Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
This morning, new staff caregiver Anna showed up at the chimp house with a giant stuffed gorilla for the chimpanzees. Stuffed animals have a sad history at the sanctuary; the chimps tend to either ignore them or tear them limb from limb. Stuffed animals that resemble apes or monkeys, in particular, don’t often live long after the chimps get their hands on them.
So we were surprised and delighted by what transpired this morning…
After lunch is the laziest time of the day here at the sanctuary. The chimpanzees have a few hours between lunch and dinner, and they usually spend it in quiet pursuits like grooming, nesting, and napping. This afternoon we set up a lunch forage on Young’s Hill, and after all that activity and excitement, Jody was ready for a little solitary grooming.
After awhile, even grooming took too much energy and she settled in for a nap.
Burrito is a completely charming combination of man and boy. At times he is a typical male chimpanzee: blustery, macho, a whirling dervish. And at others he’s all little boy: sweet and playful and full of laughter.
Man:
Boy:
It is nearly impossible to satisfy Jamie. She has a mind that never sleeps; it needs constant stimulation. She demands a lot of her caregivers. When she’s bored – and captive chimpanzees are always in danger of boredom – she turns to us to entertain her. Most of the time, we are able to figure out what she wants, or to come up with an enrichment idea that keeps her busy for awhile. But sometimes we just don’t seem to be able to please her no matter what we do.
So it’s always a relief and a pleasure when we catch Jamie in a peaceful moment – relaxed, satisfied, and in need of nothing.
There is something endearingly childlike about Foxie. She is sweet (and sassy) and playful and full of joy. She sometimes stares deeply into her caregivers’ eyes, seemingly mesmerized. She loves her chimp family and wants everyone to get along.
One of the unfortunate aftereffects of the anesthetic drugs Burrito received for his exam last Friday is that his stomach has been a little upset. For a guy who normally loves food above all else, this is the ultimate cruelty.
Luckily for Burrito, and for all of us who love to watch him love his food, his nausea seems to have all but disappeared. Here he is enjoying his lunch this afternoon. Turn your volume up and listen for his periodic low moans of contentment.
Today is sponsored for the chimpanzees in memory of Bryan Riner by his wife Judy and son Dax. Judy says:
This day of sanctuary is in memory of my husband Bryan Riner. Bryan died on Thanksgiving Day 2014; today would have been his 76th birthday. Over the last two years of his life, he became greatly interested in chimpanzees after reading Roger Fouts’s Next of Kin. He had great respect, admiration, and love for each of the Cle Elum 7, and he immensely enjoyed following their exploits on your blog. And so today our family wishes to honor a wonderful husband and father and his seven favorite chimps – as well as all the staff and volunteers at CSNW who provide sanctuary to these amazing beings. Thank you.
Thank you Judy and Dax; we’re honored that you thought of the Cle Elum 7 on such an important day for your family!
