Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Chimpanzees can be very aggressive, but it’s easy to focus too much on this aspect of their behavior. What’s truly remarkable is how often they are able to resolve a conflict, or avoid a potential conflict, through such simple things as reassuring touches and gestures.
While not exactly the same, I often tell people that you can begin to understand chimpanzee dominance by watching The Godfather. In the following video, Negra plays the part of Don Corleone.
Despite the weather keeping some of our friends and a couple of wineries from attending the event, this year’s Sippin’ for the Seven was a great success and a whole lot of fun!
Minus expenses, we raised $7,270!
This money will be used directly for the care of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees. The event comes at a slower donation time, so it’s a great boost to our general fund that keeps the sanctuary running.
The Swiftwater Cellars venue was just perfect for this event, and I can’t wait to share photos from photographer Ron Sullivan.
Mark your calendars for next year – February 25, 2012.
I’ll be posting the thank yous soon, but here’s a little something to share in the meantime –
This year for the Sippin’ for the Seven event, we rented a huge screen from CWU’s event services and projected the slideshow below that played throughout the evening. Denice suggested we share it here for people who were unable to attend. Imagine it on a 9ft by 12ft screen with lovely music (from Coal Creek) playing nearby:
I don’t know how this place would function without Jody. When we are shifting the chimps from one area to another and someone lags behind, Jody goes and rounds them up for us. And when a blanket gets left in the door, you can always rely on Jody to get it…at her own pace, of course. I don’t get the sense that she does it for approval; instead, I think she just likes to keep things running smoothly.
Missy isn’t the only one taking care of her friends. Today was a super nice and sunny day (despite the foot of snow!) so the chimps hung out in the greenhouse for most of the day, and Annie spent some time quality time grooming her best friend, Missy.
Grooming is a very important part of chimpanzee culture and serves to form alliances and strengthen bonds. The other night, there was a minor fight and Jamie got a couple of wounds on her foot and on her head. Missy is usually our most diligent groomer and often follows folks around trying to groom their injuries, which is exactly what she did for Jamie today. I suppose she could just be a clean-freak, or she could be strengthening her allies for the next conflict– it’s pretty smart either way.
Many nonhuman animals have the ability to create and use tools. It’s easy to think of this behavior as simply a means to an end – a crow wants to retrieve a piece of food from a vertical tube, so she bends a piece of wire into a hook in order to pull the food out (if you weren’t aware that birds can create and use tools, you should check this out. We primates aren’t as special as we think we are).
But for humans, we know that tool use and problem solving are not always linked to a tangible goal. Why do we play chess or work on crossword puzzles? Why did I play the game Operation when I was a kid? For many people, activities that challenge our memories and problem-solving abilities, or test our dexterity and coordination, are considered fun.
What I find interesting about Jamie is not that she can find an appropriate tool, modify it if necessary, and manipulate it in order to achieve a goal that could not be achieved otherwise. What interests me is that this is Jamie’s idea of a good time. What we see in videos like the one below is a chimpanzee contemplating, deciding, planning, manipulating, straining, and struggling. For what? Not for the nut, at least not only for the nut. Jamie has a mind that goes looking for problems to solve. For her, it’s all about the challenge.
From one of the recently completed climbing structures (thanks Noah):
