Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

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Back to Work

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I’m happy to report that our team of contractors have picked up where things left off last fall with regard to construction on the Bray. We don’t have a firm completion date yet but it should be fairly soon! While they complete their fence work, we’re taking the opportunity to build upon Ryan’s Lookout, the structure that will allow Cy’s group to supervise all the comings and goings at the sanctuary.

So far we’ve added three crow’s nests with fire hose vines strung between them and the main tower. Our poor bamboo took a hit during the arctic blast last Christmas. The existing culms may not grow new leaves this year but we’ll have to wait and see. The good thing is that it should be ready to send up new shoots in June.

The weather has been typically spring-like lately, meaning it is winter one day and summer the next. Last Thursday it snowed on us while working outside in the afternoon; by the end of the week it should hit 80 degrees. This means that some days the greenhouse panels are necessary, while on other days we have to run the fan to cool things off. The last few days have been perfect and the chimps are happy to bask in the warmth from their perch on the tree structures.

As always, Cy has been busy keeping up with the latest celebrity news when not managing his sometimes unruly family.

This photo didn’t turn out very well, but I thought I’d share anyway…I was just barely able to catch Lucky giving her friend Dora a hug to celebrate the arrival of the lunch cart.

On a final note, the sanctuary recently purchased a new (to us) farm vehicle. Surprisingly, Jamie is a bit intimated by it and still prefers to race the Gator. But Benny, who is licensed and required by law (so he says) to inspect all farm machinery, has given it his full approval. Benny lives at the sanctuary with me and Diana and our two other rescue dogs, and because of old injuries he can’t walk as fast or as far as his pack mates. Now he can leave them in the dust. He said the staff can use it too.

Mave and Dora

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Sometimes dinner is so exciting that you just need a hug.

On the other side of the building, Jamie and her gang spent some time out on the hill today. We have been under clouds and fog for so long now that we’re wondering if Cle Elum will ever be known again its sunny winters. This morning, Anna came back from outside and exclaimed, “The fog is getting brighter!” We all celebrated the change from gray to light gray. The chimps celebrated, too, by heading out to the hill.

Jamie took along her favorite book:

Burrito followed:

Foxie of course took her doll along to fetch some snow:

Perhaps tomorrow will be an even brighter shade of gray. If not, I might need one of those hugs. Or just a cozy nest:

Terry update: He’s feeling much better and is as playful as ever!

Contact

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As part of our ongoing Q&A series, I thought I’d address one of the most common questions we get: Do we ever wish we could have more physical contact with the chimps?

As many of you know, we strictly limit the ways in which we interact with the chimpanzees out of concern for our safety. Chimpanzees are incredibly fast and powerful animals with large, muscular jaws and massive canine teeth. Estimates vary, but it’s safe to say that chimpanzees possess at least twice the upper body strength of humans, pound for pound. And for chimpanzees, aggression is not an aberration but rather a normal part of the way they interact with one another and the world around them.

It was then that the troll realized he had made a terrible mistake.

Compounding the risk posed by their strength and natural behavior is the frustration they experience in captivity. One of the profound ironies of caring for chimpanzees is that you are far safer strolling through an African forest amidst a community of over a hundred free-living chimpanzees than you are standing near the enclosure of a captive chimpanzee. In fact, when Jane Goodall, the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, lost the tip of her thumb, it was not to one of the chimpanzees of Gombe that she had spent decades living among but rather to a chimpanzee in a laboratory cage. Frustration is not limited to chimpanzees in laboratories, however. Even in the best zoos and sanctuaries, we deny chimpanzees control over their lives and the ability to make choices for themselves. To put it bluntly, all captive chimpanzees are prisoners to varying degrees and we should not be surprised when they occasionally act as such.

So if we are concerned with safety, we’re left with a cautious and largely hands-off approach to caring for captive chimpanzees. In those times when we do have contact, we do so through the mesh fence in very controlled ways. We like to use the term protected contact, which originated as a way to describe the safe management of elephants from behind a safety barrier. At CSNW, this means that our bodies never penetrate the caging. If the chimps want us to touch them, we do so with the tip of a knuckle while the chimps press their bodies against the mesh. If they want to touch us, they must extend their fingers all the way out and we limit their reach to our bare elbows or wrists. These methods, along with countless hours of training, help limit opportunities to get bitten or grabbed.

Kelsi playfully knuckle-rubs Burrito.

All of this eventually becomes second nature for both caregivers and the chimpanzees and I can honestly tell you that I rarely desire to have more contact with my chimpanzee friends. That said, I do remember feeling differently during my first summer spent around chimpanzees. In 1998, I was an apprentice at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, and my fellow apprentices and I would spend five or more days per week recording observational data on the chimps, cleaning near them, and coding videos of them. Our lives were consumed with chimps but we were not trained to a level where we could have any contact with them at all. It was killing us. So much so that when we’d be out on the town at night, we’d inevitably mob some unsuspecting dog and frantically pet them until they managed to break free and run for help.

There is one particular situation where it is relatively safe for us to have free contact with the chimps and where we do sometimes indulge ourselves, and that is when they are under anesthesia for medical care. In these moments, in between the IV prep and the blood pressure readings, we sometimes find ourselves holding their hands. Maybe it’s in the hopes that somewhere in the deep recesses of their subconscious they can sense that we are there with them. Or maybe we are looking to them for comfort.

Diana holds Burrito’s hand during an echocardiogram.

It’s important to remember that in normal circumstances the chimpanzees in our care get all the hugs, snuggles, play slaps, and tickles they desire from their chimpanzee friends, and the chimps and their caregivers are able to develop rich and full relationships despite the physical separation. It’s only natural to want to have more physical contact with them, but eventually you come to realize that a raucous game of chase across the mesh barrier is a perfectly fine way for two friends to play. No physical contact needed.

And in those times when we need a good ol’ hug…well, that’s what dogs are for.

Wilson is always available for hugs.

The Hug

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Burrito and Willy B have now been together for nine days. This past Tuesday, we added Negra and Honey B – who get along unexpectedly well – creating a group of four. Upon entering the group, Negra did as Negra does, which is to say that she waltzed back into the playroom and made a nice comfy nest while pestering her caregivers to start dinner, as if nothing had changed. Honey B, on the other hand, came out of the gate with a message for Burrito: don’t mess with the little girl. On two occasions, as Burrito started to display, Honey B pounced on him, leaving him with a couple minor bites. Burrito seemed to be immediately overcome with the realization that the girls that had dominated him for so long were not an anomaly – they are all this way. Willy B stayed out of it entirely, as though he had received the same message from Honey B in the past and took it to heart.

With her point made, Honey B spent a considerable amount of time trying to get Burrito to groom and play. He has so far declined most of her offers, understandably. But they have maintained a peaceful relationship since.

So yesterday it was time to add Mave to the group. We had a strong feeling that Mave and Burrito would get along, based on their brief encounter in the group of ten and their interactions through the lexan as they have been housed in adjacent enclosures. And Mave seems to be a very stabilizing force wherever she goes, with her keen social awareness and penchant for giving out hugs when they are needed most. But given that Burrito was already working on a challenging relationship with Honey B, we thought it would suit him best to spend time with Mave one-on-one. As you can see, they hit it off right away and within a couple hours, both were introduced into the group with Willy B, Honey B, and Negra. This is how things will likely stay for a little while, so that Burrito can continue to build on his friendship with Willy B, work out his differences with Honey B, and find comfort in the warm fluffiness of Mave’s hugs. Negra will continue to play with her new friend Honey B and keep track of mealtimes for the staff. When the time is right, we will begin to engage Foxie with some of the newcomers so that she, like Burrito, can overcome her fears and forge new relationships.