Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

Jamie

World Environment Day 2023

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Today is World Environment Day! World Environment Day has been held annually on June 5th since 1972 to raise awareness on issues our environment is facing and how to combat them. The events are also hosted by a city or nation to lead the theme and festivities. This year is being hosted by Côte d’Ivoire with the theme Solutions to Plastic Pollution with the social media hashtag #BeatPlasticPollution.

Here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we try as much as we can to limit our footprint on the environment. From composting uneaten foods to recycling paper to reusing items for chimpanzee enrichment, we are conscious of what we use, how we use it, and how to properly dispose of it. Through the TerraCycle programs, we have boxes setup throughout the sanctuary where staff and volunteers can get rid of used gloves and masks, which are then shipped off to be recycled. We also use Tru Earth laundry eco-strips. These strips if concentrated laundry detergent help us keep the chimpanzees’ blankets smelling fresh without the use of big plastic jugs detergent usually comes in. In fact, the packing itself is zero waste and can be composted. Did you know, the people were gracious enough to set up a fundraising page for us? Every purchased made at this link, 20% will be donated to help with the chimpanzee and cattle care!

For World Environment Day, I had a plan to have photos of the chimpanzees with today’s browse: wild roses!

The chimpanzees were faster than I had anticipated. After giving them access back to their Greenhouse after cleaning, Jamie’s group left nothing buy stems of the once beautiful roses. This photo of Jamie finishing off the last rose was all I was able to capture.

I apologize, but you will just have to imagine the chimpanzees with roses.

After all the roses were gone, it was time to relax. I couldn’t tell though if Burrito was relaxing or planning his next scheme.

(Hint: it was a scheme that involved a lot of play.)

On the other side of the sanctuary, Cy’s group had an amazing day on the Bray. The weather was perfect. The sun was out. The temperature was warm but not hot. And there was a breeze that would come through every so often.

Cy looking on as Rayne and Gordo explore Ryan’s Lookout.

Rayne and Gordo marching along.

Cy soaking up some sun.

Lucky looking out to the valley and river below the sanctuary.

Rayne waiting for the train to pass by.

While most were out on the Bray, some elected to stay behind and groom in the shade.

Mora!

Mave even was able to go into full relaxation mode.

The Boss and Her Rules

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Yesterday, Sabrina wrote about the walk she took with Rayne around the Bray. It’s so exciting to see Cy’s group explore their new habitat- if there’s anything we’ve learned from Jamie’s group and Young’s Hill, it’s that seeing them explore outside truly never gets old.

So, earlier today (and every day, really), when Jamie wanted to go for a walk, I was pumped! While I was trying to figure out what she needed for the walk, I realized I had my blog topic for the day. Jamie has rules when it comes to her walks, naturally, and we have to abide!

Today, we were cleaning the front rooms when Jamie popped up in the loft of the playroom. I was walking into the chimp area from the kitchen and she started pointing, so I stopped cleaning and tried to figure out what she wanted. First, I tried showing her a few different boots to see if one was what she wanted. She didn’t stop pointing (aggressively) so I knew I hadn’t gotten it right yet. Her short, black boot had been drying on the kitchen boot dryer so I snagged that and she nodded at me, but still pointed towards me. I was getting closer, but wasn’t quite there yet, so I put the boot on and grabbed her favorite bonobo books and she was gone! I met her outside the greenhouse and off we went. Almost everyone joined us today, but Negra opted to remain in the super comfy nest she had made in the greenhouse.

After walking with Jamie, she will usually want one or all of the items she asked you to bring around the hill. Since it’s chimp approved enrichment, we give it to her! Today she wanted her three bonobo books, but didn’t want her boot, so I put it aside to give to her before closing up the chimp house this evening.

After you have successfully navigated the pre-walk steps of figuring out what exactly you need to bring, done the actual walk itself, and given her the things from the walk she wanted- then she will often want to sit and groom for a bit. 🙂 These are all ways to build your relationship with her and, when the day can get so busy, they’re also nice quiet moments that we can spend with her.

We don’t always get it all right when we try and figure out what the chimps want, but it is one of the most important parts of our work here so we always try… Even if it means disappearing from cleaning for a little while (thanks, Lizz and Courtney!)

BONUS PHOTOS:

Jamie’s group wasn’t the only side to explore outside today! Rayne, Gordo, Cy, Willy B, and Lucky all enjoyed some time out on the Bray this afternoon.

Rayne and Gordo going all the way to the top:

Your eyes didn’t deceive you- Rayne was rockin’ some Sporty Spice fashion on the Bray today!

Willy B enjoying the sunshine:

Terry being his handsome self:

 

Foxie enjoying lunch:

 

The Complete Picture

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Being a caregiver to chimpanzees is a great job, in my humble opinion. There are so many challenges that come with the job, but there are also the same if not more amount of rewards. You also see chimpanzees in a new light. Before moving up to Central Washington, I had studied chimpanzees for a couple of years. The studies, however, consisted of me helping to analyze data that was coming in from the field researchers. To learn about chimpanzees in a classroom setting is one thing, but working with them up close is another. To see everything you have read about in the flesh is like fitting the missing piece to the puzzle. The picture becomes clear. The intelligence, the emotions, the tenderness, the strength, and yes, the chaos. Everything about these beings changes. You see them in a whole new light.

Working with these individuals, you cannot help but wanting to know everything about them. That’s when the sadness kicks in. Reading about what they went through for decades is truly heartbreaking. The kicker is knowing the can never be truly free for various reasons. One example is chimpanzees are very territorial beings. They do not take kindly to strangers. The instinct for them in the wild is to kill any intruders into their home range, minus age appropriate females to diversify the genetic pool. Another example is everything a chimpanzee knows to do in the wild is passed onto them from their mothers and other elders in their community through observational learning. This includes things such as what to eat, how to get it and eat it, how to socialize and show respect to those higher in the hierarchy. Chimpanzees used in the biomedical labs, the entertainment industry, and those kept as pets are taken away from their mothers very early in their life. Sometimes after a few short hours. So they miss all these important life skills that they should know if they were in the wild.

One downfall is as a caregiver, the algorithms on social media tend to veer you toward animal related content. On paper, this would be great. The more exposure you can get, the more people will join in appreciating and help conservation efforts to save them. However, the reality is caregiver’s social media algorithms tend to only show the user what is popular. In the case of chimpanzees and other primates, these videos are the ones with them dressed up, doing tricks, playing with dogs or tiger cubs or guests. These are the videos that things like the exotic pet trade or entertainment. I will give props to the entertainment industry, which is trying to use CGI effects in lieu actual animals of late. Some studios are still falling behind that curve though. The more there is a want for chimpanzees to star in film, interact with guests at roadside zoos, or be kept as a pet, the more atrocious means are used to acquire infant chimpanzees.

Chimpanzees are a protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This means chimpanzees in the wild are protected from being captured, killed, or traded. Or they should be protected from being captured, killed, and traded. Despite their CITES protection, chimpanzees are still being sought after as pets and props. Poachers almost exclusively target infants since they are smaller, a blank canvas in terms of training, and cute. In order to obtain an infant, poachers usually have to kill any adult in the area. Eight to ten adult chimpanzees are killed as they try to protect their family. Lwiro Primates Rehabilitation Center just posted a story on their Instagram account that is saddening and sickening, of an infant they rescued from poachers who still had his mother’s blood and hair clenched in his hands.

It can be hard to believe, but though most states ban the owning of primates (to some degree), there are still some where it is permissible. I personally believe all states should ban any primate from being a household pet. There are a plethora of reasons why. Besides the ethical reasoning due to the circumstances mentioned above, primates are notoriously difficult to keep. They need socialization with others of their kind. They are expensive. They need room. They are messy. They are violent. And they are strong. Most of these traits show up around the time they reach adolescence. This is why if you see these posts with chimpanzees, you are more than likely only going to see them in a certain age range. By the time they reach adulthood, they are no longer “manageable,” they lose their little white tuft on their back ends, and their skin tone changes dramatically, and they become nonprofitable in both the entertainment industry and pet trade.

There are many stories out there of events where a pet chimpanzee escaped from their cage and caused damage to property and/or leaving their keeper mutilated. In either case, the chimpanzee is usually the one that suffers in the end. Though the chimpanzees in our care do indeed live in enclosures, the lives of chimpanzees in accredited facilities are the best that they can get and that we can offer. We do everything in our power to make their lives as comfortable as possible and advocating for the end of these industry and trade practices. We never go into the enclosures with them and limit our physical contact. You know I love Burrito and would do anything for him (and everyone else of course), but I would never want to get into the same space as him. Burrito is goofy, charming, and playful, but he also can cause trouble, be destructive, and is incredibly strong. It would be highly irresponsible of me to do so. If I ever did and something bad happened, it would be him who suffers for my reckless decision. Essentially, he would be punished for being himself.

To help raise awareness, there are many things you can do. You can support an accredited sanctuary through donations and volunteer work. If you see a post on social media or anywhere really of a chimpanzee in an unnatural situation, you can help educate and inform by redirecting them to resources that explains why. You can also support any legislation being voted on by you government representative, both state and federal. Every so ofter a bill is proposed for the advocacy of chimpanzees and other primates and wild animals.

For Advocacy. For Conservation. For Chimpanzees.

Here are some photos from around the sanctuary!

Burrito on top of one of the stumps at the top of Young’s Hill

Missy and Jamie enjoying their breakfast in one of the windows of their Greenhouse

Missy!

Jamie enjoying a browse of goat’s beard dandelions

Negra also enjoyed the dandelions

Burrito, on the other hand, getting into my shots of Negra to make me stop taking pictures and play instead

The strawberry bed between Young’s Hill and The Bray beginning to produce berries

Beautiful, sweet Lucky!

Mornings In The Chimp House

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Mornings in the chimp house are often super busy! The to-do list is impressive and as soon as we arrive we get started on breakfast prep, enrichment, laundry, and other morning tasks. Then, after breakfast is served to both groups and we’ve finished shifting, we start cleaning the enclosures. Despite the long to-do list, there are often sweet moments to catch all morning. Whether it’s the precious greetings the chimps offer us when we first arrive or little goofy moments between friends as we scrub and squeegee, there’s always something to make you smile.

Today was no exception! As we cleaned, chimps in both groups enjoyed the beautiful summer day. Check out today’s video for more! 🙂

BONUS PHOTOS:

Cy, looking on as his family explores the Bray:

Gordo, getting more and more comfortable on the structures:

Honey B enjoying the sunshine:

Jamie, resting after lunch with one of her cowboy boots:

Rayne, exploring the Bray:

This, That, and The Other

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Throughout the day, I had several ideas for things I wanted to share on the blog. They were all just small things that happened. Everything doesn’t always go as planned, as you may know. Every single time the idea would pop into my head, by the time I got the camera out (either the DLSR camera or my phone camera) the thing I was going to write about vanished. I was, however, still able to get snippets of each thing.

First, I randomly took a photo of a toy school bus inside Jamie’s greenhouse after we got done cleaning it.

I didn’t know that a short time after I took this photo, Jamie would utilize it.

During lunch, she was putting portions of her meal into it and bring it along with her. This is the only photo she allowed me to take from this far away.

Second, as we were cleaning her greenhouse, I was scrubbing the walls when a little friend gave me a startle.

This little frog was just hanging out watching me clean. Nobody seemed to notice them after we gave them access back to the greenhouse. They were more interested in the spread of lilacs we had placed in there for them. Jamie even sat directly above the frog without a single notice.

Speaking of lunch things, one item everyone was served was a romaine heart. You wouldn’t expect anyone to be excited for romaine hearts, however, the chimps LOVE them and were very excited for them.

Rayne took hers and found a secluded spot in the Riverview Greenhouse, away from the commotion of the food peering that was happening inside the playrooms.

After lunch, her group went out onto The Bray. As some were going out, others were going in. As you might suspect, there was a little bit of a traffic jam on the boardwalk. Three of the biggest boys were the cause of this jam. From left to right: Willy B, Terry, Cy

Lastly, there was one final patrol on Young’s Hill before dinner was going to be served. Here are Missy and Burrito returning from the great outdoors.

Laying to Rest

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This weekend, we will lay Jody to rest at the sanctuary, her home for the last fifteen years. Now, she will forever be with her chimpanzee family (Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Missy, and Negra). It brings us humans great comfort to know she will be physically here with us, even though she is gone. If you missed J.B.’s blog post about Jody’s departure, I will link it here.

The memory of Jody is everywhere.

When I pass by Front Rooms 2 and 3, I am reminded of her naps in those rooms. Sometimes, she would graciously get up and gather her blankets, as she knew we were hoping to clean the front rooms next. When I serve cherry tomatoes to her group, I am reminded of how Jody popped each one with her front teeth and then ate it. Sometimes, the juice would squirt in various directions and it made me laugh every time. When I look at Young’s Hill, I am reminded of seeing her foraging with her group, collecting all types of foods. She would do this certain walk that only Jody could do, when she was exceptionally proud of herself. When I look at lilacs, I see Jody. Since Jody has been gone, I’ve noticed myself taking in my surroundings more, looking for the beauty in things around me. I know that may sound bizarre that it took Jody’s death to make me do this, but when I see something extra beautiful, like a beautiful tree in full bloom, I think to myself, “Jody would love that”.

Today, some beautiful edible flowers that Kelsi ordered arrived and we knew we had to spread them out for Jody’s family. Nobody loved flowers as much as Jody. We spread out the flowers in the Greenhouse, as well as filled the pools with diluted Gatorade and floating orchids.

Annie

Jamie

Negra (L) and Foxie (R)

Burrito

Annie

Burrito

Burrito and Jamie

Foxie (L), Burrito (center), and Missy (R)

Negra

Negra with one of Foxie’s dolls in her pelvic pocket

Burrito and volunteer Krissy playing

Foxie

We love and miss you, Jo!

Grief

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I guess I will start this blog on a personal note, and if you stick with me, I think I will make it come full circle. If not, I appreciate you all just being here reading the words that have been running around in my head :).

Grief looks different for every human and non-human. Grief has played a large role in my personal life and if I am honest my professional life as well. I would not be the person I am today without it. Grief and opportunity lead me to make some amazing impulsive decisions that at another time in life I may not have taken the risks or the leap. With the loved ones I have lost, the feeling doesn’t go away. Slowly, we heal and find a way to manage the void left behind. For me, their absence in life is always here, but I have learned that it is okay to acknowledge the sadness of a loved one you had hoped to share more memories with, over time it does get easier to cope with.

As I mentioned before, grief looks different for each individual. Some let the grief swallow them whole and come out of it when it is time, others mask with humor, or avoid, some make themselves so busy they can’t think about it. None are wrong, just different. For me, though I can express myself around others and share my feelings, showing those emotions is a different story. I tend to avoid my feelings and mask them with humor until I am alone, and then let the grief swallow me whole so that no one has to take care of me… because I do the care-taking. It’s hard to take care of the people who usually do the caring.

We as caregivers wear many hats and a difficult aspect of that is that we do see a lot of trauma. Some days we are just caregivers and other days we are jumping into help with an unexpected procedure or observing wounds to make sure it doesn’t need medical intervention. While other days, it’s a lot of emotional trauma of hearing the chimps scream and fight- hoping it doesn’t turn into an injury. This job can be hard because we cannot ask them to stop or always protect them from harm, no matter how much we try. Sometimes I don’t think we talk about the struggles that we endure enough. It isn’t always something we have time to unpack, we recognize it, make a note of it, but we have to continue to care for the other chimps. On the other side of the trauma, the things we endure can have incredible outcomes. Burrito is our miracle chimp, against all odds he made it and with everything he has been through, he has only gotten more hungry for life. Or making the group of 9, there were so many emotions during the intro process, watching them figure each other out, not knowing if it would work out, but here they are, one year together as a group. While we may have helped facilitate the intros, it is an incredible accomplishment made by Cy’s group.

For us humans (and the chimps too), I think as the days have passed by, we are slowly unpacking everything that unfolded. Everyone was working around the clock to help Jody and her family. Now that we have stopped moving the grief is settling in. The beauty of the individuals that I am so lucky to be surrounded by at CSNW, is though we may be unpacking in our own ways, everyone is there for each other. The community of CSNW is one of the warmest, most comforting places to be a part of. It makes someone like me uncomfortable to be vulnerable, accept sympathy, or even cry in front of someone not so hard. I am so unbelievably lucky to work with such remarkable people who can not only console the chimps who have lost such an important member of their group, but to also console each other when losing such a remarkable chimp like Jody.

Jody was everything that sanctuary embodied. Jody had gone through so many traumas in life. Jody didn’t owe us anything- especially her trust or friendship. But Jody was resilient, she was strong, she was brave, and she was so loving to the individuals she cared for. Jody stayed that way even in her final days. CSNW gave her security, safety, and love. Jody’s friendship was something to earn, but when she let you in, you were loved so fiercely and so loyally. For 15 years Jody enjoyed everything that sanctuary had to offer her and we are only better for knowing her.

I would like to share a few of my favorite blogs of Jody. One of my all time favorite memories of Jody is when she helped Foxie build the courage to climb up the Twister. Jody and Foxie worked on it for many morning before Foxie finally made it up there. I also loved a few weeks ago when J.B. found Negra out on a structure on the top of the Hill, that morning Jody made sure Negra went outside, almost as if they had a plan to get Negra up there and of course Jody was waiting for Negra to come back. Any of the great pumpkin heists! Watching Jody foraging for leafy greens. I also really loved this particular video of Jody and Negra playing!

Because my blog was not particularly uplifting, I will leave you with a few interactions with the chimps that have helped me get through this week.

The first day I came back from Jody’s passing, I was greeted by Negra. She was breathy panting, grooming my hands and my elbow. She would give me kisses for long periods of time. Negra would put her forehead on the mesh for me to knuckle rub, then her back to groom, and even her foot to knuckle rub. If anyone knows Negra, she really never gives her foot like that, like at all. Every time we made eye contact, we would just breathy pant together for long periods of time. We did these things together for at least 20 minutes.

Jamie and I went for one of the longest walks we had been on in a while. When I came back from the walk, I went through the greenhouses on Honey B’s side of the building. Honey B greeted me by giving me her belly and breathy panting followed by sweet kisses and grooming on the back of my hand. Honey B also was holding a plank of wood she had proudly found and wasn’t ready to give it to Caregiver Chad just quite yet. Gordo stopped by to tickle my hand and ask to play chase. Cy came by to look longingly in my eyes. Rayne came to inspect my toes (I was wearing one sandal and on the other was Jamie’s current favorite boot), and Terry gave me a very tender kind kiss. After I played a little chase with Honey B, I came back to Jamie where she was ready to receive her boot. After I gave Jamie her boot she went off to make a nest, which allowed Burrito and I played a mellow game of tickle, slow chase, and follow his lips- where he gives you kisses on the back of your hand and you follow this lips around all different parts of the mesh.

Yesterday, I was on Rayne’s side of the building for cleaning. I went upstairs to clean greenhouse 3 where Rayne met me. We sat across from each other through the double mesh. Rayne ate her breakfast chow while she stared into my eyes for a while. After, I started to clean again when Honey B showed up. Honey B and I, again much like Rayne, sat across from each other through the double mesh. She breathy panted and put her face on the mesh to give a kiss, though we couldn’t reach each other through the double mesh, I put my face up again the mesh to give a kiss back, Honey B and I did this for a while before she too moved on… I am sure to find some mischief : ). Gordo stopped by in between the kisses and wanted to play, but he didn’t want to wait long enough for Honey B and I to be done. And Mave stopped by in between to put her face up to the mesh and stare into my eyes before she left to find her Dora. After Honey B left, I started to clean again when Cy joined me upstairs. Cy and I played a silly game of chase and gazed into each other’s eyes. Eventually, everyone moved on and I finished cleaning.

These were some sweet moments that helped me in my moments of grief this week.

It’s easy to dwell, but the interactions I have had with the chimps this week are a good reminder of why we do what we do. I feel like everyone has come forward in their own small way to heal. I find solace in our dedication to the chimps. Each of them are beings with such depth, we owe it to them.

Silly Burrito:

Jamie in a giant nest:

And a few of sweet Jo <3: