Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cle Elum

Burrito’s Charm

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Burrito is pretty irresistible. He also tends to be a bit shy at times. When he is feeling playful he will often initiate play with his caregivers by biting on a toy or a firehouse as he shyly looks in our direction. If he is feeling particularly playful he will add a foot stomp and a head nod in for good measure. One of my favorite moments is when I go out to the greenhouse to see what the chimps are up to and upon first sight, Burrito grabs something to bite on, stomps his foot at me and takes off running for a game of chase, laughing all the way.

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A Few of Negra’s Favorite Things

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Two of Negra’s favorite things are looking out over the view of the valley and eating fresh, spring grass.  It fills us with delight this spring to find Negra feeling more and more comfortable venturing outside onto Young’s Hill, often all on her own.  Despite being the middle of spring, we have been surprised by snow showers the past couple of days here in Cle Elum.  As a result Negra was very reluctant to get out of bed this morning and I can’t say that I blame her.  At one point I caught her looking out her window at the heavy snow showers and pulling the blanket back over her head.  It took JB reminding her that another favorite of hers, peanuts, were on the menu before she decided to join everyone for breakfast.  Thankfully it didn’t take long for both the sun, and Negra, to come back out again.

web Negra eat grass log bridge YH IMG_5892

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Kittitas County Fire District #1 visits the chimps

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Today we were pleased to have Kittitas County Fire District #1 from Thorp stop by the sanctuary to visit with the chimps. The crew, along with Kittitas County Fire District #7 (whom we hope to also have out someday soon), were the first to respond on the sanctuary property the day of the Taylor Bridge Fire. We were super happy to have them out again, this time on a much calmer note. The chimps were pretty enriched by their fancy Nomex wildland garb!

Jamie was especially interested in all the boots

And Jody came over and gave them all a very friendly greeting. I think she was charmed by all the men with facial hair. 😉

We’ll never be able to express to this crew how much they mean to us and how much we appreciate the hard work these and all of the firefighters did to help contain the Taylor Bridge Fire. You guys will always be heroes in our book!

“My” cozy nest

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Annie made a cozy nest this morning in the greenhouse. She was so content there, she had no interest in going out on the hill while other chimps were headed out. Instead, she watched them explore from the comfort of her bed.

But after she abandoned her nest, Jamie decided it was the perfect place to take a nap.

Hugs and kisses

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Burrito was a bit nervous going out on Young’s Hill today- most likely because before Friday, due to the Taylor Bridge Fire, the chimps hadn’t been out there in nearly three weeks. As soon as he got out there, he stood bipedally and his hair was pilo erect (standing on end), both signs that he was a bit worked up or aroused. But Foxie and Missy both reassured him that everything was safe.

Burrito trying to steal a hug from Foxie, who was walking by right after the door to the hill was opened:

who then hugged him back as a way to calm him down. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that Burrito is fear grimacing (aka- showing all of his teeth. This facial expression looks much like a human smile, but is usually a sign of fear or intense excitement).

Still a bit nervous, he approached Missy with a bent wrist. A bent wrist is a submissive gesture and often an effective way to gain reassurance from a more dominant individual. He has a large fear grimace in this photo.

Later, seeing that Burrito was still nervous, Missy approached him, breathy panted and gave him an open mouth kiss, again letting him know that all was okay.

He eventually settled down and got busy doing what he does (and loves) best- foraging for chow.

Business as usual?

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Today, for the first time in a week, has been pretty calm around here. No fires, no firefighters, no smoke, clear skies, and cooler weather. It’s far from over in our minds and flare ups can happen any time, but so far so good. We’ll take it!

As tough as the Taylor Bridge Fire has been for us humans to process, the chimps have been champions. They have been eerily quiet at times over the last week and have occasionally been caught just staring out the window watching helicopters and firefighters– especially Annie, Jody, and Foxie. I have had several moments similar to the one Sarah described last week between her and Jody, where as soon as the chimps get the “okay” from us, they go right back to business as usual– which is usually play! Late last week, I watched Missy go around to every single person in the greenhouse engaging them in play, including Jody, who is not usually all that playful. Missy is always playful, but I have been thinking of her behavior this week as her own personal coping mechanism- keep everyone happy so you don’t have to think about the craziness going on outside.

I’ve been watching her employ this “tactic” since the day after the fire. As Sarah mentioned, the fire incinerated the water lines to our well, so because of possible chemical contamination, we have turned off the water to the chimp areas and have been giving the chimps lots of water bottles and Gatorade instead. They have been loving it! We’ve given the chimps water bottles before, but because it’s not the most sustainable practice, we haven’t done it all that often and certainly not in this quantity. But they have been so enriched by it! And thanks to so many of you out there- we have plenty to keep them happy and hydrated for a long time. Here’s a video of Missy being goofy with her water bottle the day after the fire broke out (August 14th). If you listen closely you can hear helicopters flying overhead as Missy just keeps on playing– it’s a good coping mechanism!

So, as things settle down outside, things get more relaxed, but also rowdier and goofier, inside! Jamie has been crazy playful all day. This morning, she and Foxie got into a thunderous game of chase and were tickling each other and laughing so loud it was hard for us humans to hear each other speak. Burrito was spotted walking in between the Front Rooms with a box on his head and Annie has been lounging in the greenhouse clapping her feet- a sure sign she’s relaxed. Jody and Negra have been kicked back in their nests sipping on water bottles all day. And every time I make eye contact with Missy, she springs off in a full speed run, engaging me in a game of chase. It’s business as usual around here. Chimps are such an inspiration.

The story of the fire part 1

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It’s difficult to know just what to do right now. Things still feel overwhelming, but are slowly getting back to normal. Soon we’ll be able to sit down and talk about how we can be even more prepared for future emergencies – equipment we might need, etc. In the meantime, I felt that it was important to document what happened while it was still fresh in our minds. So, here goes part one:

Monday started out like any other summer day in Cle Elum. It was hot and windy. Jackie and Elizabeth were working in the chimp house. They were planning on using an exciting new donation – a snow cone maker – to make a special treat for the chimps during the peak of the heat in the afternoon.

J.B. and I had a day off, and I slept in. We live in the caregiver house on the sanctuary grounds, and we were planning on doing an easy hike in the afternoon. I was taking my time, making us later than planned (very typical). We finally let Jackie and Elizabeth know we were leaving the property and got into the car to drive to the trail head around 1:00. We smelled smoke, as though there was a brush fire close by, and we questioned (ok, cursed) why anyone would be burning this time of year under the dry and windy conditions.

When we reached the Taylor Bridge construction area to the west of the sanctuary grounds a couple of minutes later, we saw a flame under the half-reconstructed bridge. There were no fire crews. We pulled over and got out of the car. There was a construction crew member trying to shovel dirt on the fire and other crew members running around moving things out of the way. Another car pulled over near us and someone got out and was taking photos. The fire was quickly getting out of hand. I figured there would be a fire truck any minute and it would be all over. J.B. was clearly worried.

We turned the car around, drove a little ways back towards the sanctuary property, and pulled over again. We heard sirens approaching, and saw the fire engulf a tree, spreading flames many feet into the air. We were less than a mile from the chimp house. I was starting to get worried, but still thought things could be handled quickly with a fire truck. J.B. had entered a new state of worry and began implementing our emergency protocols. He called Elizabeth at the chimp house and told her the situation. He said she needed to bring the chimps into the building, which was designed to be fire-resistant, and close all of the doors and windows to seal out smoke, then she and Jackie should both start watering the grounds outside of the building. Then he called Sarah to let her know what was happening. She was at home in Roslyn, a town about 15 miles away.

We got back in the car and headed to the property as J.B. called our neighbors on both sides to warn them about the fire that was coming our way.

When we got home a minute later, we decided I would prepare to get our dog Honey B and  two cats, Peanut and Lou Lou, out of the house and J.B. would begin to water down the cedar shake roof of the house, then we’d go to the chimp house and help Jackie and Elizabeth, who had quickly gotten the chimps secured in the building and had the hoses out. I got the two cat carriers out from the garage and put them, along with Honey B’s leash, in the bathroom of the house and then went to the chimp house, where I joined in the watering of the grounds outside of the building. I reassured Elizabeth that it was all just a precaution and everything would be fine.

The smell of the smoke was getting stronger and we could see it rise above the trees. The wind was blowing northeast about 30 miles an hour. My sense of time was already becoming distorted, but it seemed like just minutes later when we saw a fire truck and a water tanker pull into our neighbor’s property to the west, about 1,000 feet away. Then we saw the ridge above his property in flames…

fire on ridge

Above photo: the flames on the ridge above our neighbor’s property

I am going to leave things here for now, but will continue the story soon. I don’t mean to leave it at a dramatic moment – I just want to get away from the computer and go say hello to the chimps. Luckily, you know it all ends with no one getting harmed.

Everyone in the path of the fire has their own story, some are nothing less than tragic. We encourage you to not only support the sanctuary’s road to recovery, but also reach out to help with donations to others in the area. We’ll be posting soon about how to do that.

UPDATE: Read Part 2