chimpanzee

Chimp ID: Terry

December 7, 2021 by Chad de Bree

It seems to have been a while since the last time we did a Chimp ID from the new group. So who better to pickup where we left off than with Terry!

Terry is by far the “floofiest” of the bunch. It’s took the point where sometimes we have difficulty in determining if he is piloerect, or if he’s just that fuzzy.

Cy, Gordo, and Terry. You can see the comparison here.

Terry always tries to get caregivers’ attention. You can hear Terry pretty much anywhere blowing raspberries to get some attention from caregivers. When Terry is interested in your footwear, he will blow raspberries then spit water at your boots and only your boots, which he loves to groom.

He also has a peculiar way of greeting caregivers: licking the back of our hands.

Caregiver Kelsi allows Terry to “kiss” the back of her gloved hand.

Terry is also a big fan of food!

Usually, we can often find Terry with something in his mouth. Whether that is a wadge made from the paper bags his primate chow come in or wooden blocks.

Terry is also a fan of food puzzles, especially Boomer Balls.

Terry carrying three Boomer Balls with Rayne right behind him.

Terry is just a big, lovable goofball who is extremely difficult not to love when you meet him.

We all love Terry!

Their Side of the Mountain

December 6, 2021 by Anthony

The mosaic landscape in which the sanctuary exists is truly breathtaking.

Even so, it’s difficult to assess the value that such a backdrop provides to four cattle and sixteen chimps who reside here.

For their part, the bovines appear most excited about their environment when it is carpeted with fresh green grass. They’re not particularly expressive otherwise.

As for the chimps, it’s evident that they at least take the time to observe their immediate and distant surroundings. The degree to which they value the aesthetic quality of their environment and the effect that this has on their wellbeing are much less clear. Given that chimpanzee cognition is a lot like ours, I find it logical to assume that they appreciate a good view. Sometimes, it even seems like they go outside just to soak up the weather and enjoy the panoramic perspectives of the surrounding hills.

This older photo by J.B. shows Foxie having one of those moments.

It’s not surprising that the chimps spend so much time exploring their own backyard. These chimpanzees live on some prime real estate.

The sanctuary occupies a grassy patch of land on the western flank of Lookout Mountain (which is not to be confused with any of the the state’s eight other landforms with the same name). Behind the sanctuary’s upper boundary, there is a network of dirt roads that wind their way up the slope to a few private cabins. Last week, I decided to “take the long way home,” pushing my old SUV up the ridge to get an eagle’s view of the sanctuary. As always, the view from up there was incredible.

From the side of the mountain, one can get a sweeping vista of the rust-colored hills and wooded rangeland of the Teanaway River valley to the north, the growing mountain towns of Cle Elum and Roslyn to the northwest, and the rushing waters of the Yakima River and its basalt canyon to the southwest. This entire patchwork is nestled below the mighty peaks of the Central Cascades.

Even with all these features visible from our backyard, the sanctuary itself might still be the strangest artifact on the landscape. It’s not too conspicuous; From a plane, it might be mistaken for a ranch or even some sort of outdoor sports complex. (I’ve joked that Young’s Hill could also double as an interesting paintball course.) From the ridge, however, it’s clear that the wooden climbing platforms and electrified fences are designed for another purpose entirely. If you didn’t already know the sanctuary was here and had never been to a similar facility, you’d probably never guess that sixteen chimps lived in one of the barn-like structures situated at the mouth of the canyon.

Lunch Up Close

December 4, 2021 by Diana

I could listen to the crunching sounds of lunch all day!

The Eternal Dilemma

December 3, 2021 by J.B.

Each morning, Negra is forced to choose between her two greatest loves: food and bed.

The arguments in favor of food are myriad. Let’s start with the obvious – we all need to eat to survive. So put a point on the board for breakfast. In fact, maybe this isn’t such a difficult decision after all.

On the other hand, bed is really soft and comfortable.

But food is so much more than just sustenance. Nothing tastes better than fresh fruit, peanuts, and a hard boiled egg from the caregivers’ rescued hens.

Bed is warm.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Skip breakfast and you’ll get off on the wrong foot.

But you’re already in bed! And you know, Newton’s first law and all…

A little sunshine along with breakfast doesn’t hurt either, does it?

Outside has snakes and the sun shines perfectly well through windows. That’s the whole point of windows.

The longest we go between meals is the time between dinner and the next day’s breakfast. By morning, our bodies need to refuel.

Bears go a whole winter without eating…

She’ll Let You Know

December 1, 2021 by Kelsi

This video is a perfect example of how Jamie gestures to let you know what she wants. If you couldn’t tell Jamie was a bit busy managing the humans today, as per usual. I love Jamie because she isn’t afraid to let you know what she wants. She obviously has no problem telling us what boots she wants us to wear, what books to give her, which piece of pepper she wants, or get the gator now! Most of Jamie’s communication is through gestures like pointing or slight head nods. In the video you can see I had picked out a boot in hopes that it was the one she had in mind. Sometimes we get lucky on the first try, other times you have to keep trying them on. She usually has a favorite pair that we try first! If she doesn’t like the boot, book, or whatever it is Jamie wants she will keep pointing until we get the right one. Occasionally she likes the boot, but wants a different person to put it on! It’s the best feeling when you have been trying to figure out what Jamie wants and then all of the sudden you get the combo! It’s a total rush because all we want to do is please her! Finding out what Jamie wants is just a small way to make her life better and we are happy to do it.

It’s December 1st which means we will start slowly adding Christmas items to the wish list, so keep your eyes peeled!

Foxie with Dora the Explorer:

The Nifty Fifty

November 29, 2021 by Anthony

I’m sure all of you are familiar with the Lucky Six by now, but do you know the Nifty Fifty?

Before I get any further ahead, I need to clarify something. Y’all may be disappointed, but we don’t currently have any plans to rescue a group of fifty chimpanzees. (Not anytime soon, at least.) The colloquial term “Nifty Fifty” refers to something a little less exciting.

The Nifty Fifty is a type of camera lens.

More specifically, photographers refer to 50mm prime (fixed) lenses as “nifty fifties” because they’re relatively inexpensive, versatile, lightweight and sharp (id est, nifty).

By sacrificing the mechanical components required to zoom in on a subject, prime lenses can be built with a larger aperture* (usually f/1.4 or 1.8) while retaining their relatively affordable price and compact size. This trade-off is particularly beneficial in poorly-lit conditions, but it also creates a shallow depth of field that can produce a bokeh effect (an aesthetically-pleasing background blur that makes the subject stand out). Given all these qualities, the 50mm prime is a staple of event, travel, studio, and street photographers. It’s not bad for shooting landscapes, either!

*For those of you who may be new to this topic, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO/sensitivity are the three main variables that photographers adjust to get the desired exposure. The aperture setting is the camera’s equivalent to the dilation of your eye’s pupil; when the aperture is opened wide, more light reaches the sensor at any given shutter speed or sensitivity, resulting in a brighter image.

Normally, the first lenses we caregivers reach for in the morning are the heavier telephotos that let us zoom in on the chimpanzees from afar. These lenses are particularly useful when the chimps are lounging on the upper decks of the greenhouse enclosures or foraging outside in Young’s Hill. They’re not quite as effective indoors, however, since they have comparatively small apertures that limit the passage of light to the sensor.

Last week, the weather was foggy, chilly and wet, and the sanctuary’s primate residents chose to spend more time lounging and socializing in the heated indoor areas. With the chimps hanging out in close proximity and limited sunlight coming in through the windows and overhead skylights, I decided to use the 50mm “nifty fifty” lens to get some portraits for the blog. Fortunately, some of the chimps let me photograph them while they perused their daily enrichment and made blanket nests in the cozy front rooms.

When we’re holding the camera lens (or smartphone) flush against the caging, it’s easy to forget that there’s steel mesh between us. For some perspective on this, I recommend revisiting one of Diana’s posts from long ago: Caging is OK.

Safely shooting through the caging is one of the most difficult aspects of photographing chimps. One benefit of the wide aperture on the aforementioned Nifty Fifty is that it can blur out a barrier even when sections of it are obstructing the image. Sometimes, this effect even creates a halo-like frame around a chimpanzee’s face. In my opinion, it’s a cool way of highlighting each chimps’ unique expressions while subtly reminding you that the barriers are there. In these photos of Jody and Annie, you can see the caging but it’s not drawing your attention like it would if it was sharply in focus.

One slow afternoon, I sat with half-sisters Lucky and Rayne for a few minutes and let them each observe their reflections in the camera lens. They were both enthralled by the shiny iridescence of the optical pieces, the bizarre motion of my fingertips around the camera’s other controls, and the absurd positions I put myself in to get the compositions I wanted. Their inquisitive stares led to some striking “eye contact” with the lens, and I was pleased with how each series captured pieces of their quirky personalities.

Lucky was the first to approach and spent the whole session looking down at me with skepticism. Typical.

Rayne was munching on a paper wadge when we started, but she eventually spit it out so she could examine her own teeth in the reflection.

Finally, here are a couple more shots I took with the 50mm this past week. Thanks for scrolling down this far!

The view looking northwest towards Cle Elum

We Made it!

November 27, 2021 by Kelsi

Hooray, we made it to the weekend! I for one am exhausted this week, between the chimp’s Thanksgiving and the human’s we are all wiped. I was asked a lot this week what I am grateful for. So I thought I would share a few things that I am especially grateful for.

1. I am grateful for our expansion to be able to take in more chimps. It has been an extraordinary experience to get to know these six incredible chimpanzees!

2. I am thankful for the chimp’s health. This pandemic has been overwhelming and very stressful. The lengths that we go to protect these chimps are obviously working and we are so fortunate to have such a dedicated group of people to help protect them.

3. I am forever and always grateful to be able to care for these sixteen remarkable chimpanzees. To help provide a safe and enriching life for them is a true honor.

4. This year I was extremely thankful to be surrounded by the people that I loved. So many of us were not able to do that last year, which makes this year even more special!

Enough mushy stuff, let’s look at some photos! I was able to capture some photos over the last week. Not all the photos make it to the blog, fit the theme, or sometimes we capture a moment throughout the week!

I think this photo perfectly captures Jamie. She is beautiful, extremely intelligent, funny, always thinking, and has moments of letting her guard down.