Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

friendship

Nest Envy or Snuggling Up?

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The security cameras continue to be insightful as well as entertaining, catching so much that we would otherwise miss.

We’ve actually be doing a bit of an experiment these last several days and having Willy B sleep solo in order to cut down on the drama during the night and in the early mornings.

It’s worked well as a temporary measure, and it’s been interesting to see how the other chimpanzees navigate his separation. Rayne’s first nest in this video was right next to the Mezzanine where Willy B was sleeping that night. I wondered if she was signaling some sort of alliance or wanted to keep tabs on him. In the end, I think the blanket that Lucky had found for her nest looked too enticing for Rayne to stay in her original nest. Or maybe she wanted to be super close to her friend Lucky.

I almost forgot! This Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are having our 4th discussion about the docuseries Chimp Crazy. We’ll be discussing the fourth and final episode of the series (Fantasy Island), and we have a very special guest who will be joining us – Ana Paula Taveres, CEO of Save the Chimps! Ana Paula will be able to tell us all about Tonka’s new life in sanctuary! Register to join the discussion by zoom.

A Budding Friendship

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We’ve said it many times, but it’s still just as true- watching the group of nine expand on and build new friendships since their integration in 2022 has been one of the most amazing things to witness. While they still have their tense moments, the little happy and peaceful moments we catch throughout the day between individuals who were originally in two separate groups are always exciting.

Last week I came in one morning and before breakfast was served I went over to say good morning to Cy’s side. I walked in and found Terry and Willy B grooming, quite intensely, in the front rooms. I went around to say hello and they were still grooming when I came back up, and they let me capture some of it on video. 🙂 Seeing these two big guys spend some quality time working on their relationship was a really nice way to start the day.

This One’s for the Girls

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Nothing is more important than your girl friends. As you will see in the video, Honey B and Dora agree! Today, Honey B and Dora held back in the front rooms so that they could have some one-on-one gal time. Sometimes you just need a break from the men, ya know! Watching these two play really warms my heart. I often get asked by people, what sanctuary means to me. For me, it’s the little moments, like watching Honey B build friendships within her group, or to watch Dora flourish and become a social butterfly, or to watch someone like Neggie turn 51 (tomorrow!) and thrive in sanctuary: making choices that was not allotted to her in her previous life.

Tomorrow is the Trifecta Jubilee, celebrating our sweet 16! I cannot believe it has been 16 years since the Cle Elum 7 arrived to the sanctuary or that Negra will already be turning 51 years young. But, lets not forget our sweet friend Terry who is turning 34 tomorrow! It will be quite the celebration! If you would like to help us celebrate, check out our Sweet Sixteen online auction.

I think it will come to no surprise that I personally love this painting, Jamie’s Boot by Cheryl Feng. I love how Cheryl captured Jamie! Place your bids today!

A Special Game of Tug

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One of the most special parts of my job as a caregiver is being able to build relationships with the chimpanzees. This can be a slow process, with most of the first steps being them testing you and seeing how you react to things they do. Sometimes these things are not so pleasant for you, like poking at items you are serving, spitting at you, jumping at the caging to try to startle you, or even throwing poop. But all of that is so worth it for the friendships to come. It is incredibly rewarding when they start to let their walls down with you, and you start to get to see the chimpanzee person behind the tough exterior they first put up.

When I was first starting as a caregiver here, I admittedly struggled with “being the new guy” with the chimps more than I had expected. I had worked with many chimps as a caregiver at Chimp Haven, and had helped to welcome in many new residents to the sanctuary over my years there so working through those initial steps of relationship building was not new to me, and the hazing by the chimps was to be expected. But a big difference, which I quickly noticed, was that I was greatly missing my reliable, constant friendships that I had built over years of working with specific chimpanzee friends. I could always count on having a grooming session with Keeli, Maxi’s excitement when I showed up to train with her, and a good game of chase with Hamlet, but now I was working to build new friendships without those old ones to lean on, and remind me of all that is to come.

But thankfully, the weeks and now months have passed by quickly, and while I do still miss my old friends, I remain very excited for all of the new relationships I have and continue to build with my friends here. There is something extra special (as I mentioned in a previous blog post), about being able to have safe ways to touch and be touched by the chimpanzees that has allowed for an even greater level of trust and friendship that I have not been able to experience before.

I don’t want to spoil anything in the video for you, so you’ll have to go there to see who I got to share a few extra special moments with recently! I’m so grateful to be here, and to be able to build friendships with these very special chimpanzee people.

Bonus photos from the day:

Honey B resting in Riverview

Jamie flipping through an extra large magazine sent by a donor – it was a HUGE hit!!

Negra napping in her nest after a busy morning

Remembering and Cherishing Friends

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If you missed Grace’s blog yesterday, you should go read it. It was a beautiful tribute to Jody and how her memory lives on here, through everyone who knew and loved her and continues to share her story. It was also about processing the grief of losing a dear friend. While I never had the honor of meeting Jody, I was fortunate enough to work with and build a friendship with her son, Levi, as well as many other chimpanzees prior to starting my journey here.

Levi

Close up of Levi

Unfortunately, I too have experienced the loss of chimpanzee friends that I have known and loved that have passed away over the years. Some of my friends were very old, having lived long lives since being taken from the wild as infants, but still carrying with them the knowledge their wild families no doubt imparted to them even at such a young age. Lessons like how to climb a tree. Other of my friends did not seem nearly old enough for their time to be up, but yet it was. Despite our best efforts and all the love in the world, time was up. While each of these losses caused immeasurable pain and heartache, I keep coming back, knowing my heart would again break when another friend passes away. Because the heartache and pain and loss is what comes from such a great love. There is nothing more wonderful than seeing chimpanzees thrive in sanctuary. We get to make their lives the best that they can be, and continually strive to improve them. We get to be their friends, their caregivers, to see them get excited to see us when we come back from our weekend or just back to work the next day. We are there with them and for them on the best of days, and on the worst.

One thing I have learned from the losses I have experienced is to always make time to spend with your friends while you can. You don’t want to have regrets for not making time to play a quick game of chase with someone, or being too busy to stop to say hello on your way to your next task. Sanctuary life is busy and there are always more tasks to be done, but make time for your friends too. Because the time is always up too quickly.

Pictured is Juan, a wonderful friend to all he met. Read more about him here.

I am extremely grateful to be a part of this community and to get to share stories with you all every day. I worry sometimes that my old friends will be forgotten one day, that there won’t be anyone left to share stories of them or remember how quirky their greetings were or that they had the best laugh. But we have each other, to share stories and memories and in doing so share the joy and love of our friends, as well as our grief that they are no longer with us. Through each of us, their memory lives on.

Welcome Home, Meredith!

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Last week, we caught a break in the weather and were able to bring Meredith safely back home from WSU. While she has to remain confined to a pen in the barn for a short while during her recovery, she and her herd mates are happy to be together again. Notice in the video that you can see the exact moment when Honey realizes that Meredith is back…Mom sure missed her daughter.

Despite this, Meredith may actually wish she had stayed an extra week at the hospital, as yesterday we woke up to a temperature of -12.5F, which is the coldest I can remember in my nearly 16 years here at CSNW. Despite the extreme cold, the chimps and cattle are all doing well, and we’ve only had to deal with a few equipment freeze-ups so far. As a cold-climate sanctuary, we’re pretty well prepared for winter weather but these extremes certainly put all of our preparation to the test. In a couple days, we’ll climb out of these arctic temperatures and get to enjoy a regular old snow storm.

Touch, Trust, and New Friends

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Touch is an integral part of being a chimpanzee. It builds relationships – through grooming, play, embraces, reassurance during a fight or time of stress. It also strains those same relationships – through contact aggression during fights (biting, hitting, kicking), or even the withholding of reassurance from another chimpanzee.

Through it all, physical contact is a basic and important part of being a chimpanzee (and a human). As a human though, touch is generally not so risky. Let’s say you meet someone new, you’re likely to introduce yourself and shake their hand. Touch. But in that moment of shaking hands, you’re probably not worried about the potential of the other person biting off one of your fingers. At least I hope not! Chimps put incredible trust in each other each day, and especially upon meeting new friends. I have witnessed many introductions where chimpanzees meet each other for the very first time, and tentatively approach one another, often with a fear grimace in anticipation (and likely some fear as well), and display an immense amount of trust in this complete stranger by putting their hand in the stranger’s mouth in greeting. Chimps are strong and can be unpredictable, so this show of trust in a stranger is immense. It has amazed me every time I have seen it, knowing chimpanzees and their tendency to settle disputes in a very straightforward manner – by fighting it out. But then, often as quick as it began, the fight is over, they reconcile, and this too is amazing.

I have been thinking about this topic a lot as I have gotten my start as a caregiver here at CSNW. I have found that trust does not come so easily for me. At my former job, we were not allowed any physical contact with the chimpanzees in our care, so it has been an adjustment for me learning how to safely have physical contact with the chimpanzees here at CSNW, and even more so just allowing myself to do so! We learn how to do several different types of protected physical contact with the chimps, which in most part involves allowing them to touch us. We can accept kisses from them on the back of our hand, let them touch or groom the back of our hand, elbow, or knee, and can use our knuckle to rub them when they press their body fully against the caging, so our knuckle does not go through the caging and is protected from potential grabby fingers or chompy teeth.

On day 1 of my learning how to do these new (to me) types of interactions with the chimps, sweet, wonderful Terry was the most patient and kind teacher. Even though I was still mostly a stranger to Terry, he sat and carefully groomed the back of my hand, gave it a kiss, then let me rub his arm with my knuckle. Touch. Friendship. Connection.

 

It is not so easy with everyone, though – people and chimps included. Understandably, all of the chimps are not so ready to befriend the strangers. They already have human friends, thank you very much! Honey B has been an especially tough cookie to crack, but I keep hoping for a breakthrough. This brings me back to trust. I don’t currently have much when it comes to Ms. B and having physical contact interactions. She is a well known trickster (and we love her for it!), so it can be hard to know when she is genuinely seeking touch and connection in a friendly manner, or trying to draw you into a hilarious prank (for her). These pranks often include spitting whatever she has in her mouth onto her unsuspecting victim, quite the surprise when you were anticipating quality time with her!

I recently was able to have a very sweet and rewarding grooming session with Honey B, where she was very excitedly involved in her grooming task, and very sweet to me throughout. She carefully groomed the back of my hand with her finger, looking for any scratches or imperfections in need of some attention. In this moment, and many others I have had here at the sanctuary already, I felt very fortunate to have this form of connection and bonding with my chimpanzee friends here. It allows for another level of relationship building and the formation of trust from the caregiver in the chimpanzee, versus many other occasions where the chimps have to put trust in us as their caregivers (for example, trusting when we close doors to allow for cleaning that we will not hit them with the doors, or that we will do our best to respect their hierarchy when serving their meals and not cause tension or fighting by serving a low ranking chimpanzee like Annie right next to a high ranking chimpanzee like Jamie). It is very rewarding to be able to connect with our chimpanzee friends in this way, and a privilege I will always be grateful for. I’m looking forward to more interactions and relationship-building to come!

And on to something completely different…we would like to send our thanks to Nancy D. for buying a pink horse wearable blanket for the chimps from our Comfort & Joy Auction! We set it up along with some other blankets and boxes for Cy’s group today, and Honey B was quick to investigate. Please enjoy this series of Honey B vs pink horse blanket…no surprise here, Honey B was the winner!