Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
There is something about watching all the chimps run out the raceway and onto Young’s Hill in the morning that just fills your heart with joy. I mean how could it not! It is nice to know they get to look forward to things in their life whether they are big or small.
Missy:
Negra:
Burrito is a little excited to be outside with everyone:
Foxie running down the Hill:
Jody (middle) and Burrito (back) catching up to Foxie (front):
Annie:
Jamie:
Burrito:
The chimpanzees still don’t do much lounging on Young’s Hill. They spend quiet moments outside, to be sure, but it’s rare to see any of them just fully relax like they do when they’re indoors. Even when we’ve put out blankets, we haven’t seen them really nest.
Perhaps because they spent decades living indoors in laboratories without access to big open spaces, the outdoors seem to require more vigilance. I guess I feel the same way, come to think of it.
This morning, I did catch Foxie lying down way up high on the structure donors named “Jamie’s Lookout”.
You might notice that she’s still holding onto the ladder.
Even with this tether to security, you can tell that she is happy because she’s rubbing her big toe and second toe together – a classic and unique sign of happiness for Foxie.
Missy noticed Foxie in repose, and came over with a big playface. Then ensued a very short tickle/wrestle game (so short I didn’t capture a decent photo).
Missy then spied on J.B. who was with the cattle on the other property,
took a moment to sit next to the now upright Foxie,
and resumed her position on the other side of the lookout.
Foxie did some careful inspecting of the structural integrity of the platform before making her way back down.
When Anna opened the door to Young’s Hill this morning, the chimpanzees couldn’t get out there fast enough. It’s a crisp, sunny morning – the perfect weather for exploring outside with your friends.
Foxie, Annie (kissing Foxie’s hand), and Missy:
Negra, who usually prefers the warmth of her nest, got out and found a little snow to eat:
Annie soaked up the sun:
Missy:
Jody took in the view from her favorite spot:
Foxie’s priority was to lick as much frost as she could get her tongue on:
Burrito:
Jamie (with Annie in foreground):
Morning is the busiest time at the sanctuary. Here’s a photo tour of the first few hours of the day today.
Coming up the driveway to the sanctuary, you can see (L-R) the trailer that houses our mobile medical clinic (which will soon be replaced with a stationary medical clinic in the new expansion), the enrichment shed for storing extra toys and blankets for the chimps, the gate to the chimp house, and the barn, which is now used to store hay and straw for the cattle. Young’s Hill, the chimps’ two-acre outdoor habitat, is out of frame to the far left.
For the chimps’ safety and privacy, the sanctuary is not open to the public.
Today staff member Anna is Lead Caregiver.
The first order of the day is to greet the chimps and work through a brief morning checklist. (That’s Annie in the background.)
Meanwhile, volunteer Linda starts preparing breakfast.
This is usually how we find Negra first thing in the morning: huddled in a pile of blankets in her favorite spot on the playroom catwalk.
And this is usually how we find Burrito: working up into his morning display.
Anna checks the day’s enrichment for safety before it’s given to the chimps.
Anna and intern Rose check some doors and locks in preparation for entering the greenhouse for cleaning:
Linda, Rose, and intern Sofia start in the greenhouse…
…while Anna brings out a basket of clean enrichment and blankets.
These guys are the true MVPs of the sanctuary. They run every hour of the day.
When greenhouse cleaning is done, Anna gives the chimps access to the greenhouse, and Linda starts serving breakfast in the front rooms while Anna closes off the playroom for cleaning.
Burrito and Annie (if you look closely you can see a tiny Jody behind them in the greenhouse):
After some more door and lock checks, it’s time to clean the playroom.
Enrichment gets a thorough cleaning, too.
While Linda, Rose, and Sofia get started in there, Anna starts the trek up the hill for her Young’s Hill perimeter check…
…and back down the other side.
Once she determines that the hill is secure, she unlocks and opens the door.
Missy, Foxie, and Annie can’t wait to get out and explore a little.
Some chimps preferred to remain in the warm front rooms.
After playroom cleaning, Anna double-checks some locks…
…and then gives the chimps access to the playroom and closes off the front rooms for cleaning.
Jamie found a new book on predators that she was captivated by.
In the kitchen, the volunteers start preparing tonight’s evening enrichment (peanut butter pinecones) and lunch.
After some checks to make sure the front rooms are chimp-free, Anna unlocks them for the next round of cleaning…
It’s a beautiful, snowy day in Cle Elum, and the chimpanzees are cozying up in the warm playroom. I caught Jamie in the middle of making a nest (and doing some repair work on a wagon) in one of her favorite nesting spots.
Every chimpanzee deserves a territory – a home space worth defending. One measure of welfare in a captive chimpanzee is whether they demonstrate territorial behavior. If they take ownership over their home, that’s a sign that they consider it home.
Here at the sanctuary, boss Jamie does the work of defending her family’s home. Every day, often multiple times a day, in all weather conditions, day and night, Jamie takes perimeter walks around the two-acre outdoor habitat to make sure everything is on the up and up. Sometimes she brings friends, and sometimes she goes it alone.
Burrito, the one male chimpanzee at the sanctuary, is turning 36 tomorrow!
When describing Burrito, I wouldn’t be able to count how many times I have said his age and then inserted the caveat, “but he acts more like a teenager.”
When he arrived to the sanctuary in 2008 at age 26, even then he was well into adulthood; but his boyishness was apparent. Actually, it was apparent to me when I first met him at Buckshire.
Below are a few of the early photos we took of Burrito. There’s just something absolutely irresistible and, yes, cute, about this guy:
Don’t get me wrong, he is a chimpanzee and behaves accordingly. He has his Tasmanian devil moments (no slight or stereotyping of Tasmanian devils intended).
He still regularly spits on me when I’m operating doors, especially in the morning.
But often immediately afterwards he wants to play a game of chase or tug of war:
Burrito’s je ne sais quoi clearly reaches beyond those who are lucky enough to meet him in person – he has many fans, including official Chimpanzee Pals, out there. Being able to share Burrito’s youthful spirit is one of the very best parts of my job.
If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share the similar boyish charm of two other male non-humans at CSNW.
A few years ago, J.B. and I adopted a dog from Lady’s Hope Dog Rescue. He had been a stray and spent some time at a couple of different shelters before he caught the attention of Lady’s Hope. He was a handful for a variety of reasons, but he quickly started to remind me of Burrito in that boyish charm sort of way.
I mean, just look at this face:
This is what Wilson wants to be doing most of the time:
Coincidentally, Wilson was diagnosed with heart issues after Burrito’s diagnosis. They take some of the same medication. Thankfully, at this point, neither of them are symptomatic and likely have no idea that they have an illness.
Because J.B. and I occupy the house on the property, Wilson is a part of the sanctuary too. He and (even more likely) his canine companion and savior Abbey can often be seen in their yard by the house, checking in on who’s coming up the driveway and watching all of the goings-on across the property.
And now we have a third young male who lives at the sanctuary. We’re still getting to know Nutmeg, the one steer who is part of our new cattle family. Somehow, he also has this young-at-heart innocence that was immediately apparent and has won us all over.
He also has one of the greatest hairdos of anyone I’ve ever met:
Nutmeg dutifully ambles along after his mom Betsy, adoptive aunt Honey and more feisty cousin Meredith. Being a male born to a cow genetically bred for the dairy industry, he’s a big guy, but I don’t think he realizes his size.
I don’t know how we lucked out with these three or why they all have a similar enchanting youthful demeanor, but I sure am glad I know them.
I’ll end with a look back at a couple of videos that illustrate the easy task of enticing the silliness out of Mr. B.:
A big happy birthday to Burrito tomorrow! May your heart always remain young, and may you, Wilson, and Nutmeg continue to charm anyone who takes the time to get to know you.
