Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

recovery

The Phoenix

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Diana and I recently had the pleasure of reading Phoenix Zones, a new book by a good friend of the sanctuary, Dr. Hope Ferdowsian. In it, Hope shares the lessons she’s learned about building strength and resilience throughout the course of her incredible career as a human rights physician and animal advocate. The book is filled with stories demonstrating how humans and other animals can recover from trauma and heal – a process known as the “Phoenix Effect” – if we attend to certain key principles such as love, dignity, justice, and respect for liberty. Phoenix Zones, by extension, are the places where these principles are put into practice, and where those suffering from trauma can rise from the proverbial ashes to find peace and hope.

One example of a Phoenix Zone that Hope discusses in her book is Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Her story focuses on Negra, who was stolen from her family and endured 35 years of unimaginable suffering but now exemplifies the power of Phoenix Zones promote healing and resilience in even the most traumatized individuals.

It’s easy to forget just how far Negra has come. This morning, we found her enjoying sweet spring grass near the top of the hill, a place that she had feared not so long ago.

A key message of the book is that physical and emotional recovery are only possible when we are free to make our own choices, when we are able to live with dignity, and, perhaps most importantly, when we have a sense of hope. Negra’s story should inspire hope in all of us.

Diana and I will be joining Hope for a discussion of her book at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on April 30th. If you live nearby, we hope to see you there!

Negra Rejoins the Group

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Negra continues her recovery today after a recent surgery on her toe. She’s perfected the art of rest and relaxation…

…which has really helped with her recovery.

So, today, after careful consideration, she was able to rejoin the rest of her chimpanzee family. She made sure to check out her favorite spots in the Playroom (a portion of the chimps’ indoor enclosure) before venturing out into the Greenhouse.

And this afternoon, she’s been going back and forth between spending time resting on the catwalk in the Playroom and on one of the ledges in the Front Rooms.

Visiting Hours

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Health care workers know that emotional support from friends and family can play an important role in the healing process. So while Negra might be on restricted activity for a few days, she still gets regular visits from her family.

Then again, who needs family when you’ve got a constant stream of peanuts, peanut butter, cabbage, and pineapple coconut juice…

Adapting

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People who have been incarcerated for long periods can have trouble adapting to life outside prison once they are released, a phenomenon we call institutionalization. Chimps are no different.

For the Cle Elum Seven, life in the lab was horrible, but after as much as 35 years it made some kind of sense. The deprivation they endured flipped the world on its head – metal and concrete were familiar and comforting, while grass and open sky would become sources of discomfort and fear. It’s perverse, that these chimpanzees should have to learn to adapt to what was their birthright.

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It’s tempting to think of reaching sanctuary as the end of a harrowing journey, but it is only a step in the process. When the chimps first set foot on Young’s Hill, they were scared. The world outside was big and unknown. Eventually, their fear became exhilaration as they explored their new territory. More and more now I think we see in them something akin to appreciation or even reverence for the outdoors.

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This process of adaptation continues and will likely never be complete. I think these chimps see themselves as visitors to the outdoors. It’s not their home. They take what they need before returning to the familiar surroundings of their indoor enclosures. But they are each adapting in their own way, and in their own time.

Just look how far they’ve come.

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Remembering

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It’s often said that healing is not a matter of forgetting, but of accumulating new memories that, over time, crowd out the bad ones.

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If this is true, then Negra’s road to recovery began by replacing memories of powerlessness with ones of safety and predictability.

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Soon, memories of love and friendship and family began to replace memories of loneliness.

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Eventually, memories of courage and adventure pushed aside memories of fear and anxiety.

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For some chimps, recovery is a long, steep climb. Thirty-five years in the lab leaves behind far too many memories.

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Those memories will never be forgotten. But every time I see Negra absorbing the view from the top of Young’s Hill, I think of how far she’s come in these last eight years, and I hope that moment becomes yet another healing memory that pushes an old one further out of reach.

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Recovery and Reunion

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I’ve never seen a chimpanzee sleep so soundly and for so long as Burrito did after his dental procedure yesterday. He slept from mid afternoon yesterday straight through to this morning.

Burrito sleeping in recover room

J.B. and I decided to leave the playroom empty so that Burrito could have a peaceful rest without the girls disturbing him, They spent the day in the greenhouse and Young’s Hill. Around 7:00 last night I opened up a couple of the front rooms for the girls for the night, leaving one empty as a buffer between him and them.

Even with the noise of operating doors, Burrito continued to sleep soundly. Burrito’s position in Front Room One meant that the girls couldn’t see him. They sure did try, though. I had taken the photo above of him sleeping, so I decided to show that to whoever wanted to take a look. Jamie stared at it for a very long time – I’ve only seen her look at photos that long when they are of herself.

Jamie seemed reassured that Burrito was okay, and made her nest up on the bench in Front Room Three, with Foxie bedding down next to her. Negra was very eager to make a nest. She chose a spot on the floor in Front Room Three and used most of the blankets that were in that room, so I handed out more. Jody made her nest on the lower bench in Front Room Four, which allowed her to see down the hallway.

When Missy and Annie went back out to the greenhouse after trying to see Burrito, I went out to see what they were up to. It turns out they had decided to camp out on the top of the structure of the greenhouse.

Here’s Missy making her nest at the top of the structure:

Missy nesting in the greenhouse

 

And here she is, all covered up and ready for sleep:

Missy covered in sheet

 

I handed out more blankets to Annie, and she made her bed next to Missy:

Annie nesting

Annie nesting

 

When I went back a few hours later, Burrito was still sleeping, and either Missy or Annie had moved into the upper bench in Front Room Four. I didn’t want to disturb sleeping chimpanzees, so I don’t know who it was, but either Annie or Missy had a nice sleep out in the greenhouse, which was probably a first for an overnight!

This morning, Burrito was much more alert – all that sleep served him well!

He was anxious to get back with the group, but we wanted him to rest up some more, which was probably good because the ladies had a fight this afternoon, so it was just as well that he stayed out of that.

As is the routine after a fight, grooming commenced. Here is Missy, Jody, and Foxie:

grooming after a fight

 

Burrito was back to his usual self by the late afternoon:

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Burrito holding toy to mouth

Burrito with toy in mouth

 

By the time dinner came around, everyone was insisting that they be reunited. And so they were.

 

In the photo below, Burrito is standing bipedally and Foxie, Negra, Jody, and Missy are all rushing to greet him.

Jody and Foxie and Negra greeting Burrito

 

Foxie was particularly enthusiastic with her greeting:

Foxie greeting Burrito

 

And here’s Mr. B doing what he loves most – eating. He’ll be on a soft food diet for a few days, so there will probably be many more baked sweet potatoes in his future:

Burrito eating baked sweet potato

 

Transformation

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Earlier this week, as volunteer Keri and I were finishing a walk around the hill with Jamie, we did some quick calculations to figure out just how far Jamie is walking each day. At a minimum, I think she is doing a mile a day just in walks with her caregivers – around an enclosure that rises 100 feet in elevation from end to end, no less. For a free-living chimpanzee, this wouldn’t be much, but for a chimpanzee who spent her life in a laboratory, it’s not bad at all.

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The physical transformations that we’ve witnessed over the past five years have been incredible. After decades in tiny cages in a windowless basement, these seven chimps finally saw the sun, breathed fresh air, and got to run, climb, jump, and swing. Almost immediately, their skin darkened, their hair filled in, and their muscles grew stronger.

While most of these changes occurred over the first few months, we are still witnessing changes to this day. I think this is driven in part by their emotional recovery. This morning, as I watched Jamie run playfully after her friend Missy, I couldn’t help thinking about how much physical health and emotional health are intertwined. The stronger they get, the more they play and explore. And the more they play and explore, the stronger they get. I guess they call this a virtuous cycle.

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When I look back at photos from the chimps’ arrival in 2008, I hardly recognize them. Their bodies displayed the toll of so many years in the laboratory, but in their faces you could see the even greater damage that was done to their spirits. They looked sick, tired, scared, and beaten down:

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Five years in sanctuary can do a lot. Today, Jamie looks better in every imaginable way. And I’m sure she feels the same. Who knows what changes we’ll see in the next five years.

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