Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
In today’s video, watch as Honey B explores her group’s outdoor habitat, the Bray! She seems to be gaining confidence in exploring this large outdoor space every day, and it is wonderful to watch.
Below are some lovely photos shared with us by a supporter, Christiane Leibrandt, who captured these beautiful images of Honey B during a recent visit to the sanctuary.
Thank you for these gorgeous photos, Christiane!
The other morning, I was turning on lights and greeting the chimps to start the morning. As I turned on lights for Gordo’s group, he jumped up and initiated a game of chase with me, and off we went! Somehow, as I was running to catch up to him in the front rooms, the fun was doubled when Rayne decided to join in our game. As we ran through their spaces, Gordo decided to take a rest, but pretty soon that quick game of chase between me and Gordo had turned into a train of chimps playing together, and I was just the third (well, fourth) wheel! Rayne, Honey B, and Terry chased each other, with Honey B grabbing at Rayne’s feet playfully as they went. Once they were done playing chase and sat down to play more, Gordo appeared again and joined in on the fun. It made me think of dominoes, as it only took that one quick game of chase with Gordo to start up a chain of play among his group. I hope you enjoy today’s video!
Come along for a play date with the coolest girls at CSNW, plus a special guest appearance!
This morning I was lucky enough to be able to go around and capture some portraits. Portraits can be hard to get because the chimps are often moving around quite a bit or simply do not want there picture taken, as you will see at the end of Jamie’s photo series. Jamie threw her arm out and shook it to tell me she had had enough :). Fortunately, everyone else didn’t seem to mind me taking some pictures! So please enjoy!
Negra eating her eggplant at lunch:
Cy waiting for his breakfast chow:
Little Honey B, being Honey B:
Foxie and her doll:
Dora portrait series:
And of course Jamie:
It’s never a dull day when working with chimpanzees, each individual is so their own and also has their own agenda for the day! As you will see in the video, most days Gordo just wants to go on the Bray not giving his caregivers a second look, but on this day Gordo decided it was time to play chase with his caregiver from the chute to the Bray. While, Terry just wanted to give sweet kisses in the morning. I think we all know Honey B’s agenda is to derail the schedule for her caregivers as much as possible, as she should! But she also tries to carve out alone time with one of her close friends, Dora, which can often play into derailing her caregivers schedule, too. She is such a multitask-er :)!
Though somethings may “derail” our day, it’s also the fun part about our job. We don’t know what we are going to walk into, but what we do know is that everyday they are provided with as much choice as possible!
Gordo eating a pear series:
Bonus!!
Foxie playing a lazy game of poke the doll and maybe camera with me:
I just love her eyes in this one:
And a very snoozy Willy B! So snoozy I don’t think he even knew I took this photo:
Five years ago to the day CSNW grew by three and welcomed home Honey B, Willy B, and Mave. After beginning their lives in biomedical research and then living at Wildlife Waystation, a wild animal shelter outside of Los Angeles that closed its doors after more than 40 years, they arrived here on August 18, 2019.
A lot has happened in five years- their group grew by 6 in their integration with Cy’s group and they gained access to and gained confidence exploring their 2-acre outdoor enclosure (The Bray). These are just two examples out of many. Their worlds have grown quite a lot since arriving here and ours have, too. Every day with them is exciting and we are so glad to know, and adore, them!
Check out today’s video to see how we celebrated (hint: pasta!).
But first! Thanks to those of you who filled out the survey from Diana’s blog post about the series Chimp Crazy. The first episode airs this evening (August 18th) on HBO and streams on Max at 10 p.m. PT.
The North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) and Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest (CSNW), along with a special guest, will be hosting a discussion of the first episode. Join us this Tuesday, August 20 via Zoom at 6:00 PM PST/9:00 PM EST to explore Episode 1: Monkey Love. We will be discussing the contents of the episode as well as some history around the use of primates in entertainment and the pet trade, the legality of owning primates as pets, and the Captive Primate Safety Act. Register to join this discussion!
We understand that there may be scenes in the series that could be difficult for primate welfare advocates to watch. Our goal is to provide a space where people can openly share their thoughts and learn more about how they can help these remarkable primates.
Mave:
Honey B:
Willy B:
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!
