Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
One of my all time favorite views of the sanctuary is from the top of Young’s Hill. From this spot you can see the Cascade Mountains and the Yakima River. You can see extensive forests of pine trees as well as the hustle and bustle of cars and trains going by. If you are lucky, you can spot chimpanzees taking full advantage of this beautiful weather.
Chimpanzees like Missy
And Jamie
This post concludes the series on my first impressions of the Cle Elum 7. Last but surely not least, I get to write about Foxie chimpanzee. Jamie did not make this an easy photography session for me today. The boss kept insisting I model a selection of new cowboy boots that she just received. I walked at least 3 laps around Young’s Hill wearing her boots before I could sneak into the Playroom to see what Foxie was up to. What Foxie did next made my afternoon exceedingly better. She came down from her perch on the playroom catwalk and began to somersault, spin and do some “break-dance” like moves all around her enclosure. Intermittently, she would get large gulps of water from the spigot. These mouthfuls would serve as both hydration and playful ammunition that she would aim at my feet. There are so many challenges to taking photos of a chimpanzee that won’t stop running around doing flips. Foxie is a joy to be around!
Just after the chimpanzees had eaten lunch, I wondered into the greenhouse to find Annie, Negra and Missy napping on this cool afternoon. I had a mission to take photos of Annie because she and Foxie are my final “first impressions” blog candidates. Annie was doing some interesting yoga-like stretches that I wanted to photograph, but Missy had other ideas. She brought a small piece of stick over to me and pressed her shoulder against the caging for some grooming. She used the twig she had found to groom herself and I found a small tool to gently groom the arm she had presented. Meanwhile Annie was doing more yoga moves that I wanted to catch with my camera so I decided to try and split my time between grooming Missy and photographing her good friend Annie. Missy wasn’t sold on this decision. She moved over to Annie and received a much more attentive grooming. This was an excellent choice. While Annie may be low in the group’s hierarchy, she is high on the friendship scale.
Annie (right) grooms Missy (on the left).
Gentle Annie
After a summer full of heatwaves in Cle Elum, we’re greeting this week’s cooler temperatures (and even rain!) with open arms. Today the chimpanzees have been making the most of the break from the heat and spending lots of time outside on Young’s Hill. While adventure is great, it’s important to mix in some quiet time here and there. Here are my favorite portraits of the day.
Negra:
Missy:
Jody:
Jamie:
Foxie:
Burrito:
Annie:
We had a slight sprinkle of rain and a breeze as we put out the forage on Young’s Hill this afternoon. This seemed like appropriate weather for Negra to venture out and collect some tomato slices.
She quickly returned to the greenhouse where she enjoyed her bounty under an orange fleece blanket. This photo and the weather remind me that fall is just around the corner.
Negra reminds me of comfort. She has favorite foods, sleeping spots, and outdoor temperatures. An early morning ritual that caregivers enjoy with Negra is the wrist kiss and grass request. When temperatures are warm, we will usually find her sleeping under a blanket on the top platform in the greenhouse. She will usually greet us with a gentle kiss on the wrist (her prehensile lips extend outside the caging) and then immediately clap her hands. I learned early on that this was an appeal for a couple fresh sprigs of grass that are growing just beyond the chimpanzee’s reach. “Queen” Negra will munch on the grass and go back to bed where she waits in her nest for us to present her with an offering of peanuts. We have hopes that she will accept the offering and shift into the building so we can close off the greenhouse for cleaning. Negra knows what she likes and she sticks to it.
If you’ve been following the blog for awhile you are probably aware that we talk a lot about enrichment for the chimpanzees. Things for them to play with, nest with, investigate, use as tools, make projects with, encourage natural behaviors, or use for whatever comes to their minds. Even the best facilities for captive chimpanzees will never be able to fully replicate their natural lives in the wild. And chimpanzees, who experience the world in much the same way that humans do emotionally and intellectually, are going to get bored in captivity at some point, despite the best of care. Keeping their active minds busy and their days interesting is one of the biggest challenges we face as caregivers.
We provide a variety of items for the chimps each day and everything comes out each morning to be cleaned and is replaced with new items. For the humans, there are two enrichment calendars hanging in the chimp house, one for daytime enrichment and one for evening enrichment. Each day, thanks to Keri, our Enrichment Coordinator, notes a particular “theme” for the day and a particular food puzzle for the evening. For example for daytime enrichment it might be “trolls in socks” day, “yellow” day, or “garden” day. The themes are really a way for the humans to think outside the box and try to present the same things in a new and interesting way for the chimps.
The enrichment theme for today was “giant pile” meaning that after we cleaned the chimp house, we put their fresh blankets and enrichment for the day in a giant pile in the middle of playroom. The chimps each took turns collecting the items they wanted from the pile and went their way. Jody took her time and pulled together quite a array of items she needed to nest with. After choosing an armful of blankets, she found a paper bag and decided to make a lovely wadge as she looked out over the garden. A wadge is a ball of food or something fibrous that chimps like to place in their bottom lips to suck on.
Once Jody had her blankets and wadge situated, she chose the dolls she needed. She decided on two trolls and a Dora doll, sticking two in her pelvic pocket and carrying one. Then she headed upstairs to find a quiet corner to construct her nest.
But it can be precarious carrying all of that stuff upstairs and once Jody reached the loft, she dropped one of the trolls down below. Much to my surprise, she came all the way back downstairs, rescued the fallen baby, and decided while she was at it she should grab some more blankets. Then she headed back upstairs with another precarious load covering her head. It’s hard work gathering the perfect nesting accessories.
This afternoon I went in to shoot some photos of Burrito in the greenhouse. Instead of relaxing on a platform while I snapped a few photos, he immediately sauntered up to the caging (with a blue cup in his mouth) and initiated a game of tug with a plastic tube.
This presented a challenge in photography as it can be difficult to decently capture up-close images of a wily chimpanzee. I did my best though. My first impression of Burrito? Charming!
On a side note, this is a photo of Jody wearing a rainbow sock. Enjoy!
