Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Breakfast, Interrupted

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Nothing can distract chimpanzees from eating their breakfast – except, of course, for drama from the group of chimpanzees next door.

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to pose questions on our Ask Us Anything blog post. Based on the video above, I thought I could begin by answering a question posed by Kathleen:

Have you seen any changes within The Seven now that new chimpanzees are living “in their home”. Have any shown signs of stress or anxiety over the commotions and basic existence of chimpanzees living next door? Do any over groom, or are any obsessively curious over the new neighbors? Things like that.

If there is anxiety or stressors, did it/does it lead to any new conflicts/squabbles within the group?

To be perfectly honest, I think there are both benefits and drawbacks to having multiple groups of chimpanzees living near one another.

The main drawback is that chimpanzees exhibit a significant amount of emotional contagion, particularly during high-arousal situations. So yes, there are occasions where a conflict on one side of the chimp house leads to a conflict on the other side, for no other reason than the chimps get worked up listening to the screaming and end up scuffling with each other. That’s not to say that these squabbles aren’t based on some preexisting grudge, but the proximate cause seems, at least from our perspective, to be the behavior of the chimps in the other group.

These “spillover” conflicts are pretty rare, however, and the mere existence of another group nearby doesn’t appear to cause any chronic stress or tension. Generally, I’d say having another group nearby is a benefit. For one thing, all social primates seem to be drawn to drama. And all the better if that drama is happening on TV, in a magazine, or among the folks next door where it won’t impact us personally. The Cle Elum Seven chimps are riveted by the arguments taking place across the way and will stop whatever they are doing to watch The Real Housewives of Phase 2, as you can see in the video. In a way, it can actually improve group cohesion – after all, nothing makes an ingroup like an outgroup! What else could possibly make Jamie and Burrito feel like they are on the same team?

But it’s not just drama that they are interested in. The girls often swoon when Willy B is within view, and Burrito spends a lot of time trying to get his neighbors’ attention at the window. Chimpanzees are social animals and though the two groups can’t live together at this time, they often benefit from interacting at a distance. It makes their otherwise small world just a bit larger.

Construction Update

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Summers are always busy at the sanctuary but this year seems more hectic than ever. We had the first of many volunteer work parties a couple weeks ago to work on the electric fences that will enclose the Bray and the renovated Young’s Hill, the 1.8-acre and 2.4-acre habitats for the new group of nine and the Cle Elum Seven. Many thanks to volunteer Karen Ducey for these first two photos.

The installation of the fence insulators is a daunting job due to the sheer number of them, but over a dozen hard-working volunteers managed to install a couple thousand in just one weekend.

Tomorrow, volunteers will return to keep the progress going.

The project foreman, Benny, will be on hand to make sure the work proceeds apace. It’s best not to get on his bad side.

Central Nursery arrived today to begin installing a massive new irrigation system that will initially support over 100 new trees and shrubs in the habitats including aspen, pine, hazelnut, dogwood, blueberry, and bamboo. The irrigation system will draw water from an old spring-fed irrigation pond by the house that was used to water the orchard back when this was a working homestead. We are installing more irrigation lines than we will need in this first phase so that we can plant even more trees and shrubs in the future.

We’re a little late taking panels off the greenhouses this year because of all the construction going on around them.

On the east side of the building, the folks from Sage Mechanical have been installing new overhead chutes that will make additional connections between the indoor enclosures and the Bray. This way, the chimps can reach their outdoor habitat from the front rooms, playroom, or greenhouse and won’t ever have to wait for us to finish cleaning to get where they want to go.

Here’s the view from the playroom window. To most people, these tunnels would not be the most exciting part of our expansion project but based on how much the chimps love the existing chute and how we’ve seen chimps use overhead tunnels at other sanctuaries, we’re pretty sure they’re going to be a big hit.

On the other side of the building, a smaller section of chute is being installed that will create an outdoor connection between the other playroom and greenhouse. This was conceived as a connection to the closed-top outdoor enclosure planned for the west side of the building but that larger project is on hold due to escalating costs and significant supply chain delays. But now that our new group of nine is living together in relative harmony and will soon have access to The Bray, the closed-top enclosure is far less important than it was when we first began making plans for the two separate Wildlife Waystation groups. We imagine the chimps will love to sit out in this chute and watch the staff, volunteers, and delivery people come up the driveway.

Finally, we are also starting to plan for and build new climbing structures within the future Young’s Hill and Bray enclosures. The first one to get underway was Ryan’s Lookout, which is being built with a generous donation from Karen and Don Young in memory of their son, Ryan. The basic structure is complete and soon it will be surrounded by trees and shrubs as well as fire hose vines for the chimps to swing on and tightrope-walk across. I think this will be a popular spot for the groups to sit and groom and stare out at the river and valley below.

Our hope is to have the renovated Young’s Hill ready by late summer and the Bray ready by fall. Soon we will have to tear down the existing fence, at which point the Seven won’t have access to the hill and the pressure to get everything completed will be intense! While I was of course joking about Benny being a foreman, in all seriousness, Jamie will be watching and patience is not one of her virtues. So that should help keep us motivated. But the disruption will be worth it when she finally gets to lay in the shade of the towering pines at the top of her new habitat.

An Appointment with the Dentist

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Well at least it wasn’t a rattlesnake this time…

Yes, poor Burrito was back in the clinic today to have an infected tooth extracted. Dr. Erin and Sofia were accompanied by Dr. Cristina Bender and her husband, Matt, from Pearl Care Dental in Ellensburg, Dr. Dan Whitemarsh of Cle Elum Dental Clinic, and veterinarian Dr. Austin Hardegree, who ran anesthesia and performed ultrasounds. Our friends at Valley Veterinary Hospital were also kind enough to lend some specialized dental equipment for the afternoon.

Since Burrito would be under anesthesia for the extraction, Jim Repsher, PA-C came to give him injections in both knees to help alleviate his arthritis.

Burrito has been through a lot in the last few years but he seems to somehow bounce back stronger every time. We have no doubt he’ll be up and running again very soon. For now, though, he is going to get some rest under close supervision from Dr. Erin…

…and a his chimp family, of course.

We’re so grateful to all the folks who give their time and energy to help care for Burrito and his family and friends. How fortunate are we to have such an amazing team of people looking after them.

Feel better soon, Bubs.

Missy on a Mission

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Missy invited me to play chase up the hill this afternoon. When we reached the top, she veered off into the tall grass with a look of determination.

She climbed atop one of the mounds.

And then walked out onto the log bridge.

From there, she scanned the area.

Then she disappeared into the weeds.

When she emerged, it was clear she had found what she was searching for: a yellow goatsbeard flower and a handful of prickly lettuce leaves.

With an equal sense of purpose, she marched through the grass to Jamie’s Tower.

She climbed the ladder and perched on a support.

There, overlooking the river canyon, she munched on her prickly lettuce.

When she was done, she met up with her best friend, Annie, and returned to the chimp house, saving the flower for later.

The 2022 Trifecta Jubilee

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As many of you are aware, June 13th has been a special day for the sanctuary for a long time.

On this date in 2008, the first group of rescued chimpanzees (the iconic “Cle Elum Seven”) arrived at the sanctuary from a private facility in Pennsylvania.

Among them was the beloved Negra, an older female chimpanzee whose actual birth date is unknown. The team decided that her birthday should be celebrated annually on June 13 and it’s been honored as sanctuary tradition ever since. What better day to recognize the passing of years than the day that she reached her permanent home?

Negra

The Seven were the only official residents of the sanctuary until 2018 when we welcomed four rescued Jersey cattle to the property. Chimpanzees Honey B, Mave and Willy B followed close behind; they were transferred from the closed Wildlife Waystation in the summer of 2019. When it was formally arranged that we would receive another group from the Waystation in 2021, we were surprised to see that one of the individuals, adult male Terry, coincidentally had June 13th listed as his date of birth. It’s almost as if we needed another reason to pop champagne on a random day in early summer…

Terry

With so much going on, it is no longer fitting to just call today’s event “The Queen’s Brunch” (as we did last year and the year before). Instead, this year’s bash was dubbed the Trifecta Jubilee (thanks to Kathleen Corby for that winning name and the graphic to go along with it!) to reflect today’s joyous confluence of three major anniversaries. The party menu featured many of Negra’s favorite foods, including oat waffles, peanut butter smoothie, whole leeks, fingerling potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and sparkling cider. (As for Terry, let’s just say that he’s not a picky eater and seems happy to be there regardless.)

Notably, the Trifecta is also precursor to the much-anticipated HOOT! 2022, our first in-person gala since 2019! You can visit the event’s official web page to learn more and buy tickets: https://chimpsnw.org/events/hoot-2022/

So, on this blustery thirteenth day of June of the year 2022, we’re not just celebrating Negra’s 49th, Terry’s 32nd, or the sanctuary’s 14th…

We’re toasting to the entire past, present, and future of the sanctuary and the twenty magnificent individuals who call it their home!

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Days like today are only possible because of the generous donors who follow, support, and love the organization. Officially, three donors chose to independently sponsor today: Debbie Reintzell (in memory of Terry Lee and Theresa Hood), Tami Roy (in honor of The Queen herself), and Paulette Wrisley on behalf of the birthday chimps! We are eternally grateful to all of them- and all of you- for helping us to throw a birthday bash worthy of these amazing individuals.

The 4th Annual Running of the Cows

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Past the wetlands, up the mountain, across the stream, between the scary gates, and through the forest to the upper pasture we go! It’s time once again for the cows to head to their summer pastures. And this year, they’re exploring a new part of the sanctuary’s 90-acre property.

As you may know, the cows actually moved a few weeks ago but I’ve only now gotten the chance to put a video together. They’ve really been enjoying the upper pond pasture and most nights they don’t even return to the barn.

We’d like to express our gratitude for your kind and generous comments on yesterday’s blog about Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day. Diana and I, along with the Board of Directors, are grateful for the staff every day but you all have expressed our sentiments better than we ever could. Though we will be getting them food next week and it turns out you can actually say a lot with food.

Speaking of caregivers, we’d like to introduce you to our newest staff member, Jenna! Jenna interned at CSNW while attending Central Washington University and then gained valuable experience at other chimpanzee sanctuaries before returning to the northwest. I’ll let her more fully introduce herself next week in her first CSNW blog post.

Here’s Jenna getting in good with the boss:

Jamie’s surgery

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Yesterday, Jamie underwent surgery to repair an anal fistula. As I write this, she is bright, alert, and recovering well.

This is a problem we’ve been aware of and have been treating for some time. If you’re not familiar with fistulas, they are small tunnels that connect an infected gland within the anus to an opening on the skin outside the anus. They can be painful and may result in recurring infections and chronic discharge from the opening.

When Jamie’s fistula first appeared, Dr. Erin consulted with other veterinarians and several colorectal surgeons on a course of action. While we were prepared to perform the surgery at that time, and even got as far as purchasing plane tickets for a surgeon from Missouri that had worked on a chimpanzee before, in the end the consensus was that if Jamie was cooperative we could manage her symptoms without surgery. Most humans with the means to do so would probably choose fistula repair, but chimpanzees are somewhat different in that they don’t experience any stigma from fistula symptoms. If we could keep the infection at bay and provide pain relief, we could avoid the trauma of surgery and recovery as well as any potential complications. Jamie was incredibly cooperative – she would allow us (usually Diana, who was her positive reinforcement trainer) to irrigate the tracts with antiseptic solution using a plastic-tipped syringe.

While this had the desired effect at first, over time the infections became more frequent. After additional consultation with colleagues who were planning a similar surgery at an Australian zoo, Dr. Erin decided that it would be in Jamie’s best interest to have her fistulas repaired. Dr. Petty, a colorectal surgeon from Kittitas Valley Hospital in Ellensburg, volunteered to perform the procedure.

Jamie willingly accepts injections – everything from vaccines to anesthetics – so she was ready to go even before we were yesterday morning. She was wheeled into the clinic and masked prior to intubation.

The rest of the team prepared to give Jamie a complete exam while Dr. Petty performed the procedure.

Dr. Petty was pleased to find that most of the tracts were near the surface, which would mean a quicker surgery and faster healing. Fistulotomies, wherein the tracts are opened surgically to heal from the inside out, are often simple enough to be outpatient procedures for humans, but chimps don’t always follow the same level of post-operative care so we will be paying extra close attention to how she heals.

Sofia and Dr. Erin performed a head-to-toe exam while Anthony oversaw the procedure checklist and took photos and video.

Jamie was given an abdominal ultrasound using our Butterfly ultrasound machine. Though the chimps’ usual cardiologist couldn’t make it, she was also given an echocardiogram thanks to a donation of time and equipment from some very generous zoo colleagues.

After getting x-rays and other routine diagnostics, Jamie was wheeled back to the recovery room.

There she would be under close supervision until she was stable and alert.

Everything that we’ve learned from Jamie’s exam so far shows that she’s in good health and we’re hoping that she will not need to spend much time in isolation. For now, we’re trying to keep her enriched with peanut butter magazines and her favorite movies.

Her friends also visit and groom with her at the caging.

Jamie is not one to enjoy sitting around for long, so let’s all wish her a speedy recovery so she can get back to managing her group soon. Many thanks to Dr. Petty and the many other doctors and zoo and sanctuary professionals who helped plan for and carry out this procedure, which we hope will keep Jamie healthy and comfortable.