Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Winter Beauty

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We’ve had our first real snowstorm this week. Here are some scenery shots:

The bench outside of the greenhouse, used for observing the chimpanzees during summer months when the greenhouse panels are removed:

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Negra’s cabin (the triangular structure) and the bamboo and climbing structures in the background:

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The lexan-enclosed human area of the greenhouse:

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The snow falls off the roof of the greenhouse and creates snow banks that require frequent shoveling:

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This is what I saw Missy doing most of the day:

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For a quick video of Jamie’s snow-eating technique, take a look at our instagram account (@ChimpSanctuary)

 

Today is for the Taylor Family!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Meg Lunnum in honor of her family, the Taylors! Meg is a wonderful long-time friend of the chimpanzees and humans alike and she shared this beautiful message for her family:

“My little brother, Alan, who chose to be vegan. My sister-in-law, Angie, who is my yoga mentor and an instructor for Mindful Yoga that includes military veterans, and my two nephews, Harrison and Mitchell, who will grow up to be the most amazing persons thanks to their parents! And, hopefully, their Auntie. I love you all!!!!”

Meg, thank you so much for always holding the chimpanzees in your heart and including them in your family! We so appreciate all you do to make their lives, and the lives of so many other animal beings, better.

Alan, Angie, Harrison and Mitchell, you each sound like amazing people, just like Meg! All of us here at CSNW wish you the happiest of holidays! Thank you so much for caring about the chimp. We are so grateful to know how many wonderful friends the chimpanzees have. Even including some from the most unlikely of places…

Foxie and her troll friend:

Troll doll whispering to Foxie

Jamie and her boot friend:

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Negra and her blanket friend:

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The way to a chimpanzee’s heart…

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If we asked the chimpanzees what their caregivers’ #1 priority should be, “giving us food” would be the unanimous response. We serve other purposes too – we keep their enclosures clean, we serve as play partners – but nothing’s more important than food.

Because humans are always separated from the chimps by caging, we have two main strategies for getting food to the chimps. Most meals are served directly to the group by a trained caregiver. The chimps all gather in one place and the caregiver hands food to each chimp. This allows us to make sure that everyone’s getting enough food.

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The other type of meal is a forage: we close off a part of the chimps’ enclosure and scatter their meal around, and then let them back into that area so they can collect their own food. The advantage of forages is that they encourage “species-specific behavior” – basically, they let the chimps act like chimps. Free-living chimpanzees spend much of their day searching for food. The other advantage of forages is that the chimps lose their minds with excitement. As they watch us scatter their food, they break out in deafening food squeaks, pant hoots, and anticipatory screams.

Today volunteer caregiver Sandra and I set up a lunch forage in the greenhouse, and then watched the excitement unfold.

Annie:

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Missy:

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Burrito:

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Today is for Carrie Miller!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Jenara Miller in honor of Carrie Miller! Carrie has been a long-time friend of the chimpanzees and we’re so happy to share in a day to celebrate her! Jenara shared this beautiful message for Carrie:

“In honor of all the work you do to make the world a better place for all living creatures.”

Jenara, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees in honoring Carrie today! We are touched that you would include them in your celebration of her and all she does.

Happiest of days to you, Carrie! Thank you so much for all you do to make the chimpanzees’ lives better! Here is a hoot from Burrito:

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The Carrot Saga

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Usually, when we serve the chimpanzees a meal the food disappears right away. With some food items and some individuals, however, the food is not eaten as quickly. This is often the case with Jamie and carrots.

Today, Jamie brought her large carrot from lunch into the playroom. In the process of eating this carrot, several pieces dropped to the floor.

Jamie sitting with carrot

 

It was unclear if these were discarded pieces or if Jamie intended to eat them later:

Carrot pieces up close

 

Missy decided to find out, but she knows Jamie probably better than anyone, so she proceeded with caution. Her first movement toward the carrot pieces turned into grooming Jamie’s hand instead.

Missy reaching for carrot

 

Missy grooming Jamie's hand

 

Several minutes later, she made another very slow move towards the pieces of carrots as Jamie watched:

Missy going for carrot

 

This was Jamie’s reaction:

Jamie fear grimace

 

So Missy immediately reached to groom Jamie to reassure her that she didn’t intend to overstep her bounds and her respect for boss Jamie remains at the highest level:

Missy grooms Jamie's head

Missy reaching for Jamie

 

Jamie responded by reciprocating the grooming, letting Missy know that all was forgiven:

Jamie and Missy groom up close

 

Annie was interested in the carrot saga too, and watched as Missy continued to groom Jamie:

Missy grooming Jamie

 

I kept my eye on things for 20 minutes or so, but I’m not sure how the saga ended. Jamie may have decided to let Missy or another chimpanzees take the pieces she had left, or she may have continued to guard them and ate them herself. This is the delicate treading that we all do with boss Jamie, as J.B. eloquently described in his blog post “The Power of Personality” yesterday.

Jamie laying with carrot

On the bright side…

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Winter isn’t the chimpanzees’ favorite season. They don’t like to be cold or wet, so as much as they’d love to be having adventures outside, they end up spending most of their time indoors. Winter isn’t all bad, though. There’s something to be said for snuggling up with soft blankets on a cold day.

Negra:

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Annie:

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Jamie:

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