Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Young’s Hill Anniversary Forage

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If you were on Facebook this morning, you might have noticed that I posted a link to the video from the chimps’ first day out on Young’s Hill—exactly one year ago today! I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by—I remember that day like it was yesterday. A lot has happened in the last year and we’ve seen so many changes in the chimps. Burrito hasn’t been the most confident in the open air but he is going farther and farther. Missy is a fearless running machine. Annie has gotten to walk through grass that she hadn’t seen since her infancy in Africa. Jody and Foxie were both hesitant in the beginning but will now spend hours exploring the hill. Jamie never showed any hesitation to exploring every inch of the hill, and protecting it from intruders (deer on the other side of the fence). Negra still doesn’t spend too much extended time out there, but she goes out most days first thing and soaks in some sun before heading back in to her favorite spot in the greenhouse or inside the playroom. Today, she was the first one out when I opened the door! She quickly grabbed some forage and went back in before I started filming, so I don’t have any Negra footage, but I caught shots of all the others enjoying their anniversary forage.

I can’t wait to see what changes and growth this next year will bring. Any ideas?

 

Objects of Desire

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First of all, I would like to direct your attention to the right side of this page. If you scroll down, past the announcements and look just past the e-newsletter sign-up, you will see a newly added feature to our blog! You can now plug your email address into that box over the “subscribe” button, click “subscribe,” then check your email. You should receive a notice from wordpress.com very quickly (check your spam folder if it doesn’t show up in a few minutes), then you just follow the directions in that email and, voila – you’ll receive blog posts by email as soon as they are posted! And there’s a button right at the bottom of the email when you get a blog post to click in order to comment on the post. It’s pretty cool. You should try it out.

Now, I’d like to direct your attention to Jamie…

Jamie’s love of boots shows no signs of fading. As we’ve mentioned before, her favorite pair switches frequently. Because I’ve had a cold, I haven’t been in the chimp house much in the last couple of weeks, so I wasn’t sure which pair were at the top of her favorite list. When I saw the tall wooden heel of a new pair, I suspected those were her current loves. I was correct, as you can see by the photos below:

Jamie hugging boot 1
Jamie hugging boot 2
Jamie hugging boot 4
Jamie hugging boot 3

Our not-quite-alpha male

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It’s amazing how much Burrito has changed in his time here at the sanctuary. When Burrito arrived, he was afraid of everything. And who could blame him…he was taken from his mother shortly after birth, put into a biomedical research study as an infant, then raised as a pet in someone’s home, and then sent off to perform in a circus. After all that, he was forced to spend 20 years in a lab cage as a hepatitis vaccine research subject. He never learned to be a chimp, and that left him with an extreme lack of confidence in social situations. But he has grown so much over the past four years.

This morning, the chimps rushed out onto Young’s Hill to face off with a dangerous intruder. OK…it wasn’t so much a dangerous intruder as it was a couple of puppies barking from our neighbor’s property. But the chimps were on high alert! In the past, Burrito might have hung back and let Jamie and some of the other girls take care of things. But this morning, Burrito was determined to be part of the team.

For Burrito, this was not the most comfortable situation. First, he had to venture to the very top of Young’s Hill, an area he has only been to a couple of times. Second, he had to do this with everyone else in a state of high arousal. When chimps are in a state of high arousal, group dynamics can be fluid and unpredictable. Aggression towards someone else can easily be directed back at you if you aren’t careful.

Burrito seemed determined not to let that stop him. But before he went up the hill, he needed some reassurance, which Missy was happy to provide.

This is a typical reassurance interaction. Burrito stands bipedal and waits for Missy to approach. The two hug, and then quickly extend their arms over each other and groom each others backsides.

After the barking stopped, Burrito continued to walk around the top of the hill. When he needed more reassurance, Foxie was there to give him a hug.

It’s important to note that reassurance like this is not just hugs and kisses between friends. When Burrito is in a state of high arousal, he is a loose cannon. In addition to lending their friend a helping hand, the girls are trying to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation.

A calm Burrito is in everyone’s best interest.

Hugs and kisses

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Burrito was a bit nervous going out on Young’s Hill today- most likely because before Friday, due to the Taylor Bridge Fire, the chimps hadn’t been out there in nearly three weeks. As soon as he got out there, he stood bipedally and his hair was pilo erect (standing on end), both signs that he was a bit worked up or aroused. But Foxie and Missy both reassured him that everything was safe.

Burrito trying to steal a hug from Foxie, who was walking by right after the door to the hill was opened:

who then hugged him back as a way to calm him down. If you look closely at the photo, you can see that Burrito is fear grimacing (aka- showing all of his teeth. This facial expression looks much like a human smile, but is usually a sign of fear or intense excitement).

Still a bit nervous, he approached Missy with a bent wrist. A bent wrist is a submissive gesture and often an effective way to gain reassurance from a more dominant individual. He has a large fear grimace in this photo.

Later, seeing that Burrito was still nervous, Missy approached him, breathy panted and gave him an open mouth kiss, again letting him know that all was okay.

He eventually settled down and got busy doing what he does (and loves) best- foraging for chow.

Another Quiet Day

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Today, Burrito was checking out his reflection in a plastic mirror.

Foxie enjoyed some bottled water (we’re still waiting on tests of our well water since it was contaminated during the fire).

Missy and Annie spent some time grooming. Missy likes to groom herself with a tool – in this case she ripped a splinter from a log. If you look closely you can even see some dandruff falling.

Annie likes to pick Missy’s nose. Missy tolerates it but doesn’t seem to enjoy it. I don’t blame her – Annie doesn’t bite her nails down like the other chimps do.

 

The story of the fire, part 4

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See the Story of the Fire Part 1 here

As the fire overtook the sanctuary grounds, we closed the doors and windows of the chimp house and waited. There was nothing more we could do.

Inside the building, you could hear a pin drop. Normally, when chimpanzees sense danger, they are anything but quiet. Alarm calls erupt to alert other chimpanzees of the threat. Males try to demonstrate their power in the face of danger by banging on the enclosures and pant-hooting. As the level of fear rises, the alarms calls evolve into screams. But during the fire, the Cle Elum Seven were completely silent.

We’ve noticed in the past that chimpanzees react differently to threats that they don’t quite understand. Chimps know what to do when they see a snake – either kill it or get out of its way. But how could they understand a fire like this? They acted similarly when they first arrived at the sanctuary. Chimpanzee caregivers jokingly refer to the brief period following a chimp’s arrival as the “honeymoon period.” Until they are comfortable in their new home, these normally loud and boisterous animals lay low and keep quiet. Perhaps the best thing you can do when you have no control is to try not to stand out.

The scene outside of the chimp house was surreal and most of the chimps crowded around the windows to watch. Foxie stayed near me. She didn’t look frightened, but she seemed to want a little bit of reassurance amidst the uncertainty. I was certainly frightened, but the firefighters were a reassuring presence, and not just because of their ability to protect us. From what I could see, they looked at ease in their position around the facility. I figured that if they felt safe, so should I. Familiar faces helped too – one of the firefighters was Calvin Beedle, our friend and excavator who did the digging for the chimp house and Young’s Hill.

After a couple of hours, the main fire made its way to the north and east of us and continued to burn out of control. A smaller, less intense grass fire slowly made its way around the chimp house, circling back to the driveway. By this time the sanctuary and our neighbors’ properties were a green island in the midst of thousands of acres of black. The air immediately around the chimp house had mostly cleared and it was safe to emerge and assess the damage. The rest of the staff returned to the sanctuary with water and food, and the chimps were able to have their dinner. It’s an odd feeling to serve dinner while the sanctuary is on fire.

The fires around the sanctuary burned until 2 a.m., with the occasional tree “torching” and providing a brief glimpse of the firefighters that continued to work in the dark. That night, with the sanctuary residence damaged and the threat of flare-ups all around us, Diana and I slept in the chimp house…or at least tried to. The sound of the fire engines idling just outside gave us some peace of mind.

In the morning, the chimps were intrigued by the makeshift camp set up in their kitchen, but more than anything, they seemed to wonder why we hadn’t started making their smoothies yet.