Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Cy

The State of a (forming) Union

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We are continuing the process of introducing George to Cy’s group of 6, and are preparing for a very exciting next step. Now seems like a good time to provide you all with a synopsis of what we have done so far, and where we hope to go next. If all goes well, George will soon be living with other chimpanzees full-time.

We began our introduction process with short (~1 hour) afternoon meetings with George and each of the individuals of Cy’s group, first focusing on Cy, Terry, and Rayne as those that we thought would be the most accepting of George. We wanted to give George positive introduction experiences to set him up for success before introducing him to others who may be more difficult. George did very well with Cy and Terry to start, and over the course of multiple meetings had some misunderstandings, all of which they were able to navigate. In these initial intros, he struggled the most with Rayne, which we later saw to be a trend with other females when he met Lucky and Dora. With the males, he was often quick to engage in play, and later would allow himself to be groomed, whereas the females seem to find him to be more of a threat (understandably – his displays are impressive!) and often sought reassurance or to groom, which he seems more uncomfortable with than play. George was also uncomfortable with being groomed in certain areas, and would quickly disengage when individuals tried to groom him in those areas. The females were generally less accepting of this behavior, and would become upset.

Cy grooms George

Once George had met Cy, Terry, and Rayne on multiple occasions, we started to include individuals from the remainder of Cy’s group into the introduction schedule. George met Gordo and we were happily surprised by how well they did together, and how calm Gordo remained even when George displayed repeatedly. George met Dora, then Lucky, and as we went, we changed our introduction plan to accommodate what the chimps were showing us that they needed. We introduced George to Mave to help him learn how to interact with females, as Mave is generally more confident than Lucky and Dora, and Mave showed us she was willing to hold George accountable when he acted inappropriately. We lengthened the time of the introductions, and let misunderstandings and conflicts play out more without closing the door to separate the chimps, though we were prepared to do so if needed. This is difficult to do as the human observer – we want to protect our chimpanzee friends, and conflict feels scary. But conflict is an important part of chimpanzee life, as is the reconciliation that follows. We needed George to learn (or show us he knows) how to reconcile after a conflict, before we could feel confident in future integration into a larger social group. These longer introductions allowed the chimpanzees time to reconcile, and George showed us that given time (and without the option to just ignore the other individual because they were no longer sharing space), he can do it.

During this stage, Terry and George had several conflicts during their introductions, but were given time to reconcile and by the end of their time together were again playing and grooming. This is promising for George’s future as he joins a larger social group, as he was able to navigate each of these situations successfully.

Terry grooms George

From there, we moved to all day introductions of one individual of Cy’s group with George (for Terry, Cy, Gordo, and Rayne). We chose to continue afternoon introductions with Dora and Lucky, as we thought they would be more successful in all day introductions down the line, with Cy there as well to lessen their anxiety. During these all day introductions, they got to experience more of a normal day together. They ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together and were given access to the chute and The Bray. They spent more time without direct supervision of the humans (though we were monitoring them from afar via video monitors).

Gordo grooms George

The next step? Cy comes to live with George, and we will begin to build the group around them. Before adding in more individuals, we will give opportunities for Cy to assert his dominance over George to help him understand where his place will be within the larger group. A lot of this will come simply from living together full time. Cy may demand first access to his favorite foods at meal time (like corn), to get the first look at the newest magazines, or to be the first one to interact with the humans. From there, we will continue to follow the chimps’ lead as we navigate the introduction process. I’m excited for the opportunities ahead, and hopeful for George as he begins another big step in his journey here.

Preparing for an Intro

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Yesterday, Kelsi shared Cy and George’s all day intro from last Saturday.  She talked about how challenging it can be to isolate a chimp when preparing for an introduction.

“Setting up introduction days is a lot of work. Behind the scenes, getting the chimps to shift and move where they need to be can be quite challenging. Not everyone is always eager to cooperate (cough, cough — Honey B, Terry, and now Rayne). Sometimes, if the chimps don’t shift, it can really affect the whole day, and we have to get creative with our shifting plans. Mentally, it can be extremely taxing.”  See the rest of the blog here.

Today, you get to see a glimpse of what it can take to separate a chimp.  Some days are better than others, and some days we need to get creative.  This was one of those “let’s get creative” days.  In today’s video, Ellen’s goal is to isolate Cy into the chute, which connects to George’s front rooms.  She has already separated Cy from his group, but Gordo tagged along and they are both now in Greenhouse 3.  Ellen now needs to distract Gordo so she can move Cy into Greenhouse 2 and then into the chute.

Ellen decides to recruit some help, come along to see how it goes.

Oh!  Jamie’s birthday is right around the corner!  Check out our wish lists if you’d like to help us with the biggest celebration of the year…JAMIEWEEN!  We’ve also added some fun items for Willy B’s birthday and Christmas.  Thank you!

George and Cy: Connecting on The Bray

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Introductions are unpredictable. You never quite know what the chimps are going to do, how they’ll react, or how they’ll respond to neighbors making noise (and yes, sometimes the neighbors do heighten the situation). But that’s the point of these meet-ups — to give them the opportunity to work through situations or conflicts and gain more confidence as we build this group, especially for George.

Last Saturday, we did an all day introduction with George and Cy. We wanted to give them more time to work through different scenarios and bond together. Bonding with Cy will be a critical part of this introduction process. Cy is an exceptional leader, and I think he’ll really help show George the ropes, helping him build confidence and engage in typical chimp activities, like grooming. We also want George to understand the hierarchy and recognize Cy as the leader. And what better way to do that than to give them extended time together and introduce them to a new space they’d have to navigate side by side? So, we gave Cy and George access to the chute and The Bray!

We are so incredibly proud of George. He was actually the one encouraging Cy to go out onto The Bray, while Cy seemed a bit apprehensive. Since this was a space they hadn’t shared together before, it caused a moment of uncertainty for Cy. However, George beckoned for Cy to come — and he did! This was a big step for them in bonding and building a friendship. I think Cy has really grown fond of the little guy! As a side note, Cy was also really distracted because he really wanted to hangout in front room 7. It’s his favorite room because you can see so much in the chimp house, Cy hasn’t had access to it in a long time!

The week before, we had tried giving George and Gordo access to the same space, but Gordo, being the cautious soul he is, thought there was a catch and refused to go outside with George. George was so patient and tried hard to encourage him, but Gordo just couldn’t do it. However, as you saw in Tuesday’s blog, Gordo also had an all day introduction with George, and eventually, he found the courage to run out onto The Bray with him.

Setting up introduction days is a lot of work. Behind the scenes, getting the chimps to shift and move where they need to be can be quite challenging. Not everyone is always eager to cooperate (cough, cough — Honey B, Terry, and now Rayne). Sometimes, if the chimps don’t shift, it can really affect the whole day, and we have to get creative with our shifting plans. Mentally, it can be extremely taxing.

However, that makes it all the more rewarding to witness these milestones. George has been alone for over two years since his companion at his previous home passed away. Watching George beckon Cy over and seeing them embrace on The Bray brought tears to my eyes. George has had to explore much of his new surroundings alone, so it strikes a deep chord to see him finally sharing the experience with another chimp. Moments like these really fill our cups and remind us that this is the heart of our work- providing opportunities, offering choice, and fostering meaningful social connections.

Pausing for Connection

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As caregivers, our days are often jam-packed. We’re constantly on the move: cleaning, doing laundry, serving meals, washing dishes, training, doing more cleaning, and currently working on introductions with George throughout the week. With so much going on, it can be hard to slow down.

Yesterday, while I was cleaning in Greenhouse 2, Gordo and Cy each came over separately to play chase and hang out by the shared window, between Playroom 2 and Greenhouse 2. It was such a nice pause in the middle of a busy day, a reminder of what this work is really all about.

Foxie is especially good at getting her caregivers to take a break and spend time with her. She has her own way of inviting you in: she drops her doll and makes raspberry sounds until you pick it up and hand it back to her. But, before she’ll take it, you have to play. She loves being tickled with her doll, seeing you hug her doll, playing “troll ski,” or having her head gently rubbed with her doll’s head. Once she’s satisfied, she takes her doll back and strolls off on her way.

These moments that pause the busy routine to connect, are what make the work so meaningful.

Here is a portrait series of Foxie with Disney Simea (from Moana 2):

Lucky resting on a bench:

Gordo checking himself out through my camera:

The ever so handsome Cy:

Picture This: The Day in Snapshots

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Today was pretty calm around the chimp house, but I’m diving into the highlights and capturing some of the best moments from the day.

 

This morning with Mave:

 

Dora enjoying her nut, which she played with for awhile but ultimately never ate:

 

Negra found a giant zucchini we put out on Young’s Hill for a forage, she had to take breaks while snacking on it:

And Cy enjoying a pepper during his lunch:

You Again!

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George is one incredible chimp. So far in this intro process, he has surprised us with his adaptability, patience, and maturity that we didn’t know a 21-year-old could have.

Introductions are a process and not every chimp comes in feeling confident, even if it’s gone well in the past, and that is to be expected. Just like us as humans, we may carry anxiety about the unknowns of meeting a new person. It can take a few meetings to get comfortable with or understand an individual. This past Friday, Cy and George visited again for their third introduction. Their first intro was great, their second they both did fine, but overall we would describe it as a, meh. But this third visit, there was no hesitation at all. Cy and George right off the bat were ready to have the door open to see each other. George even let Cy groom him, which is something George seems to be trying to get more comfortable with. Though, we can’t be sure of the full reason, George did live alone for a few years and hasn’t been a recipient of grooming with another chimp for quite awhile, which is a very big component of bonding for chimps.

We are so proud of George for his progress, and we’re excited to see how his relationship with Cy continues to grow.

Heart Health Training

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A year ago today, we shared about KardiaMobile training with you all for the first time. I had been planning on sharing some exciting Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) progress today, and this gives me the perfect opportunity to share some of our wins from the past year. We have come so far!

As a refresher, the KardiaMobile is a small, wireless EKG device that records heart rhythm to a smartphone or other device. To record a complete reading, the chimpanzee must sit still for at least 30 seconds, with one finger from each hand resting on the pads of the KardiaMobile device. This sounds simple, but it is no small feat for a chimpanzee to stay completely still for 30 seconds. To make things trickier, readings are easily impacted by interference from other sources. For example, another chimpanzee pant-hooting, displaying, or even tapping on the caging to request a snack can impact a reading. Other devices such as fans, radios, and TVs can also cause interference which can muddle the EKG enough that it no longer provides diagnostic information. Watch the video before continuing on to avoid any spoilers!

Since our first update on this behavior, we have recorded multiple EKG readings with Willy B, Terry, Cy, and…George! Willy B is a quick learner and was the first to successfully record EKG readings. JB made some adjustments to the platform that holds the KardiaMobile device (and keeps it safe from being taken by the chimps), so that Terry’s adorably stubby fingers could reach the KardiaMobile, and he is now unstoppable. Cy needed more time to grasp the behavior, but in the past 2 weeks has recorded his first EKG reading, and several more since then! George impressed us all by learning the behavior in just one session!

Above is one of George’s first EKG readings recorded with the KardiaMobile device. You can see at the beginning where he moved his fingers slightly, and the reading is affected. He then settled in and recorded a very clear reading for Dr. Erin to be able to review.

PRT is one of my favorite parts of my job. Not only is it a fun way to build relationships and incredibly exciting when the chimpanzees make breakthroughs in behaviors, but most importantly it allows them to cooperate in their own care. Through KardiaMobile training, we are able to provide Dr. Erin with awake EKGs on the chimpanzees, which gives her a diagnostic tool to regularly assess their heart health. For more information about KardiaMobile training and other PRT behaviors, check out the blogs linked here, here, here and here!