Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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The Gang Goes Counterclockwise

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Chimpanzees thrive on routine.

Of course, we don’t want every day to be exactly the same for them. As caregivers, we strive to provide the chimps with an enrichment program that balances variety and predictability, which is a never-ending challenge. The result is that we work hard each day to facilitate a range of new experiences for the chimpanzees within the framework of a regular schedule. Knowing what’s going to happen next helps the chimps to plan ahead, make choices, and be agents of their own comfort and happiness.

Jamie enjoys boomer balls, an enrichment device that we prepare once every few weeks. The chimps get some form of enrichment device each morning, but the type varies from day to day.

With so many new events occurring at the sanctuary, sticking to a familiar routine also seems to help the chimps adjust to each change. For example, even though Jamie and the Girl Gang are now residing in a previously unfamiliar area of the Chimp House, we still provide them with their favorite enrichment items at the same time each morning, serve their meals on the same schedule, and open the hydraulic gate each day so that they can explore Young’s Hill.

Fall at the sanctuary (Note: there’s a wild Nutmeg hidden in the background)

We’ve had some perfect fall weather for the past few days, and the Girl Gang (Annie, Foxie, Jamie, Jody and Missy) have been eagerly spending time outdoors. Just this weekend, J.B. and a group of committed volunteers built a new multi-level wooden structure on Young’s Hill. As Kelsi noted yesterday, the females were quick to investigate this new addition to their habitat. Even though nobody modified or enhanced the structure overnight, the girls needed some extra time today to reacquaint themselves with the new tower.

Annie warms up in the sun.
Foxie surveys the landscape from the highest perch.
Jamie conducts what appears to be an OSHA inspection.
Jody squats on the fresh grass growing around the tower.
Missy hangs out on the lower deck of the multi-tiered platform.

The new structure is located near the entryway into the chute. Now that they’re in the new area, Jamie and the others access Young’s Hill via the chute and therefore begin their patrols over on the southeast corner of the enclosure. Even though their patrols no longer start over by the Greenhouse door, they still walk in the same clockwise direction as they have since they first started exploring the Hill almost a decade ago. I have never seen them patrol in a counterclockwise direction. Just a few days ago, I jokingly asked J.B. if we could try to get Jamie to walk counterclockwise around the Hill with us. He dryly answered “No. You can’t do that.” We agreed that Jamie has a routine and it would be a crime to disrupt it.

So, when I opened the hydraulic door and the chimps hustled out of the chute onto the Hill, the unthinkable happened.

*** Imagine that the iconic jingle from the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia title card is playing right now ***

Anna and I were quite stunned when all five of the females started plodding their way uphill along the southeastern boundary of the enclosure. Missy led the charge, of course, but Jamie seemed a bit apprehensive about the whole thing. She started to follow the others, then fell behind, and was soon looking back at Anna (who was watching the events unfold from outside the electrified fence).

Sure enough, Jamie returned to the bottom of the slope and began to patrol in her normal clockwise pattern, gesturing at Anna to follow along. She encountered the others about halfway up the northwestern boundary and it was hella awkward. As Jamie trudged past each of the others, they had to stop and greet each other with a touch and a chimp kiss. Then they all just stood there, lined up along the fence, and watched her defiantly continue up the slope on her own.

Jamie passes Missy…
…and Annie…
…and Jody…
…and then leaves everyone behind…
…including Anna.

Jamie seemed a little off after that, because she abandoned her patrol, ditched Anna in favor of the Twister, and cut straight through the bamboo forest on her way back to the chute. Jamie can handle wildfires, social integrations and even snakes, but going counterclockwise around the Hill is too much.

This exemplifies the power of routine. Some chimps, such as Jamie, have personalities that seem to thrive on discipline and repetition. She likes to be in control. She did three patrols today, walking at the same pace in the same clockwise direction using the same path. The other four females, who tend to be more easygoing, didn’t seem scared by the idea of hiking the trail backwards.

Of course, there is the possibility that Jamie, like Derek Zoolander, cannot turn left. Let’s not rule that out.

Cabin Fever

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My blog days always seem to be the quietest (e.g., last Sunday), which is odd given all the drama we have been experiencing lately. As we’ve mentioned, the chimps have been resting and recuperating after an attempt to introduce the remaining chimps did not go as hoped on Wednesday.

Because we rushed to separate the chimpanzees after severe fights repeatedly erupted in the Playroom, they ended up in slightly unusual social and spatial configurations. Burrito is physically isolated in one part of the building, with visual and auditory contact with the chimps in the Playroom. In there, Negra was effortlessly reintegrated with Honey B, Mave and Willy B and has been in her preferred state of passive cohabitation with them ever since. On the other side of the “Howdy Door,” in the newer wing of the building, Annie, Foxie, Jamie, Jody and Missy are spending time exploring the novel surroundings and trying to glimpse their familiar neighbors.

We’ve been giving the group of five females access to Young’s Hill via the outdoor chute. Today, however, the weather was damp and chilly and they spent most of their time goofing around in the Mezzanine.

Overall, things have been a bit odd lately. We’re planning on using this weird arrangement to the chimpanzees’ advantage, however, by giving certain individuals more opportunities to get to know each other. The tentative plan is to keep moving forward with the integration of the two groups, albeit in a more gradual and controlled manner. For now, we’re letting the chimpanzees hang out with their closest friends and (metaphorically and literally) lick their wounds.

Burrito was bitten a few times during Wednesday’s scraps and is probably sore from all the running, jumping, flailing and screaming (because, in case you haven’t heard, chimp fights can be physically and emotionally intense, even between friends). Although he immediately reconciled with Willy B and recovered quickly in spirit, he has needed some time to recuperate without the excitement and tension of another introduction. He definitely seems interested in the chimpanzees occupying the adjacent spaces, so we’re all eager for him to be back in the mix when he’s back to full strength. He certainly acts like he’s ready.

He’s also been taking some incredible naps. He’s not a skilled builder of nests, so volunteer Erin crafted a blanket nest for him during routine cleaning this morning. He loved it.

Burrito isn’t the only one eager for the next steps. The chimps are certainly aware of their neighbors, and most seem to be anxiously anticipating their next opportunity to interact. Willy, for example, continues to listen to the neighboring females from the safety of the Playroom. We’re not sure how the next meeting will go, but we’re continuing to be hopeful and trust that the chimps will figure it out eventually.

A Break in the Action

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Nothing exciting or noteworthy happened today.

That’s an exaggeration. We do, after all, have to manage a newly integrated group of chimpanzees and even the most stable groups of chimps have their drama.

Compared to the last few days, however, today was quite calm. There were some short bouts of screaming and slapping and lots of pant-grunts, but the arguments weren’t as loud and didn’t last as long. Honey B tried to extend one of the arguments by spitting water in Jamie’s face, but Mave acted as the referee long enough for Willy B to scatter everyone with a charge and a display. This situation, along with all the other conflicts, deescalated quickly. I don’t know if this stabilization marks a shift towards acceptance or if it is merely an aberration. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the chimps return to a more boisterous and confrontational state tomorrow.

Either way, today felt like a break and I’m taking what I can get.

Here are some photographs from today, along with a few from the past week. I hope that you all enjoy them.

Jamie grooms Mave this morning.
Honey B takes to the railing while playing with Negra this morning.
Jamie and Willy keep an eye on the Greenhouse today.
Jody pant-grunts at Willy B as he walks by.
Mave gently touches and grooms Jody.
Mave reassures Willy B during last week’s integration event.
Missy watches breakfast from her perch in the Greenhouse this morning.
Nutmeg
Meredith
Betsy
Honey

Nobody Puts Bubba in a Corner!

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Today was a chilly autumn Sunday. Many parts of the Inland Northwest received their first snowfall last night, and much of the Cascades was covered in a dusting of white powder. Down here in the canyon, the weather was damp and cool and the skies were gray.

The chimps were slow to perk up this morning and seemed a bit groggy, making me think that they might spend the whole day napping and grooming in the Playroom. I watched Burrito for a bit before breakfast; he had a difficult time keeping his eyes open as he sat on one of the benches, and it made me smile. He lazily rolled over and drifted off several times, only regaining his alertness each time he heard promising sounds from the kitchen. It felt oddly familiar.

Negra even stopped by to participate in a quick session of grooming, but Burrito only gave her a few minutes of attention before redirecting his gaze out the window and returning to his solitude.

Everything changed when we walked around the building to open the door to Young’s Hill. Burrito and the others immediately got excited. His sideburns stood on end and his demeanor changed completely.

Lately, the seasonal shift has not deterred the Seven from enjoying Young’s Hill. Instead, they seem to relish the outdoors even more now that the weather is gloomy and wet. After being here for over a decade, the Seven are true residents of the Pacific Northwest and seem to embrace the mild temperatures of spring and fall. As I recently overheard one Washingtonian say, “I’ll pass on snow and heat, but I’ll hike in the rain all day.”

In true Northwest fashion, the Seven set out into the wilderness of Young’s Hill. Burrito led the way.

We have been excited to let the chimps go outside for the past few days because we just completed a modest expansion of the Young’s Hill enclosure. J.B. led the extension of the electric fencing downhill so that the perimeter now links up to the end of the shiny new chute (and the recently-constructed wing that houses Willy B, Mave and Honey B). We will soon be updating our followers about the new three and their gradual introduction to the outdoors, but for now the Seven long-time residents are exploring the additional space and using it to get a better view of their new surroundings

Today, Missy and Burrito each spent some time in front of the steel gateway leading into the chute. Burrito displayed and Missy even attempted to open the hydraulic door to crawl inside. Both seemed to be eager to get inside the building and come face-to-face with their new neighbors. (Fortunately for us, the doors are sturdy and didn’t budge in either scenario.)

Back in the Chimp House, the new arrivals (“The Californians”?) spent most of the day playing and lounging but immediately peered out of their bedrooms each time that one of the seven walked by. Willy B seemed most interested in Jamie and her foraging skills, while Mave tried to pant at Burrito through the sealed window. Honey B was more focused on the caregivers and kept nodding at us and soliciting attention as we completed tasks nearby.

It’s always interesting to see how quickly chimpanzees can alter their mood, thereby exhibiting a completely different set of behaviors. It still amazes me to see all ten of them snoozing in various corners of the Chimp House then suddenly hear a thunderstorm of pant-hoots, drumming and screams resonating throughout the building.

Even as the mornings get colder and the chimps spend more time in their overnight nests, it’s reassuring to see that they can still make a little excitement for themselves on a gloomy autumn day.

 

Four Thousand Sleeps

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As I’m writing this, the chimp house is very, very quiet. The most noticeable sound is the hum from the printer on the desk next to me – a sound  that is downed out during the day when there is a bustle of activity on the part of the humans and often loud chimpanzee vocalizations coming from both wings of the building.

In this moment, all ten chimpanzees are deep asleep after a full day of exploration, eating, socializing, playing, and displaying.

Chimpanzees are masters at sleeping. Seeing a chimp either casually day-napping or deep into a night’s sleep makes me want to close my own eyes and drift into that other world of unconsciousness.

Burrito, Annie, Jody, Jamie, Negra, Foxie, and Missy have had (if I did the math correctly) 4,122 sleepful nights at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

BURRITO

 

ANNIE

 

JODY

 

JAMIE

 

NEGRA

 

FOXIE

 

MISSY

 

Willy B, Mave, and Honey B have only been here 41 days. I think this photo that Katelyn took recently is the only close-up we have of any of those three sleeping. Hopefully we will have many, many more days to capture and share images of their unique faces in peaceful slumber.

WILLY B

Goodnight from everyone at the sanctuary. Sleep well.

Honey B’s Style

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As highlighted in a recent post, Honey B is already known for her intelligence, energy and creativity. Not only is she an engineer and a philanthropist, but she is also a fashion enthusiast.

Yesterday, she decided that the cloth headbands we provide as enrichment are better suited as waistbands. Interestingly, she isn’t the first chimp to have this innovative idea! As caregiver Kelsi showed us last month, Annie has been wearing headbands around her waist for years.

It would be tempting to suspect that Honey B learned the behavior from Annie, which would be great evidence of cultural transmission between groups of chimpanzees. In the wild, chimpanzee communities across Africa have cultural traditions (i.e., their own ways of doing things) that spread among individuals via social learning. Chimpanzee cultures are rich and fascinating, but may be disappearing. This year, scientists published a paper about the negative effects that human activity may have on the cultural diversity of wild chimpanzees. As chimpanzee numbers dwindle and we degrade and fragment their forested habitats, their capacity for culture catastrophically decreases.

Although the process of cultural transmission certainly exists among groups of captive chimpanzees, it has been difficult to document and is seldom reported. In the case of Honey B and the waistband, it seems unlikely that she learned it from Annie. Annie only wears the improvised belt for a few days or weeks and then ignores them for the rest of the year, and she had already stopped wearing this summer’s edition before Honey B and her friends arrived from Wildlife Waystation last month. It is possible that one of the many videos we showed to the new trio features a scene of Annie sporting the headband-waistband look, but it’s more likely that they both just have similar taste in enrichment and utilize what we give them in novel ways.

With that being said, it will be interesting to see if any behaviors do cross over from one group to the next! Chimpanzees are brilliant and creative, and never stop surprising us.

 

Summer’s End Begins

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The rain today did not feel like a passing summer shower. It felt like summer’s end.

Besides the rain, many smaller changes have become evident this weekend. As the temperature dipped, the mountains shrouded themselves in chilly fog and gray drizzle. The larches are abandoning their greenish hue in favor of warmer tones. The bucks that inhabit the woods around the sanctuary are showing off their new antlers, while this spring’s fawns are losing their spots and grow more independent by the day. The tourists in nearby Roslyn are sporting flannels and hoodies, not sunglasses and flip flops (and our staff and volunteers had to say a sad goodbye to this year’s edition of the Roslyn Farmer’s Market). In neighboring Ellensburg, new students are flocking to campus to begin classes next week; a handful of them will compose our next cohort of interns starting at the end of this month. The air itself seems to call for coffeehouse folk music and pumpkin spice everything. Autumn has made its first appearance of its three-month residency.

Meanwhile, the chimps are embracing the cooler surroundings in their own way.

Jamie spent this morning huddled under a makeshift tent of blankets, taking in the crisp morning air and watching the caregivers go about their morning rounds. She even snoozed for a bit before breakfast (as did Annie, in the background).

Over in the new wing, things went similarly. Lately, the new three have been chilling out in the new archway tunnel almost constantly. However, today’s weather made the uncovered chute less appealing and the trio spent more time grooming and nesting in their sheltered indoor spaces. From her secluded corner in one of the bedrooms, Mave made sure to keep looking out the window at the surrounding pastures, passing rail cars and two-lane highway far below.

Because of the drizzle and dew, we only scattered a small portion of their lunch on Young’s Hill. Even so, the seven long-term residents made the best of the conditions and found all of the carrots and walnuts that Level II volunteer Dusty placed among the tall grass and wooden structures. Of all the chimpanzees, Annie seemed to enjoy foraging in the damp prairie grass, always watching her surroundings for potential competitors and new opportunities to obtain more food.

Today’s only drama was centered around corn. Erin and Miranda, two of our dedicated Level III volunteers, served breakfast and lunch, respectively. All went smoothly until Jamie decided to get upset every time one of the lower-ranking females received an ear of corn-on-the-cob. Either she was being possessive (likely) or she’s terrified of things on cobs (slightly less likely). She kept her eyes on everyone else while she munched on her own corn, as well as poor Foxie’s.

Annie, Foxie, and Missy all processed their remaining corn and potatoes with trepidation, frequently pausing to monitor Jamie’s expression.

Missy even had a swollen eye this morning. It was not a grievous wound by any means, but served as a potential artifact of recent conflict within their social group (Note: Missy didn’t seem to care and even made J.B. playfully chase her around the Hill in the rain).

Only Negra and Burrito were left out of the corn fiasco. Negra opted to sift through her chow bags from the safety of her fleece blankets, while Burrito spent more time gazing over at the adjacent tunnel and neighboring chimps.