Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Grooming

Calm Before The Storm

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Hopefully by now you were able to read yesterday’s blog about Willy B’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine that happens in the afternoons. If not, you should go read it to get a little backstory of today’s blog.

Though this afternoon routine usually consists a chaotic scene of blurs zipping across the enclosures accompanied with ear splitting screams, the moments right before Willy B’s ruckus hour are filled with laughter. In today’s video, this is usually what is happening moments before Willy B decides to get a rise out of people. In fact, you can see him gearing for that specific time referenced in yesterday’s blog at the end of the video.

Here are some bonus photos from today!

The first morning patrol of the day!

Jamie

Burrito

Missy

Speaking of Missy, every so often she gives us some reminders that she is indeed Honey B’s mother.

Here she is thwarting my attempts to close off her playroom to clean.

As you can see, she has zero intent of moving

And lastly, some photos from a couple weeks ago that I forgot to use in the blog!

Burrito and his nighttime peanut butter magazine!

Grooming Party

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For whatever reason, the chimps in Cy’s group like to congregate in the front rooms to groom in the late afternoon. Sure, the Bray is open to them but why groom outdoors in a 2-acre habitat when you can pack together like sardines in a tiny indoor space?

Ah, but the chimps generally know what they are doing. Maybe there’s something about the forced proximity that contributes to the process. After all, this is one of most important aspects of chimpanzee social life. These are the moments that build trust and solidify relationships. This is Willy B saying sorry for being a jerk and Mave saying she respects the boss. This is Dora saying that she and Honey B can fight and still be friends and Terry saying that he just wants to be one of the boys.

Monitoring a newer group of chimps 24/7 can be exhausting but listening to them teeth clack, lip smack, and blow raspberries as I sit in the foyer writing the blog certainly brings a sense of calm, however fleeting. There will always be fights, but the work they do during these lazy afternoons will help them get through whatever is to come.

Forgiveness

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Just like humans, chimpanzee interpersonal relationships are complicated.  Chimpanzees laugh, play, grieve and generally display all the same emotions that we do. They also fight. Watching a chimpanzee fight can be extremely scary to an onlooker and in my opinion, is one of the least enviable aspects of having to be a chimpanzee.  This morning Jamie’s group got into a small fight after reentering the playroom when we finished cleaning (don’t worry, no one was hurt). During the conflict, Jamie and Burrito seemed to be targeting Foxie in particular with their wrath. Jamie would scream and Burrito would chase Foxie, then Foxie would scream at the top of her very considerable register and run away.  Rinse and repeat.  As you might imagine, it was hard to watch but things died down relatively quickly and we humans continued the cleaning process.

This leads me to one of the most enviable parts of being a chimpanzee… Approximately thirty minutes after the dramatic screaming match, I wondered out to the greenhouse and found Foxie and Burrito calmly grooming on a platform like nothing had happened. Their ability to forgive each other, make amends, strengthen their bond and move forward with their day is truly breathtaking.

 

Girl Time and Happy Birthday, Carrie!

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For today’s blog, I wanted to share a peaceful little moment while everyone else was out exploring The Bray. Though Mave, Honey B, and Dora may not be quite comfortable enough to go outside yet, at least they are spending some quality time together! Sometimes our days get hectic and busy, this video was a great reminder to slow down and enjoy the company of good friends. I hope this video brings you as much peace as it brought me.

We also want to give many thanks to Jenara Miller for sponsoring a day of sanctuary today in celebration of long-time friend of the chimps and bovines, Carrie Miller, on her birthday! From everyone at the sanctuary, we hope you have an amazing birthday Carrie!

Honey B:

Bubba:

Honey cow:

 

 

 

The Most Popular Girl on the Bray

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Lucky is one of the less social members of her group. While the others play and groom together, Lucky can often be found quietly perched on a bench overlooking it all or scooting across the floor in what we call her “blanket car.” Just like humans, some chimps tend towards introversion.

But on the 6th day of her group getting access to their new outdoor habitat, called the Bray, Lucky decided that she would make herself at home out there. And that has earned her a lot of attention from some of her group mates.

In fact, grooming Lucky is the hot new trend on the Bray. In typical Lucky fashion, she doesn’t reciprocate all that much, but she does however allow herself to be thoroughly groomed. This afternoon, she was joined by both Rayne and Gordo for a grooming session in the shade of the first platform.

Rayne inspected her arms.

And her feet.

Her back.

And inside the ears.

This amount of attention must be overwhelming for Lucky. Hopefully she can find a quiet place to nest overnight so that she can recharge and prepare for another day in her newly busy social calendar.

Two Stories

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Story One (in one sentence): These are the feet of an explorer named Burrito.

Story Two: Rayne was grooming Mave on the catwalk of the Oakwood Greenhouse, with Dora lying next to Mave. Honey B spotted them from the Riverview Greenhouse and headed all the way over to join them.

Then she enticed Dora to groom her.

We used to think of Honey B as a loner.

This little moment made me happy.

The end.

Popular

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I captured two moments of popularity at the sanctuary today that you can check out below, but first we have a fun event coming up that I wanted to highlight! We have our next virtual visit scheduled for April 15th. This visit will be focused on the chimpanzees’ medical care at the sanctuary and will feature a Q & A session with our veterinary team coming to you live from the chimp house! Please click on this link for more details on how to sign up.

The first “popular” moment was when Jamie and I went for a walk on Young’s Hill. Burrito popped out of the raceway and shadowed Jamie closely for the majority of her patrol:

Jamie stayed out a little bit longer for a peaceful moment alone:

The second moment was this grooming circle where Honey B was the center of Terry and Rayne’s attention: