Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

chimpanzees

Nothing

by

Today, the chimps reminded me of a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip by cartoonist Bill Watterson.

The comic goes something like this:

Hobbes: You know what I like about summer days? They’re just made for doing things… even if it’s nothing.
Calvin: Especially if it’s nothing.

Nothing is exactly what the chimps decided to do today. The vibe in the Chimp House was one of tranquility and peace. It was, as the kids say nowadays, “chill.”

The day began with a lengthy breakfast that was followed by relaxation in the Greenhouse.

Negra
Missy

Jody and Burrito spent a good chunk of time grooming each other…

Jody (left) and Burrito (right)

…and all the chimps made trips into the shady building to relax, cool off, and observe the caregivers.

Jamie
Burrito
Jamie
Negra

Throughout the morning Jamie remained calmly engaged with Level III volunteer Chad, who dutifully wore Jamie’s favorite cowboy boots while she used a length of plastic hose to groom them.

Chad (left) and Jamie (right)
Jamie’s boot

Foxie had the best plans of them all. She found a quiet, secluded corner of the Greenhouse and played with a couple of dolls. She even allowed me to sit outside of the caging with my camera and take a few quick shots.

Foxie

At a time with so much commotion and activity around the sanctuary on this hot summer day, the chimps seemed especially carefree and calm this morning.

 

The Golden Years

by

I spent some time watching Negra this morning.

I had just opened the hydraulic door that allows the chimpanzees to access Young’s Hill, so the seven chimps were all free to forage and roam across their spacious outdoor habitat for the rest of the day. Neggie, of course, had other plans.

The Queen, pictured above, was lounging on the upper level of the Greenhouse- the optimal location for a morning nap. As she basked on her side in the summer breeze, her lackadaisical bliss reminded me of a sea lion hauled out on a busy fishing pier, unconcerned with the activity going on around her. She had a plaid blanket draped over her shoulders and an assortment of fleece items piled around her legs. Her chin rested on her wrist, giving her the appearance of being deep in thought. She was the definition of comfort. Negra looked glorious.

Negra’s life wasn’t always like this. Neggie was likely captured in the wild as an infant in 1973, making her approximately 46 years old. We often think of her as the most senior of the CSNW residents, but the five other females are also well into their fifth decade of life. Even Burrito, born in the early 1980s, is well past the median life expectancy for captive male chimpanzees and has even exceeded the average life span for males in one of the healthiest wild communities studied by primatologists. According to what we know about chimpanzee life history, this leads us to classify all of our residents as geriatric individuals. We are prepared to manage their health and provide daily care for them accordingly, but it also shapes our expectations for the future of our sanctuary’s residents.

At larger chimpanzee sanctuaries, the populations are typically composed of individuals who vary greatly in age and background. Chimp Haven, a chimpanzee sanctuary in Keithville, Louisiana, just announced the passing of their oldest resident, Sarah Anne. Sarah Anne lived to be almost 60 years old, but didn’t retire to Chimp Haven until 2006 when she was already in her late-40s. As evidenced by the vivid descriptions and heartwarming stories shared by the Chimp Haven staff, Sarah Anne was undoubtedly an amazing individual who made the most of her time in sanctuary.

After reading about the famous Sarah Anne, I see many parallels between her life and Negra’s. Both were taken from the wild and brought to the United States as infants, presumably orphaned. Both were exploited for decades in order to advance scientific investigations. Both were shuffled from one location to another when they were no longer needed for research. Eventually, both found peaceful homes at reputable sanctuaries where they could spend their days doing their favorite things. Both became known for their extravagant blanket nests, and both became known as “queens” for their strong will and dignified demeanor. Remarkably, both overcame their pasts to become cornerstones of their social groups.

Most importantly, their stories demonstrate how chimpanzees who have already endured long and difficult lives can still grow and thrive once retired to sanctuary.

Last year, just three years after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ended biomedical research on chimpanzees, the number of chimpanzees living in sanctuary eclipsed the amount still living in laboratories. Concurrently, there was an exhaustive debate regarding which chimpanzees should be considered candidates for relocation to sanctuary. The discussion focused on older chimpanzees, particularly those with chronic health conditions. After receiving comments from the public and input from experts, the NIH eventually concluded that all but the frailest chimpanzees should be given an opportunity to experience sanctuary, regardless of age and despite manageable health conditions.

As sanctuary caregivers around the country can testify, life does not end at retirement for chimpanzees any more than it does for humans. In Negra’s case, she has already had more than a lifetime’s share of traumatic experiences and solitary confinement. It’s only fitting that she can now live each day to the fullest, whether that includes scarfing down heads of lettuce, playing with the other chimps, participating in positive reinforcement training, or trekking up the hill to pick wild greens.

Every day, chimpanzees just like Negra and Sarah Anne get to enjoy a peaceful and enriched retirement. As many in the primate sanctuary community are taking time to fondly remember Sarah Anne and reflect on her golden years, we can also use this moment to celebrate the unique opportunities that sanctuary can give to chimpanzees of all ages.

Raising Standards

by

Yesterday, after we thought the playroom was squeaky clean, the chimps were invited back in. Volunteer Miranda and I gave Jamie a drink from the hose. Often after a drink we like to offer Jamie a paper towel to dry off. Jamie used her towel like normal, wiping her hands and dabbing her face, so Miranda and I went back to cleaning. Minutes later I noticed Jamie wiping down the new door, which we call the “howdy” door. Apparently as you will see, expectations have been raised.


I have to be honest, it was really hard to get photos today. The chimps were spread out everywhere and enjoying their day, but in not great places to snap some photos. However, I did manage to get a few bonus photos for you guys!

Look at this happy Neggie:

Jamie doing a little grooming (boots and herself):

Burrito grooming Missy:

They Know

by

The Cle Elum Seven Chimpanzees spent decades in biomedical research laboratories and holding facilities in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.

The minimum space requirements for housing chimpanzees under the Animal Welfare Act remain shockingly, well, minimal. It’s still legal to keep a chimpanzee in a 5’x5’x7′ cage. These days, however, most laboratories that are still housing chimpanzees allow them to live in social groups and give them some sort of outside access. The National Institutes of Health recommends (though doesn’t require) enclosures that provide at least 250 square feet of space per chimpanzee. As a point of reference, for our group of seven, that’s a total of 1,750 square feet. Think about the size of your apartment or house as a comparison. Now think of yourself having only that amount of space for the rest of your life. Still, 250 square feet is way beyond the twenty-five square-foot cages that the Cle Elum Seven spent much of their lives.

The changes in how labs house chimpanzees came about in part due to pressure from a public that had gained insight into the deep intelligence and social lives of these beings that are so closely related to us.

Beyond just amount of space, providing an enriching, stimulating, interesting environment for chimpanzees is about giving them lots and lots of choices. Even if they only use some of their space a fraction of the time or only pick up a certain object one out of every five times it’s available, simply living in an environment that provides a large amount of variety is a huge part of giving intelligent primates at least some of what they need.

After spending decades in small spaces without access to the outside, I wonder if the Cle Elum Seven could have imagined a place like CSNW with 85,000 square feet of space.

Once they were at the sanctuary, their bodies and their minds knew what to do.

They followed their instincts, put their muscles to work, and got down to the business of exploring.

They reached into their imaginations and indulged in private games and adventures.

They broadened their palate and relished opportunities to search for and gather food.

No one had to teach them to be chimpanzees.

(Just a note about these photos – they were all taken today! The photos include Foxie, Jamie, Annie, and Missy.)

They Need Each Other

by

Nothing makes me happier than when I go out to see what the chimpanzees are up to and they are happily engaged in their own activities, sometimes gracing me with a cursory glance or friendly head nod, then getting back to what they were doing. This happiness is tenfold when it’s Jamie who is hanging out with the other chimpanzees and simply doesn’t want or need my attention.

I’m not going to lie, it is pretty fantastic to be greeted enthusiastically by a chimpanzee. I’m a (mostly) social primate too, and it feels good when someone is happy to see me and wants to spend time with me. However, part of our job at the sanctuary is to create an environment where the humans are available but not essential to the social lives of the chimpanzees in our care.

J.B. explained in this blog post at the beginning of the year that Jamie is often not involved in grooming parties with the other chimpanzees because she tends to exist on the fringes of the chimpanzees social group, often preferring to receive attention from the humans. This makes a lot of sense – she spent the first nine years of her life very likely thinking she was a human, then she was put into biomedical research for a couple of decades before coming to the sanctuary. To say that her relationship with humans is complicated is an understatement.

We do grant her the time that she desires with the humans. We want to provide all of the chimpanzees with the things and experiences that make them feel secure, content, and joyful, and that’s different for each of them. We respect who they are as chimpanzees, however, and we limit the contact that we have with them. Even their best human friends are never with them without steel caging, chimp-proof glass, or electric fence between us (aside from medical procedures when they are fully sedated). This is for our safety. And it’s also to let them have their own space where they can be chimpanzees.

The humans are just a part of their lives. We come and we go. Their most important social relationships are with one another.

So, you can imagine my happiness when I came upon a grooming session between Jamie and Foxie today and they ignored me.

They can be physical with each other in ways that the humans cannot, and that’s the way it should be. They don’t need us for this. They need each other.

June is for Negra

by

If you have the CSNW 2019 calendar, you get to look at this beautiful photo of Negra all month long:

You’ll also notice (or may already know) that we celebrate Negra’s honorary birthday on June 13th, the anniversary of the chimpanzees’ arrival to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Negra remains the eldest of the group of seven chimpanzees. She dominated our thoughts as we were preparing the sanctuary for the group’s arrival. She had spent the most time in biomedical research and had suffered perhaps more than any of the other chimpanzees, showing the signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder upon her arrival.

We were excited to see all of the chimpanzees fully realize their new sanctuary life, but I for one could not stop thinking about being able to witness Negra experience all of the new comforts, choices, and space at the sanctuary. This video of her in the playroom for the first time captured what will forever be one of my most cherished moments.

The expression on her face today in this photo reminded me of the video:

Which of course led me to think of the most iconic image of Negra that we have: Negra in the Sun

This is the original photo I took in 2008:

Then artist Margaret H. Parkinson created this breathtaking painting based on the photo:

Margaret’s painting then inspired other artists, most recently mosaic artist Lisa Whatne.

Here is a close-up of Lisa’s truly stunning piece:

And guess what!? The Negra in the Sun mosaic is available for bidding in the HOOT! 2019 gala auction on June 15th! Even those who are not able to make it to the event can place an absentee bid on this mosaic as well as most of the other items in the auction! Absentee bidding begins Monday, June 10th at 8:00 a.m. See all items on the auction preview site now (items are still being added).

I can’t wait to find out who the lucky winner of the mosaic is going to be!