Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee

Missy, I Love You From My Head To-ma-toes

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Hi, everyone, and welcome to the birthday edition of our daily blog! Today, we celebrated Missy’s 47th birthday. She adores all things tomato, so of course we had to have tomatoes at every turn for her birthday party. Missy is a special chimp who is more acrobatic than any human I know- seriously, she will sprint across Young’s Hill in no time. It is very impressive. She often spends time in play sessions with her BFF Annie (there might be a few extra precious clips of this on today’s blog:) ) and she is witty, loyal to her friends, and often too cool for her human caregivers.

Missy’s journey to sanctuary has been a special one. Back in 2014, Diana wrote a blog post about Missy and how she almost didn’t make it to CSNW. Diana said it best, so I have copied some of that blog here:

“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.”

We are grateful every day for Missy, her group of 7, and the newly integrated group of 9. Every moment spent with them or in their presence is unique and priceless.

Happy, happy birthday to you, Missy!!!!

Cy’s group also got to celebrate and that video will be coming tomorrow (thanks, Kelsi!). 🙂

One more note- there is still time to register for the Chimpanzees in Need virtual update meeting on Friday, August 26th at 4pm PT! We are so close to safely re-homing all of the Wildlife Waystation chimps and this will be a short online Zoom meeting where NAPSA will share updates on construction of new homes, transportation efforts, and where we are with raising the funds to complete the campaign this year. There will also be an update from us, CSNW, on how the 9 are doing! Be sure to register now and tune in for the update.

Now, some photos of Missy throughout the day:

One of our favorite party decorations:

Burrito enjoying the forage:

Negra, enjoying her loot from the forage in the comfort of the green house:

Jamie watching everyone participate in the forage:

Thank you to everyone who donated party items for today!!

 

The Pregame

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We all know that Missy is an accomplished athlete.

She tirelessly outruns the fastest Gators, deftly balances on the thinnest tightropes, and snatches the juiciest tomatoes from her opponents with ease. Her cunning and skill have been lighting up the blog for years. This stocky, springy chimpanzee truly know no bounds.

All of her feats are even more impressive when you take her age into account. We will be celebrating Missy’s 47th birthday at this time tomorrow!

How does one stay so energetic and spry into their late 40s? Missy’s keys to success seem to be regular practice and excellent nutrition. Athletes have to “limber up” before strenuous physical activity so that they’re ready to perform when the stakes are highest, and Missy never forgoes an opportunity to sharpen her skills. The tomatoes she acquires along the way are just extra motivation to keep moving.

Today, we scattered an exciting “pregame” lunch of fresh veggies for the chimpanzees to forage in their grassy outdoor enclosure. This afternoon’s spread wasn’t nearly as exciting as tomorrow’s party forage will be, but Missy and company spent a good amount of time searching for produce in the tall grass. Afterwards, they returned to the Greenhouse to engage in another of Missy’s favorite activities: social grooming.

Jody:

 

Jamie:

Missy:

Jamie:

Negra:

Missy grooming Jamie:

Jamie being groomed:

Burrito:

Be sure to check in with us tomorrow to wish Missy and her companions a happy, tomato-filled 47th birthday!

(In case you want to review the record books, here are links to Missy’s most recent birthday celebrations: 44th, 45th, and 46th.)

 

P.S. Here are some bonus images from this morning: Cy and Gordo hanging out in the shady Oakwood Greenhouse!

Gordo:

Cy:

Telling the chimps apart

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A few days ago, I saw someone ask on our Facebook page how we can tell the chimpanzees apart from one another. Just like humans, the chimps have their own individual features that make them unique. Today, I wanted to walk you through some ways that I have found that help when identifying our 16 chimpanzee residents!

First identifier, size/build. While it may be hard to determine overall body size in photos, it is easily one of the first things I notice when I see a chimp.

Our males, with the exception of Burrito, are larger than our females. In the photos below, Dora appears smaller than the males she is next to.

Dora (left) and Terry (right):

Dora (left) and Willy B (right):

Gordo (left) and Dora (right):

Burrito is a smaller guy. While he is larger than some of the girls in his group, he is not larger than all. Here he is next to Jamie, who he is smaller than.

Jamie (left) and Burrito (right):

Jamie (left) and Burrito (right):

Missy is smaller in size, although has a very athletic build.

Missy:

Burrito (left) and Missy (right):

Next identifier, hair.

Hair? Yes, hair!

Hair helps identify a chimp quite easily as well. Hair that stands up on their shoulders, on their head, whatever it may be, helps.

Notice here that Willy B’s hair on his shoulder curls upwards into a “horn-like” shape.

Willy B:

Rayne, on the other hand, has thicker hair on the back of her head. Sometimes, the hair on the top of her head is standing upright. But not always!

Here are a few examples:

Rayne (hair sticking up):

Still Rayne but hair down:

Speaking of hair, the hair queen herself… Mave.

Between her freckled face or her thick, fluffy hair, some may find her easily identifiable.

Mave:

But, we have another chimp who also has freckles and thick, fluffy hair. That is Terry!

Terry:

Hair, or lack thereof, also makes a chimp more identifiable.

Negra has some parts of her body with small amounts of hair.

Negra:

Honey B also has thinner hair on her chest and stomach.

Honey B:

Next identifier, eyes and brow ridge.

Jody has beady eyes and a rounded brow ridge.

Jody:

Dora’s eyes also are unique. Her brow ridge is not as defined as Jody’s.

Dora:

I don’t know how to truly describe Honey B’s eyes, but they stare straight into your soul.

Honey B:

Next identifier is ears.

Annie has larger ears that sit high on her head.

Annie:

Negra is missing half of an ear. So is Foxie!

Negra:

 

Foxie:

Common mix-ups:

A tough pair to tell the difference between: Honey B and Rayne. They have many similarities. They are both lean and tall. They both have a white beard and similar ears. However, Honey B has light-colored lips and Rayne does not. Rayne’s face is overall darker in color, apart from her forehead. Honey B’s eyes are just a tad lighter.

What else do you notice?

Rayne (left) and Honey B (right):

Rayne:

Honey B:

Telling the difference between Willy B and Cy can also be a tough one. They are both large bodied males with hair that sticks straight up, strong brow ridges, and white beards.

What do you notice the differences are?

Cy (left) and Willy B (right):

Willy B (left) and Cy (right):

Willy B (left) and Cy (right):

Cy:

Willy B:

Cy and Lucky, full-siblings, have some similar features. Same white beard, strong brow ridge, same nose, similar eyes. However, Cy is bigger in size and also has more hair standing up-right on the top of his head.

Dora (left), Lucky (center), and Cy (right):

Lucky:

Cy:

 

 

Simply Unbothered

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The Cle Elum Seven formed by Negra, Jamie, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, Annie and Missy have been neighbors to the newly formed group of nine chimpanzees for almost four months now. We have received questions about whether they react or not to the other group. The short answer is yes, the long answer is that it depends. I have been working as a caregiver at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest for about 15 months now and during this time I’ve noticed that some of the chimpanzees under our care react more than others when it comes to ruckus on the opposite group. Some members of the Cle Elum Seven get very invested when they hear something going on, while others continue their day like if it were business as usual.

A great example of this is what happened today at lunch time. We set up a forage in Young’s Hill for the seven that included corn, mini peppers, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, onions, and chow. With the idea of grabbing stills of them foraging for their favorite items, I brought the camera with me. Every single one of them was super excited to get out there, with Negra leading the way. About 3 minutes into the forage, the nine had a disagreement and the screaming on that side commenced. Jamie, Foxie, Annie, and Burrito dropped what they were doing to investigate. They went to the corner of the hill with the best view of the greenhouses and stood bipedally trying to figure out what was happening. As the screaming on the other side of the sanctuary continued, they eventually went inside to the greenhouse and playroom to peek from the windows and display at the other group. I realized that six of the seven chimps were inside and ignoring their meal. So where was Negra?

I walked outside and found her. Alone. On top of a platform, enjoying an ear of corn. She seemed completely unfazed by what she could hear happening in the distance. Cases like this make me wonder whether she thinks her group mates are fit enough to handle the issue without needing her assistance, or whether she simply put food first and decided to let the situation unfold. Whatever it was, she looked peaceful, at ease with her corn and chow, simply unbothered.

 

 

Grooming with Missy and Annie

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Find someone that looks at you the way Annie looks at Missy. But make sure you have separate hobbies or something like that because, to be honest, Annie can be a bit clingy at times.

Seriously, Annie is a completely different person than she was when she first arrived over 14 years ago. She’s far more confident and secure. And I would attribute that in large part to the thousands upon thousands of hours she has spent grooming with her best friend Missy.

Burrito’s Busy Play Day

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Burrito had a pretty busy day! It seemed like everyone wanted to play with him, which for Burrito is the perfect kind of day! It was fun to see that even Annie wanted to join in! Burrito and Annie do play and interact with one another. However, they tend to have some miscommunications with each other as well, so to catch a small moment of them having a good time is always a treasure.

It’s hard to decide whether or not to film these fun moments the chimps are having with one another. Pulling out our phones or camera can often distract or stop them from engaging in the interaction with each other, and there are times when it feels like they should just have the time to play and interact without us disrupting them. There are other times when we decide that maybe they are in the moment enough to not notice and we go for it. We never want to interrupt, but we also want to be able to share it! Today was a day I was able to capture these moments without bothering the chimps!

Bonus! Today was a warm one, so what better way to cool down than with a Popsicle!

Foxie approved!

A Little Negra for Your Day

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Today has been a blur of a day. We humans were very busy cleaning and doing other tasks around the Chimp House. Today really flew by. Luckily enough, Negra is my saving star for today’s blog!

This morning, when her group was given access to Young’s Hill, I was taken aback when I saw her out there so early in the morning.

There didn’t seem to be a motive to go out other than to just go out. As you know, when Negra does go out first thing in the morning, there’s usually a purpose (i.e. foraging for prickly lettuce). But every once in a while, we are gifted with seeing her just enjoying the outside.

As the the rest of her group went on their morning patrol, Negra stayed put. As they returned, she greeted everyone as they returned.

Negra seemed to be in such a great mood today. At lunch, she was offering kisses and wouldn’t allow me to leave her as caregiver Grace served her. Every time I got up, she would put her lips through the caging to offer a kiss, knowing I would stay.

As we speak, Negra is doing her tour of the Frisbee Puzzles that are hanging up in her playroom.

In fact, right now Negra is telling us that dinner time is rapidly approaching. She let’s us know by finding the best position that looks into the kitchen, bangs on the caging, and claps her hands, which is my cue to hurry things along.

Always for you, Negra!

Here are some bonus photos I was also able to get today.

Rayne in the Riverview Greenhouse:

Honey B plotting her next mischievous move:

Mave hanging out in the Riverview Greenhouse:

Burrito watching me through a mirror: