Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
For Jamie, territorial patrols are serious business. For her ragtag crew? Not so much.
Giving Tuesday is tomorrow, but thanks to a special early bird offer, you can double your gift now! In addition to the generous year-end matching donor, a couple came forward with a $5,000 match specific for Giving Tuesday!
Double your gift for Giving Tuesday!
Patrols around Young’s Hill with Jamie are pretty much a daily occurrence- even today, when the wind is winding, Jamie was off on a walk first thing this morning! She found me again later in the morning when I was rinsing some toys and gestured to a pair of boots that had been donated a few weeks ago that she loves. I gave her one, thinking that’s what she wanted, and when she took it out of the food chute I thought I had gotten it right on the first time. So, I was feeling pretty good about myself. 🙂 A few seconds later, though, I looked up to see Jamie squeezing the same boot out over the top of the playroom door before chucking it down at me. Feeling like I actually hadn’t gotten it right, I picked up the boot and put it on. Voila! Jamie took off and together we (and Missy!) went for a walk around Young’s Hill.
I recorded the whole walk to share with you today, because I find that I always feel re-centered after a walk with Jamie. Something about the calm pace she takes, the quiet, the view, and the moment that you’re sharing with her is grounding. I thought it might be for you, too, so please enjoy this ten-minute walk around Young’s Hill with Jamie (and Missy).
It was a brisk fall day today, with periodic and most welcome appearances from the sun. In addition to the patrol that Jamie graciously invited Amanda and I on (after we figured out the proper footwear, of course), we decided to take advantage of that warming orb in the sky and set out a forage in both respective outdoor habitats.
If you aren’t quite sure who Amanda is, she introduced herself in last night’s Comfort & Joy Virtual Gathering presentation, which you can watch here!
Staff member Amanda and volunteer Amanda (we are doubly blessed with Amandas on most Mondays of late) prepared the forage, which consisted of a bunch of scrumptious fall-themed leftovers, including pumpkin, corn, and pomegranates. I suggested to the Amandas that they make a separate bowl for Negra because I doubted that she would venture outside in the windy 46 degrees.
I should know better than to doubt our Queen. Negra was lined up in the Raceway and was the first one on Young’s Hill. Her food grunts could be heard from all of the caregivers watching in delight as she happened upon the pumpkin and corn:
Missy made sure to check the forage hiding spots on high:
On the other side of the sanctuary, Terry was the first out on The Bray, quickly collecting a personal bushel of onions and demonstrating with his posture why J.B. has given him the nickname Meatball:
These days when the sun outcompetes the murmurs of winter-to-come are some of my favorite days at the sanctuary, and I think the chimpanzees feel the same.
While the caregivers were preparing breakfast, Burrito and his family set out on their first patrol of the day.
Sometimes patrolling is serious business, like when there are strangers on the property or unusual animal noises coming from the hillside above. But most are a more laid back affair, with the object being to enjoy some fresh air, climb as many structures as possible along the way, and, occasionally, grab the feet of the person ahead of you.
In this video you can see Burrito selecting his stick of the day, which he then carries back with him to the chimp house. I remember working for days to clean up all of the slash debris from the trees we cut down to create the extended fence line. Thank goodness I gave up trying to get it all. Clearly these are some great sticks! Ultimately, these end up along with Jamie’s library of well-worn-but-still-clean-enough-to-keep books on the windowsill between the playroom and the kitchen.
The chimpanzees in Jamie’s group often begin their mornings by patrolling their outdoor enclosure, Young’s Hill.
Downpours, blizzards, and extreme cold are just about the only events that can deter them from engaging in this ritual activity. The temperature was well below freezing this morning when I opened the door to Young’s Hill after breakfast. I was quite cold despite the morning sun and a couple extra layers over my scrubs, so I doubted any of them would want to be outside either. I had equipped my shorter camera lens thinking that I might photograph a brave chimp or two as they curiously peeked their heads across the threshold.
I was quite wrong (as we humans so often are when we attempt to predict chimpanzee behavior).
The chimpanzees darted out into the wide open habitat in a single file line, diverging further up the slope and dispersing among the structures and bamboo. Some individuals seemed more interested in watching Aaron, Gary, Jose, and J.B. work on The Bray, while others trekked uphill to the grove of pine trees. I managed to get only unflattering shots of their backsides as they disappeared beyond my view.
Missy and Annie:
Missy, Annie and Burrito:
Foxie, Burrito and Annie:
Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Annie and Jody:
Foxie and Burrito:
Missy (if you can spot her):
Only Negra chose to remain inside. As comedian Jim Gaffigan would probably describe her, Negra is “what you would call indoorsy.” With the exception of special events, Neggie generally prefers to nest in the greenhouse after breakfast and leaves the outdoor exploration to her companions. I stopped to visit her on my way back to the Chimp House and saw she was snoozing peacefully under a mountain of fleece blankets in the warm greenhouse.
The care staff had been busy cleaning the playrooms for a short while when J.B. shared an unexpected photo in our team’s group chat. Negra was now sitting atop a platform outside on Young’s Hill! The Queen, for some reason, decided that this chilly morning was the perfect moment to go on a hike.
I detoured into the foyer to switch lenses and dashed outside in a desperate attempt to document the moment (hoping to share it on the blog this afternoon). I made it around the corner just in time to get a single blurry photo of Negra plodding her way back into the greenhouse. Some of the other chimps remained outside for a bit longer, but Neggie’s interest in the outdoors appeared to have subsided for the day.
However brief, these unexpected winter adventures have been reason enough to keep the outdoor enclosures accessible even when the conditions are less than ideal. We never know what interests and motives the chimpanzees might have, so we give them the freedom to choose their own path whenever it is safe to do so.
Burrito sunbathing this morning:
P.S. It’s 3:00 p.m. and I just stepped outside for a quick breath of fresh air before publishing this post. The sun is now behind a wall of incoming clouds and the temperature is about to start plummeting. I started to think about how the chimpanzees were probably snuggling in the heated playroom when a dark, incongruous silhouette atop Young’s Hill caught my eye. I could just make out Missy’s stout frame as she galloped alone along the far edge of the enclosure. It was yet another surprise that shouldn’t have surprised me.
The chimps were raring to go this morning. You could see it on Missy’s face.
They set off up the hill. Notably absent was the group’s leader, who was momentarily distracted.
No matter. Jody would lead the way.
Missy was close behind.
Annie, Burrito, and Foxie brought up the rear.
A few minutes into the walk, Jamie caught up to the group. The gang was all together now, with Negra selflessly staying behind as usual to keep the nests warm.
But one member of the group would not finish the patrol with the others. On morning walks, Foxie often slips away unnoticed to enjoy the quiet solitude of the towers at the top of the hill.
For while she enjoys the camaraderie of a patrol, she seems to relish those brief moments when she has the world all to herself.
It will be a little while still before we are able to construct the two larger outdoor areas for Lucky’s group and Honey B’s group (we’re planning to begin this fall). In the meantime, Lucky, Cy, Gordo, Dora, Rayne, and Terry got their chance to explore “the chute”, which is a short tunnel that will connect their playroom, greenhouse, and other enclosures to the open-top enclosure to be known as The Bray. The chute may not seem like the most exciting thing in the world but any new space is fun to explore. And we’ll let you in on a secret – while people love to see chimps in large outdoor habitats, many captive-reared chimps seem to prefer overhead tunnels to almost anything else! That’s why we should always strive to provide them with variety and the ability to choose.
The two groups from the Wildlife Waystation are used to living near other groups of chimps – and lions and wolves, for that matter. So living within sight of a new group of chimpanzees is no big deal. But the chimps in Jamie’s group went without seeing other chimps for decades and as a result they react a bit differently at first. As in, they go a bit crazy. This is not the first they’ve seen of Lucky’s group, but it’s closer than what they’re used to and it was cause for some alarm and a lot of excitement. The group’s anxiety was short-lived and soon Burrito was angling for the attention of some new playmates-at-a-distance and Jody was flirting with the new boys in town.
The first order of business this morning was to patrol Young’s Hill. Negra, as always, stayed behind, as did Annie on this occasion. But the others set out as a group around the perimeter of their 2-acre habitat. Meanwhile, Lucky’s group took their breakfast to the top of the chute and wondered what all the fuss was about.
