It was a nice, quiet morning for the Seven.
northwest
Leadership
Jamie has always held a dominant position in her group but she’s generally not what one would consider a leader. Leaders don’t scream and throw fits when they don’t get their way or harbor grudges for days only to attack without provocation (see: Missing Toe, Jody). Jamie’s drive to be on top is fueled by a deep insecurity and the mantle of leader never quite fits.
Until she steps out onto the hill.
Once she crosses the threshold of the raceway, she emerges as someone else entirely. She supports her friends when they are scared or anxious. She bears the burden, often single-handedly, or protecting her home and family. It’s a version of Jamie almost unseen within the confines of the greenhouse and playroom walls, where petty squabbles for food puzzles and attention from humans dominate.
So many examples of leadership in our own species are born from moments or situations that are larger than ourselves. Perhaps it is just as true for Jamie. Outside, there are cows to supervise, snakes to kill, and boundaries to patrol. There’s a vast and constantly changing horizon. The world is bigger out there and it requires cooperation and teamwork to manage. And a team needs a leader.
Once the outside world is sufficiently conquered, however, she calls dibs on all the raisin boards. Touch one and she will scream.
Learning to Trust
One the challenges associated with doing introductions, besides the introductions themselves, is getting all of the different individuals and groups where they need to be. You have to pull certain individuals from their groups temporarily and move them to the space where the intro will be held. Other chimps have to clear that area. While all of this is going on we have to clean. And when an intro has gone on long enough, the chimps need to split up in the right order so they can go back with their groups. It’s like that puzzle where the fox, the chicken, and the bag of grain have to be taken across the river in a boat, except in this case everyone in the boat is also spitting at you and threatening to capsize it. Tonight, Kelsi has the pleasure of getting everyone to the other side of the river safely, which is why I am writing the blog in her place.
Today we picked up the with introduction that we postponed yesterday. At that time, Willy B, Mave, and Honey B were engaged in a little too much aggressive behavior at the mesh with Cy, Rayne, and Lucky for us to proceed in the time we had. One thing we’re seeing this time around is that Mave is not always going to lead the way as she did during attempts to integrate her group with the Cle Elum Seven. In fact, Mave has often taken longer to warm up during group intros at the mesh than her group mates. This initial aloofness, and at times aggression, eventually fades and she solicits attention and grooming from the others. Fortunately, this morning we planned some extra time for Mave to make up her mind and eventually it was clear that she was ready.
The group of six came together in the front rooms with a chorus of pant grunts, and soon they were chasing, wrestling, and laughing. Mave and Rayne engaged in a raucous wrestling match. I always hold my breath when they play like this during intros, and this time that kind of fear was justified, as Mave soon became overwhelmed and screamed. Her scream, amplified by the tentativeness of the whole situation, led the group to pile up in a brief conflict. Kelsi, Jen, and the other staff members supporting them kept their cool and separated the chimps temporarily. As the fight resulted from a simple misunderstanding during play, there were no hard feelings and the group was quickly reunited with just a couple of boo boos to memorialize the event.
The boys came together to groom after that, which is a great sign. The previous morning, I was watching them emerge from their nests after their sleepover. Male chimps like to display in the morning, and their displays lent an air of tension to the situation. They seemed to want to interact, but both were too nervous to make the first move. Luckily, chimpanzees have a process for just this type of scenario. They came together across the mesh – right next to an open doorway – and groomed. After establishing trust with the mesh between them, Willy B walked through the doorway and they continued grooming face to face.
Once today’s group of six seemed relatively stable, it was time to give them access to a playroom. This is another sign of trust – that the caregivers trust the cohesion of the group enough to temporarily lose them to a larger space where breaking up a conflict becomes more difficult. They did wonderfully. And just to make Kelsi’s day, they split back up into their original groups of three for the night without too much difficulty.
I have such admiration for our staff, and such appreciation for Jen who has led us through this process. I’d love it if we get all nine together someday. But we may not. The process continues and soon we’ll be getting Terry, Dora, and Gordo in one some of these smaller group dates. Whether we’re ultimately successful or not, some of the relationships that have already formed are too good to let slip away, and Willy B, Mave, and Honey B will either have a new family or endless play dates in their future.
Snippets
Here are a few moments that I captured on my phone throughout the past week.
People often ask if it’s difficult to care for chimpanzees without being able to touch them outside of the very limited contact we have through the mesh. Perhaps it’s a function of the institutional cultures in which we were trained, but it’s not something I really think about. Nor do I care much about it when it does cross my mind. They have their world, we have ours, and there are clearly-defined, logical rules for the areas where those two worlds meet for the sake of everyone’s safety. The way we interact with the chimps in our care becomes natural and comfortable for both them and us, and pushing those boundaries does nothing but put our own desires above their best interests.
That being said, there’s not a person on earth that’s seen Mave in action and not wanted to be enveloped in her soft, fuzzy embrace.
So sue me.
Grassy Gordo and the Honey B Holdout
One of the ways that captive chimps entertain themselves is by attempting to thwart their caregivers’ plans. Oh, you’d like to clean this area now? That’s unfortunate for you, ’cause I just decided that I’m going to live here forever. Honey B is the master of this. If you try to sweeten the deal by putting food in a different area, she’ll run out, grab the food, then high tail it back and barrel roll through the door as it closes, Indiana Jones-style. It’s rarely wise to engage in a battle of wills with a chimpanzee, even less so once they are fully stocked with provisions.
There are days when I could swear that she arranges for Willy B and Mave to run interference while she makes a mad dash for treats.
Today we cleaned on Honey B’s schedule while Willy B soaked up some afternoon sun. He still won’t touch the grass in the courtyard if he can help it and he rarely ventures further than ten or fifteen feet from the chute.
But that seems to be enough for him for now.
As we start to consider how the other group of Waystation chimps will feel about venturing out into larger, more naturalistic enclosures, I’ve been heartened to see Gordo’s comfort level increasing.
On Wednesday I caught him napping on the grass in the greenhouse.
From the look on his face, I think he’ll really appreciate the privacy that the larger enclosures will provide.
Let’s all just stop here for a second and appreciate Rayne. She is without a doubt the best chimpanzee that I’ve ever known, just like every other chimpanzee that I’ve ever known.
The forecast is calling for showers and cooler temperatures this weekend, both of which are long overdue. We’ve had enough anxiety about fires, smoke, and rattlesnakes for one summer. Still, I can’t help wanting to hold on a little longer to these al fresco breakfasts on the hill.
Missy, Burrito, and Jody:
Negra:
Foxie:
Jamie:
Foxie, Burrito, and Missy:
Jody:
The bidding has already begun at our Hoot! For the Holidays virtual event and the live event takes place tomorrow at 6pm Pacific. Tune in to hear stories from the past and learn about our plans for the future, and bid and donate to help support the 16 chimpanzees and 4 bovines that call Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest home. Don’t miss it!
Twinkle, Twinkle (Lots of Stars)
Although the sanctuary is located in a moderately-populated valley, the skies here are still dark enough for stargazing on moonless nights.
I get excited about this lack of light pollution because of my newest hobby: astrophotography. This genre of photography encompasses any imaging of objects and phenomena in space. Those celestial subjects can include the moon, the sun, the other planets, meteors, auroras, Imperial battle stations, neighboring galaxies and stars, and anything else that emits or reflects detectable electromagnetic waves.
Like many who dabble in this art form, I began by taking long exposures of the night sky with terrestrial landscapes in the foreground. It might sound expensive and difficult, but taking these wide shots only requires a hobby camera, a sturdy tripod, and relatively dark skies.
While the techniques do require some patience and persistence to master, you can learn the basics by watching tutorials on YouTube. The most tricky step in the process is tinkering with the camera’s exposure settings. Most importantly, the shutter needs to be open for the right duration to let the perfect amount of starlight reach the sensor. I typically leave the shutter open for 10-20 seconds. Then, I manually focus the lens on the stars (which is practically focusing “to infinity”), set a delayed shutter timer, and make sure the white balance is capturing the scene’s colors with the appropriate warmth or coolness. From there, photographers can create more artistic, difficult or unique shots (e.g., by blending multiple captures into composite images), but this certainly isn’t required.
For months, I’ve dreamed of photographing the chimpanzees’ home under the Milky Way, capturing their little world in the same frame as countless others. The proverbial stars aligned around Labor Day; I volunteered to watch the sanctuary at night in place of Diana and J.B. (who took a much-deserved weekend vacation) and was lucky enough to have a clear, moonless night during my tenure as the overnight watchman.
I set out just after sunset and admired the silhouettes of the forested hills against the rose-colored sky. Eventually, the scene darkened and rendered the Milky Way visible with the naked eye. I trekked around the perimeter of Young’s Hill, trying not to annoy the nearby cattle with my headlamp or step on any nocturnal critters that might be lurking in the prairie grass. Eventually, I picked a good location where the Ponderosa pines made a natural frame around my window into the cosmos.
I wondered if any of the chimps were still awake or if all sixteen were blissfully curled up on piles of fleece blankets in the heated playrooms. From what we’ve seen, they’re mostly heavy sleepers. (Burrito, for example, picks his sleeping spot right after dinner is served.) Still, it’s possible they occasionally venture out into the greenhouses long after the humans have left and watch the Milky Way turn overhead as the coyotes yip in the distance.
We humans know what the stars are but that doesn’t make them any less wonderful. I like to think the chimps are awestruck by them, too.
The following are my favorite images from my nocturnal hike around the sanctuary. I hope you all enjoy them!
Annie’s 47th Birthday Party
Neither rain nor a brazen coconut theft could keep us from celebrating Annie’s 47th birthday. Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest chimpanzees in the world!
