Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Jamie

Blame it on the Computer

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Okay, so I had this whole blog planned out! However, the computer has told us that it is tired and does not want to load my video right now. All good things come to those who wait, right? So please look out for a video of Honey B this weekend. For now, I hope that these photos will appease you until then.

I have no photos of Honey B, Willy B, or Mave because they have been very preoccupied with the construction going on lately. And as Chad mentioned yesterday they have poured the concrete! Yay! But, the three have been busy managing the construction workers.

Negra and Jody spending some quality time grooming each other in the Green House.

Jamie having a mellow day.

Burrito trying to wait patiently while I gather photos.

Eventually, one person can only wait so long! Burrito popped up while I was taking a photo. I had to laugh because I wasn’t expecting it.

And then there is sweet, beautiful Annie. I could look at this photo all day.

Moments with Jamie

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I had approximately 25 ideas for a blog post today, from the flighty and frivolous to the deeply profound (at least in my head).

This video is neither. Or perhaps it is both.

As one of her caregivers for more than twelve years, I can tell you that some of the best days in the chimp house are when Jamie is in a good mood, which seems to be the case more and more lately.

Not all of the clips in the video were from today. The one from today is the opening clip with Jamie wearing a troll scarf;  the others were moments with Jamie that I had recorded on my phone that I have been hanging onto.

Right now, while the other chimpanzees are eating the last scraps of dinner, working on their food puzzles (nuts in kongs tonight), and gathering up their blankets for their nests, Jamie is sitting in the doorway that goes out to Young’s Hill, the outdoor habitat.

She might be waiting for the rain to subside so that we can go on another walk, or maybe she’s just making sure I remember that she’s the one who runs this place.

I just love Jamie.

Rainy Day Play and Birthdays

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This blog was not quite what I had planned today. In my head, I thought I would talk about our infamous blanket shredder(s). As a person who tries to keep up on inventory in the chimp house, I’ve found that we can’t seem to catch up on blankets. So, if you have ever desired to purchase blankets for the chimps there are plenty on our wish list!

Then the blog was going to be all about Meredith, because it’s her birthday today! Happy birthday Meredith! To celebrate, caregiver Chad brought the cattle some willow tree branches and cob to go with their hay. But, Meredith and friends had other plans. The cattle just wanted hay, which they made very clear when they bombarded the gator! So, because Meredith only wanted to celebrate her day with hay and her three closest friends. I was able to capture some very silly chimps on a pretty rainy day.

In the video you will watch Jamie hanging upside down like a bat stomping around upside down and making one caregiver very out of breath (that would be me). Minutes before the seven were about to go back into their freshly clean playroom, Negra, Burrito, Jody, Foxie, and even Jamie joined in to play slap, bite, tickle, & toe grab! Now, it may look like they where playing rough with Negra. But I will warn you Negra created that term! Please enjoy the bloopers were Jody attempts to stab me with a tube and Foxie tries to poke the camera :).

Happy Birthday to the beautiful Meredith!

Honey B, Games, & Construction

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***Update*** As Chad said perfectly yesterday, Burrito looks more and more like himself everyday! It is such a relief in so many ways, however, we all are being cautiously optimistic because we are not out of the woods yet. So instead of the 1 hour of sleep we have gotten since Saturday, we now get 3 hours ;). But wow let’s all celebrate Burrito being able to sit up, play, eat, and interact with his friends! My heart swell just thinking about it. I am so impressed with our supporters. Your positive thoughts, kind words, and donations have always helped us through some difficult times and we could really feel the love! So truly from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

This how Burrito fell asleep last night before we left. 🙂

Now for a Honey B story. This lady is crazy, but in the best way possible! Yesterday, I was walking by to put enrichment away when Honey B caught my attention. She invited me to hangout with her. She started by grooming the rocks out of my boots then leaped onto the firehouse above her and was laying on it and rocking herself. The girl has some balance, just like her mom. At one point she knocked on the window at one of the construction workers building her soon to be new playrooms. I interpreted it as Honey B saying “Hey, get back to work!” or “Quiet down out there!”. She did a beautiful spin and pirouette off the firehose and erupted into a big game of chase. We were running upstairs, then down stairs, then back upstairs. Finally she let me catch my breath! But only for a moment because she began to twirl herself on the giant mirror. As she did this she was checking herself out. Afterwards she climbed back up on some firehose, brachiated toward me for another version of chase, I guess you could call it hanging chase? So by the end of this you could see why I would be very excited to sit and groom with her after one of her most crazy games.

Also we are anxiously awaiting our first virtual HOOT! this coming Saturday. If you haven’t registered for Happy Hour DO NOT miss out! We have a special cocktail you can make and the chimps will be enjoying their non-alcoholic drink right along with you! Also if you haven’t seen any of the art work you need to stop what you’re doing immediately and go look, but seriously click on this link. I am really in love with Annie in the Snow. It is an original oil on canvas by Leslie Bell. When I look at it I get teary eyed. This is going to be an event you don’t want to miss!

Bonus photos!

This photo was taken on Sunday I believe. Jamie sat in front room 4 for over 45 minutes and almost fell asleep on duty! I would like to believe it was because she was on watch to make sure Burrito was okay, but to be honest Jamie was probably monitoring what kind of special treats Burrito might have been getting. In her defense, I would do the same thing! I think we can all agree Jamie was making sure her friend was okay and keeping tally of his snack 🙂

Mave. Sweet, goofy, beautiful Mave.

Mmmm larvae

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Most of us have probably seen the many photos of chimpanzees in the wild using tools to fish for termites.  As a general rule, chimpanzees that have grown up in captivity don’t have the same taste for insects that you see in wild chimpanzees. I would bet lots of money if you tried to serve Honey B a termite she would be totally disgusted with you. The chimps seem to find fishing for peanut butter to be a more ideal situation.

Here’s Jamie fishing for peanut butter in a PVC tube attached to the outside the caging:

I think we all have a tendency to forget that some of the chimps at the sanctuary actually do occasionally eat insects (but only wasp larvae, so far as we’ve seen). The wasps are most prevalent this time of year and  we try to remove any nests we find near the chimp enclosures to prevent both humans and chimps from the almost inevitable summer stings. Since the outdoor space is so large, we sometimes miss the ones being built on Young’s Hill. If you watch the above video you will get up close and personal with Jamie as she dissects a wasp nest she found on the hill.

Watching Jamie reminded me of a blog Diana wrote 5 years ago on the topic. In the blog she wrote: “Watching her, it wasn’t entirely clear to me how much of the larvae she was eating, because she seemed to be selectively eating some parts and not others, but she was clearly enjoying the experience.” After seeing Jamie’s careful deconstruction of the nest from a much closer vantage point (through a window), I’ve deduced that she seems to eat only the squishy larva stage of the wasp and not the older, more developed pupa stage. Don’t worry though, Missy was right behind her to finish off the rest of it.

In honor of everyone who is helping the chimps

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Darcy Collart sponsored this really lovely day of sanctuary for, well, us all!

“Thank you to all the people who work so hard to rescue, take care of, and support these wonderful and deserving chimps! This includes all the rescuers, caregivers, donors, and/or defenders. You are so needed and appreciated!”

Darcy, this is such a kind, uplifting thing to do! Thank you!! As you stated so beautifully, there are a myriad of ways to care for each of these amazing chimpanzee people, none of which would be possible without the incredible support, dedication and love of so many amazing humans. We couldn’t do it without you all. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making the chimps’ lives here in their sanctuary home possible.

Honey B:

Foxie:

Mave and Willy B:

Jody and Burrito:

Jamie:

Jamie, Foxie, Missy, Annie and Burrito::

Digital Field Trip

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Last Thursday we hosted a digital field trip with Northwest VEG. They are an amazing non-profit that offers all kinds of education, they create positive change, and help to build a stronger community and environment. I mean who doesn’t want to be a part of something like that! Please check out their website to see what they are up to!

We feel so lucky to have collaborated with them. Northwest VEG really understands the importance of sanctuaries and how crucial it is to educate people of all ages about the values that sanctuaries hold. I personally really loved working with them because they are such kind people, they’re respectful of the chimps, their needs, and our boundaries. As a sanctuary we rarely have public visits, especially now with COVID-19 we are not doing any visits. If you are not familiar with our philosophy on visits you can check out our website. This opportunity was very special and the participants asked a lot of hard questions and fun ones too.

My favorite question asked was, “What is the best part of the sanctuary?”. This may sound like an easy question. However, this was a hard question that I don’t think I gave justice to. There is so much that goes into that answer. Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest allows for the chimps to have freedom and choices, which are two things that humans took away. We all know humans took so much and that this is not their natural life, nor should it be. So I guess we could start there. They get to have choices. Another aspect is to see the chimps’ resiliency and watch the chimps grow as individuals. For example, Annie is now a much more bold and confident chimp. She sometimes swipes food from the other chimps and isn’t as afraid to test the waters and see if she can climb the social ladder. Foxie, for all the things she is unsure of, has become more brave than ever. She climbs and explores unfamiliar structures, and though blankets are one thing she won’t conform to, her love for dolls has expanded. One example that makes my heart happy and hurt all at the same time is Willy B going outside onto the new courtyard, an extension of Young’s Hill. He is getting more comfortable every day! It is something to celebrate and also if you think about it, that is something he should have never had to fear. Though we can never give them the life they should have had in the wild, we hope this is close.

If you want to have an experience like this one look out for our online auction, HOOT! 2020 on Saturday, September 12th, where you will be able to bid on a virtual tour of CSNW!

Most of my photos today are of Jamie. I hope you enjoy!

Jamie was having a very good day. I received my new cleaning boots yesterday from a very kind donor! They are the same pattern, octopus, just with less holes. Jamie, being the encyclopedia of boots noticed right away!

And Jamie approved. Though, her favorites are still Diana’s blue whale ones.

She is a very observant individual.

<3

Then there was Burrito.

A few days ago this is how I found Burrito nesting.v

This is a photo of Jody and her sweet heart shaped brow ridge.

Willy B has been nesting on the ground with some very plush blankets lately.

Mave nesting under the food chute.

Honey B. I just love this photo. You can see the intensity in her eyes.

I thought I would share some cattle pictures, just because.

Betsy.

Meredith.

Nutmeg.

And Honey.

I will leave you all with a photo I just took before closing up the chimp house for the night. It is a photo of Burrito and Jody nesting next to each other on a bench in the front rooms. Jody spent 15 minutes making her nest perfect. Burrito gathered 3 blankets and put one over his head. Goodnight everyone!