Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Primates Being Social

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Does this video need an commentary? I think it stands on its own, but I can provide a little more storytelling.

It was not in my plan for the day to move Dora from her usual group into her secondary group with friends Mave, Honey B, and Willy B, but she was not shifting quickly, so I seized the opportunity. Maybe she had it in her mind that could happen. Maybe it was her plan for the day. Or maybe she just took it all in stride.

As you can see from the video, Honey B and Dora were thrilled to see each other, and Mave just wanted to be sure to stay within an arm’s reach. Willy B too was happy to see Dora, and she gave him an enthusiastic greeting.

When some initial cleaning was complete and it came time to shift them again, Willy B decided to stay behind, alone on the Bray, while Mave, Dora, and Honey B enjoyed some snacks and some “girl time” in the Mezzanine.

As a practice, we don’t generally close chimpanzees in the outdoor habitats. Willy B, however, seemed pretty content out there, sometimes displaying and sometimes lying down. It reminded me of the old days when he had begun is solo conquest of the outdoors. J.B. wrote about it in his blog post: The King of the Courtyard and his Growing Kingdom.

Witnessing Willy B’s desire to remain on the Bray, I decided to close him out there while I cleaned the chute and we got some other areas spic and span. I don’t know what prompted him to play king of the Bray today, but he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. Every once in a while I would hear some screaming from Missy and Foxie which let me know that he was displaying and getting just the reaction he was hoping for. And it gave Honey B, Mave, and Dora some time with each other without having to worry about him turning his intimidation tactics towards them.

These social primates made some good decisions today.

Here’s a bonus close-up of Miss Negra to cap it off:

Terry’s Tendency Towards Tiny Things

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Terry is a big chimpanzee who pays particular attention to tiny things.

His fascination with flowers has less to do with the flowers themselves and more to do with any tiny insect that he can detect and examine.

Chad wrote a blog post a while back with a poem he penned, and photos to go along, entitled Teeny Tiny Terry.

That poem caught the attention of Mary Lee Jensvold who sent it along to her daughter Hannah who made a very special illustrated and hand bound for an online auction.

I can’t say that we have any hand-bound books in our upcoming HOOT! online auction, but we do have some really great items, including our first ever CSNW yearbook that caregivers Jenna and Ellen have been putting together just for the event!

The online auction is open to anyone and runs October 1st – October 6th.

We also have some really amazing and fun items for the in-person event. Time is running out to get tickets, so if you are anywhere near Seattle, reserve your space now!

If you are unable to attend the in-person event, be sure to RSVP to watch the livestream of the HOOT! program.

 

Ageless Beauty

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I have always looked somewhat young for my age, which was annoying when I was a kid, especially as a teenager when I was in a hurry to be an adult.

I’m sure this has played a part in my not really dwelling about my appearance as I aged. Until 50 came along. That’s when I found myself noticing wrinkles that I swear had appeared overnight.

and hairs on my face that were going grey and seemed to be reproducing.

I pondered what my eyebrows were doing. They seemed to have concocted a mission of their own.

The ever-darkening bags under my eyes became a not-very-pleasant surprise every morning.

old scars that I had forgotten about made themselves known again.

 

None of the faces above are mine, of course.

The faces of Missy, Annie, Lucky, and Burrito, and those of all chimpanzees, are so full of character. Each one unique; different and special.

Their appearance too has changed in the time I’ve known them. They have more gray hair, deeper wrinkles, more scars, sometimes lumps and bumps that were not always there.

I could examine their faces all day – the delicate folds under their eyes, the wrinkles around their mouths that are even more noticeable when they purse their lips for a kiss or to make a raspberry sound. The tiny hairs on their lips and in their noses. They are all beautiful.

I’m glad that the chimpanzees don’t have our human vanities and insecurities. They are who they are today. They are who they are tomorrow. They don’t need calendars. They don’t count and compare the length of time they’ve been alive. They don’t need to spend time contemplating the passage of time and how that shows up on their faces and bodies.

They focus on the important aspects of their lives, like the sound a jolly ball makes when you bounce on it and the fresh pineapple on the menu at lunch.

the privilege of being a caregiver

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I first started working with chimpanzees in 1998, and I have been with the Cle Elum Seven for the entirety of their life at the sanctuary, even meeting them before they arrived on June 13, 2008.

And I still can’t believe that I have the privilege of caring for these amazing, playful, temperamental, intelligent, sensitive, wild, unpredictable, joyful, unique people.

The Eyes Have It

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I took some photos of Burrito this morning that caused me to admire his face and think about the chimpanzee facial features that I love.

burrito sitting

The top of my personal “awesome chimpanzee facial features” list is the brow ridge (also known as supraorbital torus, ridge, or arch).

Though much less pronounced in chimpanzees, humans have a supraorbital ridge too – our eyebrows normally sit near the bottom of our arches.

Each chimpanzee has a somewhat unique brow ridge – I wonder if you could identify a chimpanzee by a brow ridge “print” like a fingerprint.

I will never say that I have a favorite chimpanzee, but I will admit that I have a favorite brow ridge: Jody’s. I like how deeply arched it is with lots of wrinkles, giving it a decidedly heart-shaped appearance:

Jody eyes

 

Here’s a look at everyone else’s supraorbital tori:

 

Missy:

Missy

 

Negra:

Negra close-up

 

Foxie:

Foxie looking down

 

Jamie (that’s also her profile in the 2nd photo in this post):

 

Annie:

Annie close-up

 

Burrito:

Burrito upside down

 

JODY!

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I woke up thinking that I should feature Jody on the blog today. She’s a bit more elusive than some of the other chimpanzees, so we don’t get as many photos and videos of her.

She does have her routines, though.

Today, we spread a forage on the hill at lunch, and Jody, true to form, collected the food she wanted, came back inside, and emptied it on the deck while she sat on the lower part of the platform in the greenhouse.

Jody collecting food on the hill

Jody eating

Jody eating

 

Then, she spent some time relaxing – we often see her in this position:

Jody hanging out

 

She did a little self-grooming:

Jody self-groom

 

Graciously allowed me to take some close-up photos of her beautiful face:

Jody close-up

 

Volunteer Lynn and I were talking about Jody’s very round eyes that often appear to be hopeful or excited about something:

Jody profile

 

Jody eyes

Jody eyes

 

She soon retired to the cooler playroom for a post-meal siesta:

Jody resting

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Chimpanzees: Always Curious

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It’s important to have priorities in life, and the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are good at deciding what is top priority (usually food) and what is a close ranking second, as you’ll see in the video below.

Here’s what the back of the lower mount for the GoPro camera looks like. I caught this photo last week of Annie standing next to it. The steel mount, custom made by J.B., has a hinge and opens up to slip the camera in and then has a padlock to secure it.

Annie looking at GoPro mount