Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzees

Gratitude

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A lot has happened over this last week.

Between Willy B’s procedure and our HOOT! fundraiser, we have a lot to be grateful for here at CSNW. Willy B has been recovering well in the front rooms of Phase 1, with visual access to the rest of his group members through multiple windows. The rest of Cy’s group have been checking up on him constantly and many have chosen to sit by the windows to join him in watching the many movies we have been playing for him. The stitches in his nose have been holding up really well (knock on wood) and he seems to be enjoying the enrichment we have been giving him to keep him busy (and to keep him from displaying against the howdy door and riling up his neighbors). He is currently watching Shrek and working on a hanging puzzle… Sunday Fun-day, amiright?!

This past Friday was our signature annual fundraiser, HOOT!, and it was the first time it has been held in person for two years. It was my first time attending and I cannot say how heart warming it was to connect with our sponsors in-person and also virtually (via our Facebook live stream). I am always speechless when I think about the support we receive from so many people across the world. Being a part of an event where everyone is connected by the common goal of supporting CSNW brings this gratitude front and center, so I just want to take a moment to say a heartfelt thank you from all of the primates (and cattle) here at CSNW. Whether you have donated to HOOT!, connect with us via our daily blog, support us by being a Chimp Pal or Produce Patron, sending us items from our wish-lists, or supporting us another way, we can’t say thank you enough for allowing us to provide sustainable sanctuary for our residents.

Thank you.

Personally, I am mentally still processing all the events from the past week. I often spend a good amount of time reading outside of work, especially when work gets busier than normal, and often find that other authors have found words to express things that I am unable to voice. Excuse the cheesy-ness of the end of this blog, but a piece by Mary Oliver has really been on my mind lately. I’ve typed out a portion of it below…Maybe it will touch your heart, too.

The Messenger

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird –

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young and still not half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters, which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished…

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy…

telling them over, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

 

Photos above: Terry and Cy

Cy:

Dora:

Negra, resting in the greenhouse:

 

 

Don’t Be Suspicious… Don’t Be Suspicious

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New foods for chimpanzees can either make them excited, or suspicious. Today, the chimpanzees were introduced to mangosteens. I know that some of you know about Annie’s allergy to mangoes. Don’t let the name of these super fruits confuse you. They are not related to mangoes. They are more closely related to things like starfruit and lychee, though they are really in their own class. The taste has been described as a combination of strawberries, peaches, pineapples, bananas, pomegranates, and lychees, among other things. Again, they really are in a class of their own and hard to describe.

Mangosteens are indigenous to Southeast Asia. Found in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, it is known as the “Queen of Fruits.” Besides being extremely tasty, there are also many health benefits to mangosteens. They are packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, support blood sugar control, and some studies have found they may also help promote weight loss.

Overall, everyone in Foxie’s group loved them! Cy’s group, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. Some didn’t even bother to try them. Those who did try them, however, seemed to love them!

Bonus photo of Cy watching me as I was cleaning their mezzanine yesterday:

Also, don’t forget to check out the online auction items! You can begin to bid on the items you want now! And for those who are attending in person, you can start thinking about which items you are going to bid on! I’m quite partial, and biased, on this beautiful painting of Mave!

“Chimps Are Off The Hill”

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A couple of years ago, Caregiver Anthony wrote a blog about some of the lingo we use around the sanctuary. As staff prepare for the day to end, one of the things we do is a head count of each chimpanzee to ensure they are off of Young’s Hill and aren’t out in the cold at night. When we are able to close off Young’s Hill (at Jamie’s discretion that is), we announce over the radio “the chimps are off the hill.” It is one of the more common announcements made over the radio that can be heard around the sanctuary.

As J.B. mentioned a couple of months ago, the construction around the Young’s Hill expansion and The Bray is picking up. Well, we have reached the point of that blog where Jamie’s group will not have access to Young’s Hill for a little bit. As caregivers, we are obviously conflicted by this. On one hand, they will not have access to Young’s Hill. On the other hand, their outside habitat is expanding and Cy’s group will get the opportunity to venture into The Bray. Plus there’s the addition of new climbing structures and flora for them to interact with. There are cost and benefits to everything, and I personally think the benefits are astronomical in comparison to the cost of some time off Young’s Hill.

So please excuse the hiatus of seeing photos of the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill. They will still have access to their greenhouse, which still provides them with fresh air and sunshine during this time.

And enjoy these recent photos!

Missy and Annie on their morning patrol before coming in to make way for construction.

Terry enjoying one of his favorite food puzzles: Boomer Balls!

Honey B falling into slumber while watching the humans clean.

Cy catching up on his reading during National Read a Book Day!

Honey B enjoying lunch in the Oakwood Greenhouse!

Security Video of Mall Walkers

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As mentioned on Saturday, I have been working on putting together security camera footage from a couple of weeks ago that captured Honey B and Rayne “mall walking” along with some other fun highlights of that morning. I was able to finally figure out the technical issue with exporting the video, and I wanted to share it with you asap.

I just love that the chimpanzees have their own busy lives completely separate from us humans, and seeing them have so much fun makes all of the anxiety of integrating the two groups well worth it!

Observant watchers will note that the time as shown on the camera footage jumps when the scene switches to the black and white / night vision of the mezzanine. That’s because that particular camera is on a different camera system and the times between the two are about six minutes off. This made it a bit challenging to piece together all of these separate clips.

It would have taken me a really long time to label all of the chimpanzees, so you’ll have to use your best id skills to figure out who is who.

I hope you enjoy this extra long video!

 

Sani-Terry Grooming

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After morning cleaning was complete and lunch had been served, I walked around the sanctuary to take photos for this blog. I admit that a good handful of times I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to write about until it comes down to the wire. Not that we have a set time we must have the blog done, we just like to publish it in a time frame to not keep anybody waiting. Inspiration for the blog tends to hit me during this walk around the sanctuary. It usually occurs when during little moments with the chimpanzees.

Today, that inspiration came from Terry. As you may know, Terry LOVES attention. You may have heard his attention-getter in some of the videos. What I have noticed is that besides playing chase with caregivers, Terry really likes grooming with caregivers. This is especially the case with boots. Sometimes tiny rocks get stuck in the treading on the bottom of our boots, and Terry loves to clear them out for us. (Honey B also loves to do this as well.)

Grooming is an important part of a chimpanzee’s social life. When chimpanzees groom, they rid each other of things such as parasites, dead skin, scabs, and any debris caught in their hair. But more importantly, when chimpanzee’s groom with each other, it also helps strengthen and maintain social bonds with one another. When it comes to chimpanzees grooming caregivers, it may be that. There have been some studies that suggest so, and there have been researchers who argue that is not the case. Regardless of what it is, it is enriching for them. And I don’t think any of the caregivers here mind spending 30 minutes or more to this. For me, I consider myself very fortunate to spend this time with someone like Terry. Terry is one of the greatest people you could meet. He is a friend to all.

Terry grooming the bottom of my boot.

Don’t forget! You can preview some of the items that will be up for auction during this year’s HOOT! There are some amazing items that will be up for bid both in-person at the gala in Seattle, and online! Be sure to check them out!

Here are some bonus photos of the Guess Who Girl from yesterday’s blog!

Rayne completely relaxed in Riverview Greenhouse

Rayne and Willy B eating lunch in the Oakwood Greenhouse

During lunch yesterday, a train went by. Rayne began to watch it pass by and eat her bag of chow like a bag of popcorn.

Little Moments On A Sunday

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No matter what day it is or what is going on, there are always little moments in the chimp house that center you. Today’s video is a compilation of these little, precious moments. 🙂 Plus some photos, too!

Gordo in his box:

We also celebrated the lovely weather today with a forage on Young’s Hill! Everyone in Jamie’s group participated and enjoyed fresh corn, mini sweet peppers, and tomatoes.

Missy:

Jody:

Can you spot the Jamie?

Burrito:

Annie, left, and Missy, right:

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Gordo in a Box Saves the Day

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I have a 15 minute long video that I’ve been working on for you all for more than a week, piecing together clips from the security cameras on a particularly busy morning. But, technology is not serving me well, and I’ve been unable to finalize the file for an unknown reason. I showed a very short clip of it during yesterday’s “Insider Briefing” for the Chimpanzees in Need campaign, and now I feel like that was a tremendous tease. Sorry!

It was dinner time and I had been trying to troubleshoot the movie software all day, and I had NO BLOG POST. I was a little panicky. But, don’t worry, Gordo saved me/us.

Yesterday, Gordo wasn’t feeling well and didn’t eat all of his meals, so we’ve been a little concerned. Today, however, he seemed to be back to all of his Gordo ways, including taking his dinner in a box.

This particular box was clear on the other side of the Oakwood Greenhouse, so we had to walk out the door and around the greenhouse to serve him. This is what I saw when I was looking for him from the hallway.

Jenna was able to take these two photos of Gordo finishing off the banana portion of dinner:

I took these while he was eating an onion (yep, the chimps like raw onions!)

We had delayed the handing out of nightbags for his group, and Gordo had gone inside to the front rooms, but he insisted on going all the way back to his box in the greenhouse for the nightbag service: