Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Considering that for most of their lives, the chimpanzees were so confined that they weren’t able to move more than a couple of feet in any direction, it’s incredible how confidently they use their space these days. Seeing them high up on the climbing structures on Young’s Hill never gets old.
Jamie:
Foxie:
Missy:
Jody:
Annie:
Chimpanzees naturally are very territorial. This is something universal for both wild and captive chimpanzees. When we see territorial displays in the Cle Elum Seven, it’s really wonderful because it means that they are not only exhibiting what we call species-typical behavior, but it also means that they see this is their home and it is worth protecting.
In the wild, individuals within a group will split off from the main group and go on a patrol to check the boundaries of their territory. They move silently through the forest to make sure there are no intruders. In most cases, these patrols are exclusively males. Watch this video from the Jane Goodall Institute to learn about male patrols:
Burrito is the only male at CSNW, so we don’t see a lot of the typical social organization of chimpanzees groups that we learn about in school. In captivity, the same rules don’t apply, especially when the group is comprised of an unusually large percentage of females compared to males. It’s one reason why in the wild, males are always the dominant figures within a group, but in captivity many times females are dominant (which is the case at CSNW with our boss lady, Jamie). So even though we see natural territorial behaviors from all of the Cle Elum Seven, we don’t really see patrols.
Today however, we saw a troop of chimps band together and defend their territory against the neighbor elk, who decided to pay us another visit today.
You’ll never believe who was leading the gang.
OK, maybe you will. It was Burrito. In the wild this would seem obvious—dominant male chimps would definitely be front and center in a patrol. But Burrito is not a typical male chimp. He never had older males to learn from and was never in a typical social group. After being in the lab for over 20 years, it’s really not surprising that he never developed the same way wild male chimps do. So this is why it was especially exciting to not only see the chimps on a patrol this morning, but for Burrito to be in the lead. The chimps continue to surprise us as they develop into their sanctuary life.
First, Jody started to follow Burrito (with a cattail in tow of course!)
Jamie joined in, followed by Annie, and eventually Foxie as well:
Exploitation comes in many forms, and, unfortunately, it isn’t always obvious at first glance. Many of you have seen the “cute” pictures of a baby chimpanzee holding white tiger cubs or the photos and videos of an orangutan with a hound dog. These images and stories have been circulating and re-released in many forms over the last six years. All of these animals reside at a facility called The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species (T.I.G.E.R.S.).
Although T.I.G.E.R.S preaches about species conservation and they claim to contribute toward helping endangered species, the source of their money-making is nowhere near ethical. The premise of their facility revolves around photo ops and up-close and hands-on interaction with these animals, using them in traveling shows, and leasing them out for a variety of media productions. Displaying wild animals in this way involves numerous animal welfare concerns and poses serious public safety risks.
Suryia, the same orangutan who is seen with the hound dog, appeared in a Robitussin ad in 2010. You may remember that this ad was altered as a result of our advocacy efforts and other public pressure – Suryia was replaced by a CGI chimpanzee in the ad.
T.I.G.E.R.S. director Bhagavan “Doc” Antle continues to use the “unlikely animal friendships” angle to exploit endangered species and give the wrong impression of the proper care of these animals. He has published children’s books about Suryia and the hound dog, and now has a new book about Anjana the chimpanzee and the tiger cubs. It is scheduled to release in November, just in time for the holidays.
The books present children with the misleading notion that T.I.G.E.R.S. is a sanctuary preserve, when in truth it is a glorified roadside zoo with a history of violations for improper housing and care for the animals. Antle is also famous for showcasing ligers (a lion-tiger cross) who notoriously have genetic abnormalities, neurological disorders, and short life expectancies due to their unnatural breeding.
Don’t support this exploitation. When you receive an email or see images of baby apes with other animals on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc, take the opportunity to investigate where the animals are living, and politely educate people on the true circumstances behind the photos. If the image is an orangutan with a dog or a chimpanzee with tiger cubs, now you know the real story.
Encourage your friends and family to avoid purchasing Antle’s children’s books. As an alternative, we suggest purchasing an educational children’s book about chimpanzee behavior like “A Chimpanzee Tale.” You can also give the books negative ratings on Amazon, which may deter others from purchasing them.
Sample response to emails and Facebook posts with “cute” pictures of baby apes:
Sadly, this picture is not cute and cuddly as it may appear. Portraying these exotic animals as cute and cuddly attractions seriously misinforms people about the true nature of these beings and perpetuates the pet and entertainment industries. Infant apes should be with their mothers — not tiger cubs, dogs, or humans. Unfortunately, the facilities where these pictures originate are breeding exotic animals, which leads to a lifetime of unwarranted imprisonment for those animals. No respectable sanctuary would intentionally breed, nor would they put their animals on display or exploit them for entertainment purposes.
Sample negative feedback for Amazon’s listing of Anjana and Suryia’s books:
This book paints a false picture of a hopeful, loving environment for Anjana and the other exotic animals at T.I.G.E.R.S. Unfortunately, the facility regularly exploits these animals for entertainment purposes, endangers the public by offering “hands-on” experiences, and breeds exotic animals, leading to a lifetime of unwarranted imprisonment. No reputable sanctuary would intentionally breed, nor would they put their animals on display or exploit them for entertainment purposes. Please do not buy this book for your children. It is highly misleading and purchasing it will only contribute to the continued exploitation of these highly intelligent beings.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I think, perhaps, that depends on the picture. I am still learning to use the cameras to capture the chimpanzees’ lives in sanctuary. Generally, I prefer to use words to express myself especially as quite a few of my pictures turn out to be worth quite a lot less! However, I have been practicing and these two recent photos capture the dignity and serenity of the chimpanzees who are the focus of each. Even though the weather is turning, the mornings are chilly, and the wind hints at snow, the chimpanzees enjoy the opportunities of Young’s Hill to the fullest each day.
Missy keeping watch from one of the climbing structures on Young’s Hill:
Jody pausing to look back over her shoulder during her explorations of Young’s Hill:
All of the chimps have nick-names that have caught on over the years and almost all of the caregivers use with them. Annie is “Annie Bo-Bannie,” Burrito is just “Mr. B,” Foxie is “Foxie Fox!” Jody is “Jo-Jo,” Jamie is “James,” Missy is “Miss” and Negra is “Neggie.”
Missy has a tendency to sometimes lie in the “Neggie spot” which is in front of the catwalk window, where Negra likes to sit and gaze out onto the valley below. Sometimes Missy even covers herself in a blanket, in perfect Negra style. When we go to say hi to the chimps, sometimes Missy trips us up and we mistake her for Negra at first, because of her perfect impersonation. This is what we call “Fake Neggie.”
Today, Fake Neggie was in the greenhouse on the top platform, soaking in the sun…
and Real Neggie was in her spot on the catwalk in the playroom.
We’re continuing our series of blog posts on chimpanzee identification today with Jamie. (Did you miss the posts about Annie, Burrito, or Foxie? Click on their names.)
Jamie is the boss of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, and she takes her job seriously. One of the first things you notice about Jamie is her strut. She walks around like she’s invincible. She has a solid, muscular body and such perfect posture that she often looks like a table: `
Her size is also somewhat imposing. She’s one of the larger chimps in the group. Here she is with Jody on the left and Missy on the right:
and with Foxie:
Jamie’s face is a lighter brown overall than some of the other chimps’ faces (compare the color of her face to the color of Foxie’s in the photo above), and she has a little bit of white pigmentation around her mouth and chin:
And of course, she is often carrying or wearing one of her beloved cowgirl boots:
If you are familiar with Jane Goodall then you might also be familiar with the idea that chimpanzees use tools. In fact, you may remember that just last month J.B. posted an excellent blog about this subject. (If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, you should!) This tool use, exhibited by chimpanzees across Africa, is a skill acquired by social learning. Social learning, in simple terms, refers to the idea that we can learn by observing the example of someone else and applying this model to our own behavior. There have been many studies done with varying results that indicate that chimpanzees are competent social learners. This morning I snapped a series of photos of the observation stage between Burrito and Jamie on the treat mound. I’m excited to see Burrito put his knowledge into action although sometimes social pressure can influence decisions too and, today, neither Burrito nor I appeared to think that Jamie was interested in sharing!
Jamie using bamboo stalks to fish for applesauce in the treat mound while Burrito looks on:
and on:
and on:
and on:
Until giving up and moving on:
