Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

rescue

More snow adventures & thanks to volunteers!

by

Annie is continuing to show her newfound adventurous nature.

annie in snow

annie standing on snow

The other chimpanzees (well, most of them) were inspired to follow her out into the snowy expanse of Young’s Hill this afternoon.

The pair of photos below of Annie and Jody are my favorite! It’s so uplifting to see the chimpanzees support one another and share in adventures big and small:

jody and annie in snow

profiles of jody and annie

 

Foxie and Missy were 3rd and 4th out. The photo below is of Foxie giving Missy a quick hug before continuing along the path:

foxie hugging missy

 

Foxie didn’t have to go very far to find a snack:

foxie sitting with snow

 

Nor did Missy:

missy gathering snow

missy holding snow

 

Jody seemed to be in awe of the snow:

jody profile close-up

 

and dove right in for a taste:

jody eating snow

jody eating snow

 

Jamie came out after a few minutes and headed straight for a structure. She often takes the lead in adventures, but not today.

jamie sitting on structure

 

Though she did win points for her acrobatics once outside:

jamie tightrope

jamie swing

jamie swing 2

jamie swing 3

 

She also found some big chunks of snow to bring back into the building to savor:

jamie smell snow

jamie carry snow

 

Negra and Burrito didn’t follow these adventurers, but I did see Negra coming in later in the day, and I have no doubt Burrito at least reached an arm out to get a taste.

 

Before ending this post, I have to express our gratitude for volunteers and interns. This week we have really relied on you!

After being sick for a week herself, Katelyn has been the only healthy full time staff member this week. We’re very deliberate about staying away from the chimp house when we are feeling under the weather because we don’t want the chimpanzees to catch our bugs, so volunteers and interns have been life savers!

Today I’m much better but still not at 100%. I was able to don a mask and gloves to operate doors but luckily had an incredible crew of volunteers and Central Washington University interns who did the (literal) dirty work all day.

rachel

josephine

kyle

lars

 

Thank you to all of you who give your free time to the sanctuary – it makes a huge difference to all of the primates here!

 

The Eyes Have It

by

I took some photos of Burrito this morning that caused me to admire his face and think about the chimpanzee facial features that I love.

burrito sitting

The top of my personal “awesome chimpanzee facial features” list is the brow ridge (also known as supraorbital torus, ridge, or arch).

Though much less pronounced in chimpanzees, humans have a supraorbital ridge too – our eyebrows normally sit near the bottom of our arches.

Each chimpanzee has a somewhat unique brow ridge – I wonder if you could identify a chimpanzee by a brow ridge “print” like a fingerprint.

I will never say that I have a favorite chimpanzee, but I will admit that I have a favorite brow ridge: Jody’s. I like how deeply arched it is with lots of wrinkles, giving it a decidedly heart-shaped appearance:

Jody eyes

 

Here’s a look at everyone else’s supraorbital tori:

 

Missy:

Missy

 

Negra:

Negra close-up

 

Foxie:

Foxie looking down

 

Jamie (that’s also her profile in the 2nd photo in this post):

 

Annie:

Annie close-up

 

Burrito:

Burrito upside down

 

Visiting Hours

by

Health care workers know that emotional support from friends and family can play an important role in the healing process. So while Negra might be on restricted activity for a few days, she still gets regular visits from her family.

Then again, who needs family when you’ve got a constant stream of peanuts, peanut butter, cabbage, and pineapple coconut juice…

Missy the Ghost

by

They say there’s a ghost that haunts the playroom at CSNW…

By the way, if you’re wondering about Negra – she is feeling much better today and has regained her appetite and her energy. We’re going to keep her separated from the group for at least one more day to make sure she stays off her foot as much as possible. I’m sure they’re all looking forward to being reunited.

Negra’s surgery

by

If you read Diana’s blog post on Saturday, then you know that Negra recently sustained an injury to her toe that we’ve been closely monitoring. After careful consideration, we decided that we needed to intervene surgically to help speed the healing process and reduce the risk of long-term complications. Yesterday, our amazing volunteer veterinarian, Dr. Zamzow, along with two skilled and generous volunteer anesthesiologists, came out to conduct the minor operation.

Procedures like these actually begin the night before, when we isolate and withhold food from the chimpanzee being treated. In the morning, we shift all of the other chimpanzees into another area so that the patient can enjoy some peace and quiet during the anesthetic induction. Of course, these chimpanzees have been around the block a few times, so they know what’s going on. Sometimes they express concern and want to see what’s happening inside – especially the group’s den mother, Jody:

The chimpanzee being treated is given an injectable anesthetic in an enclosure designed for this purpose – it’s small and has no furniture or other things to climb on so that they won’t get hurt as they lose their coordination from the anesthetic (right now this is one of the front rooms – the same room you’ve seen in recent videos where the chimps like to watch their playroom parties being set up). Once they are fully anesthetized, we strap them on a stretcher and wheel them to the clinic where they’re put on gas anesthesia and hooked to cardiac and anesthetic monitors for their safety.

Our clinic, which is in the back of a 38-foot trailer, has served us well for the few procedures we have had to do, but part of the expansion project we hope to break ground on this year includes even better spaces for anesthesia induction, medical intervention, and recovery. The new and improved space will help the seven chimpanzees currently at CSNW as well as the new chimpanzees we expect to welcome over the next few years.

Here’s Negra in the clinic being prepped for surgery:

Anesthesia can be hard on a chimpanzee, particularly when they are older or ill. That’s why we try to do as much health monitoring and treatment as we can while they are awake using positive reinforcement training. But sometimes more complicated procedures require full anesthesia. Thankfully, Negra did great throughout the procedure, and she was soon on her way back to the enclosure where she could be monitored during her recovery. As one of our anesthesiologists taught us, anesthesiology is like flying a plane – the most dangerous times are takeoff and landing. So as a chimpanzee recovers, we have to watch them very closely. We position them on their side near the caging, propped up by blankets, so that we can monitor their breathing and pull their ET tube when they’re ready.

Once they start coming to, they feel generally crummy for a little while. But soon they realize that they are on a pile of blankets on a heated floor, and what better opportunity is there to take a nice long nap?

Negra is starting to feel better this morning, slowly but surely. It’s best for her to remain apart from the group for a little while longer to give her toe a better chance of healing quickly. So she’s been grooming with her friends through the caging and getting indulged with special treats. But more than anything, she’s been focusing on what she does best: resting. This is a chimpanzee that knows how to follow doctor’s orders.

Save