinforcement training program came in handy during 2020

8) Honey B’s special birthday gift!

7) A peek behind the scenes with our busy staff

6) Jamie’s after work adventures

5) A special message from Jane to kick off our online HOOT! gala!

4) Jody’s Halloween haul

3) A casual cattle drive

2) This video of Jody and Burrito, because it truly conveys the sense of relief we all felt after Burrito’s scary snake bite incident.

1) Willy B wins the top spot for his remarkable courage this year.

Cheers to the new year and many more videos to come!

Goodbye 2020 and Good Riddance

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As the year is winding down, I think all of us are ready to say goodbye to 2020 and embark on a more hopeful 2021! To say we all want to kick 2020 to the curb would be an understatement! 2019 at CSNW  was such an exciting and scary year. The introduction of the two chimp groups is something we unintentionally do not discuss unless asked. It was, to be honest, a little traumatizing. When 2020 came around we all couldn’t wait to move on. Burrito was on the mend and we were looking forward to the future. But 2020 brought a pandemic. Sadly, due to covid, we couldn’t have our amazing volunteers come to help us. We strapped on our PPE and tried to carry on, but the hardest part I think we’ve all dealt with and are still dealing with as care staff is the stress of protecting the chimps from COVID-19. For me personally, it comes in waves. I know we have to trust in PPE, but it doesn’t make it not scary. We have all made sacrifices and have lost time with our loved ones, but their welfare is so much more important! We all seem to be managing well enough with our new normal and healing from our old wounds from 2019. Then, the rattlesnake incident happened. Burrito, as we have all said a thousand times, is truly an amazing individual! He has never let life get him down. He always survives and only gets stronger, though if you ask me, he can stop having almost near-death experiences at any time. But his spirit is inspiring! He might be what has got me through this year. Burrito has an appetite for life and has also never seemed happier! So not to dwell too much, but our year and some hasn’t been the best. BUT, through all of our adversities, we have SO much to look forward to!

We are looking forward to the future! We are so close to having the new playrooms finished! Six new chimps will come here to call CSNW home, which means there are going to be more social opportunities for Honey B, Mave, and Willy B, even though that sounds a little scary to us too :). Chimp relationships are so much more important. Though we cherish our moments with the chimps, their relationships with each other are far more important. And of course, we have Burrito!

The other thing that got us through 2020 was all of you. Our supporters and donors. When it felt like the world had lost humanity I always looked to the CSNW supporters. And we know the chimps helped you all through these difficult times through the blogs. However, you all helped us through our trying times. Your faith, support, and kindness has helped us get through 2019, 2020, and will help us through 2021 and years to come. Thank you for your support through donations, but also through your loving and kind words. You all will never know how much you kept us going during these trying times.

Okay, that is enough feelings for one day. We all know it’s been a crazy year so let’s all put 2020 behind us and watch some chimps play and look at their portraits below! Cheers to a new year!

Foxie.

Jamie.

Annie play biting Burrito.

Annie.

Neggie.