Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

rescue

If Looks Could Kale

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Jody has a healthy appreciation for fresh, hand-picked greens.

Recently, local volunteer Krissy has been delivering bags of primate chow to the sanctuary’s front gate. More often than not, she also leaves behind a large bin of produce from her home garden. This weekend, we added the generous assortment of leafy greens to the chimps’ lunches, which we then dispersed in Young’s Hill so that they could spend the afternoon foraging.

Most greens are cultivars of one species: cabbage. In its wild form, cabbage (Brassica oleracea) grows on the seaside cliffs of Europe. Over millennia, the domesticated variants have become a common food crop for humans around the globe. Despite their distinct grocery names, kale, collared greens, cauliflower, broccoli, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts are all just types of cabbage that have been shaped by artificial selection. Of course, “Farmer Jo” loves them all equally.

Today, Jo did her usual thing (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) and gathered up an impressive bundle of greens. Although it was an unusually quiet day at the sanctuary, even around the chimps, the loud crunch of woody stems filled the Greenhouse for a short while. Negra spent the early minutes of the forage collecting the grapes and chow biscuits nearest to the Greenhouse, but missed out on the kale. Upon returning, she sat behind Jody and begged for a piece. Jo ignored her, but eventually discarded enough leafless stalks to satisfy Neggie, who promptly scooped them up and waddled inside.

Compared to the usual dynamics, today’s drama was relatively tame.

Tickle Therapy

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It looks like today will be Burrito’s last day on restricted activity. Which is great for him, obviously, but a relief for the staff, too, because we can’t keep up with him. He’s just too playful. Thankfully, Nurse Jody took another shift this afternoon and tried to tickle him back to health.

Earlier in the afternoon, we tried to offer Burrito some lunch. It did not go as planned.

He was convinced that it was playtime, not lunchtime. Soon his onion was a toy and he began laughing to himself.

He tossed his green pepper aside and rolled the onion around the room.

He insisted that I stop serving lunch and join him.

He thought it was the funniest onion ever.

It was!

But then he noticed the lettuce on the table behind me. Lettuce is good.

Maybe even better than playing?

Yup.

Oh, but that onion!

Our thanks go out to all the amazing Produce Patrons that keep Burrito and the gang supplied with delicious food (and, er, toys?). Learn how you can be a Produce Patron here.

Veterinary Clinic Tour

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The sanctuary’s upgraded veterinary clinic has come up quite a bit lately.

We have utilized this area frequently over the past year, and it recently gave us the ability to respond to an unexpected emergency. Thanks to its impeccable usefulness and immediate relevance, the clinic was also mentioned several times during last night’s virtual auction: HOOT! 2020. As we explained to the event’s participants, your generous contributions have built this on-site clinic for the chimpanzees and will help us to add additional equipment and vital supplies in the near future. We caregivers are all comforted to have such a modern and secure facility located just across the hallway from the chimpanzee enclosures so that any necessary procedures can be done safely and effectively.

Because we are so grateful for all of the support and we love to teach people about our work, Dr. Erin and I thought it would be fitting to take you all on a virtual tour of the veterinary clinic! In the video, Dr. Erin also explains some of our protocols and we would love to answer any questions that you may have.

Thank you once again for making all of this possible!

 

Stop Thief!

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Let’s start with today’s Burrito update. Things continue to look good – he is eating, taking his meds, and playing with his caregivers constantly. As far as he’s concerned, he’s ready to go back with the group. Unfortunately for him, he needs to remain on restricted activity for another week or so. Our main concern at this point is excessive bleeding, a potential complication of envenomation that can persist for up to two weeks after the bite. While in isolation, the staff are keeping Burrito’s toes thoroughly tickled and tomorrow we hope to provide him with a low-key visitor like Jody. Though I’m sure he is starting to feel frustrated at being cooped up, he doesn’t need to be in the middle of any family squabbles right now.

As you may have seen, the rest of his family has returned to Young’s Hill. Last Sunday we did a thorough sweep of the enclosure to ensure that there weren’t any more snakes out there. Both the main building and Young’s Hill are surrounded by about a 1/4 mile of rattlesnake exclusion fencing. The fence is composed of 36″-tall galvanized hardware cloth that is partially buried in the ground, and it’s based on a fairly well-tested design. We knew that it wasn’t foolproof, however, as it is particularly difficult to execute around entrance gates and there were a couple of small sections next to the building that had to be temporarily taken down to allow for the new construction. We don’t know where the snake got through, but we have already begun implementing alternative ways to reinforce those areas.

While we’d be happy if the chimps gained a healthier fear of snakes, we’re relieved that they weren’t too scared by the incident to continue enjoying the outdoors. Even Annie is back out there, though she is justifiably more cautious around bushes and logs. Here are a few photos of Annie’s birthday party that didn’t make it into yesterday’s post.

Jamie:

Foxie:

Missy:

Before I end I should tell you about a bit if thievery I witnessed this morning. As I was shifting the chimps to the greenhouse for breakfast, I noticed Jody walking in the opposite direction from the rest of her family with her head held low. While Missy and Jamie lined up for smoothie and Annie and Foxie blew raspberries at the staff to demand their share of fruit, Jody quietly but swiftly skulked back inside from the greenhouse. And soon I could see why. In her mouth was a huge stalk of Brussels sprouts that she must have found on the hill, an unnoticed leftover from yesterday’s birthday bash. It was the perfect plan: While the others were distracted with breakfast, she would savor her sprouts in the privacy of the playroom and no one would be the wiser. And she nearly pulled it off. But as she rounded the final corner from the front rooms to the playroom, she ran straight into the last person you want to see when you are guarding a precious treat: The Melon Mugger. The Romaine Robber. The Potato Pilferer. The Strawberry Swindler.

THE BRUSSELS BURGLAR.

Each let out a silent scream, their teeth bared in fear grimaces. But there would be no conflict. Negra pulled rank and Jody had no choice but to relinquish her prize. At least there was still breakfast to look forward to.

See you tomorrow at Hoot!

Morning Greetings

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Burrito ate a late-night snack of baked apple slices and a banana and took some medication in grape juice, then he slept soundly all night.

This morning he woke up a bit brighter-eyed and had enough energy to greet Jamie, Jody, and Foxie who all wanted to inspect and groom his still slightly swollen hand and his face (if you haven’t been following the last few days, here’s why Mr. B is in recovery). When J.B. came in early,  Burrito scooted over to play poke/tickle while still lying down.

Things are all trending in the right direction!

My mental energy has been focused on Burrito these last few days and some of my plans for HOOT! outreach have gone by the wayside. If things continue to look good, and after getting some sleep, I plan to work some more on that event which is coming up in just a few days now!

It turns out that rattlesnake antivenin, which we sourced from the nearest human ER, is extremely expensive, so I might be adding a fundraising page to help pay for Burrito’s medical expenses (so far $12,000) on the virtual auction/event site later today.

Thank you to those who have already inquired about making donations towards his care!

A Difficult Day

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Tonight, Burrito is recovering from a rattlesnake bite.

We heard a commotion on Young’s Hill this morning and went out to find six of the chimps intensely alarm calling and screaming as they surrounded a large snake. Burrito unfortunately got too aggressive in pursuit of the snake and received a bite to the base of his thumb. Thankfully, we were able to get the chimps back inside relatively quickly. We then entered the enclosure, captured the snake, and confirmed that it was indeed a rattler.

Shortly thereafter, Burrito was anesthetized and given a course of antivenin while his symptoms were still relatively mild. At this point he is stable and resting but he is not out of the woods yet.

Diana and I are so grateful for the prompt response from the staff and veterinary team. Burrito will be monitored closely overnight and we promise to update you tomorrow as we know more. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Cabbage for Breakfast

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Volunteer and friend of the sanctuary, Krissy, recently dropped off some garden-grown cabbage for the chimps. Some of you might not consider cabbage to be breakfast food but the chimps would beg to differ. In fact, it may have been more popular than the oranges, apples, and primate chow.

A rare photo of all seven chimps together on Young’s Hill.
Annie in the foreground, with Jody and Missy behind her
Negra, pre-cabbage
Negra, post-cabbage
Jody, gathering all the cabbage and apples she can hold…
…and making a beeline to the Greenhouse.
Burrito, trying to conceal the fact that while the others found cabbage leaves, he found an entire head. Just play it cool and don’t make eye contact.

In addition to everything she personally does for the chimpanzees, Krissy also supports the chimpanzees through her business, The Whole Pet Shop (in Woodinville, WA and Roslyn, WA), which is a Chimpanzee Champion-level sponsor of Hoot! 2020. Have you checked out all of the incredible items up for auction now through September 12? Your support will not only help keep Negra up to her ears in cabbage, but it will also help us provide a home for even more deserving chimpanzees.