Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

chimpanzee

In honor of Jane Goodall

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This lovely day of sanctuary was sponsored by Robin Lundy, in honor of Jane Goodall on her birthday. Robin shared this thoughtful, heartfelt and poignant note about her gift:

“I am sponsoring today in honor of Jane Goodall on her birthday. With Biruté Galdikas and the late Dian Fossey, Dr. Goodall has devoted her life and work to advocate for the survival and well-being of our primate cousins. There are few humans whom I admire more than this woman of courage and vision. As the human species is besieged in the corona virus pandemic, it is well worth considering the ways in which we may have engendered the proliferation of this virus through our use – and misuse – of our natural environment and the non-human animals with whom we share our fragile biosphere. May the experience of the pandemic serve to teach us that human animals do not exist apart from the natural world, and as such, we must respect and protect the ecosystem. In honoring Dr. Goodall as a prophetic voice and witness, I like to think that people like Missy, her daughter Honey B (and for that matter, Honey the cow) also admire her for her life’s work of advocacy and activism on behalf of animals.”

Robin, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to celebrate Jane Goodall on her special day and the contributions through courage, hope and inspiration that she, and so many amazing women of all species, have and continue to make to life. And for reminding us that be they primate (including our human selves), bovine, plant, or otherwise, there truly is no separation.

From our sanctuary home in the mountains, we all send intentions of gratitude, joy and well-being across the waters to you, Dr. Goodall! We wish you a beautiful birthday! May the hope, kindness and steadfast resolve you inspire in so many of us stay bright in your heart and may we manifest it in the world around us all.

Missy:

and her daughter, Honey B:

Missy:

Honey B:

Missy:

Honey B:

Honey:

and her daughter, Meredith:

Honey (L) and Meredith (R):

Barrels of Fun!

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Barrels are a great form of enrichment. They are often used to sit on to get a better view of the neighbors, or for drumming on to build up a big display, sometimes they are used for reaching an enrichment puzzle, and commonly the barrels are used for a good nap. Jamie can be found relaxing on a barrel, usually when the humans are cleaning. So, she can still keep her eye on them and request drinks of water from the hose when she is parched. When she has had enough rest, the humans are right there close enough for her to select the boot of her choice and take a lap around the Hill.

Jamie on her barrel enjoying some Alfalfa:

Jamie deep in thought:

Jamie inspecting something holding a wooden hammer in her feet:

Jamie 🙂

Now, when you look at the pictures you might be thinking how is this comfortable. But, chimps often prefer to sit or lay on objects that elevate them off the ground rather than sit or nap on the floor. Though that is not true for all, for example Foxie lays on the floor and wants nothing to do with blankets. However, you see this in the wild and in captivity that chimps prefer to sit higher, even if it is just a barrel or a chair.

Jamie sitting on a chair grooming some XtraTUF boots:

Also, I was going to save these photos for another day, but why not share them now!

This morning when the chimps first got access to Young’s Hill I spotted Missy and Annie rippin’ around the Hill chasing each other with huge play faces:

Missy sprinting:

Negra popped out for a bit of sun:

Burrito marched out with this purple plastic flat-head screwdriver:

And then there was the ever so sweet, cool as can be, and silly Foxie:

I almost didn’t include this one because it is a little out of focus, but I like it and I hope you do too!

Happy Birthday, Krissy!

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Jason Merritt sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in honor of Krissy Brasfield, one of our amazing chimp house volunteers and “neighbors” for her birthday! We couldn’t be happier to celebrate Krissy and deeply appreciate the hard work and love she bestows upon the chimpanzees to make their days better in any way she can. Example: In between winter storms when the sanctuary found itself without an ounce of snow left to meet Burrito’s snow snack needs, Krissy scooped up a huge bowlful from her neighboring, slightly higher in elevation town, and brought it to the sanctuary just for him! To tell you he was thrilled, is an understatement.

Jason, thank you so much for such a kind gift for Krissy and the chimps!

Krissy, we hope this has been your happiest birthday yet and so appreciate your full heart for the chimpanzees!

Burrito:

Honey B Yoga

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Many people around the world use yoga as a stress reliever, to live a healthier lifestyle, as a spiritual practice, and many other reasons. Honey B is also a practitioner of yoga. For what reason? It would be hard to say. But she does have some interesting versions to yoga poses.

Here is “Yoga with Honey B.”

First, pick the perfect spot. It doesn’t have to be a permanent spot. Just a spot that will suit the pose. One option is on a recently constructed fort you built.

Do you have your spot? Great! Let’s start off easy with the classic “Lotus Position.”

Next, let’s ease into the “Navasana” (Boat Pose) for a little while.

After easing out of that pose, don’t forget to take a break and groom with a friend. In this case, Mave.

As mentioned before, your spot doesn’t need to be permanent to continue your yoga session. So let’s find a new spot.

Once a new spot is found, let’s get straight into “Ananda Balasana” (Happy Baby Pose).

And let’s close this session with the “Shavasana” (Corpse Pose) to end the day with your favorite blankets and piles of paper.

These are simple poses you can try at home if you are practicing good social distancing.

Spring fashion runway

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We always know spring has officially arrived when dear, sweet Annie breaks out her favorite spring fashion choice of wearing a sweatband around her waist. She only seems to do this when the warmer weather arrives. This morning after breakfast she and Missy were ripping around Young’s Hill and I just caught Annie zooming by in her bright yellow spring accessory as she tried to catch Missy, hooting all the way:

Jody is recovering well after yesterday’s trip to the clinic to address her foot injury, and according to her, quite ready to return to her friends. While it’ll be a bit before she is actually ready (according to the humans), she enjoys frequent visits from everyone as they check up on her and make sure she’s doing okay. Initially she had her foot in the air to show them, but when Dr. Missy made a move to groom it, Jody thought better of it and put her foot back down. Good thinking, Jo. Dr. Missy isn’t exactly known for her light touch when grooming injuries. 😉

Jody visiting with Negra and Missy:

Jody’s trip to the clinic

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Chimpanzees can be melodramatic at times. When they display, become frightened, or get into spats, the hoots and screams can be deafening. It happens often enough that you become inured to the minor day to day scuffles and other assorted histrionics (looking at you, Annie and Mave). But you can tell when things become serious. And we could tell that someone was really mad.

The conflict began as the staff were walking up the driveway to the front gate. One second it was serene and peaceful, the next it was an absolute cacophony of screams. After about 30 seconds only a single voice remained, and as we entered we could see Jody walking through the playroom screaming – in anger, it seemed, but I would imagine also in shock and in pain. A closer look revealed a laceration across her right foot and a toe pointed in a decidedly wrong direction.

Chimps heal quickly and uneventfully from injuries that would leave me in the hospital. Serious lacerations often zip up within days without sutures and chimps may even take it upon themselves to straighten out a dislocated digit before anyone else can intervene. But injuries can also go undetected.

Thankfully, Jody is a cooperative patient. After isolating her in Front Room 1, we were able to use our new foot box along with portable x-ray equipment from Best Friends Mobile Veterinary Care (and a ton of grapes) to obtain awake x-rays. In doing so we discovered that, in addition to the dislocated third toe, she had a complete fracture of her fourth toe.

So along with pain medication and antibiotics, Jody was also booked for surgery. Dr. Erin and Dr. Erika treated Jody’s injuries this morning and conducted a full physical examination along with vaccinations. Jody was quickly moved back to recovery and before long was sitting up and even enjoying some snacks.

Dr. Erika and Dr. Erin prepare to intubate as Diana cleans Jody’s injury

Examination of our closed circuit camera footage helped us understand how the injury occurred, but as is often the case, did not help explain why. The chimps are scattered throughout the playroom, many still in their nests from the night before. Foxie, standing in the loft, begins softly vocalizing and working up to a display. As her pant-hoots reach their crescendo, she charges across the bridge and attacks Burrito, who appears to be minding his own business on the opposite catwalk. Everyone leaps to their feet and begins to run and scream. Jody heads toward the conflict but tries to stay on the periphery. Soon, however, she is pulled across the bridge, her foot in Jamie’s mouth.

We’ve been primed in many ways to think of chimpanzee aggression in strategic terms – the epic struggles for dominance as beta males overthrow their aging leader or the clashes between communities as they vie for scarce resources. But aggression in captive chimpanzees will often leave you scratching your head as to its purpose. Why are Foxie and Burrito unscathed and seemingly still on good terms, while poor Jody bore the brunt of the violence? We can’t help but invent explanations for behavior – we’re wired to think that way. But so often we’re wrong. And the theories we develop can color our perceptions of future events in misleading ways. For example, if we didn’t have the closed circuit camera footage, I would have put money on Burrito playing some role in instigating that fight. Turns out the guy is just misunderstood.

Sometimes when we talk to colleagues at other sanctuaries, they will say things like “Oh, you have a biter in that group.” And sadly, we do. Many of them. Maybe all of them. In twelve years with the Cle Elum Seven, we’ve seen no consistent aggressors, no consistent victims, and no one that hasn’t had an ear, finger, or toe bitten during their time here – with the exception of Annie, suspiciously…

I wish we had a soap opera script explanation for these events, or that we could blame it on the weather or the moon, but if I’m being honest, they just happen sometimes. I’m just glad chimpanzees are tough.

So for the next few days Jody will rest up, take her medications, and eat lots of good food, and before long she will be back with her family. Jamie will probably welcome Jody’s return and tenderly groom the foot that she nearly chomped off. Nearby, Foxie and Burrito will play a quiet game of tickle as they sit in front of the sunny window where Foxie launched her attack. And life will go on for the Cle Elum Seven.

Jody recovering from her procedure this afternoon

Just Right

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If you are new to the blog, here are two things to know about the boss female chimpanzee Jamie: she loves boots, and she is constantly ordering the humans around.

You can see the force of her personality in these photos:

She’s also very particular about the things that she wants, and sometimes it takes the humans a while to understand what she’s asking for in a given moment.

Usually, when Jamie wants us to put on boots and walk around the outside of the outdoor habitat “with” her, she wants us to change into her favorite pair of boots du jour. We turn to the drying boots from the previous days enrichment or to her own personal boot and book closet to find the pair that she’s been most interested in lately.

Over the past twelve years, caregivers have worn various boot brands and styles. Right now, however, many of us are wearing XtraTuf boots. Kelsi, Anna, and Katelyn have a pair, as do I now. Chad and J.B. were the latest caregivers to upgrade to XtraTufs. Anthony still hasn’t succumbed to conformity. We have not received any funds from XtraTuf for this endorsement, but maybe they should send Anthony a pair so he will find out what he’s missing 😉

We female caregivers have the “Salmon Sisters” style that can be worn fully up or folded down to different lengths, revealing the unique fabric on the inside.

As with most fashion, there tends to be more variety for women’s styles, and Chad and J.B.’s boots are of the kind that don’t fold down to reveal fun patterns – they just wear them up.

A few days ago, Jamie got my attention and was gesturing for something. I assumed she wanted to go on a walk, so I pulled out all of the boots that I knew were favorites of hers, but she just continued to gesture empathically. After several minutes, I finally figured out that she wanted me to change into my cleaning boots, which I did, and we proceeded on our walk.

Today it was a similar routine, but both Kelsi and I were already wearing our cleaning boots, so we couldn’t immediately figure out what Jamie wanted.

Later in the afternoon Kelsi had a moment of insight and tried unrolling her boots to their full length.

That was it!

Jamie was off in a flash, with Kelsi happily catching up to her.

I wish I knew more about what goes on in Jamie’s head, but it’s always rewarding to figure out what she wants, even if it doesn’t make a lot of sense to us.