If you follow our blog regularly, you might get the impression that the chimpanzees are always up to something. And they do spend a lot of time playing, eating, grooming, and exploring. But they also enjoy downtime.
Cle Elum 7
Bubbles
Once in awhile we make bubbles for the chimps with a small drop of non-toxic dish soap. They seem to like how the bubbles feel in their mouths.
After Hours
After dinner each day, most of the chimps grab their blankets and bed down for the night.
Jody:
Negra:
But for Jamie, the day is just getting started.
Jamie likes to be in control. It’s hard to say whether this is a result of spending decades in a research lab where she was absolutely powerless, or whether this would have been her personality regardless of the circumstances she was born into, in which case it’s even sadder to imagine her stuck in a cage with no choices and no control over her life.
But not to worry; Jamie is making up for lost time. One of the ways she exerts her newfound power is by keeping the staff at work after hours. Before we go home each night, we close the door to Young’s Hill and make sure all the chimps are safe inside the building. As long as the door to Young’s Hill remains open, the staff are required to stay at the chimp house. Jamie is aware of this policy and will often run at top speed to throw her body into the doorway to prevent us from closing the door. This serves the dual purpose of buying her extra time outside in the evening, as well as extra time with her human friends/minions.
Until recently, Jamie has been the only one to take advantage of this “loophole.” She will keep her caregivers at work until 9 or 10pm some evenings, while the other chimps are snoozing away inside. But this summer Jamie has had some company during her after hours adventures. The other chimps are starting to see the appeal of warm, peaceful summer evenings outside.
Burrito:
Annie:
Year Four
In celebration of CSNW’s 8th Anniversary, we are taking a trip down memory lane. Today we look back on the chimpanzees’ fourth year at the sanctuary.
By the beginning of Year Four, we had a long-standing dream of expanding the sanctuary and giving the chimpanzees a spacious, open-air outdoor habitat, unlike anything they had experienced in their lives.
Young's Hill – The Dream from Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on Vimeo.
By the summer of 2011, thanks to help from supporters Karen and Don Young and so many others, Young’s Hill was nearing completion.
The chimpanzees were able to watch the construction from the greenhouse, but it’s hard to say what they thought of it. We hoped that they knew it was for them. They were certainly curious.
As the big day approached, we all tried to predict how the chimps would react to the door to Young’s Hill being opened for the first time.
For most of them, this would be the first time in their long lives that they would feel grass under their feet and have an unimpeded view of the sky above. We guessed that they would probably be too apprehensive to stay outside for long on the first day, and that some of them would likely be too afraid to venture out at all.
We should have known not to underestimate them.
On the day that the door to Young’s Hill was opened for the first time, all of the chimpanzees showed astonishing courage by stepping eagerly into the great unknown. Watch video of their exhilarating first moments outside. It was an emotional day for the chimps and for all the humans who love them.
The opening of Young’s Hill set off a series of firsts for the chimpanzees that year. It was the first time they were sharing a habitat with other creatures, and they had to deal with a lot of strange noises.
Having lived in indoor or partially-indoor enclosures for their entire lives, they had never fully experienced weather or seasons. On Young’s Hill they encountered sun, wind, rain, and snow.
Despite their burst of courage and adventurousness on the first day, not everyone felt immediately at home outside. We saw the more confident chimps support and encourage the more hesitant individuals.
We all got chills seeing the chimps behave like a wild troop for the first time, now that they had a territory to patrol.
And we continued to be amazed as they stretched their legs and their horizons.
A Big, Joyful Day
We have a lot to celebrate today! Negra is turning 43, and it has been eight years to the day since the Cle Elum Seven stepped off the transport trailer and into their new home at the sanctuary. (If you haven’t already, check out Diana’s thoughts in this morning’s blog post here.) I think these photos from today’s celebration paint a pretty good picture.
Burrito:
Missy:
Foxie:
Jody:
Annie:
Jamie:
Jamie had an especially good day. At this year’s Hoot! gala, we auctioned off two pairs of fabulous white cowboy boots, procured and donated by auctioneer and friend of the sanctuary Laura Michalek. Maryam Salt, the winning bidder, is now the proud owner of one of the pairs, while the other is for Jamie, our resident boot enthusiast. Jamie was beyond thrilled when we presented her with this gift today. Thanks so much to Laura and Maryam!
As for the birthday girl, she has had a pretty perfect day. She partied hard:
Then rested up afterwards:
And later explored her wilderness:
Introducing the Database of Chimpanzee Enrichment!
The unfortunate reality for all chimpanzees that face captivity (even ones in a high-quality sanctuary) is that captive life can be boring. Chimpanzees are highly intelligent and active primates, and the truth is that no enclosure could possibly replicate the constant changes and choices that free-living situations provide. Another unfortunate reality is chimpanzees that have grown up in captivity cannot be returned safely to the wild where they belong. It is for this reason that sanctuaries exist, to give captive chimpanzees as many choices and enhancements in their lives as possible, while still keeping them safe, so that they can enjoy their lives in peace and comfort.
Caregivers at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are always working towards improving the quality of physical and psychological stimuli that we have to offer the Cle Elum 7. We provide a variety of environmental enrichment to challenge their bodies and minds and we are always looking for more ideas. Today we wanted to announce our newest foray into the world of enrichment project sharing, the Database of Chimpanzee Enrichment!
Several months ago we started building a database tool for chimpanzee caregivers around the world to be able to browse our enrichment activities. However, simply compiling and sharing our ideas is not the end of the road! Not only will online visitors be able to see and learn about the types of enrichment that CSNW uses, but we also hope to be able to learn from and share the enrichment of other facilities over time. We have a couple of guidelines for submitting enrichment ideas to us so please visit this link if you are interested in contributing.
Everyone should feel free to peruse this database at their leisure, adding comments or questions at the bottom of each enrichment post. Please also share this blog post on social media to help get the word out! Hopefully, this collaborative effort will lead to an open dialogue about enrichment and help enhance and improve the lives of captive chimpanzees everywhere.
So without further adieu, we bring you the Database of Chimpanzee Enrichment!
You can also find it by visiting our website https://chimpsnw.org/ and scrolling over the About Us tab or typing http://enrichment.chimpsnw.org/ into your address bar.
Happy browsing!
Self-Care
We’ve been asked how the chimpanzees keep their nails short. For most of them, it’s the result of normal wear and tear, but Jamie has her own technique.
