Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Foxie

The other side of things

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As caregivers, we all love to write and talk about the best aspects of chimpanzees. We celebrate each chimpanzee that we know as an individual and of course cannot help but compare them to ourselves. Like humans, chimpanzees form deep friendships, they play and laugh, grieve their lost love ones and generally display the same wide range of emotions that we do. It’s no wonder that we all find them to be so deeply fascinating and relatable.

This brings me to today’s blog post, the other side of the chimpanzee “coin.” When we talk about both humans and chimpanzees, we cannot always separate out the good facets of our nature from the negative ones. The truth is, chimpanzees (like humans) fight. They have disagreements, hold grudges and can sometimes appear to be incredibly irrational to outside observers. They can also hurt each other (even those that they are incredibly close to). When we watch the chimpanzees fight and argue, we see them express themselves in the most intense and dramatic ways possible. They scream and they hit, they bite and they kick. Despite the perceived drama, most arguments at the sanctuary do not end with an injury. But sometimes they do. Yesterday, good friends Burrito and Foxie got into a fight. While the conflict was resolved relatively quickly, Foxie lost a large part of cartilage from her left ear. Luckily, the injury appears clean and she doesn’t seem to be particularly upset by the loss (chimps are TOUGH). Apart from some pain and swelling management (using oral medications), we shouldn’t need to do any medical intervention. As you might imagine, Foxie does look a little different now.

Here she is exploring Young’s Hill with her new troll doll this morning:

You may also have noticed that having missing portions of ears is not unique to Foxie. Negra and Burrito have also sustained similar injuries in the past. We have always known them to look this way:

Quick fights that end with injuries like these ones are also great reminders of why chimpanzees make terrible pets and why humans never go in the enclosures with the chimps. They’re also great reminders of how forgiving chimps can be. Yesterday, Diana spotted Foxie and Burrito grooming together probably 10 minutes after the fight was over.

“Forgiveness is the final form of love.”
― Reinhold Niebuhr

Oodles of Fun!

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Oodles: (Noun) a very great number or amount of something. For example, I have oodles of photos!

Guys, what a week! It has been a little crazy here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest or at least on the human side. It’s becoming cold and flu season and it took some of our team out this week. But, we made it to Friday and rest assure I have a oodles of extra photos from this week! Who wouldn’t want to look at chimp photos to ease into their weekend!

Also if you have ever wondered how can you could help these amazing & wonderful chimpanzees, a very simple way is to buy items off our amazon wish-list! An example could be: we have three more chimpanzees, which meaning we go through produce a lot faster. Donating Safeway gift cards is a great way to really helps us out!

Okay enough talking, let’s look at these chimps!

It is beginning to feel like fall. This morning I found Neggie wrapped up in blankets in the Green House:

Burrito at Annie’s party:

Jody catching the warm sun in the morning before Annie’s party:

Jody at Annie’s sunflower bash and foot full of celery:

and sunflowers:

Annie:

Foxie with a new tiny troll doll that she loves:

Mave in a hammock:

Honey B:

Willy B:

Fierce little Missy running off Young’s Hill:

Jamie eating her favorite, pears:

 

We’ve Got Ten!

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Today was a pretty busy day. We had an amazing group of volunteers from Suncadia come and help us with the new extension on the Hill which provided a lot of supervision opportunities for Jamie and the entire chimp house really! But guys… Honey B, Mave, and Willy B got to go out in their new tunnel yesterday afternoon!! The seven and the three got to see each other from afar, and to say they were excited would be an understatement. I mean, Burrito almost forgot to eat dinner! So there was a lot of hustle and bustle between the work on the new hill and getting a peak at the new guys! There will be a video soon, but I thought today I would show you a collection of photos of each one of the chimps!

And a big thank you to the volunteers who came out to help us!

Jamie supervising:


Foxie:

Jody:

Annie:

Missy:

Neggie:

Burrito:

Sweet Mave with beet lips:



Willy B:

Honey B cleaning the Mezzanine after we had cleaned, it was not up to her standards:

Door Drama

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The seven resident chimps have something new to occupy their time: neighbors.

With Willy B, Mave and Honey B settling in next door, Burrito and the gang were busy trying to peer through the cracks above and below the Howdy Door. Last week, we locked a metal insert into place so that the door is a solid barrier while the new arrivals are quarantined. This additional surface restricts their ability to interact and see each other, but chimpanzees from the two groups can still hear each other. This is especially noticeable whenever a chimp displays or hoots and the individuals in the adjacent area react accordingly.

As seen in the above video, Foxie was particularly nervous about the door today. She kept returning to it and listening until something happened to make her retreat. Burrito was also inspecting it periodically, usually with his hair piloerect.

On the other side, Willy B seemed interested in the door and occasionally drummed a response. Mave has a habit of politely knocking on the door with her knuckles. So far, only Honey B seems more invested in watching the human caregivers and exploring her new surroundings.

As the days go by and the quarantine period progresses, the prospect of beginning the introduction process grows closer. It’s difficult to determine how each individual will fare when allowed to meet a complete stranger. The Howdy Door and adjacent enclosures will help the integration of the two groups to be a gradual and controlled procedure, enabling us to cater the environment to each chimpanzee’s needs and preferences. This way, when the doors finally open and the groups merge, none of them will be strangers anymore.

The One With Jamie & Foxie

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Let’s just ignore the fact that summer is almost over, because I am in pure denial and enjoy the weather. I mean take a look at Foxie and Jamie!

Foxie was enjoying the warm breezy morning lounging with a tiny troll doll:




Jamie had work to do before she could relax this morning. She beat the heat and did some patrolling on the Hill:



Bonus photos…

Willy B, he makes my heart feel so full:

Willy B also likes his photo taken!

Honey B, seriously she is so amazing:

Honey B (right) being groomed by Mave (left):

Foxie is Here to Play!

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Happy Friday! Finally, you’ve made it to the weekend! I thought I would help us all slide into this weekend with a fun video of Foxie playing. Foxie loves to interact with her chimp & human friends! She knows how to loosen individuals up and get them to relax and be silly. Foxie can even get Jamie to stop monitoring the humans and play! Foxie really does enjoy seeking out her human caregivers. As you will see in the video Foxie’s play style allows her to be perfectly happy playing with chimps, humans, or even just enjoying alone time with her dolls!

Happy Birthday, Terry!

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Mike Stockdale sponsored a day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees in honor of his wife, Terry Stockdale, and shared this message about his gift:

“I want to sponsor August 14 to celebrate my wife Terry’s 69th birthday. She and her favorite chimpanzee, Foxie, share not only an August birthday, but a love of dolls.”

Mike, thanks so much for adding to the chimpanzees’ lives as you and Terry celebrate her special day!

Happy Birthday, Terry! Foxie’s still celebrating her birthday this week, with a different doll every day it seems. May your birthday be full of as much joy as you’ve helped bring her and her chimp family!