Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee

A little nudge

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Caring for former research chimps can be a balancing act at times. We don’t want to rush them into anything they’re not ready for, and considering what they’ve been through, it’s no surprise that some would have a hard time adjusting to certain aspects of life in sanctuary. For example, some former lab chimps fail to make nests like their wild counterparts and even go as far as clearing blankets and other bedding out of the way so that they can lay down on the hard concrete floor. Others refuse to set foot on grass, clinging instead to metal caging and bars wherever possible. The lab environment they came from was harsh but it was familiar. For the Cle Elum Seven, it was all they knew for as much as 35 years.

Negra is a good example of this kind of institutionalization. For decades she had no choice but to follow the same routine: Sleep, eat, repeat. What else is there to do when you live indoors in a cage all by yourself? Here at CSNW, Negra still finds comfort in that routine, only now she sleeps on a mountain of soft blankets and eats a huge variety of fresh foods as well as her beloved night bags. Still, if she had her way, nearly every day would be the same: eat, sleep, repeat.

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But life in sanctuary offers so much more and it would be a shame if Negra didn’t get to take advantage of it. The trick is to find a way to nudge chimps like Negra toward healthier and more interesting choices without causing them undue stress. Sunlight and exercise are good for Negra, even though she might think otherwise. So each day, we try to get her to expand her horizons and push the boundaries of her comfort zone, even if it’s just by a little bit. Today, for example, we put some of her favorite foods out on the hill as a forage. And guess who was first out the door? More specifically, guess who elbowed her way to the front of the line so she could be first out the door?

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Negra has come so far since her rescue in 2008. All she needed was freedom of choice, a lot of patience, and a little nudge now and again.

Queen of the Hill

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Jamie does everything with a certain level of seriousness. In part, it’s just her personality and in part, it’s probably her role as alpha of the group that she works hard to remind us all of. Even when she’s really happy and playing, it’s rare to see her with a play face or hear her laugh unless she’s in a wrestling session with Foxie who is about the only person who can really get Jamie to cut loose.

Jamie’s seriousness also extends to her beloved walks around Young’s Hill. There are for the humans in particular to follow. She leads – you follow, run when she runs, don’t attempt to go in a direction she hasn’t initiated, and if she decides to wander and explore a bit, then just make yourself comfortable and wait for her to return and resume walking when she’s ready. To be fair, chimpanzees in general aren’t followers when engaging with the humans and if they initiate play they usually prefer us to follow their lead and/or mimic whatever they’re doing. But it’s especially true with the boss.

So in the middle of a walk around Young’s Hill with Jamie and Missy we were all running side by side (me outside the fence of course) when Missy suddenly playfully bumped shoulders with Jamie and then tried to grab her feet while running. A classic chimpanzee invitation to play! I wasn’t sure what Jamie’s response would be as she has a route she likes to follow around the perimeter. I had to smile to see Jamie accept Missy’s invitation and they ditched me and headed off down the hill together in a spontaneous game of chase. Just the way it should be.

Missy, mid-bounce, and Jamie (R):
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Missy following Jamie and exploring the log bridges:

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After this photo they raced through the bamboo together and I totally lost sight of them so I headed back down the hill on my own. But to my surprise they eventually ran back to meet me so we could all race back to the greenhouse together.

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Quiet

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Negra is an introvert. While she enjoys the occasional grooming session or gentle play with the other chimpanzees, she chooses to spend the vast majority of her time by herself, usually under a blanket, napping or gazing out the window at the valley below the chimp house. As the grandma of the group, she sometimes has to tell the other, more rambunctious, chimps to settle down so she can have some peace and quiet.

It’s not unusual to catch Negra in pensive moments like this one.

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Dance, Human, Dance

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If you visited the sanctuary on any given day you’d probably see the humans behaving very strangely. We’ll do just about anything to make the chimps happy, and sometimes that means swallowing our pride and acting like fools for their entertainment. For Foxie, you might see us balancing a troll doll on our heads or doing pirouettes. Jamie likes us to wear a couple of cowboy boots (usually mismatched and two sizes too big or too small) and take a walk with her.

For Negra, we dance. The majority of the time, Negra has little use for humans. But when we dance for her, she can’t help but bob her head in appreciation.

Take Action Tuesday: Tell Geico to stick to the gecko

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Take Action Tuesday banner

 

Go to the Geico Action Alert now.

 

We are faced with constant reminders that many chimpanzees out there do not have the happy life that the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest currently have.

It took many years and many advocates fighting for the CSNW chimpanzees, and others like them, before they finally made it to a sanctuary. This is why it is so important that we continue to spread information when we know of other chimpanzees being exploited or in dire situations.

Though many strides have been made, the entertainment industry has been, surprisingly, slower to respond to public concern about the use of great apes than the biomedical industry. This clearly needs to change.

You have the opportunity today to help usher that change. A new ad is currently running on television by the insurance company Geico that contains a short clip of a chimpanzee. They have tried to deflect our concerns by saying that the American Humane Association asserted that no animals were harmed on set, but the letter they sent to us with this certification referred to the chimpanzee in the ad as a monkey!

Please take a moment to write to Geico about why chimpanzees do not belong in entertainment (you can personalize the email) and share this action alert far and wide.

 

Geico no

 

It really does only take a minute, and it really does make a difference.

 

Go to the Geico Action Alert now.