Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum Seven

Night bags

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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

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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.
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Sometimes she is hard to find on the hill; disappearing in the tall grass and bamboo.
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She did save one of the plants to bring back to the Greenhouse to enjoy out of the direct sunlight.
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Missy ran to the top of the hill to gather her plant snacks to bring back to the Greenhouse.
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Annie also harvested a wild plants from Young’s Hill today. This is the one she was after this morning.
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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

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Inspector Jody

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Jody often takes it upon herself to oversee the goings-on at the sanctuary. She wants everything to proceed as smoothly as possible. When we’re shifting the chimps to close off an area for cleaning, Jody sometimes hangs back in the doorway, ushering everyone through with an outstretched arm, and only going through herself when she’s confident that everyone else is accounted for. When the sanctuary is infiltrated by an unwelcome mouse or snake or squirrel, Jody is at the front lines of the war, bravely fighting for the safety of her chimp family.

While volunteer caregiver Becca was serving lunch to the chimpanzees in the greenhouse this afternoon, Jody was keeping a close eye on Young’s Hill. As soon as lunch was over, she ventured out and was on high alert. She was convinced that there was something of concern happening on the opposite side of the hill, but none of the other chimps seemed at all worried, and Jody didn’t seem to be able to work up the courage to go investigate on her own. Instead, she stood at a safe distance and monitored the situation.

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After a few minutes, she seemed reassured that no one was in immediate danger, and she retreated to the greenhouse for a well-deserved rest.

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Today is in honor of Hercules and Leo

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Danielle Gorshein in honor of the chimpanzees, Hercules and Leo. Danielle shared the following message about today:

“I am so inspired by the work of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. I have been a supporter for a while and recently read about two chimpanzee’s Hercules and Leo who are being held by SUNY Stony Brook in New York and there is work being done to free them. I feel terrible about this and sponsoring a day in honor of them is the least I can do. I am so happy you have a safe place for these special 7 to live out their days knowing what it means to be loved.”

Danielle, thank you so much for your compassion and desire to follow issues faced by our fellow primates! The case of Hercules and Leo is amazing and it’s thrilling to see such a shift and expansion in thoughts and attitudes occurring. We are so touched that you would think of the “Cle Elum Seven” in honoring Hercules and Leo today. We hold Hercules and Leo, and all those awaiting their life in sanctuary, in our hearts and minds.

You can learn more about the work of the Nonhuman Rights Project and the case of Hercules and Leo here.

May all beings awaiting their sanctuary one day soon have a world view beyond their wildest imagination:

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