Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Coniferous Cold Cabbage

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It began snowing on Sunday and hasn’t really stopped since. Though it hasn’t been a heavy snowfall, it’s enough for it to start to feel like winter finally is here after several bouts of warm weather. When the caregivers began to arrive at the sanctuary in the morning, they were greeted by something to remind them it is indeed near to end of January and still winter.

This is one of the Christmas trees that has been adorning the outside of the Chimp House. As some of you know, it’s somewhat of a tradition to plant the trees that decorate the enclosures for the chimpanzees’ Christmas celebration on Young’s Hill when the weather is better. Until then, it sits right outside the door.

While the conditions outside thwarted any ambitions of going outside today (though they did have access to go outside), they seemed pretty content inside the warm indoor enclosures.

After cleaning was done, Willy B, Mave, and Honey B were treated to some cabbage that was spread out in their enclosure.

After lunch, Mave and Willy B spent most of their afternoon grooming.

Honey B was busy supervising the construction workers and couldn’t be bothered with grooming or most photos today.

Meanwhile on the other side, while most of the Seven were cozy in their nests all day, there was one individual who had a lot of energy he had to burn through.

There was a good game of chase between him and I from the Greenhouse doors to the door that leads to Young’s Hill. If you’ve seen J.B.’s post a couple of weeks ago, then you know this route. A common question we get is why does Burrito ask for snow from caregivers when we can just grab it himself during winter? We don’t really know why, but let’s be honest, who wouldn’t like a hand delivered caregiver made, artisan snowball?

Plus, we, as caregivers, have a hard time deflecting Burrito’s charm when he asks for his zero-calorie treat.

With the weather seemingly on different ends of the spectrum lately, who knows what tomorrow may hold. Though Burrito may hope it holds more hands full of snow.

Stay warm, friends!

Second Lunch

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What’s better than lunch? SECOND LUNCH.

On Friday, J.B.’s blog post featured a video of seven chimpanzees being served lunch in the Greenhouse. Today, we decided to record lunch on the other side of the building where Honey B, Mave and Willy B reside.

As J.B. explained, the seven chimps in the original group have a specific way of doing things. The newer residents are quite different; among those three, each individual has their own characteristic style and pace.

Honey B gingerly sorts through her food, eating each piece very slowly. She often saves some pieces for last by piling them up between her feet.

Mave is wary of the others and mostly keeps to herself while she scarfs down her food.

Willy B practically inhales his food, making it disappear like some sort of magic trick. When it’s all gone, he sometimes intimidates others into giving up theirs. To promote tolerance and patience, we space out his portions and reward him with extras for letting the others finish their meals in peace. Usually, this special reward is an apple. Teaching him to cooperate using positive reinforcement is less disruptive than separating him from the group. To date, it seems to be working well for Willy and his companions.

This afternoon, I served lunch to the three chimps in the Mezzanine (as you can see in the video). We completed the Mezzanine in August of 2019 and it is currently their largest indoor enclosure. Soon, the three sanctuary inhabitants will be able to access the new playrooms (which are more than twice as big) and, eventually, their own outdoor greenhouse enclosure!

Ice Escapades

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Today was another unseasonably warm January day! The morning frost shrank away in the face of the formidable sun, and the chimpanzees went exploring.

Missy was all over the hill – running, climbing, frolicking, and looking for icy treats.

There are a few hanging tires on the hill that Missy knows harbor special gifts. In the summer, the tires sometimes have wasps nests, which she, Jamie, and Jody will carefully (though not without risk) harvest to eat the larvae. In the winter, when the wasps are long gone, fallen rain collects in the bottom of the tires and freezes.

It’s not always easy removing the frozen block of ice. Today, as I watched, Missy tried a couple of different positions to get the right leverage in order to remove the ice in one of the tires.

Still was not successful, she went back inside the greenhouse, passing Jody, who was stand as sentry watching the other chimpanzees on the hill.

Jody suddenly got up and started walking up the hill with no small amount of determination. Missy must have been watching Jody from the greenhouse, because she quickly came back outside (with two crayons in her mouth).

She seemed to suspect what Jody was up to, and ran to get ahead of her.

By the time Jody reached the first tire…

Missy had already absconded with the treat and ran up the hill, nature’s bounty in hand.

Human Problems

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Earlier, Diana and I were discussing how serving meals to the Seven has changed over the years. It used to be that you would grab the first course – tomatoes, for example – and serve each chimp his or her portion until that course was done. Then you’d move on to the next course. It’s not that they never became impatient but there was at least a logical and orderly process. But the chimps have turned everything upside down. Missy now has to eat her tomatoes first. Negra, on the other hand, has to have her chow first. Meanwhile, Jamie is going to have her leeks first and that’s not a request that’s an order. It’s not just a simple matter of preference – if they don’t get their desired food first, it’s a full-on hunger strike. So now we’re just grabbing food from this bowl and that bowl amidst a frenzy of Bronx cheers and spit. Sometimes I feel like it’s my first day as a waiter in a busy restaurant. OK, Table 2 wants water with no ice, Table 6 wants a large salad but in two small bowls, Table 9 is still waiting for their entree, and wait…was it no ice or extra ice for Table 2??

I used to be able to write down exactly who ate what and how much, but now it’s all a blur. Today’s log:

Lunch:

Chimps ate food.

Perhaps it has less to do with the chimps and more to do with the natural affects of aging on the brain. But I swear, somehow the Californians are even pickier! The problem over there is that Willy B can be a bully at mealtimes and Honey B is the Slowest Eater On The Planet. The number one rule for lower-ranking chimps is to consume your food as fast as possible. But Honey B doesn’t play by anyone’s rules. And who are you calling low-ranking, anyway? By the time Willy B is done and starting to get antsy, she’s still sitting on a pile of food just licking a piece of fruit and staring into your eyes.

Of course, these fall into the category known by the chimps as “Human Problems”, which as you might guess, are of no concern to them. As it should be.

Sleight of Hand

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One common question that we are asked right here on the blog, as well on Facebook and Instagram is how do we know what the chimpanzees are trying to tell us, or how do we know what they’re requesting. A lot of it has to do with gestural communication.

Throughout the years, studies have been conducted to study to what length nonhuman apes can learn a human language, specifically American Sign Language. Washoe and her chimpanzee family, Koko the gorilla, Chantek the orangutan, and even Kanzi the bonobo has learned to communicate using a Lexigram. But what about those who didn’t learn a human language or other human form of communication? What about just natural gestures?

All of the large-bodied apes use gestural communication. This includes chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, and of course us, humans. So hopefully it won’t come as a surprise there is some overlap. Not just within the gestures themselves, but how he learn and use them.

In some of the more recent studies, researchers have been looking for the intentionality of gestures. They adapted some methods child behaviorists look at in infant’s ability to learn and communicate using gestures. The some of the key things researchers look for are audience checking, response waiting, and persistence.

Audience checking is just as it sounds. Is the person who is about to try to communicate aware the intended recipient is paying attention to them? If so, they will proceed to gesture. If not, the communicator will adjust their position to ensure the recipient sees them, or do an attention getter. There’s no point in trying to do a visual form of communication if the recipient isn’t looking at you, right? In the case of some of the chimps here, the attention getting comes in different forms. For instance, Burrito will usually blow Bronx cheers or start kicking the caging. Honey B will blow Bronx cheers or clap her hands loudly. Jamie will sometimes throw things such as toys, alfalfa cubes, cowboy boots, etc.

Response waiting is when the communicator waits to see if you got the correct message. Did you fulfill their request?

If that message is not received correctly, then persistence comes about. Maybe you didn’t understand the first time, so the communicator will give you the gesture again or modify it to some degree to make sure you understand, which may include the use of additional gestures.

Most of the gestures the chimpanzees here use toward human caregivers are requests. And one of the simplest gestures to look for is pointing.

When Jamie wants to go for a walk around Young’s Hill, she will deploy her attention getter. Once she has our attention, she will point until we get whatever combination of caregiver and boots she has in mind. When a caregiver comes back with a pair of boots, but they are the wrong boots, she will proceed to continue point and waving her fist again. As we get closer to her perfect walking combination, her gesturing slows down. However if we are way off mark, it speeds up and usually includes her patting her own head and/or stomping her foot. Once the combination is found, she races to the Hill, with caregiver and boots in tow.

We, as caregivers, don’t just look for the pointing. We have to put into consideration the context of the situation. As some of you know, Jamie also loves Gator races. About half way up Young’s Hill, Jamie will stop, look at us, then turn to point in the direction of the Gator. This is one of the easiest ones caregivers caught on too because it’s unmistakable. The second we take a step in the direction of the Gator, Jamie stops her gesturing, and prepares to get a running head start.

Here is her Gator request in play.

Burrito, when he’s on his snowy treat kick, starts his Bronx cheers and points in the direction of snow.

This is another one we have come to understand very quickly. When I first started here, I would ask him what he was pointing at. As I would head outside looking around, his Bronx cheers would become louder, and he would point in different directions (if snow was everywhere), or if there was only a single patch of snow, he make sure he is pointing to that patch and start nodding his head. Once I give him his snowy treats, he will *usually* stop because his request was fulfilled.

However, as some of you know, Burrito’s snow addiction sometimes knows no bounds.

He will only stop until he has the right amount he is requesting.

One of the other easiest ones we know is when we are about to serve a food item that isn’t as high on there priority list. Negra and Foxie are masters at this one. Four fingers will protrude through the mesh to sort of push away the item.

If we attempt again to serve that item, the gesture occurs again and sometimes with a little swipe to let us know this is not what they want right now. Today, Kelsi was serving onions, both Negra and Foxie did the same gesture to let her know it was not time for onions. The time was for sweet potatoes.

 

There are many resources to learn about chimpanzee gestures. One of the most informative is The Great Ape Dictionary created by gesture researchers from the University of St. Andrews.

There is also a great NOVA Wonders documentary episode on PBS called What Are Animals Saying?

 

The Wolf of Walnuts

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Chimpanzees are experts at playing whatever hand nature deals for them.

In this weekend’s case, most of the chimps took advantage of the unusual warm weather by choosing to recreate outdoors. (If you’re wondering, Cle Elum’s average high temperature is 35F for January.) For the seven chimpanzees living on one side of the building, that meant another day of frequent romps around Young’s Hill with caregivers. Burrito, in particular, has been racing around the Hill with a new fervor lately.

Around mid-day, we closed the door separating Burrito’s group from the Hill and let the other three chimps have access to the Courtyard. Currently, Willy B is the only one of the three who ventures beyond the enclosed chute, initially doing so in pursuit of food. We don’t always scatter food out in the Courtyard now that he seems to go outside just for the sake of going outside, but I thought that an impromptu scavenger hunt might make the day a little more interesting for him. I tossed some raw, hard-shelled walnuts and tiny pieces of chewing gum over the fence before opening their door. Willy B immediately began his Courtyard ritual; he loped out onto the raised boardwalk, grabbed an easy walnut, and sat down to survey the landscape.

Surprisingly, Honey B was also extremely interested in the forage and eagerly scanned the Courtyard from the safety of the chute. This is a rare occurrence; both Honey B and Mave usually hang further back in the chute while Willy has the Courtyard to himself. Today, Honey B was almost certainly after the small tablets of sugar-free chewing gum, one of her favorite snacks. She eagerly collected the two pieces of gum that were closest to the doorway and grunted as she popped them into her mouth. Willy, on the other hand, was narrowly focused on the encapsulated legumes. Then, Honey B noticed a hidden walnut that Willy B had missed, just within reach. She slowly extended an arm out into the grassy Courtyard…

… but at that exact moment, Willy happened to turn towards the chute. He coincidentally saw Honey B reaching out from the chute and scolded her with a sharp sputter. Their relationship has been tested lately, so I was eager to see how the two strong-willed individuals would handle this conflict of interests. On Wednesday, Honey B furiously retaliated against Willy for stealing part of her breakfast and even won her food back. Such reversals are uncommon; subordinate chimps tend to respect the dominance hierarchy because compliance is both easier and safer than resisting. In general, maintaining stability is more important that whatever temporary reward is at stake.

As you can see in today’s photos, the two friends still have a few cuts from last week’s scrap but the normal dynamic seems to have returned. This afternoon, Honey B decided to not test Willy’s tolerance over a single walnut. Instead, she retreated, leaving Willy B the undisputed Walnut King.

While Willy was methodically gathering all the walnuts, the chewing gum was still available and unguarded. Honey B, who is still uncomfortable with the idea of leaving the chute, used the available tools to pull the gum closer and then scampered off with her due reward.

out of the shadow

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In the past, we’ve described Burrito as being tentative and unsure about things.

It took a while for him to join Jamie on her perimeter walks of Young’s Hill. In July of 2013, about ten months after the 2-acre enclosure was complete, J.B. writes that Missy, Annie, and Jody were often seen taking part in Jamie’s adventures at the top of the hill and all around the perimeter, while Burrito, Foxie, and Negra tended to stick to the lower half of the enclosure.

By October of that same year, Burrito was occasionally joining Jamie on her perimeter walks, On these walks, he was always the follower.

In March of 2015, Katelyn describes how Burrito was joining more perimeter patrols, and even relaxing a bit. A few days later, Burrito started to invite caregivers to go on walks without Jamie, which J.B. excitedly wrote about (read to the end for one reason he was excited).

Jamie’s walks still far eclipsed Burrito’s in quantity, and most of Burrito’s were with other chimpanzees with him following behind.

Burrito would often appear to be hesitant when Jamie veered off the usual pathway. Katelyn described Burrito gingerly following Jamie as she effortless climbed the Twister structure in September of 2016.

Today Burrito took twice as many walks / runs as Jamie around the perimeter. Some with just him and me and some with a chimpanzee group.

He was the occasional leader, sometimes even waiting for Jamie to catch up.

He and Jamie appeared to decide at the same time to climb up Twister.

But Burrito was the only one to go to the very top.

Before going back inside, on his own, he took a path less traveled to explore a different part of the hill.

Choices, opportunities, and space that allow for gradual gains in confidence and incremental steps towards discovery – this really is what sanctuary is about.