Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

A Little Adventure on Jamie’s Boots

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Volunteer caregiver-in-training Liz and I were walking around Young’s Hill with one of Jamie’s favorite boots not long ago. When we rounded the last corner of the hill, on our way back to give Jamie the boot, Liz spotted a patch of mud and decided to stick the sole of the boot in the mud “To put a little more adventure on it.” As soon as we went inside, we headed straight for where Jamie was so that she could have some time inspecting and grooming the boot.

Ever since that day, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. We’ll never really know why it is that Jamie insists that volunteers and staff walk around the outside of the Young’s Hill fence (always wearing or carrying a boot or two), while she patrols from inside the fence. Perhaps it’s because it’s just more fun to have company come along, or maybe she feels that she is “leading” the patrol if there is someone else with her. But, maybe it’s because she wants to have a little piece of “adventure” from the other side of the fence; her bit of freedom from the other side.

Whatever the reason may be, we are always happy to join her on her walks around Young’s Hill. The photos are from Jamie’s third walk around the hill today.

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Here is what the boot looked like after the first part of the walk.
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This the boot after the entire way around Young’s Hill with plenty of adventure on it.
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Jamie just as I was presenting her the muddy boot.
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Outtakes

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Today Missy was combing her hair and I grabbed the camera and took a series of photos. They all turned out blurry and dark. Here are a few of the better ones:

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On a typical day, we take dozens of photos of the chimpanzees. The vast majority of these are deleted. Our photos have improved in quality by leaps and bounds over the last six years – partly due to better camera equipment and partly due to practice – but I would say that 90% of the photos we take on a given day are pretty bad. They’re blurry or the lighting is poor or someone’s eyes are closed. The chimps themselves often don’t help matters either. They love to spend their time high off the ground and in other places that we photographers just don’t have easy access to.

Negra’s favorite spot is in front of this window on the playroom catwalk. Because of the light coming in from the window, she is usually backlit. She is also typically covered up in a blanket. Not great photo conditions.

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This is the only line of sight to Jody’s preferred spot:

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The playroom loft is another favorite of the chimpanzees. Here’s Annie kicking back, well out of camera range.

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In the greenhouse, the chimps love to hang out on the highest platform. This photo of Jamie is a pretty good depiction of how much we can see of them when they’re up there:

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And certain folks rarely sit still long enough for us to get a clear photo:

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From scrawny to brawny

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When the chimpanzees first arrived at CSNW six and a half years ago, they were frail, weak, almost sickly ghosts of themselves. Through the years we have seen their once physically and mentally deprived selves transform into thriving, healthy, and fit chimpanzees full of personality.

The other day Jamie was sitting on a step in one of the front rooms and it struck me how strong her thigh muscles have become from her daily perimeter walks. It’s really very impressive!

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She’s really come a long way. These photos from the first days in sanctuary really highlight her fragile, atrophied leg muscles.

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In this photo you can see not only how scrawny and skinny her legs look, but also how much she plucked her hair from her belly while in the lab, likely due to sheer boredom:

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Sanctuary has provided Jamie the opportunity to patrol her territory, stretch her legs, and keep her mind active. Her life now is full of so much enrichment—both for mental stimulation and physical activity—that she doesn’t get as bored as she used to.

Of course, captivity is not perfect and Jamie still does pluck her belly every now and then, perhaps because it became a habit but also possibly due to periods of boredom. No matter how great we make her environment, we can never recreate the life she and all captive chimpanzees should have had in the wild. But for Jamie, the next best thing is taking walks around Young’s Hill while her caregivers follow along on the other side of the fence—always with at least one of her favorite boots, of course!

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Rain, snow or shine

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I’m often asked if the chimpanzees go onto Young’s Hill when it is raining or snowing. The answer is yes, they still venture outside, although I think we can all agree, sunshine is probably preferred.

As I’m writing this, Jamie is on her fourth walk around the hill (it’s currently foggy and sprinkling). And she wasn’t the only one to venture outside. Burrito, Missy, Jody and Annie joined her on the hill for a little while after lunch despite the fog and rain.

Sometimes the chimps go out to gather a “snowy treat,” as you will see in the some of the following photos.

It seems that no matter what the weather brings the chimpanzees still choose to go outside.

Annie

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Burrito

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Jamie

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Missy

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Pedicures, chimpanzee-style

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It was 10 degrees when we arrived at the sanctuary this morning and much of Young’s Hill was covered in frost. Our days have been stunningly bright and cold. The contrast of walking into the very warm chimp house to find the chimpanzees safe, comfortable and enjoying the sun from their nests makes this time of year all the more enchanting.

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As you are probably aware by now if you follow the blog, Jamie is not a fair weather chimpanzee. She manages to make the most of each day regardless of the season and this usually means several walks around her beloved Young’s Hill. As we headed up the hill today we were greeted by a doe and her fawn:

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Despite the cold temperatures, Jamie quickly made the decision to take a minute to chase off the intruders before resuming our walk:

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After three laps Jamie decided the perimeter had been successfully secured and was ready for a break to warm up. As you might imagine, all the walking around Young’s Hill that Jamie does can be tough on a girls feet. If you’ve ever wondered how the chimpanzees’ care for their nails, Jamie decided to give herself a pedicure this afternoon and shows us how it’s done:

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The fact that Jamie can spend her days walking around Young’s Hill, defending her home against “marauding” deer/eagles/hawks, and then return to the chimp house when she chooses and relax in a cozy nest and groom herself is a big part of what sanctuary means for her. As you might imagine, it means something different to each of the chimpanzees’ just as our own freedoms and choices do to us. Every single minute of their day, every choice they make, every comfort they enjoy, is a gift made possible by you. And we couldn’t be more thankful.

Today, Giving Tuesday, is a wonderful opportunity to help non-profits out through your generosity and compassion. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please check out the #GivingTuesday video that Diana sent out earlier today to see more of what your support means to the chimpanzees and how you can help ensure that every day is a day of sanctuary for them.

On the 7th Day of Giving Thanks

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We are the sum of all of our parts. For the past six days we have been sharing our gratitude for all of the amazing humans and organizations who give their support to the sanctuary in a myriad of ways. Each and every person we’ve mentioned, and I am sure so many more who we may never be aware of, has made the sanctuary and the lives of the chimpanzees what they are today. And for that we could not be more thankful.

On this seventh day of giving thanks, we want to share our gratitude for the heart and soul of the sanctuary and all that we do, the chimpanzees themselves. Words could never fully express the respect, admiration and love we have for Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy and Negra. We are thankful for the unique personalities that each of the chimpanzees share with us. The joy and laughter they bring to our lives and for making us smile every single day. We are thankful for the gift and privilege of their friendship and all that they teach us about forgiveness, strength, courage, healing and choosing to live each moment to the fullest. For being themselves, always, and allowing us into their world so that we can share that with others in the hope of helping other chimpanzees and primates. And honestly, I suspect I speak for all the caregivers when I say we are even thankful for the flinging of feces and spitting of saliva. How could that be possible? Because it’s one more moment that they get to express themselves just as they are knowing they will be respected, cared for and loved just the same.

We are profoundly thankful for each of the chimpanzees’ indomitable spirits and their ability to heal, forgive, and allow humans into their lives, in spite of what our species has done to them. Not because this makes us feel better or because it justifies in any way what they have experienced, but because it allows them some sense of peace and comfort and to experience life more on their terms, as it always should have been for them.

We are thankful for beautiful Annie’s sweet, gentle spirit and her new found ability to stand up for herself and her friends when it really matters to her. For her growing independence, courage and comfort in her own skin and the sense of freedom we hope this brings her after so much anxiety and fear. And for “Annie-bird” noises as she whistles into her hands and clapping her feet together which mean she’s relaxed and happy, raspberries and foot stomping when she gives us the gift of her attention, and to bear witness to the amazing friendship she has with her best friend, Missy.

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We are thankful for Burrito and the heartwarming charm he so willingly shares with us just by being himself. For his place in a family of chimpanzee women who love him despite his boisterous displays and lack of appropriate chimpanzee etiquette and provide him a safe place in which he can figure out what it means to be the only guy among six ladies. And for the sound of his food squeaks echoing throughout the chimp house at meal time, for play faces, play stomps, play bows, and blanket tosses when he is feeling particularly playful.

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We are thankful for Foxie and the sheer joyful exuberance she greets each day with. For the innate sensitivity she shows toward her fellow primates, human and non, and her ability to make all of us (even Jamie) feel better just by being herself. For the growing courage she finds to explore Young’s Hill in awe and for her ability to trust us when sharing her “babies” with us, knowing she will never have anything she loves taken from her again. And for back flips, pirouettes, kisses given while hanging upside down, the willingness to gaze into our eyes, her toes (!) and the toe tickling that comes with those toes.

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We are thankful for Jamie and her astounding intelligence, willpower, and creativity. For the opportunity she finally has to call the shots and be loved and respected exactly as she is in each minute of the day. For walks around Young’s Hill and for the immense honor it is to accompany her on her perimeter walks and be included as part of her troop. And for “upside-down-Jamie-on-a-barrel” because it means she is happy, do-it-yourself Jamie who takes charge of her home, that she now feels safe enough to take naps and actually close her eyes and rest, and happy groans of pure joy when she receives a new pair of boots.

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We are thankful for Jody and what she teaches us about the value of comfort, relaxation and taking care of oneself. For her ability to now spend each minute choosing exactly what feels best for her. For the sheer joy she receives from foraging for every wild plant she can find on Young’s Hill, for the way she “holds the door” and gathers everyone up until she makes sure all the chimpanzees have come in for meals, for her “dinosaur” groans when she is particularly happy about something she’s eating, for “happy baby” poses while lounging in her nest, for sometimes poking us when she’s feeling saucy, and for her earnest gazes and endearing “butt-bounces” when greeting us.

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We are thankful for Missy and the fact that she finally has the choice to run to her heart’s content in every direction she can on Young’s Hill, laughing as she passes you by. For the athletic prowess which brings her so much joy after so many years living in a small cage with no room for her spirit to move. For her ability to wake up each day with so much joy that she and her best friend, Annie, play chase, wrestle and laugh like crazy before they are even fully awake. And for the leaping, spinning, swinging, jumping, and climbing. And for the way she gets us to “chase” her to the garden to ask for summertime tomatoes.

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And we are thankful for Queen Negra and her ability to find joy and a position of respect in the companionship of her chimpanzee and human friends after years of solitude and depression. For the absolute pleasure she receives from the simple things in life like a nest made of sometimes over 30 blankets, the sun on her face, and days spent nesting peacefully by her window as she watches the valley below. And for hand claps when the servers are too slow, straw thrown in our faces when she really wants to get her point across, head nods of approval when we dance for her, the absolute joy she receives from night bags and for nuts and seeds on her belly as she enjoys those nightbags.

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On this Thanksgiving Day and always, we are ever grateful to all of you who provide hope, love, home and sanctuary to these seven chimpanzee people. We couldn’t possibly hold more love in our hearts for them and to know they are safe, loved, respected, and able to finally make choices in their lives is the best gift we could ask for. Please know that you all, in whatever form your support is given, make a difference in their lives.  From all of us at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

The chimpanzees’ Thanksgiving Day celebration is getting under way now so be sure to tune in tomorrow to check out the fun!!