Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzee

A Subtle Hint from Jamie

by

Last week, you may recall that I had a difficult time choosing a subject for a blog post. Well, here’s an explanation of one of the reasons why.

The enrichment theme for that day was “reading day” and Jamie took that to heart.

She seemed particularly enamored with a Dwell magazine. I even saw her gather up the magazine when she was moving from the front rooms to the playroom.

We see the chimpanzees carry blankets from one space to another and their favorite things (dolls for Foxie, boots for Jamie, wooden or plastic objects for Burrito), but it was the first time I’ve seen a chimpanzee so deliberately take a magazine that wasn’t smeared with peanut butter into a new space.

I didn’t get a sense that it was any particular page that she was interested in, as she carefully and thoroughly looked through the entire magazine:

Included in the reading day was a large catalog full of all sorts of products. When I went into the playroom in the evening to spot clean one last time, I found the catalog on the catwalk opened to this page:

Did boot-loving Jamie  purposely leave the catalog for me to find, hinting at a future gift idea?

Happy Birthday, Jaclyn!

by

From the lovely heart of Jaclyn Sinclair:

“In honor of all the Schipperkes which my husband and I have rescued over the years. For my birthday this year, I am sponsoring a day of sanctuary in the hopes that the Cle Elum 7 will live as long and as joyful a life as I have had, and that the expansion will soon benefit more chimps still confined to laboratories.”

Thank you so much for sharing your heart and special day with the chimpanzees, Jaclyn! All of us here wish you the most beautiful of days! Happy Birthday!

Beautiful, beloved, Annie:

Feel the joy!

by

Today was filled from top to bottom with sunshine (prime weather for wrestling in the greenhouse). One window in particular was the hot spot made popular by Missy and Foxie who had a wild game going that included multiple play partners.

Missy (back) with Foxie (front):

Jody, Missy and Foxie:

Annie joins the party and Jody leaves to make room for her on the windowsill:

Happy Birthday, D & D!

by

Friends of Foxie and family, Donna and Doreen Hughes, sponsored today for the chimpanzees in celebration of their birthday! Donna and Doreen have been wonderful, long-time friends of all the primates here and we look forward to celebrating with them each year.

“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate our birthday than by Sponsoring a Day! We count ourselves lucky to have visited the Cle Elum 7..and of course, the ENTIRE staff who work so hard to care for these Apes! We hope to visit Foxie and Friends again in 2019, and super cool – get to meet the new cattle residents! With love from NYC, Donna & Doreen”

Don and Dor, we’re so lucky to have you as part of our chimp family! The world’s a better place because of wonderful hearts like yours and while you are celebrating in the big city, we’ll be thinking of you at a tiny sanctuary in the country, wishing you the best birthday yet! Happiest of days to your hearts from all of our hearts!

Foxie, her belly button and her troll doll

by

Foxie is probably the most joyous person I know. She, like each member of her chimpanzee family, has every reason not to be given their history. And yet, like the rise and fall of nature’s breath, she persists. And we’re all the better for it. As beloved poet, Mary Oliver, wrote:

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel
Give in to it.
There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be.We are not wise, and not very often kind.
And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left.
Perhaps this is its way of fighting back,
that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world.
It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins.
Anyway, that’s often the case.
Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty.
Joy is not made to be a crumb.”

A Picture Worth…

by

I had the hardest time decided what to do for the blog today. There were many moments worthy of sharing and even more thoughts floating around my head. I could have written a novel.

Instead, I decided to  let the two images below speak for themselves. What do you see?

Burrito:

Negra:

Lord Byron’s poem “She Walks in Beauty” came to mind with the photo of Negra.

P.S. The “featured” image above of Annie’s profile reminded me of a Victorian cameo. I’m not sure why the chimpanzees brought to mind the 1800s today.

Grooming Party

by

In the afternoon, the chimps can often be found gathered together in grooming parties. At CSNW, these parties usually take place on elevated platforms or, as you can see here, in a corner of the playroom loft. Though grooming partners change from day to day and even minute to minute, over time you can observe stable patterns of affiliation – what we would rightly call friendships. Grooming can also be viewed as a form of currency to be used strategically – I do a favor for you by grooming you, and at some point you can pay me back by sharing food, being less aggressive toward me, etc.

Based on research conducted by former CWU student and CSNW intern Jake Funkhouser, we know that Jamie and Negra are the least likely to be involved in these grooming sessions. Negra’s lack of interest in grooming shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that she is less social overall than the others. But Jamie? Shouldn’t the boss get groomed the most?

It may have something to do with the fact that Jamie directs much of her grooming behavior towards the staff and volunteers, which is not unusual in chimps raised by humans. But we can’t discount the face of Jamie that led us to think of her as the boss in the first place – she is a bit of a bully. And it may just be that while aggressiveness will win you an extra piece of fruit now and then, it won’t win you a lot of friends.

The heart of the social network, as Jake discovered, was Jody. She had strong affiliative relationships with the other chimps and was most often the recipient of grooming. As you can see in this video, Burrito and Foxie are engaged in reciprocal grooming, but Annie is happy to groom Jody without receiving anything in return (well, at least not at this time). This is quite the privilege.

Knowing this changes how we see the group, and it will inform the way we approach integrating other chimps. There’s certainly a lot going on in these quiet moments.