Foxie

Girl Gang

October 22, 2019 by Kelsi

As some of you might know Jody, Jamie, Missy, Foxie, and Annie are in phase 1 together. We recently have been calling them the “Girl Gang” because, well, that is what they are. They are a bunch of hoodlums up to no good. Okay, well that might not be true, but they are a bunch of tough chicks ready to take on whatever comes next! What is next you might ask? Well, that plan is still being worked on, in the meantime enjoy some photos of these independent women!

The girl gang was enjoying some time outside on Young’s Hill. But they were also on a mission. They were doing patrols, checking the raceway, and surveying the land. After everything looked clear they sat in the Chute looking eagerly at Negra, Mave, Willy B, & Honey B.

Jody:

Jody inspecting door Y’s lock:

Missy sprinting around the Hill:

Fierce Foxie:

Annie:

Annie also inspecting door Y with Jody:

Jamie starting one of many patrols:

After their Hill adventures everyone enjoyed a bit of time inside.

Foxie:

Annie:

Missy:

Jody:

Jamie sizing the scrubbing brush:

A Day to Give

October 15, 2019 by Kelsi

I thought since today was Giving Day for Apes I would reflect on this amazing opportunity that I get to call my job. I am a caregiver for primates and a handful of farm animals. Chimpanzee have changed my life. The Chimpanzee Human Communication Institute was my first introduction to chimpanzees. To be honest, I always wanted to work with marine mammals, but after I met Tatu, Loulis, and Dar I fell in love with chimps intelligence, their playfulness, their physical strength, but most importantly their resiliency. When I learned about the pain humans have inflicted on primates I wanted to make a difference and from then on I never looked back. I followed Tatu and Loulis to Canada and than I came back to Washington where I was lucky enough to get a job at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. It was hard to leave Tatu and Lou who I had known for 7 years, but the Pacific Northwest was my home. And to be lucky enough to get a job at CSNW, you just can’t say no to that!

There is a lot to the word caregiver. Being a caregiver is one of the most valuable parts of my life. I have learned how to put all of their needs before my own, feel so much compassion it hurts, and have a side of me be so silly I don’t care who sees. But there is also the side of being responsible for the well being of the individuals you are caring for and the humans involved. It can be emotionally straining, especially at a time like now. Care giving during this introduction period has been a challenge, the most amazing rewarding challenge! On one hand the friendships being formed are the whole reason we are doing this and it is so awesome you could cry! We want the best for the chimps and we also want to provide more homes to more chimps. But on the other hand it is one of the more stressful events in my career. On the human side watching your friends meet a bunch of strangers! Talk about social anxiety! But, as written in many of our blogs, you have to trust them. Each chimp has stepped up and gone above and beyond what we thought would happen. The hard work isn’t over, it might not have even started yet, but it is truly an amazing time to be at CSNW.

The chimps, as I’ve mentioned, are so resilient. Every chimp has a different background, some were raised by humans and given to biomedical research once they were too old to control, others where caught in the wild and taken away from their mothers, many were breed in captivity never knowing what the outside world felt like and would never know what it would feel like to be a “real” chimp, a wild chimp. Theses are just a few scenarios and there are so many more. But the fact that these chimps can form relationships with humans after what people have put them through will always blow my mind. And more than that, when they get the chance in sanctuary to make relationships with other chimps, get that feeling of freedom or choice, or even just feel relaxed. That is were my job is the most rewarding. Here in a sanctuary they get the opportunity to become themselves, or at least as much as possible. They will never get to go into the wild again, that was taken from them, but that they can make friends with other chimps or people and go onto the 2 acres must feel freeing in some way.

A few little moments that make my heart melt that I hope makes yours too: Annie making sweet bird noises, Burrito food squeaking so loud, Willy B lip smacking for food, Mave being a friend to all and her jumping up and clapping her feet when she wants to play (eekk!). Negra going out on the Hill alone, Jamie making a fort laying on a nest intertwined with boots and books, Honey B laying in a bunch of brown paper wrestling around in it, the moment you hand Foxie her doll back and she is completely content. Missy, Honey B, & Annie playing and Jody caring so intensely about each of her friends. But the winner today is Missy and Willy B playing chase. I haven’t seen Willy B with this big of a play face yet! We hope you enjoy this short video!

The business of being a chimp. And the business of being a human.

October 14, 2019 by Katelyn

Someone once said to me upon hearing of some particularly stressful aspect of our work (I don’t even recall what, I think we were preparing for a medical intervention for one of the chimpanzees), that they were “surprised.” They thought we all “just stood around holding hands and singing Kumbaya.” Ah. A once soul felt call for divine intervention from oppression and suffering taken from its suspected origins of the enslaved ancestors of the Gullah Geechee people in Georgia, to its then soft-voiced folk appropriation in the name of peace and solidarity, now used more often as an eye-rolling, head-shaking, somewhat barbed reference to considered…naivety? Cockeyed optimism? For many reasons, I wasn’t sure whether to be curious or annoyed. I think I fell somewhere in the middle, which is where I suspect the comment was meant to land.

My thoughts have snagged on that barbed memory these weeks as we navigate the pure, undiluted stress, exhaustion, joy, fear, and well, reality, of introductions with the chimpanzees. I think we’ve all hinted to these expected and unexpected challenges in varying degrees in our blogs lately. Diana spoke beautifully and openly to this just the other day in her blog post. And I think one of the biggest personal challenges for most of us, certainly for me personally, is the aspect of personal responsibility. Knowing intellectually that we are making the best decisions we can for the chimpanzees doesn’t negate the weight on your heart for being one more human controlling their lives, putting them in situations that aren’t easy for them, that cause unavoidable stress, fear and discomfort, and probable injury.

Chimpanzees are loving, gentle, sensitive, joyful, nurturing, creative, highly emotional and intelligent beings. And they can also be violent and unpredictable faster.than.you.can.blink.an.eye. Literally. Even toward their friends. It’s the business of being a chimp. (Also a human, I might add). And as a side note, reason No. 189 chimps aren’t pets and never ever should be. But in the end, I envy chimpanzees and their nature of unapologetically expressing exactly what they feel at any given time, then promptly sorting it out and moving along. It’s also the business of being a chimp. (But not so much a human, I might add).

So while our chests clench and we hold our breath as we witness the chimps scream, fight and come up against their own comfort levels, fears and social skills, we also hold our hearts as we witness increasingly amazing moments. Like arriving in the morning to see Honey B and Negra playing a slow game of chase upstairs. Or watching Jamie and Mave become increasingly inseparable as we marvel at Jamie’s ability to finally forge a true bond with someone of her own species. Or seeing Honey B reach out to Missy for reassurance after a fight, watch Missy place her hands gently on Honey B’s arms as Honey B held her mouth to Missy’s brow and then, see Missy slowly take Honey’s arm and wrap it around her back in an embrace. My hand flew to my heart, I teared up over that one. Even though it meant something different to me than them, me knowing their mother-daughter connection, it was no less powerful or moving. Especially seeing the distance they’ve come going from avoiding one another completely to more often than not being seen playing chase or just sitting quietly with one another. Or to see dear Annie who spent the better part of the first week of introductions screaming at the top of her lungs, intensely breathy-panting and grunting at Willy B while grabbing his feet in some socially awkward over-the-top play and reassurance gestures while huge, massive Willy B sat quietly wiggling his feet, letting her be herself.

We have a long way to go and some more tough days ahead. But I am so proud and in awe of Mave, Willy B, Honey B, Jamie, Jody, Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Annie and Negra. And I’m proud and in awe of the far-reaching team of humans standing in the wings, doing everything we can think of for the chimps and holding the space, trusting they’ll figure it out. Trusting we will all figure it out.

The chimps spent the better part of this day quiet, lounging in the sun, grooming, resting and eating. Not a lot of which was done within camera range. But here’s Willy B enjoying the view from the top of the toasty greenhouse:

And Foxie peeking over her doll, nap interrupted:

Shhhh!

October 8, 2019 by Kelsi

Everyday is different. However, today is finally a quiet day. I know, I just jinxed it! There was less screaming, a lot of playing between Missy and Honey B (!!!), good grooming sessions, and most of the interactions were positive! It was going so well that we tried to tip toe around the chimp house to not disturb the calm! There is usually a little drama pre dinner, but overall a very quiet day. Everyday will vary and who knows what tomorrow will hold!

Negra looks so cozy:

Willy B foraging out in the Green House:

Mave:

Mave enjoying a beet!

Jody:

Honey B was guarding the playroom door. We have been trying to get in there to clean for a day or so now! However, Honey B has other plans.

Over in phase 1 Jamie would lay down on door I which separate the mezzanine from the front rooms and watch the volunteers and staff clean the front rooms. As you can see Jamie even has a water cup next to her. But the best part of Jamie observing everyone from the top, what you can’t seen, is the troll scarf she tied around her waist!

Jamie:

Foxie and Burrito played a lot of chase and wrestling together:

Burrito:

Days like today are refreshing. It means the group is getting more and more comfortable with each other. Which also leads us to start thinking about doing more introductions!

The Great Adventure Begins

October 2, 2019 by Kelsi

Introductions have started! We as a staff had talked a lot about how introductions might go. We also had Amy Fultz from Chimp Haven provide advise from their successful introductions. To start intros we had Missy, Annie, and Jody meet Willy B, Honey B, and Mave first. We were very excited to have the chimps shift into the areas we needed them to so smoothly. To be honest, we were a bit shocked. We planned for one thing knowing that we might need 5 more back-up plans. Jamie, Burrito, Foxie, and Negra were offered a forage on the Hill that led to the new Chute and into Phase 1, which they have never been into! Foxie, Jamie, and Burrito went into the new Chute with ease. In the process Negra decided she wanted to stay on Young’s Hill. The Chute was foreign to her and she wasn’t ready for it yet, so Negra’s great adventure began!

I should start off by saying we do not normally close chimps onto only Young’s Hill. However, Negra was only out there until we could shift her back inside. Negra seemed to enjoy her time on the Hill. She grabbed a blanket and some forage and would go up to a structure and snack. Did I mention what was in the forage? There was lettuce, pomegranates, oranges, apples, pears, and Hawaiian rolls! When Negra needed more forage she would climb down, grab some more, and than go back up to relax on the structure. She even explored all over the Hill by herself. We thought she would hate being out there alone, but Negra was truly content. As some people say, Negra was living her best life.

I am sure you are all dying to know how the 3 on 3 meeting was. I can tell you there was fighting, hugging, A LOT of screaming, and A LOT of reassurance. Jody and Mave did a great job at keeping the peace! All of their reactions were normal for introductions. However, we were pretty busy the whole day and were not able to get very much video or photos. We also tried to keep the human interactions to a minimum. It is very important for Annie, Missy, Jody, Willy B, Honey B, and Mave to make a good relationship for the rest of the introductions to go smoothly. We are not out of the thick of things yet, but overall today’s introductions went well. Stay tuned for tomorrow, there will be a short video of clips from the introduction.

Flexibility

October 1, 2019 by Kelsi

A lot is changing around here! It is exciting change, but still an adjustment. We are learning that flexibility is key while the humans and chimps are learning a new routine. Even though it is just 3 new chimps, a lot of work has gone into this. We are getting to know 3 new chimps, while still devoting ourselves to the 7. We have new checks to do, spaces to organize, and old & new volunteers to train. With the new chimps comes a need for more fresh produce and toys. If you are ever curious about how to help, check out our amazon wish list. It is an easy way to help the chimps and we always need Safeway gift cards!

The 7 have been wonderful through this process with the new chimps arriving. They have been curious and as patient as they can be. Though the suspense of hoping to meet their new neighbors has brought some tension to the group. Overall, everyone is adjusting well and the 7 have been able to keep most of their days normal.

Negra is still catching some Zzz:

Jamie is still going on walks, maybe even more now:

Though Burrito is so interested in Honey B, Willy B, & Mave. He often waits by the window just to catch a glimpse:

All in all I think chimps and humans are very ready to get these intros started!

Change

September 22, 2019 by Katelyn

I don’t think a day goes by at the sanctuary right now without significant change of some sort. Learning behaviors and personalities from new chimpanzee friends, seeing new behaviors with long-time chimpanzee friends, new areas for chimpanzees and humans to access and former ones temporarily closed off, new procedures and protocols, new ideas, new volunteers and interns for autumn, scheduling changes, and even, well, things like one minute someone has their ear and the next, they don’t. Change, expected and unexpected, is always occurring, just on a more obvious level these days. And now, on this last official day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, we seem to have moved straight ahead into autumn. (Though in my book, I’d be thrilled with nine months of autumn).

I think as humans, or at least as this human, we often expect, or at least prefer some things to remain the same, predictable. But even though we celebrate things such as the transitions of one season into the next, if we’ve been paying any attention at all we’ve seen all the tiny every day things that lead us ahead into the next phase of life. With breaths of fresh air, new inspiration, new beauty to appreciate, new beings to love.

The chimpanzees last day of summer was a cool, rainy one here. It worked out well enough as they were all busy supervising the many humans working hard to expand their outdoor habitats which will be bringing new experiences to them in the days to come. Along with hopeful new friends and family when we soon begin introductions. Always changing, always growing.

The evening air is filled with the slowing song of crickets and frogs while the dark of night is increasingly alive with geese calling as they pass overhead on their way south. The chimps are all tucked into their blanket nests for the night, I suspect milling over their own thoughts and anticipation of change. May your hearts be as full from the beauty and bounty of summer as you’ve helped the chimpanzees’ to be, as you listen to the last sighs of summer rustle the changing leaves of autumn.