Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee

Negra’s nest

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The other night, while doing chimp counts during closing rounds, I climbed a ladder to look in the loft and found Negra building this magnificent nest.

There are a number of theories as to why chimpanzees build nests. Since most free-living chimpanzees build their nests high up in the trees at night, it’s possible that nest-building evolved to help protect chimpanzees from ground-dwelling predators or to avoid biting insects. There is also evidence to suggest that nests aid in thermoregulation. And these theories aren’t incompatible with the idea that chimpanzees also build nests because they are comfortable. Who doesn’t want a good night’s sleep?

At CSNW, we give out more than 70 clean blankets over the course of each day. If distributed evenly, that would be at least 10 per chimp – more than enough to make a comfortable nest, with some left over to use on top. But some of the Cle Elum Seven chimps, like Foxie, don’t really nest at all, while others, like Burrito, only use a few blankets. That leaves more for the master nest builders like Negra.

The chimps’ night nests are almost always made from blankets, but day nests are often made with other materials, such as bamboo, hay or straw, paper, cardboard, sand, fire hoses, and on at least one occasion, every single present given to the chimps for Christmas.

jody in sandbox

The elusive beauties

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We are experiencing an exceptional bout of Winterspring. The brightest of suns, blue skies for miles, and warming temperatures beginning to melt the heaps and piles of snow and ice, but at the same time almost daily snow showers and another winter storm on the way.

The sun actually felt warm this morning so we opened up the door to Young’s Hill first thing, knowing the chimps would enjoy taking some of their breakfast “to go” so they could enjoy the gorgeous morning outside. Annie and Jody were the first ones to head up the melted pathways toward the structures. It wasn’t long before they returned to warm up in the greenhouse, but both chose to linger in the raceway where they could still feel the elements and look out over the hill.

We’ve mentioned previously that each of the chimps has a different tolerance and comfort level for having their photos taken and Annie and Jody are two ladies who are often difficult to capture. They prefer their privacy. But this morning they seemed to decide that the camera lens faded away in the light of the sun. So the three of us sat together peacefully, our eyes lifted to the bright blue horizon above the hill with winter’s chill wind coming up the canyon, but the warm sun on our faces singing of spring to come.

Annie:

Jody:

The great thaw

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We’re nearing the end of the chimps’ ninth winter here at CSNW and while chimpanzees aren’t naturally cold weather animals, they have adapted quite well. When the first snowflakes fall each year, the chimps food grunt in anticipation of the endless snow and ice snacks that winter brings. As temperatures begin to plunge, they make cozy nests on the heated playroom catwalks and bask in the radiant warmth of the greenhouse.

This winter, however, is really testing the patience of the chimps and their caregivers alike. While most of the country is enjoying an early spring, our tiny little corner of the Pacific Northwest has been stuck with temperatures 15-20 degrees below average for months on end.

But that just makes each glimpse of spring that much more enjoyable.

As the snow melts, more trails are uncovered. The chimps launched out the door this morning knowing that more of Young’s Hill would be open to exploration. Burrito always knows how to make an entrance.

Females often greet male chimps with a submissive crouch, particularly when those males are exhibiting signs of physiological arousal like piloerection (hair standing on end). This, I believe, is not so much a sign of respect as it is self-preservation. You don’t want to get run over by a male chimp in full display.

For chimps, emotional moments are almost always shared through touch. As Robert Yerkes once said, “One chimpanzee is no chimpanzee.”

Missy and Jamie learned to navigate the hill using the fire hose vines years ago, but now others like Jody and Annie (pictured here) are joining in.

After touching nearly every fire hose and climbing almost every structure on the hill, Jamie seemed thoroughly satisfied.

Foxie and Burrito were not content to only freeze their butts off in the snow, so they made snowballs and ate them too.

One of Annie’s favorite places to sit is high up on the edge of a beam looking out over the Yakima River valley. Sometimes she closes her eyes and tilts her head up to the sun. I imagine that she, like us, enjoys feeling the warmth of the sun’s rays on her skin and seeing the patterns that the light plays on the back of her eyelids.

Fingers and toes

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We all know the eyes speak volumes. (Burrito sustained a minor scratch during an argument, but nothing to be concerned about).

But I am endlessly fascinated by the chimpanzees’ fingers and toes and the non-verbal communication they convey. So like ours, yet so different. And once you get to know the chimps, their individual personalities, thoughts and moods are reflected in their physical gestures just like ours. Jamie uses emphatic hand gestures when she wants to impress the urgency or importance of something, Annie claps her feet together when she’s happy, and Negra impudently claps her hands when the humans aren’t moving fast enough. They are always expressing themselves, we just have to pay attention.

Burrito bites his knuckles when he’s feeling shy and playful:

Foxie rubs her toes together when she’s particularly happy:

To Each Her Own

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One of the most important things we offer to the chimpanzees here at the sanctuary is the freedom of choice. We provide the ingredients for a happy, healthy life, and the chimps take what they want and leave what they don’t.

Blankets are one of those ingredients. We put out so many blankets each day that there are plenty for everyone who wants them. Surprisingly, though, not everyone does.

Most of the chimps use the blankets we offer to build big, soft nests. The process of building the nest is just as important as the end result. They painstakingly wrap each blanket around their bodies or spread them out underneath them in just the right configuration. Sometimes they weave the blankets through or around other objects or structures.

This morning Jamie and Foxie were each “nesting” in their own way just a few feet from each other in the playroom, and the difference in their styles was apparent. They do have one thing in common: they like to have their favorite things nearby.

Foxie and a troll doll:

Jamie and a boot:

But that’s where the similarities end. Jamie likes to gather as many blankets as she can and twist and wrap them into a big, cushy circle.

Foxie, though, prefers the heated floor.

As much as it might make our own bones ache a little to see her lying on the bare floor, we appreciate that everyone has their own idea of comfort. Foxie makes her own choices, and we’ll always celebrate her in all her quirky glory.

Missy

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Long-time followers of the blog have probably seen us write about the ever cool and aloof Missy. She doesn’t mind the humans, but we don’t really serve a purpose for her outside of her daily needs and she usually prefers the company of her best friend, Annie, and chimp family.  And she has places to go and things to do. That’s the beauty of choice.

The chimps have been here for nearly 9 years now and it’s really only been in the last couple of years that we have seen Missy take more of an occasional interest in engaging with the humans. For example, it’s becoming more common for Missy to ask us to groom her or engage in a game of tug o’ war. And as Missy’s partner in Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) I have definitely seen an increase in her excitement upon seeing the humans and her taking the initiative to engage us in a game of chase, just for the sake of play (as opposed to just brilliantly leading the humans to do her bidding like picking something from the garden or opening the barn doors up for her).

Missy is not a particular fan of having her photo taken (I can relate). But today she came up and sat next to me at the caging and just hung out. I always ask the chimps before I take their photo, which I did with Missy, and this is typically where she turns her back to the camera or takes off. But she tolerated me and the camera in her face and graced me with one, fleeting nano second of eye contact with those beautiful eyes. What a gift for us all. Then she pushed her lemon peel out at me, nodded her head, and took off for a game of chase.