Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Missy

Missy the distractor

by

Thanks to Jackie Heinricher of Provitro Biosciences, the chimps have had the pleasure of having bamboo in the greenhouse. Jody has especially appreciated nesting in it. This morning, J.B. planted a couple more really tall plants, and Jody did not hesitate to take advantage of such valuable nesting material. She seemed pretty happy! Katelyn and I were commenting that it was interesting she chose the bamboo over her usual blankets, but Jody is an expert nest-builder and will use all sort of things like paper and straw in addition to blankets.

web jody nest in bamboo GH (dm) IMG_8128

web jody nest bamboo GH (dm) IMG_8209

While Jody was happily building her wonderful nest, Missy decided to interrupt her and try to engage her in play. Missy is able to bring the playful side out in just about anybody, even the generally less playful Jody. She entertained Missy’s need for playing for a little while, and then returned to building the perfect nest. Wait for the end of the video—you’ll see just how content and comfy she looks.

Thanks again Provitro Biosciences!

web missy jody wrestle laugh play bite foot on face GH (dm) IMG_8160

Changes

by

In my home I have a wall where I’ve hung each of the chimpanzees portraits.  I chose photos that reminded me of each of their personalities.  But I look at those photos now and they almost seem like different people.  It seems that the chimpanzees are changing and growing by leaps and bounds each day.  Sometimes it’s big differences like Negra venturing so far out onto the hill that we lost sight of her for a couple of hours this morning.

web Negra sit in cabin Young's Hill YH IMG_1831

And sometimes it seemingly smaller things like finding Jamie covered up in her usual morning nest while we clean the playroom but with the huge difference of having (and keeping!) her eyes closed, sound asleep.  Jamie is typically always on alert, even while “resting” and in the past typically kept her eyes open, keeping track of what was happening around her.  From my perspective, it would seem that Jamie is finally feeling safe and comfortable enough to let down her guard long enough to rest peacefully, if only for a brief time.

web Jamie PR IMG_7564

And there is Annie who no longer rocks anxiously in the doorway to Young’s Hill, waiting for Missy to return to the safety of the greenhouse.  Now she is fast on the heels of Missy wherever she goes on the hill and can even be found foraging on her own.

web Annie sit mound grass in hand Young's Hill YH IMG_8056

And much to my surprise and delight, Jody engaged in a brief game of tug-o-war with me this afternoon and then turned around and presented her back to me for a knuckle rub.  Again, this may seem small but in all the time I have been at the sanctuary I have not seen Jody play like this.  I cannot tell you how happy this makes all of us.  Not because we want or need them to change of course, but because it seems the natural result of their healing.  And I cannot wait to look at my wall by the end of this summer, this year, and beyond and see who’s there.

web Jody close up look up birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_7891

 

 

Always on the go

by

We all know that Missy is a bundle of energy. She’s got one speed when she’s on Young’s Hill: FAST. She brings a smile to our faces every time she darts back and forth and up and down the hill, because she’s able to exert her energy in a space larger than she ever would have even imagined of in the lab. It’s so hard to try and think of how she was able to contain that energy in the confined space she had for decades. Now, she’s able to run as fast as she can, climb every structure and post, do her acrobatics on the fire hoses, and if she wants, to sit still. Missy is a very great example of how the chimps now have choices.

web Missy climb post Young's Hill YH IMG_8082

web Missy climb post structure Young's Hill YH IMG_8070

web Missy tightrope fire hose shaky bridge Young's Hill YH IMG_7968

web Missy sit on stump Young's Hill YH IMG_8093

web Missy close up greenhouse GH IMG_7897

Honoring Jody and All Mothers

by

Mother’s Day at CSNW is always bittersweet (see J.B.’s fantastic blog post on this topic here). In addition to honoring motherhood, we celebrate Jody’s birthday on this holiday in tribute to the nine babies she had during her time in laboratories. Unfortunately, Jody (like most lab chimp moms) wasn’t allowed to raise her babies; they were taken from her immediately after birth and put into research themselves. Had Jody been a wild chimpanzee, she would have been inseparable from her children for their first five years of life. While we can’t make up for what Jody has endured in her past, we can and do celebrate her today.

Since Jody is all about comfort, her birthday parties usually include mountains of fluffy blankets and fresh straw to nest with.

web Jody birthday mother's day blanket nest in tire greenhouse GH IMG_7851

Jody also loves to eat flowers, so Debbie and volunteer caregiver Stephanie brought lilacs from their gardens.

web Jody peer lilacs birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_7880

Jody spent about twenty minutes lying on her back in this nest and holding these lilacs over her head, plucking flowers with her lips like they were grapes.

web Jody lie on back blanket nest eat lilacs birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_7908

web Jody lie on back eat lilacs birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_7925

The rest of the CSNW mamas enjoyed the day, too. Annie loved the lilacs.

web Annie lilacs in basket Jody's birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_7864

web Annie profile streamers in background Jody's birthday mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_7939

Missy’s day was all about adventure, as most of her days are.

web Missy climb post Young's Hill YH IMG_8085

web Missy bipedal hold bamboo Young's Hill YH IMG_8033

Foxie spent the day with her Dora the Explorer and troll dolls.

web Foxie dora troll climb down from platform Jody's birthday party mother's day greenhouse GH IMG_1983

web Foxie lie nest blanket dora greenhouse GH IMG_1941

And Negra enjoyed some quiet solitude.

web Negra by cabin look at camera Young's Hill YH IMG_7953

web Negra sit tall green grass look toward camera Young's Hill YH IMG_8008

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms, and happy 38th birthday to the best Jody we know.

Missy

by

I don’t think a day has gone by since I started working at CSNW in 2008 that I haven’t found myself completely charmed by Missy. She is full of contradictions – small but mighty, serious and goofy, independent and socially adept. Physically, she is petite and a little stocky with not much in the way of a neck. She has moments of extreme stillness and moments of explosive movement, and not much in between. When she’s still, she’s very still.

web Missy close up pensive greenhouse GH IMG_6068

web Missy sit pensive look down greenhouse GH IMG_6082

But when she’s ready to move, she goes from 0 to 60 in no time. Missy does not believe in warm-ups.

web Missy run feet off ground young's hill YH IMG_5513

Missy has a stellar sense of humor and a twinkle in her eye. She often looks just a second away from bursting into laughter or a raucous game of chase. I don’t know how all of that energy and spirit and humor survived thirty years in tiny laboratory cages. When I watch her sprint up and down Young’s Hill at lightning speed, I’m so happy that she finally has the space to be herself.

web Missy run chow bag hands feet off ground YH IMG_5719