Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

rescue

Searching for Bald Eagles

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The sanctuary is fortunate to receive regular visits from bald eagles throughout the winter and spring. While there are a few year-round pairs in our area, many are just looking for a break and a bite to eat as they migrate north. We often find them perched atop the pine and fir trees lining the front of the property, overlooking the Yakima River. It’s the perfect fishing spot.

While they do like to fish, bald eagles are also scavengers and you are most apt to hear them when they are scavenging larger animals like deer. Have you ever heard a bald eagle’s call? Before living here, I had assumed that they would sound every bit as majestic as they appear. Quite the opposite, in fact. They sound like a bunch of seagulls sitting around and laughing at each other’s jokes.

This morning, a couple of bald eagles were somewhere in the woods just above Young’s Hill, their calls echoing off the ridge behind the sanctuary. This is about the best chimpanzee enrichment you could ask for. The chimps weren’t scared, but they were intent on finding the source of that incessant laughter.

Jamie often walks the perimeter of Young’s Hill with her caregivers, but today the chimps also went on several patrols of their own.

By afternoon, we still hadn’t caught sight of an eagle. The day is not over yet.

Grooming Party

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In the afternoon, the chimps can often be found gathered together in grooming parties. At CSNW, these parties usually take place on elevated platforms or, as you can see here, in a corner of the playroom loft. Though grooming partners change from day to day and even minute to minute, over time you can observe stable patterns of affiliation – what we would rightly call friendships. Grooming can also be viewed as a form of currency to be used strategically – I do a favor for you by grooming you, and at some point you can pay me back by sharing food, being less aggressive toward me, etc.

Based on research conducted by former CWU student and CSNW intern Jake Funkhouser, we know that Jamie and Negra are the least likely to be involved in these grooming sessions. Negra’s lack of interest in grooming shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that she is less social overall than the others. But Jamie? Shouldn’t the boss get groomed the most?

It may have something to do with the fact that Jamie directs much of her grooming behavior towards the staff and volunteers, which is not unusual in chimps raised by humans. But we can’t discount the face of Jamie that led us to think of her as the boss in the first place – she is a bit of a bully. And it may just be that while aggressiveness will win you an extra piece of fruit now and then, it won’t win you a lot of friends.

The heart of the social network, as Jake discovered, was Jody. She had strong affiliative relationships with the other chimps and was most often the recipient of grooming. As you can see in this video, Burrito and Foxie are engaged in reciprocal grooming, but Annie is happy to groom Jody without receiving anything in return (well, at least not at this time). This is quite the privilege.

Knowing this changes how we see the group, and it will inform the way we approach integrating other chimps. There’s certainly a lot going on in these quiet moments.

Fog breaks

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Waves of dense fog rolled across the sanctuary all morning.

We’d set out for walks when the fog would break but another wave would quickly overtake us. Jody was not a fan.

Missy wasn’t fazed in the slightest.

When the fog lifted it felt almost like spring. Even Negra came out to bask in the warm sun.

By afternoon the fog was gone and the sun was out to stay. Annie quickly went to work gathering snacks. She has taken a real liking to eating raspberry plants – not the raspberries, mind you, but the plants themselves. Because the ones we transplanted last fall have yet to fully root, she is easily able to take them to go.

When you catch Missy standing still, it’s tempting to think that she might be taking in the scenery or sitting for a moment in quiet contemplation. But no. She is just making sure that everyone is watching when she blasts down the hill at full bore.

Sometimes when I am walking around the hill with the chimps, it feels like someone is watching me. And asking for grain.

This morning there were still patches of snow lingering in shadowy sections of the hill. As the day wore on, they were getting harder and harder to find. By late morning, the only source remaining was at the very top of the hill. Either Annie was the only one who knew this secret or she was the only one willing to hike all that way.

Blown Away

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Wow, everyone! I am overwhelmed. It’s difficult to find the words to express my gratitude and amazement and joy at the outpouring of support for our very ambitious year-end fundraising campaign. Thankfully, Katelyn found some beautiful words yesterday.

This lofty year-end goal started with a donor who came to us with a big offer and who wanted to encourage others to give.

A few weeks ago it seemed we were very far away from matching that original donor’s $250,000 pledge. And that’s when a second donor contacted us with a $110,000 donation that would get us MUCH closer to that big goal.

There was still quite a ways to go, though. And that’s where so many others played a role. Donations came from as close by as our neighbors up the hill to as far away as Taiwan; from donors under five years old to 85 years old; from donations of $5 to $5,000; from supporters who just learned about the sanctuary to those who have followed the Cle Elum Seven since before their arrival in 2008.

You all made this pipe dream come true. We are grateful and humbled and full of hope.

It’s clear that you want this sanctuary to expand and to bring more chimpanzees HOME, and we will be putting our efforts full-hearted towards that goal in this new year.

Thank you!