Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Case Files, Part 2

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Part 1 here.

Name: Jody
Nicknames: Jo, JoJo
Age: 41
Birthday: Mother’s Day
Role: The Mom/The Manager
Personality: independent, earnest, caring
What She Would Save in a Fire: her chimp family
Likes: comfort, warm greetings, wild plants
Dislikes: tomato seeds, dinosaur and snake toys, disorder

Name: Negra
Nicknames: Neg, Neggie
Age: 43
Birthday: June 13th
Role: The Queen/The Grandma
Personality: regal, imperious, grumpy
What She Would Save in a Fire: her blankets
Likes: peanuts, sunshine, naps
Dislikes: drama, wind, cantaloupe

Peas in a pod

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Missy and Annie are best friends. Though their individuality (especially Annie’s) comes out more each day and varies in several ways, it’s pretty unusual to see one without the other at least nearby. They will often nest near one another and upon occasion we’ve even found their nests woven together in a figure eight.

But if you know Annie and Missy, you also know that they spend most of their time together on the go. Play faces, laughter and mad games of running, chasing, wrestling, and climbing are the norm from sun up ’til sun down. Even when they are resting next to one another there is usually a game of slow motion slapping or tickling going on. So it’s a lovely treat to catch them in a still moment together, just enjoying one another’s company and the view.

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Case Files

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Name: Jamie
Nicknames: James, Boss Lady
Age: 39
Birthday: October 31st
Role: The Boss
Personality: intense, smart, watchful
What She Would Save in a Fire: her cowboy boot collection
Likes: law and order, long walks, pears
Dislikes: disobedience, boredom, unpredictability

Name: Foxie
Nicknames: Fox, Tiny
Age: 41
Birthday: August 8th
Role: The Peacekeeper
Personality: cautious, joyful, silly
What She Would Save in a Fire: her doll collection
Likes: fruit smoothies, backflips, bubblegum pop songs
Dislikes: green veggies, conflict, anything new

Name: Burrito
Nicknames: B, Mr. B, Bub
Age: 34
Birthday: January 6th
Role: The Obnoxious Little Brother
Personality: goofy, playful, socially awkward
What He Would Save in a Fire: all of the food in the fridge
Likes: eating, playing with caregivers, causing mischief
Dislikes: non-mealtimes, getting in trouble with the other chimps for causing mischief

It’s happening!!

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We’re reaching the balmy 40’s, the rains have begun, the bluebirds have returned and the snow is melting! To help move things along we decided to shovel a path part of the way up Young’s Hill this morning in the hopes it’d be clear in a day or two for Jamie to walk part way up the perimeter. Well, Jamie and her right hand gal, Missy, wasted no time in testing it out. When Jamie asked me to put her cowgirl boots on after lunch I assumed we were doing the usual wintertime back and forth to the greenhouse. She quickly disappeared and when I looked outside I spotted her and Missy on the pathway waiting for me to catch up! Apologies for the poor quality of photos, but of course we have to share the big day. 🙂

Jamie and Missy headed up Young’s Hill!:

They went to the end of the path and turned around to head back downhill where Jamie promptly marched back up hill and down again. (If you go enough times it equals a walk all the way around the hill, right?)

Missy:

Jamie:

Meanwhile, Missy made her way every which way across the hill via tightrope walking:

Once Jamie was satisfied with her walk, she joined Missy:

Foxie and Jody made a brief foray up the hill as well:

Many of the chimps spent a big part of the morning on the climbing structures – racing across the fire hoses, climbing, brachiating – all the good stuff chimps do. Even Negra has been spotted outside for brief moments! I can imagine they feel just as we do when winter finally gives up it’s grip and ease of spring feels imminent. And I think for us humans, watching them so full of joy and exuberance at reclaiming their beloved Young’s Hill was more of a lift than anything spring could bring our way. Something tells me Jamie’s Boot Camp of multiple daily walks around the hill for her caregivers isn’t too far off…and we couldn’t be happier.

And the bravery award goes to…

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September 20, 2011 was a big day for the chimpanzees at the sanctuary. On that day, a physical door opened for the first time, but the door was also a symbol. The physical door allowed the chimpanzees onto the two-acre habitat that we call Young’s Hill, named after donors Karen and Don Young. It’s opening symbolized the greatest measure of freedom than the chimpanzees had possibly ever experienced.

Freedom, wide-open spaces, nothing overhead, and being out in the elements came with a palpable amount of fear, along with the incredible excitement that the chimpanzees and the humans watching them were all feeling.

All of the chimpanzees went onto the hill that day. But in the days and weeks following, some of them were hesitant to venture out again. Their fears and uncertainty got the best of them. Jody and Foxie, as you’ll see in the October, 2011 video below, needed a little encouragement from Jamie even two weeks after the hill was available to them on a daily basis.

 

 

Jody and Foxie have both found their courage and now often seem nonchalant on the hill these days. But it’s still a different space than the familiar safety of walls and bars. The hill is nature – it transforms on a daily basis with the weather and the cycles of life that are constantly in play. It’s less predictable. When there’s snow on the ground like there is now, it can present very real physical challenges getting from one place to another.

Today I watched Jody traverse the snow-covered hill with grace, following and sometimes even leading her friends. Jody is a different chimpanzee than the Jody I met in 2008 and even the Jody that I knew last year.

I happened by a quote attributed to Nelson Mandela that I believe speaks to Jody’s continually evolving bravery. I changed it slightly:

 

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave are not those who do not feel afraid, but those who conquer that fear.

 

Jody against the snow

 

Today’s bravery award goes to Jody.

Jody standing on metal pole

 

Jody with snow in her mouth