Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum 7

Important Rituals

by

Jamie has trained her caregivers well. She has created an entire routine centered on her many-times-a-day perimeter walks around Young’s Hill, and her human friends are required to participate in this routine fully. (For a video of the entire process from start to finish, see this post.)

After a perimeter walk, she usually meets her walking partner in the greenhouse, where she gives him or her a thorough grooming. Jamie leaves no stone unturned.

web_Jamie_use_tool_groom_staff_caregiver_Keri_hand_GH_ek_IMG_4101

web_Jamie_use_tool_groom_staff_caregiver_Keri_wrist_GH_ek_IMG_4103

web_Jamie_use_tool_groom_staff_caregiver_Keri_elbow_GH_ek_IMG_4106

web_Jamie_use_tool_groom_staff_caregiver_Keri_knee_GH_ek_IMG_4109

web_Jamie_use_tool_groom_staff_caregiver_Keri_shoe_GH_ek_IMG_4110

When she’s satisfied with her work, she asks us to put the boot we wore on our walk up against the caging so she can groom that.

web_Jamie_staff_caregiver_Keri_hold_boot_against_caging_GH_ek_IMG_4114

After this, Jamie’s done with us for the time being, and we get a short reprieve before we’re summoned to repeat the process from the beginning.

Today is for Shaun Brinsfield

by

Tracy and Bruce sponsored today for the chimpanzees in honor of their friend Shaun Brinsfield, who introduced them to the chimps and the sanctuary years ago. Shaun, we can’t thank you enough for spreading the word about the Cle Elum Seven – you never know who’s going to connect with these amazing individuals and change their lives for the better. Though the chimps can’t possibly know how many thousands of friends they have across the world, we do our best every day to make them feel it as much as possible. They’re so lucky to have you – Shaun, Tracy, and Bruce – in their corner!

Jamie is feeling the love:

web_Jamie_lie_in_blanket_nest_wear_boot_from_volunteer_Becca_look_at_camera_PR_ek_IMG_2776

Night bags

by

Chimpanzees can be loud. When they’re calm, they’re silent, but as soon as there’s any excitement in the group, you’ll hear a chorus of pant hoots or food grunts or screams.

Nothing says excitement at the sanctuary like meal time. In addition to the usual food grunts and food squeaks, you might hear attention-getting sounds like Foxie blowing raspberries, Burrito banging the caging, or Negra clapping her hands imperiously to tell the meal server to kindly hurry up.

But the after-dinner night bags we serve each evening have a way of bringing peace and quiet to the scene. As soon as everyone has their night bag, silence descends, and the only thing you hear is the crunching of the nuts and seeds. This is my favorite time of day.

In search of the perfect snack

by

Can we all agree that we love snacks? I mean, fresh fruits, vegetables, smoothies and primate chow is usually enough to elicit foot grunts and high pitched food squeaks from the Cle Elum Seven. But, come spring, the chimpanzees tend to head out to Young’s Hill specifically to find wild plants (and bamboo) to snack on.

In the wild, chimpanzees are known to spend between 6 to 8 hours foraging for food each day. The amount of time varies during the seasons, depending on when fruits are ripe and how far apart the food resources are. And although chimps are primarily frugivores (fruit-eaters), they do supplement with leaves, buds, flowers, bark, seeds, roots, insects and occasionally meat. JB’s blog in mid May describes in more detail some of the plants these chimps gather from Young’s Hill, their 2 acre outdoor enclosure.

This morning, Negra made her way out toward the middle of Young’s Hill before sitting down to snack.
web_Negra_backside_walk_up_YH_kh_IMG_2101

web_Negra_walk_tall_grass_bamoo_YH_kh_IMG_2107

Sometimes she is hard to find on the hill; disappearing in the tall grass and bamboo.
web_Negra_top_head_exposed_tall_grass_bamboo_forage_plants_YH_kh_IMG_2116

web_Negra_sit_tall_grass_bamboo_YH_kh_IMG_2122

She did save one of the plants to bring back to the Greenhouse to enjoy out of the direct sunlight.
web_Negra_eat_wild_plant_sit_platform_GH_kh_IMG_3813

Missy ran to the top of the hill to gather her plant snacks to bring back to the Greenhouse.
web_Missy_bipedal_forage_wild_plant_in_mouth_YH_kh_IMG_2114

Annie also harvested a wild plants from Young’s Hill today. This is the one she was after this morning.
web_Annie_forage_plants_mouth_profile_YH_kh_IMG_2099

Each of the chimps spent time on Young’s Hill today. And each time I saw them come back to the Greenhouse with more plants. It’s wonderful that these chimpanzees have the outdoor space to display some of their natural behaviors, including foraging for wild plants.

New Adventures for Negra

by

The Negra we know so well is happiest when snuggled up with a pile of blankets. She likes warmth and comfort and predictability, and avoids unnecessary exertion. You would not call her adventurous. She usually looks like this:

web_Negra_lie_down_blanket_nest_platform_look_at_camera_GH_ek_IMG_3459

But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees, it’s this: Never assume you’ve got someone figured out. Seven years after arriving at the sanctuary from the research lab, these chimps are still changing, growing, and surprising us.

Over the last few days, Negra has established what looks to be a new routine for herself. After lunch, she marches confidently outside, walks all the way to the top of Young’s Hill, and stations herself in the tall grass to munch on some wild plants.

web_Negra_sit_alone_in_green_grass_near_top_of_hill_eat_plants_YH_ek_IMG_3419

This may not seem remarkable, but for Negra, it’s huge. She is not an outdoors person. She doesn’t like wind or rain or too much sun or too little sun. She has always been uneasy in the wide open spaces of Young’s Hill, and she prefers to stay near the bottom of the hill next to the chimp house so she can rush inside to safety at a moment’s notice. She must feel very small out there.

web_Negra_sit_green_grass_bamboo_YH_ek_IMG_3409

It’s hard to say what accounts for Negra’s newfound serenity, but we hope it’s just the first step toward her world opening up a little more.

web_Negra_sit_in_green_grass_YH_ek_IMG_3430