Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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Twelve Years Ago Today

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I am not very nostalgic, and I’m quite bad at remembering and acknowledging anniversaries and birthdays within my personal life (sorry friends and family).

I’m also not the most patient person. I tend to just plow ahead into the future, driven by a feeling of urgency that time is passing and there’s a lot to get done.

Today, however, I was struck with some deep nostalgia thanks to Facebook reminding me of a post I made on my personal page this day twelve years ago.

It simply said, “is anxiously awaiting seven chimpanzees”
(this was back when many people bizarrely worded their Facebook status updates in the third person – it was a thing, it wasn’t just me).

Wow, did that memory ever bring back some feelings.

Here I’ve been plowing ahead in my usual fashion, anxiously preparing for our upcoming first-ever virtual event on Saturday, without taking the time to truly contemplate what the event is celebrating, all that has occurred between that date twelve years ago and now, and all of the people who have been a part of the sanctuary during those years.

This nostalgia drove me to the blog. I posted twice on the blog on this day twelve years ago.

The first post was a brief thanks to those who had attended our housewarming party days prior, an update that founder Keith and J.B. had visited the chimpanzees at Buckshire (J.B. had made a point of telling me that Negra was great and was going to love her new sanctuary home), and a reference to an article that has long since disappeared from the internet.

The second post was the first report from the road! Keith and J.B. were following the truck that was transporting the seven chimpanzees from Pennsylvania and the post included a photo of the truck and trailer that held those seven precious lives and one of Jody in the transport cage on the truck.

In just a few days we will be celebrating twelve years of sanctuary for this ragtag group of seven chimpanzees who have embedded themselves into the hearts of people who have gotten to know them both in person and at a distance through this blog.

We will be celebrating Queen Negra’s 47th birthday. We will be celebrating the addition of the three Californians who joined us less than a year ago.

And we will be celebrating all of forages, naps, play sessions, and adventures that the next year, and even the next twelve years, await these chimpanzees and future chimpanzees who will call Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest home.

I hope you will join this celebration, The Queen’s Brunch, on Saturday at 11:00am PT. You can set a reminder via Facebook right now. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to watch even if you don’t have a Facebook account.

Originally, Saturday’s celebration would have involved a party for the chimpanzees and a separate in-person gala event in Seattle for about 200 human attendees.

With the pandemic, we had to pivot to an online virtual celebration.

Our budgeted fundraising goal for the original in-person gala was $200,000. Not knowing when we pivoted (and still not knowing!) what to expect from a virtual event and what will come of our postponed gala very tentatively scheduled for September 18th, we set the fundraising goal for The Queen’s Brunch at a much more modest $50,000.

Thanks to everyone who has donated and bid on online auction items so far, we are inching towards half of that goal as I type this.

I’m still plowing forward because there’s a lot to be done and a lot at stake.

But I will certainly take a break to celebrate Honey B’s birthday tomorrow! In addition to all of the lovely details that Katelyn wrote about on Monday, did you know that Honey B has a particular nesting style? It’s related to her sarong-wearing that Katelyn mentioned. After creating her nest base, she takes a blanket and wraps her lower half in it, tucking herself in perfectly.

Then she’s ready for sleep

Thanks to Earthrated for the new cozy green blankets.

I will also take some time to think about just how much has transpired since the day that truck pulled up in the driveway with seven chimpanzees who had no idea what was ahead for them.

truck pulling up driveway with chimps

I will especially think about the last twelve years of sanctuary for the chimpanzee who will always be my queen.

This is one of the very first photos I took of Negra at the sanctuary:

And this is the photo that Anna took of her a few years ago that we’ve been using as part of the logo for The Queen’s Brunch (available in pillow form to buy now).

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has been a part of her life and a supporter of the sanctuary at any point during the past twelve years and even before, when it was all just a dream.

Happy Birthday, Karen!

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Julie Olson, and her sister, Karen Olson, have been a such wonderful friends of the chimpanzees for years, and today, Julie is sponsoring a day of sanctuary in honor of Karen:

“I want to sponsor a day for the chimps for my sister Karen’s birthday. She is the one who introduced me to the fact that the chimps arrived in Cle Elum in 2008. She is a huge animal lover and I know this is more meaningful to her than any present I could give her.”

Julie and Karen, you’ve both made a lasting difference in the lives of the chimpanzees and we’re so grateful to have you as part of their family. We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate your special day with you, Karen, and hope you have the most beautiful time of celebration! Happy Birthday from all of us here!

Burrito, always the life of the party:

Health and Happiness

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Here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we take the physical health of our residents quite seriously.

Each day, the staff works as a team to make sure all of the essential tasks get done, and one necessary chore is the administration of medications to individual chimpanzees. Today, Chad was responsible for getting everyone their prescribed doses and recommended dietary supplements. Currently, we monitor conditions and treatments using paper forms that we then transcribe into a digital database. One of my ongoing projects is to coordinate our transition to a more modern system that allows us to record, discuss, warehouse, summarize and retrieve all of this information in a more centralized fashion. It’s a daunting endeavor, but I’m hopeful that it will enable us to be more efficient while continuing to provide the chimps with optimal health care.

The whiteboard, currently

Some of the chimps’ health concerns are chronic conditions that require long-term solutions. Burrito, for example, receives a daily cocktail of meds to manage his known heart condition. At other times, we may give chimpanzees short courses of anti-inflammatory or antibiotic drugs to help temporary wounds heal. It’s no secret that primates, even in the best conditions, occasionally have altercations that result in injury, so the number of individual chimps on meds waxes and wanes on a weekly basis. Right now, Jody and Foxie are being treated for unrelated, minor bite wounds located on each of their right feet. Jody’s injured foot is the same one that Dr. Erin investigated during her most recent trip to our on-site veterinary clinic. For the most part, though, the other chimps have been loyally serving as Jody’s primary “doctors” by keeping the site clean. Hygiene is almost always a group project for social primates such as chimpanzees, so it’s normal to see them tending to each other’s injuries as the lacerations and bruises slowly heal.

Annie (back left) and Missy (right) groom Jody (laying down)
Jody groomed Foxie a few weeks ago; what goes around comes around!

The cattle have also received some preventative health care lately. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with bovines, their feet are covered by cloven (two-toed) hooves. These structures are composed of keratin, just like claws and nails. The hooves of domestic cattle grow at a constant rate because their wild ancestors ranged across vast steppes and prairies; the constant travel across such rough substrate would gradually wear down their hooves if they didn’t offset the process with new growth.

Betsy, one of the four cattle

Modern cattle, especially those inhabiting large-scale dairies and ranches, need their hooves trimmed regularly since they generally roam over shorter distances and softer terrain. The CSNW cattle have been exploring and grazing a variety of areas since they arrived, including the sanctuary’s expansive South Pasture, so they don’t need trims as frequently as other cows. Still, they need to have their feet checked and their hooves trimmed at least once a year (although we delayed this last trim due to the public health crisis). Overgrown hooves could lead to further problems, such as painful split nails, so we scheduled a professional hoof trimmer to take care of them this past week. He was excited to help out a sanctuary and was awed by Nutmeg’s massive frame. In the beef and dairy industries, steers like Nutmeg don’t live long enough to reach that size. He took a selfie with Nutmeg to show his friends and family, and the gigantic bovine seemed to make a new friend.

The professional trimmer shaves down Honey’s hooves
Nutmeg licks the truck…

The trimming process is fascinating and, admittedly, a bit tense. The cattle have to be herded into a small corral and then led one-by-one down a chute into a tilt table. The tilt table firmly sandwiches them while they’re standing upright and then tips them on their side so that the trimmer can safely shave down the ends of their hooves. This step goes remarkably fast, though, and also gave Dr. Erin an opportunity to give the cattle their injectable annual vaccines. Within seconds, each cow is lowered back down and released. You’d think that they would be upset or afraid, but each of them seemed more interested in the trimmer’s truck and table apparatus. Nutmeg tried to sniff and lick everything, including the truck itself. Just minutes later, the cattle were already marching back to the pasture like nothing had happened.

…and does a blorp.

Of course, health involves much more than medications and procedures. Over the past few decades, countless studies have supported that there are both tangible and intangible health benefits generated from having active lifestyles and enriching environments. Professionals in our field generally use the term enrichment to refer to puzzles, nesting materials, play structures, and other provisions that were once considered non-essential. More broadly, the term can be used to encompass anything and everything that contributes to the health and happiness of the chimpanzees. Burrito’s sanctuary experience, for example, is often enriched by rowdy play sessions in the Greenhouse. Foxie’s is enriched by a variety of dolls. Jamie’s is enriched by exposure to new footwear (and pictures of footwear arranged in a photo book, apparently).

Burrito goofs around outside
Foxie sits in the Greenhouse with a doll
Jamie sits inside with her new book

That brings me to today’s video (embedded above). One of the caregivers on the Saturday shift (Diana? Kelsi? Anna? J.B.?) threw a roll of surplus raffle tickets into the enrichment baskets that were specially prepared for this morning. Maybe the idea was inspired by the ongoing virtual auction and upcoming Queen’s Brunch celebration. (Note: You can see the items up for auction > here <. Have you seen the print of Willy B that’s receiving bids? What a cool-looking dude…)

Mave lays amid the shredded tickets

Whatever the case, the raffle tickets were a hit with Honey B, Mave and Willy B, and we all took a break from our chores to watch them roll around in the piles of torn paper. Staying healthy, after all, can’t be done purely through paperwork and pills. Sometimes it’s having fun (and watching chimpanzees have fun) that makes the biggest difference. Burrito knows this well.

 

 

 

 

“Inspiration is for Amateurs”

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Today’s day of sanctuary (including this blog post) was sponsored by Jenara Miller to celebrate the birthday of our dedicated supporter, Carrie Miller. Carrie is a friend of ours and is a pal of Burrito’s, and we wish her entire family nothing but happiness as they commemorate this special occasion!

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Speaking of anniversaries, it’s almost been a year since I joined the CSNW staff last summer. It’s been a weird trip around the sun, to say the least, but there is nowhere else I would rather be despite all of the unusual circumstances. In the absence of a global pandemic, our organization would currently be preparing for our annual gala and auction which has traditionally occurred every summer in Seattle. With the event postponed, we’re hosting an online auction and a spectacular event called the Queen’s Brunch (and bidding starts tomorrow!). In this way, we plan to celebrate the birthdays of Honey B and Negra while uniting our community virtually. As the new mantra goes: Together, apart.

It’s very exciting, but that’s not what this entire blog post is about. This post is a case study.

When people ask me what the best part of my job is, my default answer is always, to keep it simple, “the chimpanzees.” It’s an answer based on subjective truth. They’re really, really great, even when they’re at their worst.

To be honest, though, there are more specific reasons why I love working at this unique sanctuary.

As caregivers at CSNW, a significant responsibility of ours is to serve as advocates, historians, and storytellers for the chimpanzees since they cannot act as such for themselves. Some organizations are large enough to employ personnel specifically for this purpose, but our small team shares the workload on a rotating basis. Our most valuable tool for this (as you may have guessed by now) is the sanctuary’s blog. I had already been a blog reader for a couple of years before I first visited the sanctuary as an intern, and I developed an appreciation for and familiarity with the individual chimpanzees through this virtual experience.

Years later, I’m occasionally on the other side of the keyboard. It’s certainly a privilege to write the blog each Sunday, and it’s sometimes unnerving to imagine hundreds of people receiving my words in their email inboxes. It can also be difficult to keep the content fresh and original without veering too far away from our reader’s comfort zones. We constantly walk the line between being creative and being familiar, and we hope to entertain just as much as we strive to inform. When you divide a year’s worth of daily posts among seven staff members, we each write about fifty-two posts annually and each one ends up being a new page in the documented history of the Cle Elum chimpanzees.

That’s a lot of creative work that needs to be completed amid all of the other tasks that we caregivers are also expected to get done (including everything from cleaning the drain filters to walking around the Hill with Jamie). Therefore, although writing the blog can be fun and is always rewarding, it can sometimes feel like another chore to add to our never-ending to-do list.

Today, I went to work with a rough idea of today’s blog theme in my head. This is NOT it. As the day progressed, my tentative ideas unraveled. By mid-afternoon, I had trashed the entire concept and was ready to move on. The necessary decision to change directions left me without a plan as the clock continued to tick. I wasn’t too worried, though. Blogs tend to work themselves out. I doubt that J.B. started his day on Friday with the expectation that Foxie would turn a routine session of positive reinforcement training into a heartwarming and hilarious game of tag. In the words of renowned artist Chuck Close,

“Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself… Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.”

So, I got to work. In this case, “work” consisted of disinfecting an enclosure, looking at some stool samples in the vet clinic, and then following Burrito’s excited head-nods and poignant sputters out to the Greenhouse for a rowdy game of chase. I had my camera with me, just in case one of the other chimps was napping photogenically in a sunbeam or something. Capturing photos of a rambunctious Burrito isn’t usually an option, so taking his picture didn’t even cross my mind. Usually, his style of chase involves banging on the caging, stomping around, and poking fingers and toes through the steel mesh that separates him from his human caregivers. He’s a flurry of limbs and laughter that cannot be captured.

He surprised me with a flash of opportunity, though, and I was unexpectedly prepared. Between his joyful bounces and hearty chuckles, he suddenly flopped onto his belly and calmly stared at me. Time seemed to slow down for a second. I lifted the camera up to my squinted eye and fired the shutter, expecting him to already be a shapeless blur by the time the photons hit the sensor. Shockingly, he laid in that prone position for what felt like a few seconds, allowing the tiny computer in my digital camera to construct several portraits of his goofy and lovable face. Even after he sat back up, he stayed just far enough away from the caging for my 35mm lens to keep him in focus for a few more snaps. Just like that, going to work had given me inspiration. You can all thank Burrito for today’s blog.

 

Every Chimpanzee is Unique

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I hope this video brings you a smile and maybe inspires you to do something you want to try, even if you’re not sure you can do it.

Getting to know each individual and appreciate them for the unique chimpanzee people they are is an immeasurable joy.

The chimpanzees’ individuality and the opportunity that we have been given to get to know them is what we’ll be celebrating with The Queen’s Brunch! The virtual event is June 13th but bidding begins June 1st. Register NOW for no charge.

We love sharing the chimpanzees with all of the followers of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Celebrate them with us!

The Three Goofballs

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Goofballs. Goobers. Dorks. Clowns. Weirdos. Free spirits.

Whatever you call them, there’s no doubt that Honey B, Mave and Willy B know how to have fun. We’ve been focusing so much lately on Willy B’s exciting forays “into the great outdoors” that I decided to share some clips of his group being playful and rowdy earlier today.

Please enjoy the video, everyone!

The apple of his eye

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Today was another big milestone for our guy, Willy B! And it took so much courage! If you’ve been following along with Willy B’s amazingly brave progress in venturing outdoors for the first time (there are several posts in the past days and weeks), you’ll know we’ve been using food as a motivator to help him feel more comfortable outside and to challenge him to go just that little bit further each day. One of Willy B’s favorite things, a whole apple, was placed in the grass of the courtyard and while this wasn’t entirely new, it was placed quite a bit outside his comfort zone requiring him to not only let go of the safety of the boardwalk and climbing structure, not only to place both feet and both hands on the ground, but also to take many steps away from the comfort and safety the structure provides.

After foraging for a few veggies here and there, it didn’t take Willy B long to spot the apple:

He was beside himself wanting that apple, but just wasn’t ready to venture that far. It was asking a lot. A little more than we intended. He was so vexed he worked himself up into a small display about it. Then he proceeded to blow raspberries and clap his hands at me which was Willy B speak for, “Get me that apple!!” I sat out there with him for well over an hour watching his wheels turn, his heart grow braver, trying to balance remaining nonchalant with him, but throwing in the occasional pep talk. He’d place one foot on the grass, consider the distance, then return to the safety of the boardwalk. He went back and forth and back and forth, all the while looking at the apple, then to the firehose, the structure, and all the enrichment trying to figure out a way to get that apple and still feel safe. Knowing everything it’s taking for him to overcome his very understandable fears, it was equally exciting and heart-wrenching to watch his every amazingly courageous step.

And then…after numerous attempts, he did it. He DID IT!! I wanted to squeal out loud and cry at the same time

After enjoying his well-deserved reward, Willy B surprised me by not heading back indoors, but climbing to the top of the structure where he proceeded to LIE DOWN! Considering that a low-flying plane had gone over earlier prompting him to climb down, it was incredible to watch up go back up and have a relaxing moment. Who is this guy?! King of the Courtyard, that’s who.

And here’s a very blurry bonus photo of Mave popping her head out of the chute! She continues to touch the boardwalk and spent more time reaching out of the chute than we’ve yet seen, even picking some grass to snack on. But she continues to wait for the right time for herself. And that’s what sanctuary is all about, after all.