Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Foxie

Portraits in Passing

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As we move through our days, we often capture little moments in passing. By the time our lead day comes around and we sit down to make the blog post, we’ve usually gathered so much content that some images end up left behind. Sometimes they don’t quite fit the week’s “theme” and other times, there’s simply too much to include. Today, I wanted to share a few portraits I took today, along with a small collection that’s been sitting on my phone, waiting for their moment.

Cy:

Foxie:

Negra:

Neggie in a nest series:

It’s hard to get portraits of Missy, she is always on the go. However today I was able to catch a moment of her sitting still:

Check out our Wish List, it’s one of the easiest and most impactful ways to help. We’ve just added a bunch of items, and every contribution goes a long way in enriching the lives of our residents!

Marmots and Dolls

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As I was putting the video together today, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole, or, more precisely, a marmot hole.

Did you know that marmots, which are rodents (technically large ground squirrels), are also called rock chucks and whistle pigs?

The territory of yellow-bellied marmots in Washington overlap with hoary marmots, with the yellow-bellied variety making their homes in the lower elevations of the state. They live an average of 15 years and generally hibernate for eight months, reproducing within weeks after emerging from hibernation and giving birth to a litter of 3-8 after a short 30-day gestation period. Their social structure is varied and complex, prompting some researchers to use social attribute models, frequently used when studying primates, to examine their social structures. I haven’t read every word of this, but if you are interested, take a look at this paper. Now I think someone should be studying the marmots we have on the property!

You’re welcome for that marmot lesson. If you are still with me…

After my marmot deep-dive, I was looking at photos of infant chimpanzees clinging to their moms, when somehow I came across this really interesting story about adult male chimpanzees “kidnapping” an injured first-born infant from her young mom (don’t worry, everything turns out okay).

This is why you are here, right?

Our fellow animals who we share this big blue marble with are so fascinating. I never get tired of watching the chimpanzees at the sanctuary, whether they are expressing an instinctual behavior like carrying (their version of) a baby on their back, or they are just chewing a leek.

Thanks for taking a deep-dive into Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest through this blog.

There’s more! If you didn’t receive the e-news last week, or if you need a reminder, here’s a couple of things to have on your radar:

First:
We are hosting a virtual visit this Wednesday for Love a Chimpanzee Day! You can learn more and sign up for as little as $5 on this donation page: https://giving.chimpsnw.org/page/LoveChimps25

Second:
You can help a NAPSA sanctuary of your choice win a really cool mirrored enrichment item from Wildlife Toybox! Make a donation to the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance and nominate one of the following sanctuaries by writing their name in the message box on the donation form: Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Primates Incorporated, Black Beauty Ranch, Fauna Foundation, Project Chimps, Chimp Haven, Save the Chimps, or Center for Great Apes. If you donate $1,000 or more, you’ll be featured as a sponsor of NAPSA’s upcoming Workshop! The first named sanctuary to hit $2,500 will win a Looky Lou feeder.

Pokey Joe Burrito

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Let me start by acknowledging that Pokey Joe generally means that someone is moving slowly.  And we know that one would almost never describe our beloved Burrito in that way.  Slow?  Please!

When I call Burrito Pokey Joe, it’s because he’s being especially pokey, as in poking me, poking food that’s being served, or poking my phone/camera.  I recently got some video footage of Burrito in an especially pokey mood.  And to top it off, I got some fun footage of Burrito and his good friend Foxie, playing and laughing their heads off!

I’ve titled this blog “Pokey Joe Burrito”, but it could also be called “That Time My Phone Ended Up In the Drain”!

Enjoy!

Chimpanzee Dynamics – It’s Complicated

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As I was putting together videos for today’s blog, some playful moments between Foxie, Jamie, Burrito and Negra, I realized they presented a nice moment to highlight the complicated intricacies of chimpanzee politics and friendships. We have observed a lot of complicated and sometimes downright confusing moments as we have undergone the reintroduction process with the group of 9, constantly looking to understand their relationships and dynamics to determine next steps, but “it’s complicated” can be applied even in long-standing groups of chimpanzees like Jamie’s group.

Chimpanzees can be brutal. They fight and injure each other, and being low ranking within the group hierarchy can be a tough role to fill. Lower ranking individuals endure more stealing of things like food from higher ranking individuals, usually don’t get first access to the most exciting items (like more novel or high-value foods or enrichment), and can become the recipient of redirected aggression during conflicts within their group even when they weren’t initially involved because they are an “easy” target. Maintaining status as a high-ranking individual isn’t easy either, and depending on the individual and their strategy for maintaining status in their group, they may put themself in harm’s way more frequently in attempts to maintain or improve their rank. An example of this in action could be Willy B displaying and hitting Lucky as part of a dominance display, which then results in many chimps chasing and hitting at Willy B.

Chimpanzees are also capable of remarkable forgiveness and reconciliation, and form meaningful relationships that shape not only their own lives but greatly impact the lives of those around them as well. While the moments of fighting, aggression, and tension can feel very big for us as the humans caring for them, the chimpanzees are often quick to overlook another’s transgressions, and spend time grooming and playing to ease tension and build relationships. Being high-ranking is often not as simple as who is the biggest, strongest, or fastest. Relationships with the other chimpanzees can highly influence where an individual falls in the hierarchy, as friendships can translate to having support during conflicts (or a lack of support), and can limit or expand an individual’s aspirations for higher rank.

I say all that to say, witnessing moments of play between high-ranking and often imposing Jamie and low-ranking Foxie is all the sweeter when you recognize the complexities of their relationship. While Jamie can be intimidating and domineering, they can still find common ground and enjoy moments of play. Burrito and Negra too have a complicated relationship – they have a standing play time each day as they wait for us to finish cleaning their playroom, but Negra is also often a target for Burrito when he feels the need to display. While there are moments of tension, they enjoy many more moments of play and companionship. Being a chimp is just plain complicated!

Rainy day fun!

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Today, the second day of spring, started out promising!  As Ellen and I were giving the cattle an early morning snack, the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds.  The sun’s rays felt nice and warm!  I was excited, anticipating a warm, sunny spring afternoon.  Chimps lounging in the greenhouses, and venturing outside.  When I gave Burrito access to his 2 acre outdoor habitat, Young’s Hill, he took off running!  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to join him but I promised I would do a perimeter run with him this afternoon.  Because, you know, it was going to be a sunny spring afternoon, right??

Well, I don’t know if it’s like this everywhere, but, spring in the Pacific Northwest is unpredictable.  Cue the rainfall.

So, what do the chimps do when it rains?

Some chimps like to curl up in a big, warm blanket nest (Negra).

Others like to spend time with a challenging enrichment item (Jamie).

Some prefer to watch their favorite movies and videos (Willy B).

Other chimps peruse the latest gossip magazines (Cy).

But, what do Burrito and Foxie do?

You’ll have to watch the video to find out!

p.s.  Don’t worry, Kelsi couldn’t deny Mr. Bubs a run around the hill in the misty drizzle this afternoon!  You’re a good sport, Kelsi!