Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
We tend to use the zoom lens when taking photos of the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill. This allows for a close-up view of the chimps, but doesn’t give much of a sense of what it’s like to see the chimps on two acres of land. Some of my favorite photos are those in which the chimps are just specks on the larger landscape.
Foxie and Missy:
Jamie, Missy, and Jody:
Jamie:
Negra:
Missy and Foxie:
Jamie:
There is a look I am privileged to see on the faces of the chimpanzees living in sanctuary here and it is a look that gives me chills every time I see it. It is the look of satisfaction, which, to me, is even better than joy. Merriam Webster defines the word as follows:
sat·is·fac·tion \?sa-t?s-?fak-sh?n\
: a happy or pleased feeling because of something that you did or something that happened to you
: the act of providing what is needed or desired; the act of satisfying a need or desire
: a result that deals with a problem or complaint in an acceptable way
I can’t think of a more fitting description of the act of sanctuary. Knowing that we have provided the satisfaction of freedom of choice whether large or small is an incomparable gift. It can be an elusive look to try to capture on film though. Can you see it?
Jamie:
Negra:
Burrito:
Missy:
Foxie:
Jody:
Annie:
The last couple of days we’ve been experiencing some extra snow fall, which means the chimps get to snack on some fresh snow, which they love! Elizabeth and I filled up the chimps’ sandbox with snow and added some troll dolls for some CSNW flair.
Everyone was snacking on the snow, including of course Jamie. Since she is the boss, the other chimps wanted to make sure they were okay to snack on the snow, too. That’s completely natural chimpanzee behavior, and something that is essential to their society. Jamie was fine with the other chimps enjoying the snow, there was plenty to go around, and she wasn’t feeling particularly territorial of it.
When Jody asked for Jamie’s permission, she displayed perfect reassurance behaviors. She approached with a drooped lip, making it clear that she was not being at all aggressive or threatening. Then she reached out toward Jamie as if to say “is it okay if I join?” Jamie didn’t disapprove, so Jody’s next move was to give Jamie a quick kiss on the mouth. Jamie reciprocated and gave Jody permission by giving Jody a kiss back on her brow ridge. Jody then knew it was fine with Jamie that she join in, and immediately started snacking.
One of the biggest challenges of this job is keeping Jamie enriched. The other chimps certainly need enrichment, too, but Jamie in particular requires a lot to keep her engaged. So I’m continually trying to find things that will be enriching for her. Kongs are a good food puzzle for the chimps because we can put nuts, peanut butter, or even mushed banana into the crevices making it tricky to get the treat out.
Recently I discovered these Kong “Genius” toys which connect together, and I thought it seemed perfect for Jamie! Thanks to Carrie M. who ordered a bunch of these Kongs for us off our Amazon wishlist recently, we were able to make several connected Kongs. Jamie of course hoarded many of them, but all the chimps were able to enjoy this puzzle. You’ll hear in the video just how happy Jamie is with all her food groans and grunts.
Speaking of Jamie and of the wishlist, we are in desperate need of a new boot dryer! Ours broke yesterday and as you can imagine we are constantly running the dryers to get Jamie’s boots quickly dry after we wash them. Dry boots makes for a happy Jamie! Both she and I would be forever grateful to anyone that is able to purchase a new one for us. If you do grab anything from the list now or anytime in the future, send me an email at [email protected] so we can be sure to send you a thank you! (UPDATE: Thank you Patrick and Carrie for purchasing the boot dryer for us! The boss will be happy).
It seems as though the weather has been constant snow for the past couple of days here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. While this certainly makes for a beautiful landscape and, of course, tasty chimpanzee treats, I do think the chimpanzees might be experiencing a little bit of chimp house fever. It’s not that they physically can’t go out; the door to Young’s Hill has been open daily. But the snow just keeps piling up and, well, what kind of choice is that?! So it falls on us, the caregivers, to come up with ever more enriching entertainment for our chimpanzee friends. Some ideas are a hit and others a miss but I have had moderate success recently.
Yesterday, I put a bucket on my head in an attempt to entertain Foxie & Burrito. Neither of them seemed very impressed but Missy suddenly jumped up from her nest in the loft and ran full speed right over to where I was standing. She vigorously head-nodded to solicit a game of chase from my bucket wearing self. I happily complied!
Today, Jamie was adamantly demanding something from the kitchen. Usually this means she’d like one of her boots, sometimes it leads to a walk around the hill and other times to a grooming session. Today, no matter what boot I held up for her inspection she seemed frustrated. Finally, I grabbed the entire bin of boots, brought it out and set it down next to the caging. Apparently this was satisfactory. I guess some days you just need all the boots for your nest.
We’ve said it before, but here’s some more evidence of the “aging in reverse” process that has happened for the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest:
Jamie in 2008:
Jamie in 2011:
Jamie this morning:
We have continued to get quite a bit of snow off and on at the sanctuary over the last week and while the chimpanzees do have access to Young’s Hill, they have understandably chosen to stay indoors and make good use of their caregivers by asking us to fetch snow for them to eat. Maybe not so much asking, as demanding. But that’s why we’re here and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They each took handfuls, mouthfuls, and “footfuls” (that could be a word…) and swung up to the upper level of the greenhouse, or the southern facing windows, to enjoy it while lounging in the sun. Smart chimps.
The sun has been out intermittently today so the chimps have spent a lot of the day napping and grooming in the warmth. Before lunch, I found Burrito (left) and Missy (right) grooming one another in the sun:
Notice Missy’s prehensile lip action while grooming Burrito.
Of course, Jamie is a busy lady and doesn’t have much time to relax. In the midst of everyone else lying about, enter Jamie, pant hooting (notice the hoot face) and pounding on her barrel:
As a result, Missy and Burrito’s grooming session came to an abrupt halt. As you can probably tell from the photo, they may have just been a little too relaxed to respond:
Jamie’s display was short lived and I think everyone else was feeling so relaxed they chose to ignore the outburst for the most part and just continue enjoying the warmth of the winter sun.
And THANK YOU to all of our amazing supporters who have not only helped us reach our Share the Chimp Love goal, but surpass it!! It’s truly because of each of you that the chimpanzees are able to enjoy their “day in the sun” so to speak. We are so grateful to all of you who have been able to contribute! We still have 8 days left so please continue to share your love for the chimps and spread the word about our fundraiser!
