Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzees

Raspberry Days

by

There are many reasons to love summers in the Pacific Northwest. One of my favorites is something that the chimpanzees also enjoy: an abundance of native berries to snack on.

The raspberry bushes that flank the Chimp House are not new. They were planted many moons ago and have been maintained by dedicated staff and volunteers in the years since. Each summer, the chimps (and humans) seem to get more excited about them. It’s justified, because they’re the most delicious raspberries that I have ever had the privilege of tasting. I’d bet that the chimpanzees feel the same way.

Today, Jamie was especially insistent that humans should be harvesting raspberries and giving her the bounty. If you’re curious how Jamie communicates her demands, I recommend looking at Anna’s post from last summer. Today, Level III volunteer Lisa filled a stainless bowl with the prized berries and then served a handful to the chimps, including the moderately-patient Jamie. They were all thrilled, and we had plenty left over to make raspberry smoothies tomorrow morning. As Diana wrote a few years ago, we make sure that the chimpanzees are provisioned with healthy, unprocessed, species-appropriate foods like fruit, greens and legumes. As we grow larger and need to buy most of our produce in bulk for the chimps, it’s nice to know that there are seasonal treats nearby that the chimps can enjoy for nutrition and novelty.

Lisa, following our health and hygiene protocols, sported gloves, scrubs, and a mask while handling food and enrichment today. All personnel who work around the chimps have to do so with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to prevent the exchange of viral pathogens between us and them. With COVID-19 potentially affecting captive and free-ranging apes, we have elevated our standard hygiene practices and dramatically reduced the amount of personnel present at the sanctuary each day. Normally, the raspberry patch would be a flurry of activity throughout the day as chatty groups of volunteers and interns lazily harvest in the sunshine. Because of our restrictions, however, we must find other ways to complete all the essential tasks with just a handful of personnel.

One permanently-essential task, of course, is play. This afternoon, after Lisa finished handing out fresh raspberries to all the chimps, Foxie coyly suggested that they should vigorously chase each other down the hallway. Foxie kept running from the Playroom into the front rooms and back again, pausing only to pass Lisa a doll, do a twirl, and zoom away again. Foxie, of course, relished a raspberry all the while.

The chimps don’t seem to have any sympathy for us caregivers who have to sprint around the building wearing cloth masks, scrubs and heavy boots, but it’s okay. I don’t think any of us mind breaking from our chores to pick raspberries and hang out with playful chimps.

Portraits of the Day

by

Anna and I are wrapping things up in the Chimp House and reflecting on what a long day it has been. Sadly, my initial plans for composing a video to attach to today’s blog deteriorated as the day went on. Instead, you’re all getting these portraits of three of my favorite chimps. (Note: I have many, many “favorite” chimps.)

First, Willy B wanted to look into the camera lens and then see the resulting images.

Then, Honey B sat in the same spot while she was eating lunch. She grasped a roll of craft paper, one of her favorite enrichment materials, in her right hand while she nibbled on carrots with her left.

Jamie, per usual, did laps around the Hill during the morning and afternoon. As always, she was vigilant and perceptive.

We hope everyone is staying safe (and staying sane). Don’t forget to wear a mask!

Dinner Is Served

by

As the day is winding down, the chimpanzees are about to be served dinner. On tonight’s menu is watermelon, sweet potatoes, celery, and their daily night bags filled with sunflower and pumpkin seeds, popcorn, and dried fruit.

I would say tonight’s dinner was a hit with both groups.

Mave enjoying her portion of sweet potatoes.
Honey B enjoying her watermelon.
Missy munching on her fresh celery stalks.
She was soon displaced by the Queen. But Missy headed to her favorite spot to finish her dinner. A window that looks into the loft area of the Playroom.
Speaking of the Queen. She really loves her daily night bags.
Jamie also enjoying her night bag nearby.
Jody went to her favorite spot in Front Room 4 to enjoy her dinner.
Annie went around and gathered whatever was left that nobody else wanted.

With their bellies full and the evening enrichment puzzles solved, the chimpanzees are beginning to build their nests for the night.

Have a wonderful evening everybody!

Do You Want To Play A Game?

by

Chimpanzee communication is a fascinating field of study. I only consider myself lucky I somehow ended up studying chimpanzee gestures. Though I study chimpanzee non-vocal communication. The vocal and auditory side of communication is still highly interesting. The food grunt in particular amazes me, mostly because I too make similar noises when I come across my favorite foods. So let’s play a game! Can you guess whose food grunts are in this video? The answers are at the end of video. No peeking!

In other news, the chimpanzees were also treated to some freshly harvested cattails from Diana today. With one of their favorites bounties harvested, Anthony and I decided to make a lunch forage on Young’s Hill.

Negra raced to the closest and largest of the cattails and made her way back to the Greenhouse.

Jody also grabbed her first cattail of the afternoon, with some sides of carrots and sweet potatoes and a Burrito right behind her.

Annie was also one of the first to snag a cattail and raced every which way collecting some of the other food before making her way back to the Greenhouse to escape some sudden wind.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Jersey Cows

by

It was a chilly morning, smothered by gray clouds and filled with incessant wind.

The chimps did not seem excited when I opened the gateway to Young’s Hill, and they sneered as the wind lashed their faces and caused the prairie grasses to whip around them. Soon, they had all retreated back to the warm security of the Greenhouse. Inside, they used blankets and other enrichment items to make elaborate nests.

Jamie
Annie
Jody
Negra

All seemed to be subdued by the weather. The exception, of course, was Burrito. As Diana demonstrated in yesterday’s blog and video, Bubba’s appetite for play has been insatiable. This morning, he stomped around the Playroom and Greenhouse while clutching a decapitated doll.

The clouds eventually dissipated and the landscape began to feel warmer around midday. As we normally do on Sunday afternoons, I stayed in the building to write the blog while Chad hopped on the Gator and took care of the cattle. When he came back to the Chimp House about thirty minutes later, he appeared frazzled. Although I was hesitant to ask, I inquired “How are the cows today?”

Chad caught his breath and recounted his tale. Apparently, after mucking the barn and refilling the water troughs, he had trouble locating the cattle to give them their daily fly treatment. He drove all over the property with the Gator, growing more frantic with each empty pasture, until he was on the verge of sending a radio transmission for backup. He began to fear that the cattle had escaped (which wouldn’t be the first time one of us had that thought).

Just as he was about to call Katelyn and I to join him in the search for four missing Jerseys, he saw movement down in the wetlands. Sure enough, hidden in the thick vegetation that grows along a seasonal creek bed between the pastures, Chad found Betsy, Honey, Meredith and Nutmeg. The cattle had not escaped, but they were remarkably camouflaged.

I found this story amusing, but was also obviously relieved to know that the cattle were safe. A few minutes later, I grabbed the sanctuary’s camera and trudged up the hill to take some photographs of the intrepid bovines. Honey had climbed out of the ravine and appeared to be on high alert as she watched me approach. (Honey is the ultimate skeptic.) Betsy and Meredith were grazing together in the shady areas beneath the Ponderosa pines, and Nutmeg was still browsing in the muddy creek.

Going into the vegetation to forage is nothing new (e.g., J.B.’s photo of Nutmeg from Friday), but we’re still constantly amazed by how wild the cattle have become despite their commercialized past.

Honey
Honey
Betsy and Meredith
Honey
Meredith and Betsy
Nutmeg (down in the creek)
One of the ponds (located below the creek)

Dreaming of Cooler Times

by

With another hot, summer day, there was very little activity to be had to try to escape the heat. Early in the morning, the Group of Seven were given access to Young’s Hill, with Burrito leading the charge.

Negra however, decided to stay in the shady Greenhouse to escape the morning sun with a yellow-haired Troll Doll. None of the other chimpanzees stayed out for long, with Jody being the first to retreat back to the Greenhouse.

In one of the few instances where the clouds decided to provide some much needed relief, Jamie politely asked me to join her on a walk around Young’s Hill. Ok. She may have demanded it since it was one of the few instances she felt decent to go out. Missy (not pictured because she zoomed right passed us), Foxie, and Burrito also decided to join us.

After our walk, Foxie decided to follow Negra, Jody, and Annie’s lead by resting in the cool front rooms. Notice her Orange Blossom doll also snuggled in for an afternoon nap.

The Californian Three also had similar ideas. For the most part, they also decided to stay inside. Willy B did venture out into the Courtyard, but not for too long. Mave decided to just stay inside.

Willy B also found a new use for an old enrichment item. Both groups of chimpanzees share a large, stuffed dog that makes it’s way to both sides of the building after being washed.

Willy B decided this stuffed dog was his new bed.

It was only a few short months ago, Katelyn reported on how paired swallows started to nest. Now that summer is here, their babies have hatched and they have been helping keeping the sanctuary safe by being on guard. Even keeping us caregivers on our toes at times.