Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
April has surprised us with a lot of snow. Personally, I think we paid our dues back in January, but here we are. Negra saw her shadow and decided 2 more weeks of winter and went back into hibernation.
Negra breakfast in the front rooms:
Bonus photos!
Rayne sitting comfortably on firehose:
Cy day dreaming:
As I looked through my phone I realized I had so many small clips of the chimps playing. Some were too short to make into a full video, so with the help of some other caregivers we made a montage of the chimps playing over the last couple weeks.
I was also was able to snag a handle full of photos today!
Spring is here because Negra says it is:
The mischievous Miss Honey B:
Dora melting in the warm Oakwood greenhouse:
The handsome freckled-face Terry:
I felt like someone was spying on me while I tried to take photos of Terry. I was right!
It was Lucky spying on me:
Sam took this great photo of Burrito and was kind enough to share it with me. If you are thinking, geez Burrito looks intense you are right! He was ready to play! After he let Sam snap some photos he leaped up and insisted they start playing chase!
Within a chimpanzee community, the term used to describe the dominant chimpanzee is alpha. There seems to be an agreement there are different styles of dominance, with two being the main types: those who are political and those who use brute strength. There is a great TED Talk with Frans de Waal where he explains these two different styles. Those who are more political savvy navigate their way through their community to build trust and relationships with their community. These alphas, when they lose their top position, can still be a big influence on their community years after their term is up. The other type are those who use strength and fear to make their way to the top. By showing they are stronger than the rest, the rest submit to their displays. These alphas in the wild tend to be excommunicated from the community or killed when their term is up. There is a National Geographic documentary called Kingdom of the Apes, which showcases these two styles when brothers Freud and Frodo vie to become the alpha of their group. This all took place within the Kasakela community, the group Jane Goodall has studied over the decades.
The groups who reside here do have their alphas or perceived alphas. One of the alphas I want to talk about today is Cy.
We are coming up quickly on the 1 year anniversary since Cy and his group arrived here, and we have been in awe of Cy since. From what we’ve seen, Cy is very patient and very socially aware of the other chimpanzee’s emotional states. He always seems to know when it’s the right time to show off his size and strength or to just let the others get what they need off their chest. During the introduction process, Cy has been great at making friends. I think we were all caught off guard when him and Willy B first met and how well it went. When two alphas get together during this process, there is a huge sense of anxiety that lingers in the air on what will happen between the two. Luckily for us, we have Cy. Throughout the entire process we have seen Cy time and time again place his own body between two who are getting nervous around each other and diffuse the situation. That’s not to say he doesn’t show off his strength when he needs to.
Of the two styles of dominant chimpanzees, I would place Cy on the political side. He seems to receive the respect from everyone not because he demands it, but because he earns it. I know he has earned mine.
Cy is the most patient, big-hearted, caring, playful, and handsome alpha.
As you can tell from the title, there is some leeked content. I guess this kind of leekage isn’t so bad ;).
Please enjoy these photos of Cy eating a leek:
Terry really liked his leek too:
Bonus photos!
Cy:
Rayne basking in the warm greenhouse sun:
Willy B staring at himself through the camera:
Honey B is ready for bed, and bids you a goodnight:
For the first time in what feels like forever, we have had some consistent sunny days with the temperatures in the 60s. A sunny day with slight overcast in 60º weather and the slightest of breezes are the perfect conditions for the first forage on Young’s Hill of 2022!
Annie:
Burrito:
Foxie:
Jamie:
Jody:
Missy:
Negra:
Annie and Missy:
We all know Mave is a laid back chimp, but she has her playful side too. Her playful side might be more short lived than others!
Bonus!
A very handsome Gordo:
And the ever so beautiful and kind eyed Lucky:
After taking in several days of great weather, we are back to winter conditions. What started off as rain, quickly turned into snow, with it supposed to last throughout the afternoon and into the night. With a day like today, the chimpanzees are spending most of the day in their nests on the upper story, where it is nearly impossible to get any photos. But who can blame them. It’s the perfect day to just cozy up and nap.
I was able to get some sporadic photos here and there though.
