Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cy

Word Around the Scuttlebutt

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You may be asking yourself, “What is a scuttlebutt?” Scuttlebutt is a U.S. Navy term for rumor or gossip. When on ship, a sailor’s water source was a “scuttlebutt.” “Scuttle” meaning drill and “butt” meaning cask. In layman’s terms, a scuttlebutt is a water fountain. This was just a long about way to say “water cooler talk;” a place where people gather to gossip.

The term (and concept) of scuttlebutt popped into my mind as I watched both groups converge on their tables or cattle troughs full of snow. My mind then wondered to what the chimps may be saying to each other in their secret language around the scuttlebutt. What kind of gossip would they tell each other?

Though I cannot say 100% for sure what they would gossip about, I think I have a decent guess on what Burrito would gossip about: the neighbors!

I will admit that I didn’t think of this blog until a little later on, so I missed out at the group gathering of Burrito’s group at the sandbox table. But I am not here empty handed.

Missy in particular has been seen at the scuttlebutt multiple times throughout the day

On her way to dinner, Negra stopped by for a quick refreshing treat

And of course sweet, sassy Foxie had to partake

Though the concept of snow is still new to Lucky’s group and they have yet to go onto the snow-glistened Bray, they have at least determined it’s a great treat.

From left to right: Cy, Willy B, and Lucky on the log)
(From left to right: Cy, Willy B, and Lucky on the log)

Rayne and Lucky in particular have been seen with snow throughout a majority of today

Rayne earlier on

Lucky

Willy B also was seen by caregivers returning to the source of the snow whenever he finished what he had

And Cy

There was also a nice moment with half-siblings Mave and Terry at the snow pile

Until something is invented to know what they are truly thinking, I will just sit back and imagine what they would gossip about.

Bonus photos!

A rare moment when Cy peels his eyes off his copy of People Magazine to see who is walking down the hallway
Rayne watching Terry and I grooming each other

Lastly, we are finally in the month of December! That means planning for Christmas is well upon its way. A lot has been added to our Amazon Wish List in preparation, with more being added each day. Be sure to check it out to see if there is anything you can help out with. We (chimpanzees and caregivers) would greatly appreciate it!

‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving…

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‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving, when all through the [chimp] house

Not a chimp was stirring, not even a Honey (B);

The chimps were in bed, tucked into nests

in hopes that sweet rolls would soon be at Chimp Sanctuary Northwest.

 

Today has been rather low-key, whether the chimps realize it or not, they are resting up for the big Thanksgiving celebration. I personally can’t wait to hear Negra food squeak for Hawaiian rolls – it’s something I wait all year for! I thought I would share a collection of photos taken from today.

Negra staring out the window this morning:

Terry playing chase with one of his caregivers:

Missy eating tomatoes at lunch:

Cy <3:

Burrito spying on the neighbors:

Jamie laying on a barrel:

Jamie off-duty:

Honey B during a lunch forage:

Gordo, isn’t he so handsome?:

Sweet little Dora:

Chimp Lesson #8: Take Some Time for Yourself

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Continuing the series of lessons the chimps have taught us, today we have Dora to thank for teaching us to take some time for ourselves even when our days are busy, don’t skip the self care. Whether it be a vacation, yoga class or building a fine nest for a nap on a chilly day, make sure you take some time for yourself.

 

We also would like to thank all our supporters for the magazine donations made throughout the year! The response to our request for magazines has been amazing but Cy has a lot of gossip, travel and food magazines to get through right now, so we would like to put our magazine donation request on hold until he has time to catch up. We will be sure to let you all know when he has caught up on all his reading material and is ready to receive more.

Perfectly Imperfect

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Picking and choosing which photos we include in the blog can be a daunting task. I can’t speak for my fellow caregivers, but there’s always some kind of embellishment that makes the photo unusable in my eyes. Whether it be bad lighting, a piece of poop center stage in the photo, a wound, caging getting in the way, a slow shutter speed which makes the photo blurry, etc. There is just always that one tiny thing that makes me call the photo bad, delete it, and move on.

Today is no exception. Between cleaning the enclosures to training new staff members, it has been a busy day here. When I finally got some time to go around and take some photos, I will admit I rushed it a bit. Mostly because though cleaning is over, training still continues into the afternoon as well as other Chimp House chores. I knew right off the bat that most of the photos I took were unusable (in my eyes at least) but I had some confidence there was at least a few decent ones in there some where.

Wrong! The vast majority I wasn’t a fan of. In fact, there wasn’t a single one I’m particularly attached to. There were, however, several that had potential to be great if it wasn’t for one thing or another I saw wrong in them. You might be wondering, “Why don’t you just Photoshop them?” Though Photoshop or any photo editing software is a great tool, we don’t use it in order to maintain our transparency to you all. Other than some basic color correcting, we don’t edit something out or in. Back in a former life as a photojournalist, our rule was simple as it relates to photo editing software. If you can’t do it in a dark room, then you shouldn’t do it in the software. We more or less follow that same basic rule.

That being said, here are some photos from today that had the potential of being great. Enjoy photos that would have been deleted on any other day.

Mave in mid-chew

This photo isn’t the portrayal of Mave I would want. Please trust me when I say she’s not scared here. She was just looking up and chewing snap peas when I took the photo

Honey B during a lunch forage

I forgot to reset the white balance on our camera which is why this and some other photos are either overexposed or have a orange/warm color hue to them. Plus she has a small scrape on her brow probably caused while chasing somebody

Gordo during the forage

I had the shutter speed lower than I thought, which is why this one is overexposed and blurry

Gordo again foraging

The caging got in the way which is why the center of the photo seems lighter than the rest

Gordo again!

The cause of lack of vibrant coloring is because the caging again was in the way. This means the caging was right smack dab in the middle of the lens’ focus

Also, I did spend some time trying correct that last one but it didn’t turn out like I had hoped for

Willy B and Honey B during the forage

This one isn’t terrible. I just took it with my camera phone, which the photographer in me thinks is cheating (I know. It absolutely is not and that’s a mindset that I’ve been trying to break for some time)

Honey B munching on some green onions

Again with my camera phone

Burrito during breakfast with his apples

Low shutter speed again is the culprit in this blurry photo

Dora and Lucky head-to-head

Camera phone again plus it automatically set to a slower shutter speed and blurred Lucky out just a tad

Cy perusing through a magazine after lunch

Caging is off to the side

Rayne watching me yesterday as I was cleaning the mezzanine

This was through a window that wasn’t cleaned yet. I tried to be creative with it, but it didn’t work out

Terry’s foot hanging off the platform in the one of his greenhouses after lunch

Though the caging got in front of the lens messing with the color scheme, this photo is still perfect because Terry is perfect!

Speaking of Terry, have you seen the Teeny Tiny Terry book in the Comfort & Joy auction? It truly is amazing and one of a kind! The auction is up and running through November 18th! Be sure to register and bid high and bid often!Good luck to everyone!

Alpha Male

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Some dominant male chimpanzees maintain power through brute force and intimidation. But not all.

Traits such as kindness, fairness, and tolerance are often overlooked in discussions about chimpanzee dominance hierarchies, yet they can also be effective as a means to achieve status. Cy is a good example of this. It’s true, he has been known to steal a chow bag or two from his group mates, but he’s just as likely to use his alpha position to defend the underdog and keep the peace as he is to enrich himself.

This video shows just a small example of the myriad ways in which Cy’s leadership is called upon to maintain stability in his group.

Postponing Winter

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Despite the sudden cooler temperatures (it was a crisp 33 degrees arriving to the sanctuary this morning), the sun was out and shining today. The sun felt so good and warm, that I thought it’d be a perfect day for a forage on Young’s Hill. Jamie, Missy, Burrito, Annie, and Foxie agreed with me and were happy to do a lunch forage out on the Hill. Negra requested her meal to be inside for a lunch party of one, presumably so she can be where it is warmer.

One of the highlights of the morning, as you will see pictured below, is Jamie drinking from her tiny teacup. We made up a Gatorade pool, which is one of Jamie’s favorite things, in their Playroom. The entire group usually sits down and drinks up. Jamie loves using a cup to drink from, but today it was especially funny to see her use the tiniest cup possible to drink from.

On the other side of the building, Cy’s group is also soaking up the sun in their Greenhouses, their chute, and the Bray.

Rayne:

Cy:

Annie:

Burrito:

Jamie:

Missy:

Rayne:

Drawing on a package we received from a donor 🙂

Never a Dull Moment

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I don’t think I have ever experienced a dull day here at CSNW. I truly don’t believe that there is such a thing with chimps. Especially when you have a chimp like Honey B always keeping you on your toes, or a chimp like Missy who seems to want nothing to do with humans, but all of the sudden you are playing chase and tug-a-war. Or when you put out enrichment, like a giant box, just hoping a chimp like Cy will hide in it while his friend Willy B playfully beats the box from the outside. Everyday there a lot of things happening here, even when we are there to observe. I think it is a testament to what sanctuaries like Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest can do. Sanctuaries offer dedicated care, security, stability, and opportunities so that every chimp can flourish and grow.

If you think we are as great as I do, we have an opportunity for you to spread your kind words! We would love it if you shared your love of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest TODAY by going to this site: https://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/write/chimpanzee-sanctuary-northwest and giving us a rating. The deadline for us to be a “top rated” nonprofit for 2023 is October 31st and we need nine more people to submit a rating. You all say such nice things about the chimpanzees, the staff, and the sanctuary everyday, so we thought you’d take this challenge. You can even take something you’ve already said and copy and paste it as a rating. And we can update the silly badge on our website and feel good at the same time. Thank you!