Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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chimpanzee

Negra’s Condo?

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We have been calling the structure that J.B. is building on Young’s Hill “Negra’s Cabin,” but volunteer Denice decided the more appropriate name is “Negra’s Condo.” Take a look at the photos and tell us what you think.

 

J.B. has been working on the cabin/condo for a few days straight now. Today, volunteer Seana was serving as J.B.’s construction apprentice.

 

These two photos scream condo, don’t they?

jb seana construct negra's condo

jb seana construct negra's cabin

 

Do the addition of the logs make it more cabin-like?

negra's cabin under construction

 

Negra's cabin under construction, greenhouse in background

 

Negra checking on the construction progress:

negra watching cabin construction

Negra close up watching cabin construction

negra arms crossed after watching cabin construction

Not much longer, Negra!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to our 4th Anniversary Fundraising drive, which made Negra’s cabin/condo possible!

 

Advocacy Program Logo Design Contest

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CSNW’s advocacy program, Primate Patrol, mainly focuses on raising public awareness about issues that chimpanzees and other primates face in the entertainment industry. We are starting to broaden our efforts and provide tools for people to help apes in need for a wider range of issues. You may have seen our regular advocacy posts called “Take Action Tuesday,” where we have posted information on how to take action for exploited apes. (Most recently we posted about this petition—sign it now if you haven’t already!)

As part of our plans to broaden the program we are looking for a new logo and design. We want to see what talented folks are out there, so we are having a logo design contest, open to anyone! Visit this page to find out contest details. The new program will be called Eyes on Apes. Click on the contest link to read the mission statement and help inspire your creative design! We’re hoping contestants can come up with a tagline, too. If you have art or graphic design skills, feel free to send us your mock ups to [email protected] and please share the contest page with your graphic design friends and family!

Beautiful Jamie

As a prize for the logo we love the most, we are awarding a beautiful 8×10 matted print of Jamie, as well as a $100 gift certificate to the CSNW store. Jamie was exploited by the entertainment industry and pet trade and then used in invasive biomedical testing before being rescued by CSNW just over 4 years ago. She is one of the smartest primates I’ve ever known and it is so sad to think of how miserable she must have been in her previous life. Captivity is never an ideal place for chimpanzees, but we hope through our advocacy efforts that individuals like Jamie will get to a sanctuary, too. So, in recognition of Jamie, the contest will go up until October 31 (her honorary birthday).

Take Action Tuesday: Sign our petition! Retire all 110 NIH chimps

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As we discussed last week, the National Institute of Health (NIH) recently announced that they are “retiring” 110 chimps from the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana. Ten of those chimpanzees are going to Chimp Haven, a sanctuary not far from NIRC. The other 100? They are going to Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio. Though they say they won’t be used in any more invasive testing, this isn’t a true “retirement.” The chimpanzees should be going to a sanctuary like Chimp Haven or the other six members of the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA).

Please sign our petition to the NIH and help give these 100 chimps a retirement in a true sanctuary. Then spread the petition by sending it to your contacts via email and posting on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Show the NIH that the public cares about chimpanzees and that we insist former biomedical chimpanzees go to true sanctuaries.

A nest on the hill

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When free-living chimpanzees prepare to bed down for the night, most build nests high up in the trees. The reason they do this, as far as we know, is to protect themselves from ground-dwelling predators (though one adventurous researcher discovered some other advantages). Captive chimpanzees, while not at risk of predation, also build nests. The methods for building a nest are culturally learned, but the urge itself is instinctual.

Sometimes I try to imagine what that urge feels like to them. They seem to thoroughly enjoy the process and the ritual of nest-building. Jody, in particular, seems like she is in a state of meditation when she is folding and weaving her blankets. Missy spins 360 degrees as she makes her nest to ensure that each section is symmetrical. Jamie weaves some of her blankets through the caging, as if she is anchoring her nest to the building. The details are different in each case, but each portrays a sense of calmness and comfort throughout the process.

When we sleep we are vulnerable, and nests help chimps feel safe and secure. It’s interesting to note that captive chimpanzees build nests with high sides just like their wild counterparts do to keep from falling out of the tree in the middle of the night. But captive chimps are usually sleeping on the floor or on platforms where there is no risk of falling. And often their nests consist only of sides – there is no bottom. Sometimes the nests look like a doughnut with bare floor in the middle. It’s obvious that the nest is not serving the function of a mattress, to cushion them from the hard ground. Instead, I think it’s fulfilling an instinct that probably goes back millions of years – the urge to be safe and secure, the urge that keeps a sleeping chimpanzee up in the tree where they belong.

A typical nest in the playroom loft

This also explains why chimpanzees usually make nests in areas where they feel at ease. You want to close your eyes knowing that nothing strange will happen while you are asleep. At CSNW, the chimps almost always make their night nests on the second story of the playroom or on the benches high up in the front rooms. In the first year that the chimps had access to Young’s Hill, not once did we see someone make a nest outside. But this morning, Jody decided to be the first, and dragged her blankets outside.

This was a big step for Jody, and I think it demonstrates a level of comfort on the hill that we haven’t seen yet. You’ll notice that she made her nest next to the vehicle access gate – the only section of caging on the two-acre enclosure. We often talk about the chimps making gradual transitions, and I think this is a good example. She wants to make a nest outside, but she insists on the security and familiarity of caging as her backdrop.

She didn’t stay in her nest very long, but we are thrilled that she has taken this first step.

Laboratory Life

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At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we made a conscious decision to focus on sharing the personalities of the chimpanzees with everyone we could – to show who they are and the steps they are taking to recover from their past lives as biomedical research subjects.

There are more happy, goofy, playful, funny moments in a day at the sanctuary than we could possibly share with everyone. We treasure each of these moments and are so thankful to everyone who has helped us to create a place where the Cle Elum Seven can find joy.

But we know that there are nearly 1,000 other chimpanzees still in biomedical research within the United States who deserve the same opportunity – the chance to live out their lives in a legitimate sanctuary where they can begin to experience happiness. Seeing lists of numbers or names from labs that represent chimpanzees is a haunting experience. Each number is a chimpanzee full of personality just like Burrito, Negra, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Annie, and some of those chimpanzees are relatives of the seven – sons, daughters and cousins.

Last week we sent out an e-newsletter about 110 chimpanzees that the government claimed were being retired, though 100 of them are slated to move to another laboratory, not a sanctuary.

For more on this issue, I urge you to take a few moments and read this article published yesterday by Craig Maslow of the Houston Press. After reading it, you will want to want to take some sort of tangible action. A couple of ideas for action are provided here by Animal Protection of New Mexico.

It also happens to be National Primate Liberation Week next week. If you live in the Seattle area, you can participate in events that are being organized by Seattle’s Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN), Action for Animals, and the Seattle Animal Defense League. Check the NARN calendar for details on all local events. There are no chimpanzees being used in biomedical testing in the state of Washington, but there are countless monkeys used by the University of Washington and by private laboratories. For a list of primate liberation week events happening across the country, check the Stop Animal Experimentation Now! website.

There are definite signs that the end of chimpanzee biomedical research in the United States is coming to an end, particularly with the progress on the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act,  but we must keep the pressure up and make sure that the last of the chimpanzees in laboratories are sent to legitimate sanctuaries, and we must advocate for the tens of thousands of non-chimpanzee primates who will never know life outside of a laboratory cage.

Negra before in buckshire cage
Negra at the Buckshire Corporation before coming to sanctuary.
Negra on Young’s Hill at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest