Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Cle Elum

let’s hear it for the bovines

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If you are not in the mood to read words at the moment, watch the video above and scroll down for some photos.

Yesterday was my day to muck out the cattle barn and feed the bovine family.

The staff person assigned to “cattle care” for the day generally carries out this task after the morning duties in the chimp house – mainly serving the chimpanzees breakfast and doing a lot of cleaning.

J.B., Anna, Kelsi, and I got done with the chimp house cleaning pretty early, and I decided to finish up some donor thank yous before heading out to give the cattle their hay.

Because it’s winter, the cattle are given hay in their barn, which is on the side of the property where our home office is located. (side note: during the summer months they graze the pastures, helping with fire protection, and do not need supplemental hay.)

I tried not to look out the window too much, but I could feel them staring at me as I was finishing the thank yous. They are quite aware of the schedule and they are not shy to remind us when we are behind.

One funny thing – they had hay leftover from yesterday; they almost always do, but that does not matter. They want the new hay and they want it delivered on time.

Thank yous complete, I went to the old barn on the property and wrestled a half-opened bale of hay into our gator (utility vehicle). I was quite aware as I was struggling to do this that if anyone had been watching they may have thought I was attempting to perform some sort of slap-stick comedy routine; at one point I laughed out loud at myself.

I finally triumphed over the bale of hay and was able to deliver the good stuff to the bovines.

As Chad described earlier this week as part of wishing her a happy birthday, Honey is the sassiest of the bunch and does not put up with any nonsense from the humans. As they were all contentedly eating from the hay feeder, I went around to each one and pet them, even sneaking in a hug of sorts with Betsy and Nutmeg, who very graciously put up with my affection.

When I got to Honey, she looked at me askance. I touched her head gently and she flipped her head up to remove my hand. I did it again, and she repeated her head flip, but with a little less enthusiasm. And then, rather than backing away or trying to get me to back away, she returned to eating. This was progress in our slowly developing relationship, so I left it at that and left her in peace while I mucked the barn.

Four cattle leave a surprising amount to muck.

One other side note that might answer a question you have: we often use the term cattle or bovines because there are technically just three cows in the group: Honey, Betsy, and Meredith. Nutmeg is a steer (of formidable size but mostly gentle spirit), not a cow.

I finished up, luckily did not get the gator stuck in mud, and went back to the office after changing my shoes and jacket. Then I grabbed the mail to take to the post office.

As I was driving to town, I noticed that I smelled of hay and perhaps a bit of manure, and I thought to myself that this is why I love living where we do. No need to put on any airs, you know what I mean?

I reached up to scratch my head, a piece of hay fell into my lap, and my finger got stuck in what I quickly realized was smoothie.

I had served Mave, Willy B, and Honey B breakfast earlier. Honey B likes to hang on to her smoothie cup herself. She had stopped drinking from it and I reached for it, thinking she was done, and she proceeded to spit a mouthful of smoothie on my forehead. Honey B could also be described as sassy; maybe there’s something in the name.

So, for the second time that day, while all alone, I laughed out loud at myself.

What a very strange and enchanted life I have, going to the post office with chimpanzee-spit smoothie in my hair and smelling of cattle.

Truly, it is enchanted. Here’s that video which is also above. I took the first bit of this video last week and J.B. took the other clips today:

J.B. also got some great photos of Betsy and Meredith today:

Betsy (foreground) and Meredith behind her
Betsy in profile with her thick winter coat
Meredith
Betsy and Meredith with the neighbor’s horses in the background
gratuitous photo of handsome Willy B by J.B.
messy paper double chimpanzee nest found in the loft of the playroom this morning

 

Ellie / Buttons the Elk: Story and Update

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This post fulfills two things:
1) My long-held desire to present the tale of Buttons/Ellie the Elk as a children’s story
2) Answering your inquires from this post about what happened to our elk friend (scroll to the bottom of the story for that update)

Buttons The Magical Elk

Once upon a time, there was an elk who stood apart from her species.

She grew up an orphan, adopting humans as her herd. They named her Buttons.

She was a very curious elk and not easily frightened.

When she was about two years old, she wandered away from the farm where she grew up.

She discovered very interesting animals living at a property nearby.

Who would have guessed there was a chimpanzee sanctuary in the neighborhood?!

The chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest were curious about this new visitor and sometimes walked together around their outdoor habitat on opposite sides of the fence.

Jamie and Ellie bottom of Young's Hill

The humans at the sanctuary loved her. They called her Ellie, not knowing she had been named Buttons.

What a treat to have such an unusual companion!

She did cause quite a bit of mischief, however…

She wandered further and further away from her childhood home, finding more human friends in a nearby village, having many adventures, and causing more mischief.

She was an elk, after all. A large, powerful, wild animal.

Not a dog.

Nor a cat.

Nor a cow.

Her human friends worried about her future.

Shouldn’t she be with others of her kind?

One day, a small herd of wild elk passed through the sanctuary property. Her sanctuary human friends hoped Ellie would join them and discover the life of an elk. But, alas, Ellie ignored the other elk and stayed put.

Word of the magical elk traveled throughout the land, gaining the attention of officials who became concerned.

She was far too comfortable around humans, even those she did not know.

Something could go wrong. She could easily hurt someone. Someone could hurt her.

An officer in charge of wildlife decided it was finally time to find a new home for Buttons. But where?

Officer Scott knew there were elk nearby who stayed in one spot for the winter, so his team put Buttons on a trailer and moved her to this herd.

Some of her human friends in the village were very worried and even mad.

Why would they take Buttons away from her home and the people who loved her?

Her human friends at the sanctuary hoped for the best – the chance for Ellie to be an elk.

She didn’t know how to be an elk in such a big group, though. She stayed away from them and searched for a way out.

Officer Scott looked high and low for other options for Buttons. A place for her to be herself and be safe.

The sanctuary humans offered to keep her at the sanctuary, but knew that would mean she would be an elk of one and not able to wander far.

Officer Scott heard from the zoo over the tall mountains – they had a small group of elk and could take Buttons!

Buttons/Ellie had another chance to be an elk! There was even a male in the group, Goodwyn. How would Buttons react to a male of her species in a small group?

A year and a half later, the sanctuary humans asked the zoo humans how Buttons/Ellie was doing, and this is what they said:

The Roosevelt elk (cows Willow and Lily) hang out together and the Rocky Mountain elk (bull Goodwyn and Buttons) are seen mostly together. Buttons, now being the oldest of the cows, is the dominant female and enjoys pushing those young cows around. During this rut season, Goodwyn seems to direct his attention to Buttons (he’s had a vasectomy, so there will be no baby elk).

Buttons continues to be a blessing to keeper staff in her willingness to shift and engage with us. She loves her afternoon carrots and leaf eater biscuit “cookies.”

Even though Buttons was raised with people and interacted mostly with people, she certainly knows elk language and behavior, and is confident in our little herd.

Buttons had found her home. A place where she could be her mischievous self but also live with others like her.

The zoo humans even shared some beautiful photos of her at her Woodland Park Zoo home:

photo credit: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: John Loughlin/Woodland Park Zoo
photo credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo

 

Not long ago, as the sun was rapidly sinking, the sanctuary humans heard strange animal calls near the property. Sounds they had never heard before.

It was the loud cries of bull elk calling back and forth across the valley! The sanctuary humans rushed quietly up the hill, squinting to try to see in the dark.

When they got to the spot where Ellie used to walk on the other side of the fence with the chimpanzees, they heard heavy breathing and pounding hoofs and saw the shadowy figures of dozens of elk running through the woods.

They wondered if these elk were Ellie’s original family.

They wondered what her life would have been like if she had been able to stay in the wild.

But they know, like the chimpanzees they care for, that sometimes wild animals can’t go back to the wild.

Sometimes the happy ending isn’t perfect, but it’s still happy.

Celebrating World Animal Day… with Mediocre Haikus

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This past week has been warm, but the transition into autumn is unmistakable. The sun is setting earlier, the morning air is crisper, and the elk are passing through the valley as they migrate to their winter ranges.

Even if you’re not into drinking pumpkin spice lattes, harvesting your crops in a worn-out flannel, or listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors while walking through fallen leaves, this season’s potential silver lining is that it contains some great holidays.

Giving Day for Apes, Jamieween, Dia de Los Muertos, Native American Heritage Day, Election Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday… it’s always hard to pick a favorite! Of course, the best strategy is probably to cherish each one in its moment, just as we make the most of each passing season.

To kick things off, we honored today, October 4th, as World Animal Day. The first celebration of this holiday, which occurred in Germany in 1925, was chosen to honor the Catholic Saint Francis of Assisi who is regarded as a protector of nonhuman beings. In 1979, Pope John Paul II actually declared that Francis would also be the patron saint of the science of ecology, protecting the Earth’s fragile ecosystems. Rock on, St. Francis!

In celebration of this unique day, Chad and I thought it would be fitting to highlight our nonhuman friends: the cattle. Is there a better way to honor these bovine lawnmowers than with four amateur haikus, accompanied by some of my favorite seasonal photographs?

 

“Betsy”

Before the new grass

Look for her in the creek bed

In Nutmeg’s shadow

 

 

“Nutmeg”

Warm gentle giant

Mowing sanctuary lawns

Saxophones taste good

 

 

“Meredith”

Strolls the golden woods

Black mask over sweet nature

Real Jerseys have curves

 

“Honey”

Tan fur capped with frost

She awaits the alfalfa

Do not touch the horns

 

Happy World Animal Day, everyone!

Summery Sundays

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It was a scorcher today. With temperatures nearing the triple digits, everybody decided to take it easy today. Well, most of the day.

When we check the weather reports and find it’s going to be a hot one, the staff usually tries to complete our safety checks as soon as possible so the chimpanzees can go onto Young’s Hill before the sun goes into full effect.

Jody was the first one on the hill this morning, and she was super excited to be out there.

Look how piloerect she was.

She was so pilo, Annie thought something was wrong and went out to give her reassurance. But Jody was just really excited to be on the hill.

Though this may seem like an intimidating photo, Annie usually walks bipedally when she is on the hill and is a normal behavior for her. You can tell it was a peaceful interaction by identifying Jody’s relaxed lower lip.

Besides that brief period of excitement in the morning, the sun showed it’s force and everybody thought it was best to take it easy.

Willy B took a nap on his leopard print blanket.

While Mave decided the bench above him was the best spot.

The cattle even came by for their daily drink from the trough with Honey leading the way.

And I had to share this one because it looks like an album cover to a pop group. (L to R: Nutmeg, Honey, Betsy. Meredith was right behind them.)

At least some people were busy. The bumble bees were in full force, pollinating the vegetable and fruit plants growing in out vegetable garden.

One very specific plant in the garden the were near was our tomato plants, which are starting to bud.

I know this isn’t the case, but I like to believe they somehow know next week is Missy’s birthday! One can believe, can’t they?

I will leave you with the end of Jody’s Sunday with photos of her nesting.

Bonus photo of her when she moved her nest into another front room with Burrito.

I hope you all have a marvelous Monday tomorrow and great week!

It’s super hot outside.

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Well, maybe it’s not that hot.

Today’s temperature is actually only a few degrees above Cle Elum’s average for July, and we’ve had much hotter days recently with even more blistering heat ahead. Still, there was something about today’s weather that slowed everyone down by half and made the shady indoor areas feel twice as good.

The chimps spent most of the day alternating among the preferred indoor nesting spots in what seemed to be an odd game of “musical chimps.” The only exceptions were Jamie and Burrito, who made their caregivers playfully chase them for a few minutes at a time. Even they seemed a bit more subdued than usual, though, and each found some creative spots to hunker down for a prolonged afternoon siesta.

To make the chimps’ midsummer naps even sweeter, the staff set up the shiny new electric fans that were kindly donated via our Wish List. These fans may seem trivial, but they’re helping us to keep the chimps healthy. Although the data are still thankfully deficient, it seems likely that captive and free-living chimpanzees are susceptible to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. As we’ve mentioned on the blog, the sanctuary has been closed off from visitors and most volunteers and the essential personnel have been limiting their social interactions while wearing extra personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, scrubs, etc) around the chimps. We’ve also been trying to keep the building well-ventilated to help disperse any respiratory particles that we exhale, but it’s tough to keep such a large space open and cool (especially on days that lack the trademark winds of eastern Washington). Tomorrow, the ambient temperature is expected to approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the chimps will probably appreciate the gentle breeze created by the new appliances.

Here are some snapshots from today.

Annie
Burrito
Foxie
Jamie
Jody (left), Jamie (center) and caregiver Katelyn (right) hang out in front of the fan. Katelyn also used a small handheld fan to help Jamie cool off.
Missy
Negra
Nutmeg
Willy B

Raspberry Days

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There are many reasons to love summers in the Pacific Northwest. One of my favorites is something that the chimpanzees also enjoy: an abundance of native berries to snack on.

The raspberry bushes that flank the Chimp House are not new. They were planted many moons ago and have been maintained by dedicated staff and volunteers in the years since. Each summer, the chimps (and humans) seem to get more excited about them. It’s justified, because they’re the most delicious raspberries that I have ever had the privilege of tasting. I’d bet that the chimpanzees feel the same way.

Today, Jamie was especially insistent that humans should be harvesting raspberries and giving her the bounty. If you’re curious how Jamie communicates her demands, I recommend looking at Anna’s post from last summer. Today, Level III volunteer Lisa filled a stainless bowl with the prized berries and then served a handful to the chimps, including the moderately-patient Jamie. They were all thrilled, and we had plenty left over to make raspberry smoothies tomorrow morning. As Diana wrote a few years ago, we make sure that the chimpanzees are provisioned with healthy, unprocessed, species-appropriate foods like fruit, greens and legumes. As we grow larger and need to buy most of our produce in bulk for the chimps, it’s nice to know that there are seasonal treats nearby that the chimps can enjoy for nutrition and novelty.

Lisa, following our health and hygiene protocols, sported gloves, scrubs, and a mask while handling food and enrichment today. All personnel who work around the chimps have to do so with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to prevent the exchange of viral pathogens between us and them. With COVID-19 potentially affecting captive and free-ranging apes, we have elevated our standard hygiene practices and dramatically reduced the amount of personnel present at the sanctuary each day. Normally, the raspberry patch would be a flurry of activity throughout the day as chatty groups of volunteers and interns lazily harvest in the sunshine. Because of our restrictions, however, we must find other ways to complete all the essential tasks with just a handful of personnel.

One permanently-essential task, of course, is play. This afternoon, after Lisa finished handing out fresh raspberries to all the chimps, Foxie coyly suggested that they should vigorously chase each other down the hallway. Foxie kept running from the Playroom into the front rooms and back again, pausing only to pass Lisa a doll, do a twirl, and zoom away again. Foxie, of course, relished a raspberry all the while.

The chimps don’t seem to have any sympathy for us caregivers who have to sprint around the building wearing cloth masks, scrubs and heavy boots, but it’s okay. I don’t think any of us mind breaking from our chores to pick raspberries and hang out with playful chimps.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Jersey Cows

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It was a chilly morning, smothered by gray clouds and filled with incessant wind.

The chimps did not seem excited when I opened the gateway to Young’s Hill, and they sneered as the wind lashed their faces and caused the prairie grasses to whip around them. Soon, they had all retreated back to the warm security of the Greenhouse. Inside, they used blankets and other enrichment items to make elaborate nests.

Jamie
Annie
Jody
Negra

All seemed to be subdued by the weather. The exception, of course, was Burrito. As Diana demonstrated in yesterday’s blog and video, Bubba’s appetite for play has been insatiable. This morning, he stomped around the Playroom and Greenhouse while clutching a decapitated doll.

The clouds eventually dissipated and the landscape began to feel warmer around midday. As we normally do on Sunday afternoons, I stayed in the building to write the blog while Chad hopped on the Gator and took care of the cattle. When he came back to the Chimp House about thirty minutes later, he appeared frazzled. Although I was hesitant to ask, I inquired “How are the cows today?”

Chad caught his breath and recounted his tale. Apparently, after mucking the barn and refilling the water troughs, he had trouble locating the cattle to give them their daily fly treatment. He drove all over the property with the Gator, growing more frantic with each empty pasture, until he was on the verge of sending a radio transmission for backup. He began to fear that the cattle had escaped (which wouldn’t be the first time one of us had that thought).

Just as he was about to call Katelyn and I to join him in the search for four missing Jerseys, he saw movement down in the wetlands. Sure enough, hidden in the thick vegetation that grows along a seasonal creek bed between the pastures, Chad found Betsy, Honey, Meredith and Nutmeg. The cattle had not escaped, but they were remarkably camouflaged.

I found this story amusing, but was also obviously relieved to know that the cattle were safe. A few minutes later, I grabbed the sanctuary’s camera and trudged up the hill to take some photographs of the intrepid bovines. Honey had climbed out of the ravine and appeared to be on high alert as she watched me approach. (Honey is the ultimate skeptic.) Betsy and Meredith were grazing together in the shady areas beneath the Ponderosa pines, and Nutmeg was still browsing in the muddy creek.

Going into the vegetation to forage is nothing new (e.g., J.B.’s photo of Nutmeg from Friday), but we’re still constantly amazed by how wild the cattle have become despite their commercialized past.

Honey
Honey
Betsy and Meredith
Honey
Meredith and Betsy
Nutmeg (down in the creek)
One of the ponds (located below the creek)