Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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primate rescue

Picnic on the Hill

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For us chimpanzee caregivers, climbing on the wooden towers and platforms of Young’s Hill is almost as fun as watching the chimps do it themselves. Elevation, exercise and nature- That’s my style of social distancing.
 
Maybe I shouldn’t assume that the rest of the team enjoys it as much as I do. However, there is certainly something liberating about standing high above the Chimp House and looking over the surrounding farmland at the evergreen-covered hillsides of Upper Kittitas County. From this epic vantage, I get the same perspectives as the red-tailed hawks that circle over the valley and the bald eagles that watch over the Yakima River below. As Chad and I recently discussed while doing chores around the sanctuary (because we’re nerds who talk about animal welfare issues), several animal care guidelines now acknowledge that having surroundings that are aesthetically enriching can positively influence individual well-being. I wholeheartedly agree, and I’m proud that this sanctuary gives chimpanzees the opportunity to have such a dynamic sensory experience. It’s impossible to quantify the enrichment value of warm breezes, bright sunshine and green grass (what is enrichment, anyway?), but it would be naive to think that the chimpanzees don’t appreciate having these experiences in their lives.
With all that being said, the Hill isn’t just for looks. It is also incredibly useful for allowing the chimpanzees to spread out, survey the landscape, and exercise. Because of this, we often do “forages” on Young’s Hill (like yesterday’s, for example). Today’s was a special one, though, because the official enrichment theme was “Picnic Day.” The chimpanzees received an eclectic mix of checkered blankets and plastic drinking vessels alongside their usual provisions and toys. Of course, the most enjoyable part of the picnic experience seemed to be the food itself. First, Katelyn chopped up baby iceberg lettuce, red bell peppers, fresh cucumbers and vine tomatoes. Then, Chad and I walked around the Hill, placing and hiding small caches of food on each structure and landmark. The chimpanzees then had all afternoon to search for hidden food and take in the breathtaking scenery.
I had prepared a video to show you all how it went, but this rural internet is abysmal right now; according to the current upload speed, it will be hours before it is ready to watch. Instead, I will have to show you some photographs of Negra that Chad captured today.
Negra eats sunflower seeds during this morning’s post-breakfast indoor “picnic” (or, as I like to call it, Second Breakfast). Negra is a hobbit.
Neggie also foraged for lettuce and chow while participating in the afternoon’s outdoor activities. She did sit in the cabin, however (presumably to block the wind).
I’m not making any guarantees, but I will try to get the other video out sometime in the next week or two! 🙂
P.S. For those of you reading and following along, please continue to use caution, practice thorough social distancing, and take care of each other by taking care of yourselves! I’m wishing all the best for you and yours.

A Tale of Two Barrels

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Yesterday, Diana wrote the blog about a routine only Jamie would have. As a dominant and strong-willed chimp who is usually an active participant in social drama, Jamie has a tendency to express herself by displaying in the Playroom.

The chute and Playroom are within sight of each other, allowing the chimps to interact with their neighbors (at a distance).

Today, Jamie kept up her steady pace by unleashing yet another raucous display on the residents of the sanctuary. She certainly had everyone’s attention.

To complement yesterday’s video, I tried my best to capture some still images of Jamie in action.

The Jamie Method:

Step 1: Acquire a noise-making object. A dirty barrels is perfect.
Step 2: Drum on the barrel and throw it across the room with force.
Step 3: Use the barrel as a pedestal to watch the neighbors react. Always have a Missy for backup.

Immediately afterwards, Burrito used the same barrel to observe the neighboring chimps. He had a much more friendly demeanor.

The Bubba Method:

Step 1: Greet the neighbors by bobbing your head and panting
Step 2: Sway back and forth to show off your muscles and all your super cool wooden toys
Step 3: Calmly go to a window that lets you quizzically stare at Mave and Willy B until they go back inside
Step 4: Always have a group of vigilant female chimps for backup

In the following hours, the seven original residents in Jamie and Burrito’s group sprawled out on the upper deck of the wooden structure in the Greenhouse.

Jamie groomed Jody while everyone else took a nap.

Perhaps they had forgotten that their neighbors had an identical barrel on the other side of the building, but they were soon reminded. The seven chimps were suddenly awoken by a chorus of hooting and drumming. The source of all this noise was Willy B. As a large and dominant male, Willy is tactful in his use of displays. He doesn’t overdo it like some brasher males I have met, but he certainly makes sure that his performances are explosive, timely and poignant. Mave and Honey B have a knack for getting out of his way whenever he begins to drum. Willy B may have won this battle of displays.

The Willy B Method:

Step 1: Drag the barrel to a doorway that is just a few inches smaller than that barrel
Step 2: Slam the barrel against the window
Step 3: Keep drumming.
Step 4: Drum some more.
Step 5: Top it all off with a loud scream.
Step 6: finish the day with a blanket nest on your favorite indoor bench

Willy’s display drew Jamie out onto Young’s Hill. From her vantage near the Greenhouse, Jamie could watch the chute for further activity.

 

Jody on a Mission

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Today was The Big Melt, or at least One Big Melt (more snow is on the way according to the forecast). The roof was dripping all day and the patches of snow on the ground seemed to grow smaller with each passing minute.

For Jamie’s group of seven, that meant time on Young’s Hill.

I was going to write out a whole narrative to go along with these sequential photos below, but I thought I’d let you all enjoy them on their own and write the narrative yourselves.

It starts with a determined Jody (as seen at the top of the hill behind the yellow bamboo in the photo at the top of this page).

Missy background, Jody foreground (hiding behind the structure)
a blurry, still determined Jody in the foreground with Missy behind her
Jody with the ice, Missy facing her

Missy in the foreground after Jody had passed, Annie in the background

I don’t know for sure, but I would bet that Jody did not share any of her ice ;).

Later in the day, we opened up the doors from the chute to the fenced-in courtyard for Willy B’s group of three. Mave approached confidently, but turned back around before getting to the end of the chute. Honey B insisted on grooming all of the humans who seemed to be standing around for no reason, and Willy B went to the top of the chute, looked down, and then went back inside to play chase with Kelsi.

So, today was not the day for the three to bravely explore their outdoor habitat, but we will keep offering them the chance.

Fall in Love with Honey B

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A few years ago we made ‘Fall in Love with” videos for all of the chimpanzees. Like right now, these videos were part of a February fundraiser highlighting the Chimpanzee Pal program. The videos are at the bottom of each of the chimpanzees‘ webpages.

The new three needed their own videos too!

So, I present to you: Fall in Love with Honey B (see video above).

This will be first Valentine’s Day that Honey B, Willy B, and Mave will be celebrating at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. They have a few pals right now, but sure could use some more. Chimpanzee Pal (and Bovine Buddy) sponsorships help pay for the daily operation of the sanctuary and the care we provide.

Many people choose to break up their donation and give monthly, and that means we know that those funds will be reaching the sanctuary on a regular basis, helping ensure the monthly bills are paid. We have lots of plans for the future, but the day to day is just as important.

Every day of sanctuary is something new for curious Honey B, and we are so grateful to those who contribute to her care and the care of all ten of the chimpanzees and the four cattle. You make a difference!

Rainy Days and Poses

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As I drove up to the sanctuary this morning, grey clouds had already gathered overhead and begun drizzling rain. When I began opening up the Chimp House, I could hear the Bronx cheers of Burrito trying to get my attention from the front rooms. The rain was starting to wash away his snowy treats that had accumulated from the previous day and he NEEDED as many snowy treats, posthaste!

After delivering Burrito his snow, I walked around to say good morning to the other chimpanzees. Most of them were still in bed, including the Boss! This is how I knew today was going to be one of those quiet days.

When I opened up Young’s Hill to the Group of 7, only Jamie and Missy were brave enough to venture out in the rain. Burrito didn’t even want to go out into the Greenhouse to watch his friends embark on their adventure. (His feelings changed later on in the day and spent the most of his day in the Greenhouse.)

It was similar on the other side of the Chimp House. Even with access to the Chute, Mave and Willy B felt it better to watch the rain from inside instead of getting a closer look from the outside.

Honey B was the only one who wanted to go out in the Chute to watch the rainfall.

This didn’t last long, however, as she felt it was too cold to stay out long. She followed suite with most of the other chimpanzees, and decided to just rest in the warm building.

All-in-all, it was a really quiet day here.

Also, I just have to share this photo I snapped earlier today. I’ve been trying to think of titles for this shot, and asked caregiver Anthony and volunteer Krissy for help. “Mave the Thinker.” “Chimp-Person of the Year.” “Mave-azine Cover Shot.” “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Mave-belline.” “Dear Mave: An Advice Column.” “The Most Interesting Mave in the World.”

Any other suggestions?

enrichment for busy chimpanzees

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J.B. and I were the first humans in the chimp house this morning. Before greeting the chimpanzees, I was washing my hands at the kitchen sink and looking out the window that connects to the chimp area when I spotted a stuffed animal being tossed up into the air playfully by a chimpanzee lying on the catwalk.

J.B. walked in the kitchen and I pointed out the quiet play that was going on. We both stood there watching with smiles on our faces and almost simultaneously said, “wait, is that Jamie?!”

You might know that Jamie is a pretty serious boss lady, rarely letting her hair down, so to speak. But there she was, using her feet and hands to bounce and toss around a stuffed animal.

Soon enough, she looked toward the window, noticed us noticing her, and immediately stopped her private game.

Later, when I was cleaning the playroom, I found the stuffed animal that she had been playing with so secretively. See the photo below of the donated stuffed lion. I can see how this piece of enrichment brought out the kid in stoic Jamie.

Enrichment comes in many forms, and it takes a lot to keep busy minds like Jamie’s amused. Enrichment is the antidote to boredom.

That’s why we have a whole database dedicated to sharing and gathering enrichment ideas. We’re always looking for new ways to help chimpanzees at CSNW keep busy and entertained, and we want to help other chimpanzees in captivity living in other facilities by sharing tried and true enrichment.

This time of year, we have a lot of enrichment that is centered around snow. It amazes me how much the chimpanzees love snow! It doesn’t have to be fancy or sweetened, though sometimes we do add treats or flavoring of various kinds. We really don’t have to add anything, though, because they never tire of just plain, pure snow.

After the playroom was cleaned, volunteers Robin and Kiana braved life and limb to harvest some icicles that had formed on the eaves of the chimp house and they created this masterpiece, which everyone enjoyed thoroughly:

Jamie collecting an icicle as Missy waits her turn

Anything novel can be enriching, even if entertaining the chimpanzees was not the original intention. Taking a break from the snow and icicles, Jamie found a new way to amuse herself.

The official name for the Foot Box / Troll Cubby might still be in development. Jamie decided it was the perfect place to store her wooden saw after attempting to saw open the box.

 

Moving over to the other part of the building, we have another busy mind in need of activity and amusement: Honey B

When we began designing the expansion to the chimp building, we decided to include bars in the mezzanine area, similar to what is in the greenhouse, instead of having a solid, flat ceiling. It was a bit of a challenge to figure out how to do this within an indoor space with the need for insulation and lights above. This challenge was laid all on J.B. to work out with builders.

When Honey B, Willy B, and Mave first moved here, they didn’t use the overhead bars and I felt a bit dejected, partly because I had been such a huge advocate for this design, even though I wasn’t the one who had to engineer it. After all of the hard work that J.B. put into figuring out how to make it work and the considerable extra expense that went into including this feature, the chimpanzees just mostly remained on the floor.

I should have known it would just take some time.

Honey B hanging out

It’s possible that the primate who appreciates the overhead bars even more than Honey B is caregiver Anthony. Here’s something to know about Anthony – he loves hanging fire hose for chimpanzees. And for good reason! Fire hose makes a space more interesting and dynamic, allowing the chimpanzees to move from one area to another (watch this old video or this one), or rest in between.

Speaking of resting, the chimpanzees even incorporate enrichment into their slumbering. Blankets at the sanctuary are a big deal.

Each chimpanzee has a unique style of nesting. Honey B, for example, starts with a base of blankets laid around her. Once settled, she often pulls one blanket over her legs up to her midsection, like a sleeping bag or a burrito. We’re just waiting for her to do that with one of the round tortilla blankets that a donor recently sent. Tonight, however, she used the tortilla blanket under her head.

Tomorrow will be another day full of enrichment. Sweet dreams!

Missy’s 44th Birthday

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Missy had a tomato-filled birthday yesterday! Watch the video (with Jody pop-ups) to see Missy enjoying her day.

The three new chimpanzees continue to charm us all. We’ll be sharing more stories about them in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. We’re so very grateful to have had this opportunity to get to know them and to have cared for Missy and her six friends for the last eleven years. Each of these chimpanzees is so very unique and special, and it’s a joy to see them discover themselves at the sanctuary.