Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Okay, it’s not summer (yet), but we have been having a heatwave in Cle Elum: temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s with lots of sun. As a result, the greenhouse is toasty warm. Here’s Annie enjoying the reprieve from winter and doing a little self-grooming.
Today is a sponsor-a-day in honor of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest supporter Debbie Redwine.
Happy Birthday from the Sutter Coast Conglomerate Chimps, Debbie!
Here’s a photo of another chimpanzee conglomerate (Jody, Negra and Missy) to wish you a happy and relaxing day with friends:
Grooming is one of the most important activities in chimpanzee society. The caregivers at CSNW play an important role in the chimps’ social world, so we also groom with the chimps when they request it. Some of the chimps like to be groomed by their caregivers, but others, like Jamie, prefer to do the grooming.
Missy and Annie spent some time grooming on the platform outside this afternoon. It had just started to sprinkle, so Missy covered herself up with a blanket to stay dry.
When chimps find something good during grooming (usually a piece of dead skin), they will often inspect it. Here, Annie is holding out her lower lip to check something out.
Grooming, generally a very calm activity, is a really important part of chimpanzee culture. It establishes and strengthens friendships and alliances. Chimps part the hair and pick out any debris or dead skin. They also will groom scabs off of themselves and each other.
Left to right: Missy grooms Burrito’s head. Burrito grooms Foxie’s back. Foxie grooms Burrito’s arm.
Annie (right) grooms Missy’s face. Chimpanzees often use their lips as well as their fingers to groom themselves and others.
Jody (left) and Missy (right) groom Jamie (center, wearing scarf of trolls). This photo was taken shortly after Jamie had been ill for a few days and had been separated briefly from the group (though they could all still see each other). Grooming is very common when chimpanzees are reunited after even a short separation.
Chimpanzees spend a lot of time grooming injuries on themselves and others. In fact, we rely heavily on observation of their behavior towards one another to monitor their health. For example, a chimpanzee may develop a small abscess from a bite or scratch during a fight. Depending on the location of the injury, the caregivers may not notice it at first. But the chimpanzees sure do, and this will often alert us to its presence. And while we tend to be a bit overly cautious and provide oral antibiotics, the chimpanzees do a pretty good job of grooming and draining injuries to promote healing on their own. This makes sense, of course, because free-living chimpanzees often suffer injuries and do not rely on humans for treatment. But it is fascinating to watch. Missy seems to be the most adept at using tools (in this case a piece of grape vine) to groom herself.
Annie and Missy have such a strange relationship. They are nearly inseparable, but when Missy decides to groom or play with someone else, Annie appears to be jealous. Its very predictable – if you see Missy playing with another chimpanzee, you can bet that Annie is watching her every move from a distance. Sometimes Annie will sit back on her butt and tap her heels on the floor, which is a behavior she often displays when she is anxious. And while Missy likes to interact with the other chimps, Annie mostly keeps to herself when Missy is not around.
Today I was taking photos of Missy and Jamie grooming and playing together outside:
And sure enough, there was Annie in the doorway, keeping an eye on things:
