Occasionally we offer the chimpanzees some sugar-free gum as a treat. Some of them swallow it right away, but Foxie likes to savor hers.
Cle Elum
Rainy Day? Time to Play
It’s a gray, rainy day in Cle Elum but Foxie and Jamie are keeping themselves entertained inside. (Make sure your volume is up for some great breathy chimp laughter starting around 0:40.)
The Simple Things
Savoring a creamy avocado next to a sunny window must be one of life’s greatest pleasures, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving than sweet Annie.
The Lost Photos
Many of the photos we take of the chimpanzees each day never make it onto the blog. Here are a few that I’ve taken in the last couple of weeks that I just found hiding on the hard drive.
Jamie:
Burrito:
Annie:
Jody:
Negra:
Speaking of photos you may have missed, the 2017 CSNW Calendar is now available in our online store! Here’s a sneak peak:
If you’re as smitten with these chimps as we are, don’t pass up the opportunity to look at their amazing faces every day of the year!
The Boss Goes Solo
Jamie is one of the bossiest people I’ve ever met. She holds the alpha position here at the sanctuary, but even for a dominant chimpanzee, she is a force to be reckoned with. She runs a tight ship; both the humans and the other chimpanzees at the sanctuary know better than to get on her bad side. After decades of powerlessness in research labs, Jamie seems determined to have things her way for once.
But Jamie is not a confident leader by any means. In fact, it seems to be her insecurity that causes her to overcompensate. She would probably earn a lot more genuine respect from the other chimps if she loosened the reins a little.
One of Jamie’s most important jobs as boss is to make sure her home is safe from intruders. She knows every time a volunteer arrives for a shift. She knows every time the UPS truck pulls up. She knows what the neighbors are doing.
Like her wild counterparts, Jamie goes on patrol regularly to check the perimeter of her habitat. She does this anywhere from twice to over a dozen times a day. She almost always requests that a caregiver go with her; she seems to just like the company, but it’s also likely that she’s a little nervous to go alone.
Lately, though, we’ve seen Jamie braving it on her own more and more. While we will always love walking with her, nothing beats seeing a strong, determined chimpanzee slowly become a strong, determined, confident chimpanzee.
What We Do For Love
If you want to be a chimpanzee caregiver, it’s best to leave your pride at the door. We find ourselves doing all kinds of ridiculous things to entertain the chimps. Foxie thinks it’s hilarious to pass us one of her dolls and watch us dance.
Chimpanzee-Caregiver Interactions
For everyone’s safety, humans have very little physical contact with the chimpanzees at the sanctuary. We are always separated by caging, chimp-proof glass, or electric fence. Staff and a select group of volunteers who have gone through extensive safety training are permitted to have what we refer to as protected physical contact with the chimps. Here are just a few of our safety rules outlined in the training packet for Level III volunteers (the only volunteers permitted to interact with the chimps):
Never let your fingers or any other part of your body penetrate the caging.
Never lean on the caging with any part of your body.
Never put yourself in a position where a chimpanzee is able to pin or grab you. Pay attention to where your body is in relation to the caging at all times. Remember that the chimpanzees can grab clothing, hair, hoods, scarves, shoelaces, etc.
Never take your eyes off the chimpanzee you are serving or interacting with. At the same time, use your peripheral vision to monitor all other nearby chimpanzees.
We consider the chimps our friends, but they are wild animals, and they are powerful and unpredictable. We take these, as well as our many other, safety rules very seriously. In this video you’ll a see a few of the different types of contact interactions that trained caregivers have with the chimpanzees.
