Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Sanctuary

Rain

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We’ve had a lot of rain at the sanctuary lately. We certainly need the rain, so I can’t complain, but the chimps are starting to remind me of myself when I was a kid and I couldn’t go out and play.

Today, when Burrito was outside in the rain, he made a face that we often see when the chimpanzees are uncomfortable. It’s close to what we would call a sneer but a sneer is usually seen more in fear or threat contexts. Burrito’s face says something more like “I know it won’t kill me but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Jody makes this face when she’s outside in the cold, and Annie often makes it when she has to walk through tall grass.

Thanksgiving 2012

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It’s been one celebration after another at the chimp house today. After we cleaned the playroom, we decorated and put out little boxes with pecans in the shell. Jamie had a strategy in mind and gathered a bunch.

Jamie with pecan boxes

 

After the forage, Annie enjoyed taking down some of the decorations that Patti brought for the day.

annie with thanksgiving decorations

 

Then she and Missy played with the decorations for a while. I love this photo of Annie lovingly gazing at Missy.

annie lovingly gazing at missy

 

Lunch was the first Thanksgiving feast of the day with baked potatoes, apples and Brussels sprouts (thanks to volunteer Denice for making the baked potatoes in advance). Watch the video below and listen to the food squeaking-Thanksgiving-happiness.

And now they are having yet another feast – Thanksgiving dinner, complete with Field Roast, baked sweet potatoes and cranberries with apples.

For Patti Sims and Anne Roberson

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Mary Ann Baltich has sponsored today in honor of Anne Roberson and Patti Sims.  Anne and Patti are coworkers and friends who are both longtime supporters of the chimpanzees, and this year they started volunteering together at the sanctuary.  Mary Ann said, “Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate time to thank them for all the work they do and support they provide!”

We’re thankful today for Mary Ann’s generosity, and for all the love and support Anne and Patti have shared with us and with the Cle Elum Seven!

Negra loves pumpkin

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Yesterday was volunteer Katelyn’s birthday and she decided to dedicate her day to spending time with the chimps. Being the amazing person that she is, she, instead of throwing a party for herself, threw a party for her seven chimp friends. She decided to pick up some mini pumpkins and fill them with all kinds of delicious fruits and veggies. They looked amazing!

We scattered the pumpkins both in the greenhouse and on Young’s Hill. Negra has learned a funny little trick when we do that – while everyone else is busy foraging on the hill, she collects all that she can in the greenhouse and basically gets her own forage. While she did go out on the hill a few times, she made the best profit with what was in the comfy greenhouse. But even the greenhouse was a little too chilly for Negra. She went around collecting as many as she could and made a stash in the front rooms. She would carry the pumpkin bowls in her mouth into the room, carefully set it down on the bench, and then head out for another. Smart lady!

Here she is in the front rooms with what is left of her stash:

After things settled down a bit, she was spotted sitting next to an empty pumpkin bowl, rubbing her tummy a bit, and then picking it up and diving in for more. She loves her pumpkin! Thanks so much, Katelyn!

Take Action Tuesday: Decision in Las Vegas tomorrow

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Recently, Converse shoes had a poster in the UK subways featuring a fear-grimacing chimpanzee. After hearing from concerned advocates, they pulled the ads! And, they agreed to never use primates in promotions again. This great news demonstrates that letter writing really is very powerful, and every letter counts.

Since your letters make a difference for our chimpanzee friends, please take a minute to write a letter to the Clark County commissioners to urge them to deny Mike Casey’s permit application to continue to house his chimps in a residential neighborhood in Las Vegas. If you have already written a letter, please share the alert! You can use the sample letter as an example, or use your own words. Be sure to emphasize that this is not only a public safety concern, but it also the right thing to do. Chimpanzees don’t belong in back yards, at birthday parties, at car dealer openings, or on film sets. Captive chimpanzees suffer in these situations, and they belong in sanctuaries that can meet their needs. They get better when they get to a sanctuary (see Jamie below for proof of that). There is sanctuary space available for these chimps.

Here are just two examples of the way chimpanzees are affected by being in Mike Casey’s life:

  • Travis, born at Mike Casey’s former facility in Missouri and sold as a “pet” to a woman in suburban Connecticut, escaped from his owner, mauled a woman, and died after being stabbed by his owner with a butcher knife and then shot by police.
  • A trainer hit a chimpanzee on the German set of the movie Speed Racer (a production for which Mike Casey’s company was responsible) in front of an “animal welfare” monitor. You can read the full review at AHAfilm.org (and look for ratings and reviews – they don’t make it easy to link to specific reviews!).

The hearing is tomorrow – so don’t wait, write your letter today!

And for a reminder of what sanctuary can do, take Jamie (a former “entertainer”). Here she was in June 2008, shortly after her arrival:

Jamie

And here she is now:

Speak up on behalf of Jamie and all the chimpanzees out there who still need our help.

Routine and Choices

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As much as possible, we make a point of sticking to a daily routine here at the sanctuary.  We think it’s important that the chimpanzees know what to expect each day and when to expect it.  (I’d imagine that one of the horrors of laboratory life would be never knowing what’s going to happen to you next.)  We serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time each day.  The chimpanzees are asked to shift to a separate area of their enclosure if they’d like to participate in the meal.  Since we never enter an enclosure with the chimps — last Tuesday’s fight serves as a great reminder why — we need them to leave an area before we can enter to clean.  Once in awhile someone chooses to skip a meal and stay out (usually Missy when she’s looking to have the Playroom to herself for a little while), in which case we just put off cleaning until the next meal.  The vast majority of the time, though, everyone willingly shifts for the meal and we’re able to access the area they’ve evacuated.  Since this is part of our daily routine, none of the chimpanzees are ever blindsided by the consequences of their choices.  If Missy chooses not to shift for a meal, she knows that she’s also choosing not to eat that meal.  She also knows that another meal will be offered a few hours later.  Most days, if someone stays out for breakfast, everyone will shift at lunch and we can do our Playroom cleaning then.  Very occasionally, someone will stay out for both breakfast and lunch and we’re unable to clean until dinner.  Whatever happens, we have to remain flexible.  Chimpanzees are intelligent and willful, and when they’re given the opportunity to make their own choices — like they are in good sanctuaries — they will.

Today Missy and Annie have skipped both breakfast and lunch to hang out in the Playroom.  (If Missy chooses to play hooky from a meal, Annie almost always joins her.)  It’s a rainy, gray day and I can’t blame them for not wanting to stray too far from their nests.  If they choose to come in for dinner, Jackie and I will clean the Playroom then.  If not, we’ll try again tomorrow morning.  Either way, we’re happy that Annie and Missy and the rest of the Cle Elum Seven are now able to make their own choices for the first time in their lives.

Sleeping Jody

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Since her injury, it’s been all about Jody on the blog this last week. We like to mix things up for you as much as possible, but I snapped a few photos of her in and out of sleep in the front rooms this morning and I couldn’t resist sharing them. She has one of the prettiest faces I’ve ever seen.