Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Here’s Negra at the beginning of the party this morning, delicately sipping from her cup of pomegranate juice.

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Here’s Negra a few minutes later, when she realized that the other chimps were getting all the food.

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Actually, Negra was the big winner of the party today, as you’ll see in the video below. But everyone had a great time, thanks to Syd and Diane, Lisa, Steph, and all the volunteers.

I hope you all are having a great Valentine’s Day too! And if Valentine’s Day is not your thing, I hope you enjoy watching the chimps celebrate theirs. And remember – you can help keep the celebration going by Sharing the Chimp Love.

Big thanks to Debbie Redwine for her $500 challenge donation that was quickly matched by Bridget Lepley, and matched again by Adrienne Armstrong. Truly a day to warm our hearts!

Venturing Out

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Before the chimpanzees go out onto Young’s Hill, they’ll sometimes stand at the door and contemplate for a moment. I often wonder what they’re thinking during this pause in their busy day. Considering that they spent the first few decades of their lives in tiny cages barely bigger than their bodies, I like to think they’re taking a moment to relish two acres of possibility.

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Today the ground is wet from the melting snow, so Missy’s excursions outside were brief and purposeful.

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Missy and Life

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I’m not sure why I thought of this today. Maybe it’s because The Share the Chimp Love heart is a photo of Missy and Jody kissing or maybe it’s because I was watching Missy and Foxie play today, or it could be because Debbie posted a photo of Annie and Missy on Instagram and Facebook earlier.

In any case, you may not have heard the story of how Missy almost didn’t make it to sanctuary. I use the phrase, “second chance at life” when talking about chimpanzees going to sanctuaries, but for Missy she very literally got a second chance at living.

About a month before the chimpanzees left Buckshire in Pennsylvania (the private facility that owned them and leased them to different laboratories for decades), all of the chimps had health check-ups. During these check-ups, the veterinarian discovered that Foxie and Missy had uterine tumors.

Buckshire quickly arranged for both of them to have hysterectomies. The surgeries went fine, but when they were transporting Missy back to Buckshire, she crashed. She was brought back to the veterinarian under manual ventilation and had a very weak pulse.  From what we were told, they “worked on her for 10 minutes and brought her back.”

We didn’t find out about this until later, and it came as a shock to know that she was so close to not having her chance to enjoy a sanctuary home. It remains a reminder to me that each moment of sanctuary, each moment of life, is invaluable.

Missy seems to have embraced this notion too. She certainly has a special zest for life.

Here is a look back at some photos of Missy over the last few years:

Missy in the transport cage on the truck that transported the chimpanzees from Pennsylvania to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest:

missy on transport cage

 

Missy (left) and Burrito on the day they arrived to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (Missy’s belly is shaved, and you can see the scar from her hysterectomy that was done before she came:

Missy and Burrito first day

 

being groomed by her BFF Annie:

Annie grooming Missy

 

in action – leaping towards Jamie:

missy leaping

 

Missy (left) and Annie demonstrating chimpanzee smiles (notice their top teeth do not show at all):

missy annie smiling

 

doing a headstand before she lays down in her nest:

missy headstand in nest

 

looking a bit like a football player as she runs bipedal back to the greenhouse with a mouth and hands full of food:

missy bipedal with food

 

walking on the fire hose like a tightrope walker:

missy balance

 

riding the bamboo down after climbing up, with Jody looking on from below:

Missy climbing bamboo

 

a very familiar sight: Missy running across Young’s Hill

missy running on youngs hill

 

at the top of a post near the tall bamboo:

Missy top of post

 

just hanging out:

missy swing down

 

using a tool to get treats from the “termite mound” on Young’s Hill

Missy with tool termite mound

 

playing a raucous game of chase with Foxie (Foxie’s on the left):

Missy chase Foxie

 

with all of her activity, Missy does make time to rest too:

Missy on blanket

 

We have a special way for you to celebrate Missy and all of the lives of the chimpanzees by Sharing the Chimp Love this month. We’re now 21% towards our goal of raising $10,000! Watch and share the Share the Chimp Love video below and on the fundraising website.

Thank you to those who have made donations and set up fundraising pages! Check out the donors, their messages of love, and the fundraisers on the Share the Chimp Love site.

Power

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It’s impossible to overstate just how much power Jamie has over the staff and volunteers at CSNW. Sometimes, as I walk up the driveway to the chimp house in the morning, I find myself saying a silent prayer to the chimp gods that she is in a good mood. And if she isn’t, I pray that her attention will be directed at someone other than me.

But the chimp gods don’t seem to hear me, because this is the face that often greets us.

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Or worse, this:

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This is when you know it’s going to be a long day.

My love and admiration for Jamie is limitless. She is brilliant and creative and brave. But she also possesses a thirst for power and control unlike anyone I have ever known.

In the normal course of life at the sanctuary, Jamie and I sometimes find ourselves disagreeing about what should be done. I think Foxie should be given a banana, Jamie does not. I think I should open the chimps’ door to the greenhouse, Jamie does not. I think I should be able to stand at the sink and quietly scrub the chimps’ toys, Jamie does not.

When Jamie disagrees, she makes sure she is understood. In fights with the other chimps, she usually wins simply by screaming louder and longer than anyone else, but she’s not afraid to get physical if need be. She makes her opinion known to her caregivers with a mouthful of water or a handful of feces. And let me tell you, I don’t care how strongly you believe in doing something…flying feces always has a way of making you reconsider.

This particular character trait is not something I would look for in a human friend (especially the feces throwing). But with Jamie, it makes me admire her even more. How on earth did someone so in need of control and power, so determined to be respected by humans and chimps alike, ever survive life in the laboratory?

There needs to be a chimp equivalent to the word “dehumanizing,” because that’s what life was for her. You could see it in her eyes when we first met her in the lab.

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And if you couldn’t see it in her eyes, surely you couldn’t miss it tattooed across her chest.

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When the chimps first came to the sanctuary, I was so excited. But I can barely look at those photos of her now. She looks so powerless.

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I always wonder what the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees would be like if they had lived in the wild. If they had been raised by their mothers. If they had raised their own children. How much of the chimpanzees we know and love would we recognize?

I have a feeling Jamie would still have been a force to be reckoned with. I think it’s in her bones. But she would have been able to play by chimpanzee rules in a chimpanzee society, without ever knowing the indignity and humiliation of life in captivity.

To us, sanctuary is all about finding what each individual chimpanzee needs to be happy. And for Jamie, that’s easy…total and absolute power.

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So if being grumpy makes her happy, that’s cool with us.

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Sharing the Chimp Love

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We just launched our February Share the Chimp Love campaign, and we’re 10% towards our goal of raising $10,000!

Have you seen the Share the Chimp Love video yet? If not – go check it out, read about the campaign, make a donation, and set up your own fundraising page to start sharing the love! We could use your help!

Share the love

If you’re signed up for our e-newsletter, you got the notice this morning about our Share the Chimp Love campaign, as well as other exciting events and news like the March 1st Grapes for Apes wine tasting and a story about Annie. If you’re not signed up for our e-news, you can sign up at the bottom of the newsletter.

Go here now to Share the Chimp Love: love.chimpsnw.org

Unintentional Enrichment

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Enrichment comes in many forms—food enrichment, social enrichment, object enrichment, and structural enrichment—but sometimes the most enriching things are completely unintentional. Nearly two years ago, JB took out the extremely heavy drain covers we used to have and exchanged them for lightweight covers. They are much easier to handle for the humans, but also much more likely the chimps could get it. However, the covers are durable and pose no danger to the chimps, so the risk of them grabbing it versus practically breaking our backs every time we had to lift the heavy drain cover was worth it!

After JB put in the new covers, we took bets on when the chimps (particularly Jamie) would get it. I guessed about 20 minutes after they had access to the playroom. Diana guessed that night while the humans were away, and JB guessed within 48 hours. We were all wrong! Twenty-three months was the actual answer. We didn’t see how she got it, but when we came into the chimp area a few days ago, Jamie had removed the drain cover, finally.

After removing it, she proceeded to clean it with some scraps of paper. Annie was very interested in watching her—I’m sure they know it is something they aren’t really supposed to have. (Kind of like this time we played keep-away with a laundry basket).

You’ll notice in the video that there is quite a mess in the playroom—it was the day after the Lunar New Year party, so there was a lot to clean up. Once breakfast was brought out, Jamie dropped the drain cover and exited the playroom so we could enter to retrieve it and clean up the party. As far as I am aware she hasn’t bothered to get the drain cover since, but it certainly was enriching for her that morning.