Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Jamie got a new pair of boots today. She has a pretty consistent new-boot ritual that I love watching. After we give her the boots, she walks around and gathers blankets and other materials for a nest. She sets the boots aside momentarily while she gets her nest situated.
Once everything is in its place, she can devote the necessary time to inspecting the boots closely.
All of the chimpanzees have been in a playful mood today despite the rain. Shortly after arriving this morning, I spotted Missy and Annie playing chase in the loft and along the catwalk areas of the playroom. I could hear the echos of them foot stomping on the floor and their breathy pants (laughter) as they chased each other back and forth. Then I caught a glimpse of Burrito and Foxie playing chase between the playroom and front room areas. I watched for a bit, while still listening to the echos of foot stomps coming from the loft area. I thought Missy and Annie were still playing chase, but these stomps and laughter weren’t coming from the two of them. Instead, they were coming from Negra and Jody who were also busy playing on the catwalk.
It’s always nice to see Negra in a playful mood. She was also very excited for the kale forage we put in the playroom after cleaning.
This afternoon, volunteer caregiver Sandra was hanging out with Jamie in the greenhouse when she called me over the radio to let me know Burrito was sunbathing, in case I wanted to come out and snap some photos for the blog. As usual, Burrito was unable to lie still for long once he sensed there was a human in the vicinity who might be enticed to play. See the end of this post for an adorable series of photos.
Speaking of the word “adorable,” we try to be careful with how we present the chimpanzees to people who follow the sanctuary. Much of what we share on this blog is happy and lighthearted. We love to share video of a great play session, or photos of the chimpanzees peacefully grooming one another or basking in the sunshine. And these are all things that chimps do. But chimps are also immensely powerful, intelligent, curious, willful, unpredictable, and at times, violent. We never want to give the impression that we view the chimpanzees as babies, or that we view them as harmless.
CSNW is run on a complex system of security protocols and safety rules that are based on the knowledge that chimpanzees are capable of doing great harm in the right (or wrong) circumstances. Volunteers are trained to treat the chimpanzees as equals; to offer them the same respect they offer fellow humans.
Respecting the chimps for who they are means being aware of and appreciating all aspects of their personalities. Jody may poke us one minute and offer us a kiss the next. Jamie may put on an intimidating dominance display, and then come over and gently groom our boots. Just like humans, chimpanzees are complex and multi-faceted.
So when I say that Burrito is adorable, I am not intending to take anything away from the strong, smart, sometimes aggressive adult male chimpanzee that he is. But in addition to those things, he is undeniably cute. I think there’s plenty of room in one person for all sorts of contradictions.
Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Jennifer Humphreys in honor of her family, “Team Humphreys.” Jennifer is a former volunteer of ours and helped us and the chimpanzees out a lot while she was here attending Central Washington University. She shared that she wants to sponsor this day as a gift for both the chimps and her dad, Jan, her mother, Carol, and her siblings, Kelli, Elizabeth, Heather, Geoff, Greg, Brian, and Kyle. Today also happens to be her mother’s birthday!
Jennifer, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees and continuing to make a difference in their lives in honoring your family today!
And Carol, we hope you have the happiest of birthdays surrounded by loved ones and doing all the things you most enjoy!
A lot of time, energy and thought go into building and maintaining friendships. Usually, there is an undeniable connection when first meeting one another; a sort of intrigue about what the other is all about. As time goes on and more energy is put into the relationship, more and more details of each individual are realized and a deeper connection forms. And the bond grows stronger, as one another figures out what makes the other tick. These lasting friendships help shape our lives.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to build friendships with the Cle Elum 7. Some of the friendships are low key, like with Annie, Jody, and Negra. Usually a morning greeting (consisting mostly of some head nodding and an arm extended toward the chimps) will suffice. One friendship demands more play time than the others, including chase and tug-of-war. This is often the case with Burrito. Foxie expects me to take care of her troll and dora dolls when she passes them through the cage to me. There is also the expectation that I will pass them back to her too. Quiet grooming sessions with Missy help maintain our friendship. Without a doubt, there is one friendship that takes the most time, effort and thought. Jamie demands me to be her friend; demands me to put on that boot (or boots) and take countless walks around Young’s Hill with her. She also demands that I sit with her afterwards with the boot so she can groom it.
As a caregiver, I want what is best for each of these chimpanzees. I don’t mind the expectations, demands or work that these friendships take. I truly love to see them happy and I want what is best for them, as I would for any friend. Just a few days ago, I couldn’t help but notice the sweet smell of violets in the air as I was working in my yard. Instantly, the chimpanzees popped into my head; flowers are great enrichment for them. These chimpanzees like to eat lilacs, nasturtiums, grape leaves and violets to name a few. So, I picked what violet flowers we had and put them out as part of a forage this morning along with lettuce and today’s enrichment, which was enrichment-in-boxes day. Thinking that the flowers are the first flowers of the season, I thought the chimps would be excited.
I guess I was right, if you count them eating all of the lettuce first, followed by going through all of the boxes of enrichment, then going out into the greenhouse and then spending time on Young’s Hill before coming back in to snack on a few flowers. At least they liked two out of the three!
Here’s a photo of the lettuce and violet forage.
Negra was most interested in the lettuce, while Annie checked out the contents of the box.
Missy was more interested in the contents of the boxes of enrichment than anything else.
Can you spot the flying sock?
And Jamie was most interested in the boxes themselves.
Annie was content to sit on the floor and drink from the fountain after checking out a few of the boxes.
I’m forever grateful to call these chimpanzees my friends.
For the first time in their lives, the Cle Elum Seven live in a place where the humans do all the work, while they spend their days however they please. Nothing is expected of them other than to be chimps. Occasionally the chimps enjoy watching us while we work, but the majority of the time they’re off doing their own thing, and are supremely unconcerned with our aching muscles and tired minds. Exactly as it should be.
Today volunteer caregiver Becca delivered about a dozen boxes of donated produce (courtesy of the generous folks at Darwin’s Natural Pet Products) from Seattle. Becca and staff caregiver Keri went to work processing the produce right away.
Meanwhile, the chimpanzees were doing what they do best.
Negra:
Annie:
Jody:
Foxie:
Today is a gorgeous spring day with clear skies, the temperature is in the mid-60s, and everyone is in a great mood. It seemed like a great day for a picnic, so we set up a forage outside and everyone—including fair-weather gal Negra—ventured out for their lunch.
When they’re not outside, the chimps have been relaxing in the greenhouse mostly, but Jamie popped into the front rooms to get a good look out the window to see what JB and Diana’s dogs were up to (they’re enjoying the weather, too!)
I was able to take some photos of the boss in this calm moment. She was happy to let me do so, as long as I promised to show her the photos afterwards. She watched as I flipped through the photos on the camera screen—I took a couple dozen, at least! Once she was satisfied she returned to the greenhouse.
These are the best photos out of the bunch that I took:
