Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
The video above is a little bit random, but the days are a little random.
Little moments catch my fancy, like Jody with her great big eyes and Jamie and Burrito running with the Gator.
Spring is definitely in the air. The killdeer and red wing blackbirds are calling, the trees are starting to bud, the bovines are shedding their extra winter hair, and Mave is sunning herself at the top of the chute.
It’s the simple and subtle things that pull me forward towards the next day of random moments.
Testosterone is a funny thing. We tend to think of it as being responsible for the aggressive and antisocial behavior displayed by males, and in a way this is true. But it’s only part of the story. While testosterone appears to be central to status-seeking, it also correlates with prosocial behaviors such as generosity when such behaviors are appropriate for achieving or maintaining status. There’s more than one way to get ahead and testosterone doesn’t seem to care how you get there as long as you get there.
But testosterone never seemed to be on Burrito’s side. Not surprising, given that he never had the opportunity to learn prosocial behavior from either his mother or a community. He was raised by humans, forced to perform in a circus, and then locked alone in a cage for years. His first experience in a real social group likely came at age 23 when he was housed with six females in a series of four cages in a windowless basement. As a result, his attempts at dominance were marked by spasms of unprovoked aggression with few attempts to form alliances or coalitions. If they could, the girls would tell you he was hard to live with. They certainly told him often – by ganging up on him and putting him back in his place.
We can’t put the blame squarely on testosterone for Burrito’s struggles but we can now see what his life is like when not subjected to its constant demands. Because when Burrito suffered a serious injury to his scrotum last winter, he was surgically castrated. You’d have to squint pretty hard to see a silver lining in such an outcome, but there’s no doubt that his relationships with the other chimps are different now. He threatens and fights less. He plays more. A lot more. He plays all day long.
Would a change like this be as benign or even welcome if he lived in a different social group? If he lived with other males? Probably not. This is by no means an argument for castrating male chimps to control aggression (for so many reasons, but as mentioned above – testosterone does more than promote aggression). I’ve hesitated to even talk about it for fear of being misinterpreted (and, to be honest, for fear of getting too far out of my expertise, for I am not an endocrinologist). But we can all see the changes in him, and you probably have too.
For her part, Jamie has mellowed quite a bit too. Could it also be due to hormonal changes? After all, she’s on medroxyprogesterone to inhibit her estrus cycle in an effort to reduce discomfort associated with a perianal fistula. Who knows. We all change as we get older.
Whatever the cause, these two were never very close in the first 13 years they lived at the sanctuary and now there seems to be more space for them to form a relationship. It’s cute to watch Burrito work his charm on Jamie. She’s not one to let her guard down very often. But he can be very persuasive.
Today, the staff continued our PRT training. However, I was able to take a few photos from today of the Seven enjoying Young’s Hill!
The days have been getting warmer and the snow is disappearing quickly. Just like yesterday, the Seven (minus one) spent a lot of time today exploring Young’s Hill.
When the door leading to Young’s Hill first opened, the first order of business was to take in this warm morning.
Well, that was most everybody’s first agenda item. Burrito’s agenda item was to run around the hill.
Right behind us came Jamie and Missy, with Jody in tow.
Before Jody continued on the walk, she first tried to look for some ice treats in a hanging tire.
None found, she went for one of her other favorite foraging items, a pine branch.
Coming up behind Jody was Foxie, with two Orange Blossoms!
Annie waited at the bottom of the hill for everybody to return. Though she didn’t partake in the first patrol, she was seen out and about since.
Missy stopped for a snowy treat before making her way inside.
Along the way, Jamie decided she want to climb the Twister and take in the surroundings.
At this point, you may be wondering about the “minus one.”
She did poke her head out in the morning, but decided to stay under a pile of blankets in the Greenhouse.
Do you know the word lagniappe? It’s an American French (think Louisiana) word. From my perusal of dictionary definitions it refers to a bonus “something” given to a customer when they are making a purchase. It’s now used in broader terms and refers to any unexpected bonus that comes with something else.
I’m glad I looked it up! I’ve liked the sound of the word since first hearing it and sometimes it’s just floating around up there in my head for no reason. But now I realize that my understanding of the definition as simply “an unexpected gift” was somewhat incorrect.
On Thursday afternoon, J.B. headed out with the sanctuary truck to pick up the weekly produce, which was much needed because the fridges were looking quite bare with the glowing exception of a particular fruit that I believe Anthony will be writing about tomorrow.
I want to say that the filling up of our fruit fridge was a lagniappe, but that would be using that unique word incorrectly – it was just a wonderful and unexpected gift.
I digress.
In the middle of a zoom call after J.B. had left to get produce, I got a call from him on my phone. I decided I should answer it because it was strange that he was calling me just 20 minutes after leaving. I rudely existed the view of my computer camera with no explanation and took his call. Indeed, my intuition was correct. The truck had an issue and he was parked on the side of the highway. There would be no produce run that day.
Instead, after the truck was towed and I picked up J.B., he made a quick jaunt to the local grocery store to hold the chimps’ over until the truck was fixed and he could do the full produce run this afternoon.
To my surprise, one of the produce items he brought back was corn. Corn! In February! This was indeed a lagniappe. Oh wait, no – that’s using the word incorrectly again.
Nevertheless, the chimpanzees were delighted with this unexpected gift:
Negra:
Missy:
Jody got two ears because Jamie was at first very focused on the mini sweet peppers at lunch, putting her ear of corn down near the watchful eyes of Jody. Jamie was okay with Jody taking it, but decided later she did in fact want some (maybe the sounds of all of the delightful crunching by her friends made her change her mind). If you are on Instagram, go to our page to see a little video clip of Jody crunching her double lagniappe gift.
Everything worked out in the end because Foxie rejected her corn full stop. So, I gave Jamie Foxie’s ear of corn and I gave Foxie Jamie’s carrot.
Whew!
Jamie took her corn up to the top window for some private dining.
Honey B, Mave, and Willy B got their corn for dinner and it was very much appreciated by all three of them. Here’s Honey B:
Thank you for all of you Produce Patrons out there who help provide the chimpanzees with much loved and unexpected gifts of fresh fruits and vegetables!
Side note – if anyone knows of a word that actually means “unexpected gift”, I would like to know! I might send you something as a thank you for your linguistic prowess.
While we cleaned the playroom this morning, the Seven spent some time bonding on the Greenhouse platform. The chimps probably came together up top because it was warmer up there, but they may have realized that if they wanted to groom as a group they’d better gather around the immovable lump that is Negra. She’s happy to be groomed as long as it doesn’t involve getting out of bed. It may look like Foxie was excluded but individuals often tag out for brief periods only to tag back in later.
After cleaning was finished, the staff got together to discuss plans for enrichment in the new playrooms and greenhouses.
We consulted Mave first. It’s her house, after all. She just said to make sure there were lots of socks.
The climbing structures are starting to take shape. You can see the platforms, which will soon be filled in with composite decking, and some of the various branches. Later we’ll add fire hose vines and hammocks.
The playroom is split down the middle (with a double cage wall up above and a human hallway below) to accommodate two groups during introductions or, if necessary, on a permanent basis, so each side gets its own tree as well as its own set of stairs (for us humans and our elderly chimp friends).
With the playrooms nearing completion we’re excited to turn our attention to the greenhouses, which we plan to complete by the end of April. We’re looking forward to seeing the Three swing throughout the new spaces.
Chimps are pretty rough on their toys so strict quality control is important.
Case in point: Burrito was upside down and sideways all day on the caging and structures while playing with his caregivers.
Even though we filled up a stock tank with snow in the greenhouse, Burrito asked that Diana fetch him a fresh snow ball or two from just outside the door. Snow apparently tastes better when it is freshly hand-rolled by the artisan snow ball makers on staff.
And while he ate them, he tickled Diana’s hands with his toes.
While Burrito and Diana played, Missy decided it was time to head into the playroom and make a nest, so she grabbed an armful of blankets and headed for the door. But first she had to grab herself a snow snack.
We often see the seven put on a show for the three and vice versa the three do big displays towards the seven. Some can be to show off or impress each other, some are to warn or threaten, and others might be because things were getting a little chummy and they wanted a reaction from someone on the other side. In the winter, we have to close the chute off at night. We tend to shift the three up into the mezzanine in the morning. That way we can clean the front rooms and chute right away so we can let the three have access to their outside enclosure as soon as possible. For the seven, we try to shift them into the front rooms or green house so we can clean the playroom first. This is my long-winded way of explaining that once we have finished cleaning the phase 1 front rooms and the playroom it is the first time the three and seven have seen each other since the day before. The playroom gives a great view of the chute. So, when the seven are shifted into their freshly clean playroom we often hear the chimps yelling or displaying at each other. It’s short lived. However, Jamie occasionally shows off a bit for Willy B and she definitely had his attention! Willy B is always stealing glances at Jamie, I mean who wouldn’t!
After her big display, it was time to settle into a good book, or two, or three!
And since I was there to hand her some books she agreed to have her photo taken.
It’s Wednesday, so we need some bonus photos!
Negra was the first one out this morning!
She was having a craving for fresh snow.
Jamie <3.
Jamie and Missy thinking about grabbing some snow snacks too.
I found Mave rolling around in this blanket.
I took this photo on Thursday or Friday when it was very cold. Honey B grabbed the biggest blanket and sat out in the chute.
Last week, an interesting creature visited the sanctuary. We caregivers paused to conduct some informal observations.
The visitor was a bobcat. Also known as “red lynx,” bobcats (Lynx rufus) are medium-sized felines native to southern Canada, the entire continental USA, and northern Mexico.
Unlike other species of lynx, bobcats are highly adaptable and can thrive in proximity to humans. Because of this behavioral flexibility, bobcat populations persist in suburban and agricultural environments and are one of the least threatened species of wild feline.
We often see the signs these creatures leave behind as they roam across the sanctuary’s wooded farmland (usually manifesting as tracks left behind in the snow or mud). Their prints complement those of the numerous wild animals who have adjusted to our presence: badgers, black bears, cougars, coyotes, deer, elk, marmots, mice, porcupines, skunks, squirrels, weasels, voles, and countless species of birds, reptiles and amphibians. Until last week, however, none of us had managed to take a photograph of a living bobcat on the sanctuary campus.
From the kitchen window, I first spotted the bobcat trudging through the pasture just north of the Chimp House. The powdery snow was a couple feet deep out there, but the cat was using its furry paws to stay afloat as if they were snowshoes. Anna and I were closing up the facility for the evening, but we immediately grabbed binoculars and a camera so that we could observe and photograph the creature from our “blind” in the building’s foyer.
The bobcat was clearly hunting for the various rodents that tunnel invisibly beneath the snow. At times, the creature sat on its haunches and listened intently before continuing forward. Eventually, the bobcat pounced on some scurrying prey (likely a vole) but emerged from the snow without its quarry. After that unsuccessful attempt, the cat meandered its way up the hill and disappeared into the woodland above.
Shockingly, the bobcat didn’t seem to notice us. The chimps, meanwhile, were too engrossed in their evening food puzzles to even look out the window. They’ve probably seen lots of wild animals that the humans don’t notice, although even they appear to be fascinated at times.
Of course, the caregivers aren’t the only ones who observe their neighbors around here. As always, the chimpanzees continue to observe the humans. Although they often focus on the caregivers who perform the usual tasks in their vicinity, the chimps also pay close attention to the ongoing expansion of the Chimp House.
Currently, Honey B, Mave and Willy B can watch the construction progress from the safety of their indoor enclosures (which are adjacent to the new playrooms). Honey B, in particular, is captivated by the three gentlemen who are installing the caging, windows, climbing structures and hydraulic doors in the new areas. She balances her observation time, alternating between staring intently at us and monitoring the welders and laborers on the other side.
We often think about how much time humans have spent observing and studying wildlife, including free-ranging and captive chimpanzees, but Honey B appears determined to even the score.
