Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

northwest

Curiosity

by

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by nonhuman great apes. For a time it was just an interest that added to my overall identity – like how some people like owls, or koala bears, or unicorns.

I admired “Leakey’s Ladies” – Dian Fosey, Jane Goodall, and Birute Gladikas – and daydreamed about following in their footsteps.

In truth, though, my fascination came prior to developing a true understanding and compassion for nonhuman apes. It was just an intense curiosity.

They are, after all, so familiar in some ways.

Foxie's hand holding her foot

So like humans, yet different – exotic

Foxie close-up

Jamie standing bipedal

Luckily, I happened upon the right people at the right time and was ready to rethink this fascination and the historical relationship that humans have had to other apes.

Human curiosity can lead to a lot of destruction when it is not balanced with compassion.

Now I wonder what the world would be like today if humans weren’t so curious about other species. What if we just left them alone instead of bringing them into our world to study them and then use them for our own benefit?

We can’t go backwards, though. The human world has clashed and combined and intertwined with the worlds of other animals. So there are places like Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, where we try to make up for wrongs committed against other species, and we try to demonstrate and spread compassion for our closest living relatives, and for other nonhuman animals too.

Our curiosity is just as strong, if not stronger, but hopefully compassion combined with fascination makes for a more hopeful future for all species who share this planet.

Jamie walking

Burrito looking away

Jody close-up

The Real First Day of Spring

by

March 20th may have marked the first official day of spring, but around here we follow a different calendar. It’s not truly spring until the ever-elusive Negra emerges from her playroom nest to bask in the sun and partake in the delicacy of fresh spring grass.

The first sighting is always accompanied by jubilant announcements over staff radios and a frantic search for cameras to document the occasion.

web_Negra_eat_grass_YH_ek_IMG_1190

Of course, Negra has already gone out on the hill for forages this year, but always with a laser-like focus on collecting food and going back to bed indoors as quickly as possible. When spring arrives, she savors her time outside.

web_Negra_eat_grass_YH_ek_IMG_1223

For a few short weeks, the grass will be sweet and tender. The cold winds of spring will begin to relent, and the scorching heat of summer will have yet to arrive.

web_Negra_eat_grass_YH_ek_IMG_1227

This is Negra Weather™, and we will all relish every minute of it while it lasts. For soon, she will disappear back into the pile of blankets from whence she came, only to reemerge when the conditions are just right.

web_Negra_look_at_camera_YH_ek_IMG_1235

So, from Negra and all of us at CSNW, Happy First Day of Spring!

Missy now and then

by

I took this photo of Missy a few nights ago when she had joined Jamie for some “after hours” walking around the hill. I was trying to figure out why I love the photo so much (aside from the obvious cuteness of Missy from behind).

Missy bipedal from behind

Today, while on another walk, I think I figured it out – it reminds me of a photo we took a few months after the chimpanzees arrived during a big rainstorm. It was before there was a Young’s Hill and before there were greenhouse panels covering their original “outdoor area” that we now call the greenhouse. The outdoors and the elements were a whole new experience for all of the chimps, and, without the greenhouse roof that exists now, the rain was pouring into this area.

Chimpanzees don’t tend to appreciate getting wet, and all of the chimps stayed indoors for most of the storm, but curiosity soon got the best of Missy, Annie, and Jamie. Missy was first to look out the door into the still dripping outside world:

Missy in doorway during rainstorm

At the time, I remember how thrilled J.B. and I were that the chimpanzees were experiencing something brand new. We were thrilled that they were able to gather the courage to follow their curiosity. And we knew that this was  just one new experience in a whole line of new experiences they would be facing.

Still, I had no idea exactly what was to come into their lives, thanks to Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest supporters. I had no idea that Missy would embrace the two-acre outdoor habitat that was just beginning to be a kernel of an idea for the future.

I had no idea that six and half years later, Missy would run with glee across the 2-acres everyday:

Missy running

 

Exploring her territory:

Missy walking

 

 

Satisfying her curiosity:

confident Missy walking

I can’t wait to see what Missy and her six friends get to experience next, and what the next six and a half years will bring to the sanctuary.

 

 

A zoo for an elk

by

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is not open to the public like a zoo. In general, we like to give the chimps their privacy. When we do allow visitors, we limit the frequency of the visits and the size of the groups, and we always ensure that the group is guided by a staff member that the chimps know and trust.

But we have one visitor that doesn’t abide by our rules.

Most mornings throughout the spring and summer, Ellie the wild elk can be found laying beneath the visitor shelter, waiting for the chimps to finish their breakfast and head out onto the hill. She seems to enjoy watching them, and they in turn have at least grown accustomed to her. In fact, we have even seen Jamie and Ellie taking a walk together around the hill without us.

Jamie and Ellie:

web_Jamie_Ellie_YH_jb_IMG_0703

Burrito and Ellie:

web_Burrito_Ellie_YH_jb_IMG_0715

Ellie and Jody:

web_Jody_and_Ellie_YH_jb_IMG_0739

Ellie, Jamie, and Missy:

web_Jamie_Missy_Ellie_YH_jb_IMG_0949

So I guess – just this once! – we’ll make an exception to our visitor policy. It’s not like we could do anything about it anyway…

web_Ellie_jb_IMG_0969

web_Ellie_orhard_mountains_background_jb_IMG_0961

web_Ellie_look_at_camera_jb_IMG_0987

For Lisa Stuverud

by

Today’s day of sanctuary is for Lisa Stuverud from her wonderful husband Richard, who shared this message:

I’d like to sponsor a day in the name of my wife, Lisa Stuverud. April 4th is her birthday and I know how much she loves the chimps and everyone at CSNW. Coincidentally, Lisa and her sister-in-law Linda Vizzare share the same birthday and Lisa had chosen yesterday as a sponsored day in Linda’s name. (Linda recently passed away and was a big Burrito fan especially loving his Happy Dance) I am choosing April 5th, the next best day, to support and share my wife’s love of the chimps and although in the beginning is was Jamie and her Cowboy Boots that that drew her in, it would now be difficult for her to ever pick a favorite if she was asked…I know she loves them all and has sincere admiration for all you do as “their humans”.

Jamie hugging boot 4

web Jamie eyes closed use boot as pillow sleep nest blanket PR IMG_4587

Thank you both for all of your support for the Seven and us humans, Rich and Lisa! Happy Easter and Happy Birthday!

 

Today in Memory of Linda Vizzare

by

Lisa Stuverud has sponsored this day of sanctuary in memory of Linda Vizzare. This is the touching message that Lisa shared:

Linda is my sister-in-law and my “birthday buddy” for the last 37 years. She passed away November 20th, so April 4th is going to be my first birthday without her to celebrate with. I know she knows I miss her very much and one of the things I miss the most is how much she loved Burrito especially when he did his “happy dance” :-). During her illness we often talked about the chimpanzees, the caregivers and the blog, but mostly we drew strength from all that they have overcome to then be able to do a “happy dance”…I know she was strong and didn’t stop fighting until the very end so I hope she is now doing her own “happy dance.”

The best example of Burrito’s “dance” where he stands bipedally, clutching his thighs with his hands and moving from foot to foot is in the Emmy award winning video put together by KOMO 4 of the chimpanzees’ first moments on Young’s Hill. You can see the video here – Burrito’s dance is at 3:30.

And here are a few photos of Mr. B.

burrito b&w

web_Burrito_arms_crossed_platform_foxie_jody_annie_YH_jb_IMG_4618

web burrito pilo bipedal 2

Thank you, Lisa, for being such a good friend to the chimpanzees, for sharing this day with them, and for sharing your touching memories of your time with Linda during her illness.

The wild and the weird

by

When given the opportunity, chimpanzees who have spent their entire lives in laboratory cages can learn to be chimps again.

They can learn to climb, run, leap, and swing:

web Missy at top of climbing structure post bamboo YH IMG_4412

They can learn to forage for their own snacks:

web_Jody_wide_eyes_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_3720

And they can learn to patrol and defend their territory :

web_Jamie_look_into_distance_mountains_YH_jb_IMG_3396

But it takes patience. When you’ve spent your entire life surrounded by concrete and bars, those things can end up providing a certain kind of comfort. It’s what you know. It’s all you’ve ever known.

Little by little, the chimps at CSNW have embraced new opportunities, confronted some of their fears, and found that there was a little more “wild” in them than they may have realized when they were locked up in that laboratory basement.

This year, these changes seem to be happening at an accelerated pace. Burrito has been joining Jamie on her walks around the hill, and even going it alone at times. A couple of weeks ago, Foxie was seen sitting on the shaky bridge – a huge step for someone who has always been afraid of anything not firmly bolted down.

And this morning, we saw almost the entire troop take a walk up the hill together, far away from the building, just for the fun of it.

web_Five_chimps_on_walk_YH_jb_IMG_0631

But along with patience, you also need understanding. Because these new experiences are adding to who they are, not replacing who they were. Foxie may be exploring new play structures, but she’s relying on Dora more than ever:

web_Foxie_walk_dora_in_mouth_YH_jb_IMG_9924

And while Jamie may be walking miles each day around the perimeter of Young’s Hill, she is ever more adamant that we dress in cowboy boots to go along with her. Let me give you an example of how particular she has become: Jamie’s favorite boots for the last few months have been a pair of all black women’s cowboy boots. She insists that her caregivers put them on before heading out on a walk. But some of us, ahem, do not fit easily into women’s boots, no matter how hard we try. That doesn’t concern Jamie. For a while, I tried to fake like I had them on, sticking just my toes in and then pulling my jeans down over them to cover my heels sticking out. No dice. As you put them on, she stares intently to ensure that you are wearing them properly. Heels must be all the way down.

web_JB_small_boots_IMG_6592

There are times when I am reminded how crazy this all is – like when we finish up a walk and I return to the entry gate, only to have to strut my stuff across the driveway in ladies boots as the UPS driver unloads packages at the door. They must really wonder what’s going on here.

It’s crazy, but it’s who they are. You can’t erase their past, or what it’s led them to become. And why would you want to? So while we strive to provide more and more “wild” in their lives, we can never stop embracing the weird.

web_Jamie_walk_YH_jb_IMG_0350