There are several windows around the sanctuary; find out who’s looking at who!
Cy
Field Notes: Welcome
Happy Tuesday, everybody! I just wanted welcome everybody to a new series we will be offering: Field Notes. As the research coordinator here, I try to stay on top of knowing all the different scientific articles released every month in various publications and try to figure if any of the new research can be utilized by us to help our mission to provide lifelong care for rescued chimpanzees.
The goal of this series is kind of twofold. First, we hope that you’ll be able to learn about chimpanzees and the new and exciting behavioral research going on both in the wild and captivity. Second, we hope this will give you just a little insight on how some decisions are made here.
I don’t want to set any expectations for this series, so as of now there is no set schedule on the frequency of this. It could be weekly. It could be bi-weekly. Heck. It could even be monthly. So instead of waiting for it week-to-week, let’s just say it’s a nice little surprise when they make the blog. Plus, the articles are released at the beginning of every month and not every release has chimpanzee related articles.
I’m excited about this series and hope you all are as well! I hope this series serves a purpose for you. I hope you are able to learn something new and gain a better understanding of these amazing people.
Now, here are some photos from Sunday I was able to snap while Cy and crew were enjoying a lunch forage on the Bray:
Cy
Rayne
George
Mental Health Awareness Month
As May ends and June starts to usher in summer, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight Mental Awareness Month. This is by no means the most in depth history about the recognized month. In fact, I will be honest that most of the information I got is from Wikipedia.
Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to raise awareness around individual’s suffering from conditions such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and suicide. Every year there is a theme to help boost awareness. This year’s theme is “More Good Days, Together.” Mental Health America, the organization who established the awareness then known as National Association for Mental Health, chose this year’s theme to encourage everybody to reflect on what a “good” day means to them and their communities. The way I interpret that is we know what a good day looks like for us individually, but what does a good day look like to everybody else and how can we help others achieve their good day.
This year’s theme really made me think: what does a good day look like to everyone else here. I know what a good day here looks like to me. To me a good day is everybody shifts without hesitation, they eat all of their meals, there were no fights, the cattle took their own meds and I didn’t have to fight someone off of someone else’s, and Bruce allowed me to love him. There are some other small minor things, but those are the big ones. Now admittedly, I really don’t know what a good day to the other caregivers looks like. 😬 I think I just assumed theirs looked identical to mine. But in the spirit of theme, it’s really making me think about that.
Mental health is such an important topic in the caregiver world. Burnout is one cause of the low attrition rate in this career field, and burnout hits fast and hard. Most of what I say next is just based on my own observations and personal experience. If I had to guess why the burnout rate is high is just due to the multitude of things we are responsible for. I know for me, this job is always on the top of my mind. Whether I’m on site, at home, on vacation, it doesn’t matter. Every worry, whether it be a fight, some social tension, upcoming procedure, etc., all those things follow me everywhere I go. No matter what I’m doing or where I am, I have chimps on the brain.
Though George’s situation has “cooled down” from what it was for me, now Negra occupies most of my thoughts. So as you can see, this job is a one thing right after another kind of job.
This job is one that keeps you on your toes… 24/7! For me, even though this is pretty much a 24/7 type of job, I get great gratification seeing the chimps playful and happy. That, regardless of how long it lasts, is what gets me out of bed in the morning. There are the hard times, but going through the storm to feel levitated like that is 1000% worth it.
For years, Mental Health America has tried to rip down the curtain of stigma that surrounds mental health for some reason. I tend to be as open and honest with mine in case it can be of any help to anybody else going through it. And it thrills me that stigma seems to be waning for now, which is why I think they chose the theme that they did for this year: to help others in need.
Be sure to check Mental Health America’s resource page of a lot of different resources out there to help you or someone you know in a crisis. The world is a better place with you in it because you help better the world.
Fresh From the Garden
Spring has sprung in Central Washington, which means our personal gardens are finally in bloom, so it’s time to cut some roses for the chimps!
A Tomato Connoisseur
One of the most delicious things about summer is eating fresh tomatoes from the vine. But, did you know there is a proper way to eat a tomato?
Learn from Cy, the tomato connoisseur!
Grooming Train
Grooming is so important in chimpanzee social groups.
Grooming is used to build and strengthen relationships, to reconcile after conflicts, and to reinforce the social hierarchy.
While George is still not comfortable grooming his group mates, he often finds himself in the middle of grooming trains.
We all look forward to the day that George returns the favor, and starts grooming his group mates.
In the meantime, his new family will continue to include him in this important ritual.
George is such a lucky guy!
Spring in the Chute and Bray
We’ve been having some lovely weather in the Pacific Northwest this past week which means we all want to spend time outside. Come see who’s enjoying the chute and the Bray!
