chimpanzee

Mave and Dora

January 13, 2023 by J.B.

Sometimes dinner is so exciting that you just need a hug.

On the other side of the building, Jamie and her gang spent some time out on the hill today. We have been under clouds and fog for so long now that we’re wondering if Cle Elum will ever be known again its sunny winters. This morning, Anna came back from outside and exclaimed, “The fog is getting brighter!” We all celebrated the change from gray to light gray. The chimps celebrated, too, by heading out to the hill.

Jamie took along her favorite book:

Burrito followed:

Foxie of course took her doll along to fetch some snow:

Perhaps tomorrow will be an even brighter shade of gray. If not, I might need one of those hugs. Or just a cozy nest:

Terry update: He’s feeling much better and is as playful as ever!

Terry: The Whole Tooth and Nothing but the Tooth

January 11, 2023 by Kelsi

Another busy day in the Chimp House! Unfortunately, Terry had to take a trip to the clinic today for a fractured tooth.

Fortunately, we were able to have a skilled group of individuals come to the sanctuary to help with Terry’s procedure. In addition to our vet Dr. Erin and our vet assistant Sofía, we were grateful to have the assistance of Dr. Dan Whitemarsh of Cle Elum Dental Clinic and Mekenzie, CRNA for this procedure! Also a special thank you to Sofía’s aunt Maria A. Loza, DMD, MS for consulting with us about Terry’s tooth!

Through x-rays we were able to determine his canine was completely fractured below the gum line. Dr. Erin opted to extract the broken fragment and clean up the gum to where it could be sutured back together. Out of all the outcomes, this was a good one that will lead to the fastest recovery for him. If all goes well, he can go back to his group sooner! It was exciting to determine, after consulting with other veterinarians and dentists that have worked on chimps, that we could resolve the issue without extracting the entire tooth root. We will keep a close eye on his healing process and do more work if needed, but we are currently happy with the results. Since Terry was already under anesthesia, we also collected all the medical information we could. He got a full dental x-ray, body x-ray, ultrasound, and blood work profile, among other things.

Recently, we received a grant from the Ruth Foundation, a legacy of the Gary E. Millard Family Foundation, for some new medical equipment. With that money we were able to purchase a dental cleaning machine and a dental x-ray, which up until now we had been borrowing. We can’t express how amazing it was to do a full dental cleaning with our new dental machine and x-ray system. We are also awaiting delivery of a new patient monitor, funded by the same grant, which uses new technology for capturing blood oxygen saturation – something that can be difficult to capture in chimps.

Using our new Dental x-ray:

Terry getting his teeth polished by Sofía with our new dental cleaning equipment:

Dr. Whitemarsh and Sofía cleaning Terry’s teeth:

Just finishing up the teeth cleaning with Dr. Erin (left), Sofía (middle), Mekenzie (right):

Dr. Whitemarsh needed to get back to his own clinic, but with the power of technology Dr. Erin was able to consult with him over FaceTime video chat:

Dr. Erin suturing Terry up:

Dr. Erin using the ultrasound:

Caregiver Grace observing and helping out in the clinic:

Dr. Erin (left) doing an eye exam on Terry and Mekenzie (right) assisting:

Sofía doing a blood glucose test:

After stitching him up and doing as many health assessments we could, Terry was ready to go back into the recovery room. He had quite the crowd waiting for him; Terry is a very popular guy! 🙂

Mave, Honey B, and Cy watching Terry come back into his room:

Rayne monitoring Dr. Erin:

Before Terry woke up Dr. Erin was able to do some laser therapy on Terry’s mouth. Laser therapy is very cool, it can help with pain, inflammation, and healing!

Terry did great during the procedure and is recovering very well, just a little sleepy.

Sweet Terry snoozing after a long morning:

Favoritism

January 9, 2023 by Anthony

Supporters often ask us caregivers if we have “favorites” among the sixteen chimpanzees who reside at the sanctuary. I refuse to answer.

Any caregiver worth their salt responds to this common line of inquiry with a prudent, noncommittal reply. It would be irresponsible for us to grow more attached to one chimp than the others, compromising our efforts to maintain objectivity when discussing important Chimp House matters. Each individual is unique and lovable in their own way, and we caregivers form special relationships with all of them. If you’re digging for evidence of favoritism, you’d be better off asking a parent to reveal their favorite child.

Even if I did have a favorite chimpanzee to work with and care for, it’s not like I could ever admit that… especially not on the blog!

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve included, like, sixty-eight photos of Honey B for no reason in particular.

Stuff

December 30, 2022 by J.B.

As many of you know (especially if you watched the recent Christmas videos), the CSNW chimps have a lot of stuff. Most of the chimps are not attached to these things – they use them and enjoy them and then go on about their business. But some chimps are quite materialistic and borderline obsessive about it, too.

This morning, Sofia and I were cleaning the playroom when I heard Jamie emit a “low moan” from the front rooms. This is a vocalization that often indicates satisfaction. I imagined that she had saved her primate chow from breakfast, as she often does, and was digging into it in private while the others chimps groomed in the greenhouse. But when I peeked around the corner I found that she didn’t have any chow and was simply making a nest. With her, however, was her favorite book, I’m Lucy.

An attachment to things wouldn’t work very well for a species that ranges across a vast territory and rarely sleeps in the same place twice. While Jamie was not fortunate enough to know the life of her wild counterparts, there’s some comfort in knowing that she gets to experience the same pleasure we do when settling down with a good book on a snowy winter morning.

On a separate note, I just wanted to express our thanks to the rest of the staff (and their spouses) who dealt with some challenging conditions while Diana and I were gone on a longer than expected trip. Kelsi mentioned that the well froze up, but she may not have mentioned that the cattle water also froze up just as we left, the radiant heat in the original chimp building stopped working the next morning (we have backup heaters on standby), and the tractor refused to run, requiring them to find someone to come plow the sanctuary’s long and steep driveway on short notice and make multiple trips to the well house with a heat gun using snowshoes. All of this on top of having to take turns staying overnight at the sanctuary through the holidays. Some might say that Diana and I were the real heroes last week, as we valiantly struggled to enjoy all the cookies, cocktails, and Christmas presents with my family while burdened with the knowledge that the rest of the staff were facing one catastrophe after another. But I’d say our coworkers did a pretty good job, too.

Nonstop Christmas Fun!

December 28, 2022 by Kelsi

Well, what an amazing Christmas it has been! The chimps are still discovering new enrichment every day, like Foxie with the Anna doll from Frozen. While others, like Burrito, are still having fun with items they received before the big Christmas party. Words cannot express our gratitude for all of our supporters, we would not be able to do any of this without you!

This morning Cy’s group received access to the Chute and to say Burrito’s group were excited would be an understatement! The seven were all lined up by the window hooting and hollering, but Burrito especially took great interest! He almost missed breakfast! It had been a little while since the group of nine had received access to the Chute, because it has been so cold at the sanctuary.

I suppose I will share with you all a condensed story about the chaos that unfolded last week! We received quite a bit of snow in the past couple of weeks and it also became extremely cold, getting as cold as -5 degrees. So cold that last Wednesday our well water became frozen. Our co-directors J.B. and Diana had left for a quick and very deserved trip to go see family over the holiday, however with all these winter storms their flight back got canceled. We went to the store and grabbed lots of water to use for cleaning and for drinking water, but we had to use the water sparingly because we had a few more days of this extremely cold weather. Thankfully, all of this did not affect the chimps and they were none the wiser- we made sure that they had plenty of water, food, clean blankets, and most importantly a clean enclosure! We had a Christmas miracle because on Christmas eve it finally warmed up and the water started to work again! Finally, we have caught up on laundry and mostly decompressed from the chaos that has ensued. We are sooooo grateful to have J.B. and Diana back safely and that the water is flowing again!

Burrito watching his neighbors:

Cy enjoying some green beans:

Sweet Rayne:

A Very Merry Chimp House Christmas

December 25, 2022 by Grace

We have been counting down for twelve long days (and planning for even longer) and it’s finally here! Today, we celebrated Christmas with celebrations that included wrapped presents, stockings, fireplaces, and a feast with baked sweet potato, fresh green beans, berries, and vegan Field Roast! What a day.

To all of the supporters who donated items from our wish lists for today’s celebration – a very hearty thank you from all of us! We could not do what we do without all of you who support us from home- you are truly the founders of the feast!

No matter what holiday you celebrate, or if you don’t celebrate at all, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season! 🙂 Stay safe, stay warm, and enjoy this special time of year!

Annie enjoying her Christmas Feast: