Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Grooming

Grooming with The Boss

by 9 Comments

The chimp house is laid out such that depending on where you are standing in the foyer, chimps from either group could see you and might be working to get your attention. Whether it’s Burrito trying to get you to come over for a game of chase or Terry inviting you for a grooming session, it’s easy to get pulled in different directions.

Jamie is another who will work to snag a few moments of your time. 🙂 She might want to go on a patrol around Young’s Hill, or maybe she wants a specific book that’s on the windowsill, or perhaps she is wanting to groom.

Earlier this week I shuffled through the foyer and into the kitchen to work on some afternoon task list items, when I looked down the hallway and spotted Jamie sitting in one of the front rooms, staring right back at me- intensely. I thought she might want a book or a boot, so I went over to see if I could get something for her. When I got close and crouched down, she shifted her sitting position and pressed her right arm / side against the caging. This was her way of inviting me to sit for a grooming session, so I asked her to wait while I went and grabbed a grooming tool.

An example of Jamie presenting her arm for grooming.

We engage in protected contact with the chimps and we will often use our knuckle (with our fingers tucked into our palms) to knuckle rub them when their body is pressed against the caging enough so that our fingers do not penetrate through the caging. We will also use tools (in this case, a long flexible plastic tube-like thing) to groom with them and this allows us more range. I was hoping for a longer grooming session, so I went and grabbed one and Jamie kindly waited for me to hustle back.

Jamie presenting her shoulder / side for grooming (from another grooming session, this one in the greenhouse).

We sat together, quietly, for about twenty minutes while I groomed Jamie. We use species-specific behaviors with the chimps, which means that I was teeth clacking and lip smacking throughout. Every now and then I would pull the grooming tool back and breathy pant, to gauge if she wanted to continue or if she was done. She would make eye contact with me and give slight head nods, which was my cue to continue. Every now and then she would shift her position to give me access to her back, or her shoulder, or her left side. We would also pass the tool back and forth, with her taking turns grooming the dirt off my legs or my scrubs. When she was ready to be done interacting with me, she got up and walked into the playroom.

Jamie taking a turn grooming me with our grooming tool.

Grooming is a great way to spend quality time with the chimps. It builds your relationship with them and allows for quiet moments in each other’s presence. I eventually found my way back into the kitchen and continued on with the to-do’s of the day, but it’s those moments that stay with you.

Also! In case you haven’t heard, Giving Day for Apes is coming up on Tuesday, October 8th. We need your help to reach our fundraising goal and every dollar goes to the care of our deserving residents and two important projects here at CSNW. We have grown quite a bit over the last few years and one of these projects is building a support building for staff. The other one is to honor the individuals who have called CSNW home and passed on. This will be a space to honor the individuals we have loved, said goodbye to, and continue to love. It is located at the base of the hill where both outdoor enclosures are built. I have to say that watching the construction over this last week has been emotional for me personally. It will be a lovely area to reminisce, honor, and ensure that their stories live on.

Construction on the Memorial Garden. 

Early Giving is open now, with day of prizes for organizations in a variety of categories (Most Donations Raised between 10:00-11:00am PT, for example). Be sure to save it in your calendars and maximize your generosity!

And a preemptive thank you, for all that you do to support the work we do here. The support of this community is truly felt every day.

Photo Roundup!

by 10 Comments

Today has been a busy day. As I was starting to put together my blog, Jamie started alarm-calling, which most often means a snake has found its way through our snake fencing and is in the chimpanzees’ space. We quickly jumped into action to recall her group, asking them to come off of Young’s Hill and into the Greenhouse and their indoor spaces, and thankfully everyone except for Annie and Jamie was already inside. Annie made her way in quickly, and everyone was rewarded with strawberries while we waited for Jamie to be convinced that the humans could handle the snake problem and come back inside. Everyone is back inside now and enjoying their strawberries as a reward for participating in recall. Dessert before dinner, what a day!

Here are some photos from the day:

Missy enjoying her nest (reimagined from Negra’s earlier nest) in the Greenhouse this afternoon

Foxie with her doll

Mave taking some time for self-care, and grooming herself

Burrito with a block in his mouth, mid play-session!

Let’s groom!

by

Grooming is an important part of being a chimpanzee. Chimpanzees spend a majority of their day grooming, either themselves or each other. Not only does it help one be clean of dead skin, dirt, plants, debris, bugs, etc., it also helps build and maintain friendships and social relationships.

As we have discussed many times before, Willy B is an awkward chimpanzee. It seems like he doesn’t know what to do in many situations. However, one thing he has down is grooming. He grooms with the boys in his group the most, but can often be seen grooming with Rayne or Mave. Check out today’s video to see Willy B focused on grooming his group members! I threw in some footage of a current funny mystery we have going in the chimp house, as well. I’m curious as to who you think is the culprit.

Photos from today:

Cy grooming Volunteer Lizz

Cy portraits. Are you kidding me?! Look at this guy!

Gordo piloerect:

Gordo not piloerect:

Gals Who Groom

by

Grooming is an important part of chimpanzee life. It serves many functions, from forming, building, and maintaining social bonds, to helping ease tensions and facilitating reconciliation following a fight among the group. It is a part of everyday life.

Terry grooms Cy

Cy grooms Rayne’s lips (through the caging, although the door is open!)

As caregivers, we exist within the social sphere of the chimpanzees in our care (as Diana discussed in her blog earlier this week). We each have different relationships with each chimpanzee, which have developed and grown over time. Some chimpanzees are quick to accept new human friends (like Burrito and Terry), while others are less interested in the new person, and more interested in making sure that new person knows where they stand (at the very bottom!).

(I am taking advantage of my momentary mention of Burrito to share this somewhat blurry but very sweet picture of a sleepy Burrito from today!)

Grooming helps us forge and grow relationships with the chimpanzees in our care, and occurs when a chimpanzees invites us to join them for a grooming session. Sometimes this invitation comes in the form of a chimp pressing their back to the caging to be scratched with a tool or rubbed with our knuckle. Other times it may look like Cy poking his finger out of the caging making a raspberry sound, requesting to groom your elbow. One of my personal favorite invitations is when Honey B sticks out her very small thumb to request to groom you. Many grooming sessions have served as mile-markers for me in my personal relationships with different chimpanzees, such as the first time I felt comfortable allowing Honey B to groom the back of my hand, when Rayne initiated a lengthy grooming session with me for the very first time, the first time Lucky genuinely wanted to groom me (without any stabby fingers) or when Jamie first presented me with a chopstick to groom her with. In today’s blog video, I wanted to share a couple such special moments with you all.

And for those keeping up with Willy B’s recent injury and return to his group, check out J.B.’s blog  from yesterday about his reintroduction if you missed it!

Grooming Time with the Cows

by

Check out today’s video to join in on a grooming session…with the cows! These lovely ladies often spend time grooming each other, and it is a wonderful moment when they invite us as their caregivers to join in. Meredith, Honey, and Betsy really love the scratching post that J.B. recently installed for them, but when there isn’t a scratching post around, a human with a brush will do just fine!

Betsy licks Caregiver Ellen

…And another one!

And one more, because Betsy is just so cute!

Betsy rests her head in Caregiver Ellen’s hand

Betsy’s tongue is incoming…

Another lick from Betsy! You can see the texture of her tongue here. Being licked by a cow feels a lot like being licked by a giant cat’s tongue!

Left to right Caregiver Ellen, Meredith, Honey, and Betsy

And last but not least, Caregiver Ellen gets a facial courtesy of Betsy Cow!

A Budding Friendship

by

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.