Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

rescue

In Memory of Dr. Mel Richardson

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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend, Dr. Mel Richardson.

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Dr. Mel is and will always be part of the heart and soul of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. He joined the Board of Directors in the spring of 2008, prior to the chimps’ arrival, and was instrumental in developing the philosophy of care that guides us today. He continued to oversee the care of the Cle Elum Seven for the next five and half years with boundless love and unwavering dedication.

During his visits to the sanctuary, Dr. Mel won over the chimpanzees and humans alike with his southern charm. He welcomed phone calls from worried staff at all hours, which he handled with patience and understanding. His calmness and reassurance during uncertain times is something we will always appreciate. And his vast knowledge and decades of experience – from zookeeper to veterinarian to activist – made him one of the most trusted members of the organization.

If his easy smile didn’t immediately win you over, his countless stories surely would. He seemed to have lived multiple lifetimes, soaking up every bit he could, and he never stopped planning for the next adventure or the next opportunity to offer his expert but humble assistance.

Dr. Mel dedicated his life to helping animals, and he was especially committed to seeing formerly abused and neglected captive exotic animals thrive in sanctuaries. Remarkably, the health and happiness of the Cle Elum Seven are but one small part of his amazing legacy. From Rwanda to Cle Elum to Bolivia, he traveled across the globe to help animals in need.

The chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are fortunate to have an amazing team of veterinarians dedicated to their care, and you can rest assured that they are left in good hands. But we will all feel the void that Dr. Mel has left, as we mourn the loss of a kind, courageous, and compassionate soul.

Thank you, Dr. Mel.

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Young at Heart

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Missy and Annie covered nearly every inch of Young’s Hill today during a spirited game of chase.

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After being chased across the field, Annie took to the climbing structure, and Missy followed.

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Another dash across the field.

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And then another climbing structure.

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Annie tried to get away to the shaky bridge but Missy got her by the foot.

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But then it all ended in classic Missy style as she crashed end-over-end onto the bridge…with a smile.

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Chow wadge

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In the wild, chimpanzees create a wadge when eating certain types of food. A wadge is simply a ball of food that is placed in the lower lip and sucked on. Wadging can be a way to extract juice and nutrients from foods that are too fibrous to swallow, or it can be a way to extract the flesh from fruits that have bitter or poisonous seeds. Chimps sometimes create a wadge when eating small bits of egg or meat by adding leaves and chewing everything together. Some think that this might just be a way to prolong the enjoyment of a scarce but highly valued food.

Whatever the ultimate reason may be, it’s clear that some foods are just meant to be wadged, and primate chow is high on that list. As Annie demonstrates here, you start but dumping the entire bag into your mouth and arranging them into your lower lip.

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Then, add water.

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Make sure you take out the wadge once and a while to check on its progress.

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Then, sit back and enjoy!

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Grooming Tools

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Chimpanzees mainly groom themselves and one another directly with their hands and mouths, but a couple of the chimps at CSNW use tools for grooming. Missy likes to groom herself with a splinter of wood. Sometimes she just scratches herself, but other times she can be like a surgeon with her instrument as she picks at a bump or scab. In fact, volunteer Deb once saw Missy use a wood splinter to open up a small abscess that had gone unnoticed by the staff. As a former nurse, she said the process was not all that unlike how a doctor would perform what they call an I&D (incision and drainage – sorry to gross you out), though hopefully your doctor would use a sterile instrument and not a stick.

Jamie, on the other hand, uses tools to groom her caregivers. I think this is mainly because of what she wants to groom. As you may know, the caregivers at CSNW only present certain parts of their bodies to the chimps for contact (e.g., a bare elbow) and only in limited circumstances. This is because there is always the potential for a chimpanzee – even someone that we are good friends with – to grab us and injure us. So if Jamie wants to touch our fingers or the tops of our shoes, she has to use a tool. Jamie knows this and seems to enjoy grooming with a tool even more than using her fingers. Sometimes she even tries to reach into our pockets or lift up our shirts to see our bellies.

We often describe Jamie as “intense,” and if you look at her eyes while she is grooming or using a tool, you can see the focus and concentration that she has. You can also see her display sympathetic mouth movements as she grooms, which Diana described in the comments section on a previous blog post.

More fun in the sun

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In general, chimpanzees tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves, but Missy just takes it to another level. Today, you could see the joy in her eyes as she scanned the hill, trying to decide which way she would run and what things she would climb and jump off of along the way.

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After some deliberation, it seems she decided she would run every which way and jump off of everything.

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From the looks of it, it was as fun as she thought it would be.

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The other chimps weren’t quite as energetic, but they all seemed to enjoy this unusually beautiful December weather we are having now. Annie and Jody walked to the top of the hill together.

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Burrito tried to tag along, but his bipedal walking (something he does when he ventures past his comfort zone on the hill) slowed him down.

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Foxie followed close behind him, balancing a yellow-haired troll on her back.

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And Jamie made her way around the perimeter of the hill as she always does, making a slight detour to cross the log bridge where she politely reminded the photographer that he should get moving because the walk was not over yet.

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Negra enjoys the sun more than anyone, but she chose to soak in the rays from her comfortable nest on the heated playroom catwalk. And with everyone else out on the hill, she finally had some peace and quiet.

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Veterinary Clinic Progress

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I’m happy to say we have more progress to report on the veterinary clinic!

With the help of our supporters and some generous foundations and businesses, we’ve been able to check more items off of our wishlist. Patrick and Carrie Hardie facilitated the donation of a steam autoclave, an automated external defibrillator (AED), and many other supplies. And Project V.E.T.S. has come through for us again. First, they connected us with Willamette Equine Veterinary Services in Oregon, who donated an automatic x-ray processor. Then, they awarded us with a grant that allowed us to shop for new and reconditioned equipment at apexx Veterinary Equipment, and apexx generously donated the first 25% of the cost of every item. This allowed us to purchase a laryngoscope set and an IV fluid pump (pictured below).

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We’ve also been busy at the sanctuary making a place for the clinic next to the chimp building. One reason for this is this is that we don’t want to have to travel too far with an anesthetized chimpanzee on a stretcher. But more importantly, it’s best for the clinic to be in a secure environment in the event that a chimpanzee comes out of anesthesia unexpectedly. We could either reinforce the trailer to make it chimp proof, or simply park it within the perimeter fence that already surrounds the building. We chose to do the latter, but that entailed extending the fence 10 feet to the west, relocating the entry gate, and adding 60 feet of gravel driveway. Thankfully, volunteer Mark spent some cold mornings with us setting posts and running wire.

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With the fence modifications complete, we were also able to begin the installation of the wildfire sprinkler system, a project made possible by a grant from the ASPCA. A high-pressure pump will send water through PVC pipes around the base of the fence and up to sprinklers mounted on the tops of the fence posts. The pump will be powered by a generator and the sprinklers will soak the chimp house and surrounding area in the event of another wildfire.

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It goes without saying that the health and safety of the chimps is our top priority, so we are incredibly grateful to all of our supporters that make improvements like these possible. Thank you!

Don’t fight winter – embrace it like Jamie

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Free-living chimpanzees inhabit countries spanning equatorial Africa, but the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are becoming more and more acclimated to central Washington weather. Perhaps these photos of Jamie will inspire you to embrace winter too.

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