Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

rescue

Grassy Gordo and the Honey B Holdout

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One of the ways that captive chimps entertain themselves is by attempting to thwart their caregivers’ plans. Oh, you’d like to clean this area now? That’s unfortunate for you, ’cause I just decided that I’m going to live here forever. Honey B is the master of this. If you try to sweeten the deal by putting food in a different area, she’ll run out, grab the food, then high tail it back and barrel roll through the door as it closes, Indiana Jones-style. It’s rarely wise to engage in a battle of wills with a chimpanzee, even less so once they are fully stocked with provisions.

There are days when I could swear that she arranges for Willy B and Mave to run interference while she makes a mad dash for treats.

Today we cleaned on Honey B’s schedule while Willy B soaked up some afternoon sun. He still won’t touch the grass in the courtyard if he can help it and he rarely ventures further than ten or fifteen feet from the chute.

But that seems to be enough for him for now.

As we start to consider how the other group of Waystation chimps will feel about venturing out into larger, more naturalistic enclosures, I’ve been heartened to see Gordo’s comfort level increasing.

On Wednesday I caught him napping on the grass in the greenhouse.

From the look on his face, I think he’ll really appreciate the privacy that the larger enclosures will provide.

Let’s all just stop here for a second and appreciate Rayne. She is without a doubt the best chimpanzee that I’ve ever known, just like every other chimpanzee that I’ve ever known.

The forecast is calling for showers and cooler temperatures this weekend, both of which are long overdue. We’ve had enough anxiety about fires, smoke, and rattlesnakes for one summer. Still, I can’t help wanting to hold on a little longer to these al fresco breakfasts on the hill.

Missy, Burrito, and Jody:

Negra:

Foxie:

Jamie:

Foxie, Burrito, and Missy:

Jody:

The bidding has already begun at our Hoot! For the Holidays virtual event and the live event takes place tomorrow at 6pm Pacific. Tune in to hear stories from the past and learn about our plans for the future, and bid and donate to help support the 16 chimpanzees and 4 bovines that call Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest home. Don’t miss it!

Three Exciting Things!

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1) HOOT! online bidding opened today. More items will be added throughout the week before the event, which will stream live one week from today, Saturday, September 18th at 6:00pm PT on Facebook and YouTube. Learn more and see the current auction items available for bidding now on the HOOT! auction site.

2) The Lucky Six aired two nights ago on NBC7 San Diego’s Down to Earth with Dagmar, and you can watch it online now! It’s in four parts, so be sure to watch each of the four videos in sequence.

3) You saw the video celebration of Annie’s birthday yesterday, and now you can see these bonus photos of Annie and others in her group thoroughly enjoying the celebration. It was raining during the forage, but, as J.B. said yesterday, that did not slow them down a bit (well, maybe Negra, who decided to find food under the cover of the greenhouse).

Annie:

Missy, who enjoyed the kale as much as the coconuts:

Foxie:

Burrito, in sequence:

Negra on her throne:

Up Close and Personal

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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.

Foraging

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Now that it’s cooled off a bit, the chimps in Negra’s group are spending a little more time on the hill. We started the day with a breakfast forage, which lured Negra out of her nest and into the great outdoors.

After spending a considerable amount of time foraging, she decided to take the remainder of her breakfast to go and made her way back to the comfort of her greenhouse nest.

Burrito and Jamie also stuffed their mouths with fruit, including apples from our very own orchard that Diana picked the other night.

This is a good example of why we don’t forage all of the chimps’ meals – there’s just no controlling how much each will get! There’s a good chance Jamie’s got some food in her feet as well. I guess it takes a lot of calories to fuel all those walks around the hill.

Missy, who will turn 46 on Monday, set out to demonstrate that age has no bearing one’s athletic abilities.

Jody agreed, adding that she had never been very athletic, even when she was younger.

Nevertheless, she eventually made it to the top of Negra’s cabin to search for more treats.

Annie sought a bird’s eye view of the action.

Later, Jamie, Burrito, Missy, and I went for a walk around the hill, stopping momentarily to reenact the scene from the original Charlie’s Angels poster.

For a short while, Burrito led the way. Nothing keeps this guy down for long.

Jody caught up to us at the top of the hill, but broke away soon after to snack on a few wild rose hips.

We have a quick favor to ask: The chimps are once again running low on blankets, so we’d love it if you would consider donating a few from our wish list. Annie would be most grateful…and so would we! (Edit 8/21: The blankets have all been purchased off of our wish list – thank you all!)

Ups and Downs

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We did a number of dyadic intros today – some great, some disappointing. Honey B and Terry did not hit it off despite Terry’s best efforts, so that relationship will take some time to develop. Neither was injured but Honey B did end up with a souvenir from their encounter – a mouthful of Terry’s hair. And much to our dismay, Willy B would not even give Dora the time of day! She was heartbroken. But there were some promising signs near the end of their meeting and they will certainly meet again, perhaps when Willy B is less distracted. Thankfully, Mave – as she always does! – put on a masterclass in chimp introductions when she met an anxious Dora and tailored her behavior perfectly so as to engage Dora without upsetting her.

But the greatest story of the day by far was when Honey B met Dora. These two had lived together in the past. As we saw with Terry, this doesn’t guarantee a happy reunion. This, however, was the happiest of reunions and it took us completely by surprise.

They met at the mesh and instantly started breathy panting and grooming. When the door opened, they hugged and then launched into a game of chase. We’ve never seen Dora smile so much! Honey B doesn’t know how to dial it back like Mave does and we were afraid that Honey B would overwhelm Dora with her rambunctiousness but Dora loved every minute of it. They wrestled, tickled, ran, and laughed, and then did it all again. Here you can see Honey B playfully dragging Dora across the floor by the feet.

And here’s a still from a short video I took. The look on Dora’s face says it all. There’s nothing like reuniting with an old friend.

Not Again

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Before I go into detail, please know that Burrito is doing great and is expected to make a full recovery.

Unfortunately, he was bitten by a rattlesnake again yesterday. I know, it’s hard to believe. It was only eleven months ago that he was bitten for the first time.

Shortly before 8am, I heard alarm calls coming from his group. When I arrived at the playroom, everything seemed fairly normal. Burrito and Foxie were grooming on the catwalk by the windows overlooking the valley. Annie was laying in a nest. Jamie was looking out the window, attempting to peek at her neighbors. But Jody and Negra both approached me with hair standing on end to ask for reassurance. And as I watched Missy peering into the trench drain, she emitted a quiet huu call, which, as Goodall and colleagues described, signifies “puzzlement, surprise, or slight anxiety…directed toward such things as small snakes, unknown creature rustlings, dead animals, and the like.” I ran the drain flush and waited. Within seconds, a dead rattlesnake washed into the catch basin.

Amazingly, everyone initially seemed to be OK. But when Burrito got up, I could see him dragging his butt across the floor instead of knuckle-walking while holding his arm awkwardly to his chest. He had been bitten on the hand and it was beginning to swell and become painful.

Just like last time, a few quick calls and texts sent our staff scrambling into action. And thanks to our incredible donors – especially our friend Monica – we had four vials of antivenin in a laboratory refrigerator at the ready here in our clinic.

Before long, Burrito was anesthetized and brought into the clinic for the infusion. He remained stable throughout the procedure. It was clear that he either received less envenomation this time or had developed some very mild immunity from the last bite. But many of the same worrying signs were present, including a neurotoxic reaction known as myokymia, which is characterized by small muscle fasciculations and can look like worms crawling under the skin. It was terrifying to watch the first time, and only slightly less so the second time around.

Sofia, Dr. Erin, and Anthony attend to Burrito
Burrito’s heart rate, blood pressure, SPO2, respiratory rate, temperature, and heart rhythm are monitored throughout the procedure.

While the infusion took place, Dr. Erin led the team through a general exam and Burrito was given everything from blood draws and x-rays to a manicures and moisturizers.

Repeat x-rays are performed on the chest, abdomen, and joints known or suspected to be arthritic
Fingernails and toenails are trimmed and dry skin is coated with moisturizer

When the drip was complete, he was returned to the medical recovery room to rest.

Piles of blankets and stuffed animals make for a nice nest to recover in but also cushion falls when chimps are still unsteady on their feet after anesthesia

We checked on him throughout the evening and by morning he was up and enjoying some attention from his family through the mesh. Like last time, he’ll be kept in isolation or on quiet play dates until the potential for complications subsides.

Both Foxie and Jody made sure Burrito was feeling loved this morning

Luckily he has a lot of human friends looking in on him, too.

Caregiver Kelsi greets Burrito with a knuckle rub on the head

I don’t know if there are simply more rattlesnakes than ever before or if our dumb luck just ran out. Our 1/4-mile-long rattlesnake exclusion fence was never impenetrable, as the numerous doors, gates, and utility line penetrations proved difficult to block off completely, but for the first ten years we didn’t have a single rattlesnake within the fence. Now, with bites two years in a row, we are going to have to find ways to more effectively seal those areas. It would be nice to think that Burrito has learned a lesson from his encounters, but Burrito has never been much for learning lessons.

As I write this post, he is finishing dinner after his first full day of recovery and starting to bed down for the night. He’s already got his appetite back so we are optimistic that he’ll be good to go in no time.

One small consolation for being isolated after treatment is getting to eat a meal all by yourself
OK, not entirely by yourself. Negra’s dinner is waiting for her in the greenhouse but she can’t take her eyes off of Burrito’s night bag

This is not the kind of thing our veterinary team wants to get good at through real-world practice, but we certainly felt better prepared for this incident and it is in large part due to the generosity and love you all showed Burrito and the vet team in the aftermath of his last bite. So we attribute his rapid recovery not only to our amazing staff and Burrito’s own indomitable spirit, but also to your support. Thank you.

We’re going to do all we can to keep those rattlesnakes out. And Burrito, please just let them be!