Here are a few photos from the party thus far. We really can’t thank you all enough for the gifts and donations you sent to make this day so special for the chimpanzees in Cle Elum. They certainly do love a party. Little does Burrito knows his birthday is just around the corner! Hope you’re having a great day too!
Cle Elum 7
Merry Christmas morning!
Happy Holidays to all. The chimpanzees got stockings filled with goodies last night and they are coming in for breakfast now. We’re serving them a special treat – fruitcake (more like fruit bread)! Elizabeth just let me know that everyone came in and we’re ready to get the day started. I’ll serve breakfast, then we’ll clean the playroom and set up the party with all of the donated presents – thanks everyone for making the chimps’ celebration so festive! More soon!
Caregivers’ Use of Chimpanzee Behaviors
Having recently finished my master’s thesis, I thought this would be an appropriate venue for talking about my thesis topic: the use of chimpanzee behaviors and vocalizations by caregivers. At CSNW, the caregivers incorporate chimpanzee behaviors when interacting with the chimps. For example, during play, we exhibit chimpanzee playfaces, laughter and other playful behaviors. In addition, we use submissive behaviors when the chimpanzees display aggressive behaviors. Chimpanzees are excellent readers of nonverbal behavior. Some natural human behaviors, such as walking upright, swinging our arms, and smiling, are all aggressive/territorial behaviors to chimpanzees. Therefore, although they understand human behavior, to prevent a possible miscommunication, we use behaviors to let the chimpanzees know we are their friends, rather than trying to dominate them. Playing this submissive role has produced relationships that are centered around cooperation and friendship. In my thesis research, when caregivers used chimpanzee behaviors, the chimps spent more time interacting with the caregivers and used more playful and friendly behaviors. I see the effects of this everyday, and feel this simple thing has greatly improved these chimpanzees’ psychological wellbeing. So, next time you see a chimpanzee, whether it be at a zoo or a sanctuary, try giving them a chimpanzee head nod or a playface (you’ll see these behaviors in the video). They will be elated to know someone out there speaks chimpanzee! And being submissive when the chimpanzees are displaying (as seen in THIS video), lets them know that we aren’t threatening them and that we are their friends. It can make a world of difference.
Challenge gift for a new window!
Anna K. is pledging to give $1000 towards a new chimp proof window if we can raise the remaining $1500 to cover the costs of installation. Come on blog readers!! All of us staff will tell you what a huge difference the window makes. It lets in so much more light and the chimps absolutely love it. There are a lot of windows in the playroom with caging that we could replace with clear chimp-proof glass. Imagine seeing Negra looking out at the valley without having to look through bars.
Share Anna’s challenge (below) with others and let’s see how quickly we can give the chimps another view!
From Anna:
Ok – I’m thinking grandly here. But sometimes if you have high aspirations, the universe surprises you by coming through! 🙂
One of the b-i-i-i-g things on CSNW’s wish list is another chimp-proof window. And it’s so heartwarming to see how much the chimps are enjoying the one they have – wouldn’t it be great if they could have another?!
It costs about $2500 total to acquire all the parts/materials/labor to install a chimp-proof window. I’d be willing to seed the pot with $1000. I’m wondering if there might be 15 folks out there each willing to throw in $100?
Any takers? Could we gather enough money by Christmas to collectively give the chimps another window this winter? If you’re interested in participating, please reply here in the blog or contact me off-line at kirchera at hotmail dot com.
Kudos and cyber-hugs will be freely distributed to partners in this venture – I’ve got my fingers crossed for another cage-less view of the world for the chimps!!
Holiday ideas
Need some holiday gift ideas for Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest? Below are just a few ideas that would make the humans’ and the chimpanzees’ lives wonderful in 2010:
1. Check out our amazon.com wishlist. Think buying paper towels is boring? We love getting supplies! It saves us a bunch. If you can get them cheaper elsewhere, just let us know what’s coming our way and we’ll update the amazon list. Also, if you want to do your own shopping on amazon anytime, click through our wishlist first and we’ll get a referral bonus at no extra cost to you.
2. Gift cards, especially for Costco. We were so lucky to have received several of these last year from Anna – they came in so handy! We bought everything from postage stamps to bananas.
3. Cash Donations. Every little bit helps and we rely on end-of-the-year generosity!
4. Check out our recently updated full wish list.
The Cle Elum Seven are really lucky to have amazing friends, so we have a good supply of blankets, stuffed animals and clothing right now. Thank you so much for being so generous!
Through The Looking Glass
Today was a really nice day, so I was able to give the chimps access to their Outdoor Enclosure and their Front Rooms while Elizabeth and I cleaned the Playroom. Almost everyone was playing outside at some point, and they were very interested in playing with us through the new glass window. This has been such a wonderful addition to the sanctuary. It must be SO nice to look out and not see bars! And they’ve created a very fun (and distracting!) new game to boot!
Thanksgiving Field Roast Dinner
As Elizabeth mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, the good people at Field Roast Grain Meat, Co. generously donated some vegan grain meat for the chimp’s Thanksgiving Dinner. Thanks so much Field Roast Grain Meat, Co.! The chimps really enjoyed it!