Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
The day is done, the sun is gone, and it’s almost Jamieween! So, it’s time to say, “Good night, friends.”
Good night, Jamie.
Good night, Rayne.
Good night, Negra.
Good night, Betsy.
Good night, Foxie.
Good night, BK (Barn Kitty).
Good night, Honey B.
Good night, Annie.
Good night, Sanctuary.
Lucky loves to groom and socialize with her caregivers, but she is often more reserved when it comes to her fellow chimpanzees. During an introduction with George this afternoon, she ignored him for a full 2-1/2 hours before finally agreeing to the briefest of play sessions. Having fulfilled her social obligations, she then returned to her nest and her cherished solitude.
Some introductions result in conflict, others in newfound friendships. And then there are those, like today’s, that result in two chimpanzees sharing the same space at the same time and nothing more. Which is all you can ask for sometimes. After all, Lucky never signed up to be on the welcoming committee.
Introductions are unpredictable. You never quite know what the chimps are going to do, how they’ll react, or how they’ll respond to neighbors making noise (and yes, sometimes the neighbors do heighten the situation). But that’s the point of these meet-ups — to give them the opportunity to work through situations or conflicts and gain more confidence as we build this group, especially for George.
Last Saturday, we did an all day introduction with George and Cy. We wanted to give them more time to work through different scenarios and bond together. Bonding with Cy will be a critical part of this introduction process. Cy is an exceptional leader, and I think he’ll really help show George the ropes, helping him build confidence and engage in typical chimp activities, like grooming. We also want George to understand the hierarchy and recognize Cy as the leader. And what better way to do that than to give them extended time together and introduce them to a new space they’d have to navigate side by side? So, we gave Cy and George access to the chute and The Bray!
We are so incredibly proud of George. He was actually the one encouraging Cy to go out onto The Bray, while Cy seemed a bit apprehensive. Since this was a space they hadn’t shared together before, it caused a moment of uncertainty for Cy. However, George beckoned for Cy to come — and he did! This was a big step for them in bonding and building a friendship. I think Cy has really grown fond of the little guy! As a side note, Cy was also really distracted because he really wanted to hangout in front room 7. It’s his favorite room because you can see so much in the chimp house, Cy hasn’t had access to it in a long time!
The week before, we had tried giving George and Gordo access to the same space, but Gordo, being the cautious soul he is, thought there was a catch and refused to go outside with George. George was so patient and tried hard to encourage him, but Gordo just couldn’t do it. However, as you saw in Tuesday’s blog, Gordo also had an all day introduction with George, and eventually, he found the courage to run out onto The Bray with him.
Setting up introduction days is a lot of work. Behind the scenes, getting the chimps to shift and move where they need to be can be quite challenging. Not everyone is always eager to cooperate (cough, cough — Honey B, Terry, and now Rayne). Sometimes, if the chimps don’t shift, it can really affect the whole day, and we have to get creative with our shifting plans. Mentally, it can be extremely taxing.
However, that makes it all the more rewarding to witness these milestones. George has been alone for over two years since his companion at his previous home passed away. Watching George beckon Cy over and seeing them embrace on The Bray brought tears to my eyes. George has had to explore much of his new surroundings alone, so it strikes a deep chord to see him finally sharing the experience with another chimp. Moments like these really fill our cups and remind us that this is the heart of our work- providing opportunities, offering choice, and fostering meaningful social connections.
From Dr. Erin:
The last few days have been even busier than usual at the sanctuary!
Both Jamie and Foxie had complete exams this week. The decision to anesthetize any of the chimps is never taken lightly but when it comes to anesthetizing older chimps (Jamie is turning 48 in a couple weeks and Foxie is 49), we are especially careful and consider several factors before making the decision to perform an exam under anesthesia. These factors include what data we can get through positive reinforcement training, how long it’s been since their last exam, as well as any previous health concerns or current changes in behavior or affect that indicates there may be a health concern.
In Jamie’s case, as J.B. noted in a previous blog post, Jamie has been slowing down over the last several months and her belly has become more pronounced. While the physical changes can certainly be ascribed to aging (ask me how I know) and the change in social structure since Jody’s passing, we couldn’t be sure and there was something “off” enough about her that an exam was warranted.
With Foxie, we were concerned about a cough that developed this past summer and persisted in spite of various medications to address possible causes.
Both chimps did well under anesthesia and while Jamie wanted an extra day of rest before rejoining the group, Foxie was clamoring to be back with her family before breakfast this morning. The procedures consisted of a complete dental exam, including x rays and cleaning, abdominal ultrasound, echocardiogram, head to toe physical, full body x rays, and sample collection for diagnostic tests on blood, respiratory fluid and urine.
Jamie’s team on Friday included local professionals Dan Whitemarsh, DDS and Tanya Hebert, sonographer. Traveling from west of the Cascades were Jaime Sheehan, echo tech, Milo Torres, LVT & the wonderful Dr. Dan Low and anesthesiology intern Pat Herndon. Dr. Yousuf Jafarey, an experienced primate vet and dear friend, flew up from California just to participate in the exams!
Jaime Sheehan returned yesterday to perform Foxie’s echo as well. The rest of Foxie’s team consisted of Dr. Charles Dyer, the dentist from the Dental Coalition for Conservation (who performed in Missy’s dental care in July), Korey Krause, sonographer from Kittitas Valley Health, David Liston, MD and Kate Uselman, CRNA from Seattle on anesthesia, as well as Dr. Jafarey and myself.
We have some preliminary information from the exams that will help guide care for both of these amazing older ladies and are awaiting lab results, radiology, and cardiology reviews that will further inform protocols for keeping them as comfortable as possible in their golden years.
I am incredibly grateful to the professionals that lend their time, effort and expertise to these exams, it really is a team effort to ensure the chimps have the safest and most thorough exam possible. I am so appreciative and impressed by the staff and volunteers who rearrange schedules, take on extra work, come in early, deal with clinic equipment spilling into the foyer and all support each other as well as the chimps. I work with the most wonderful people!
And we are so fortunate to work with the incomparable Dr. Erin!
The team prepares blood samples:
Jamie’s teeth are examined and cleaned while she is given an abdominal ultrasound:
The team monitors Jamie during recovery:
Jamie sleeps off the events of the day:
Foxie receives a dental cleaning and abdominal ultrasound:
X-rays are taken of Foxie’s teeth:
Nothing speeds up recovery like some pudding in a cup:
Jamie and Foxie enjoying a lunch forage on the hill this afternoon:
It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are coming up and Jamieween is just around the corner!
This year, we’re trying to be more proactive about getting everything we need for the upcoming celebrations: Jamieween, Chimpmas, birthdays, and all the fun enrichment and day-to-day supplies the chimpanzees love and rely on. So please keep your eyes peeled—starting this week, I’ll be adding holiday items to our Amazon Wish List!
While Amazon is a big part of our wish list planning, we also want to highlight Jerrol’s, our amazing local store here in Ellensburg. Jerrol’s has been incredibly supportive and helpful, supplying us with almost all of our cleaning products. However, they also have arts and crafts materials, books, and more! If they don’t have a product we’re looking for, they go out of their way to find it for us. They’ve been such a reliable partner, especially as we continue to have issues with Amazon not shipping certain items to our address. You can support us through our Jerrol’s Wish List, or donate to our bill, which allows us to get exactly what the chimps and the staff need.
As some of you may have noticed, Amazon has been a little difficult lately. If you try to purchase something from our Amazon Wish list and get a message such as:
“This item can’t be shipped to the selected address”
Don’t worry! Here are a couple of options:
OR purchase an Amazon gift card instead and send it to us at [email protected] and we can buy items off the list
I want to express how grateful we are for all of you and say thank you so much for being part of our community. Your support, whether it’s buying something off our list, sending a gift card, or just cheering us on, it helps make every day, and every holiday, special for the chimpanzees! Thank you!
Here are a few teasers of items to look out for on our Wish Lists!
More keys!
Fluffy, soft socks:
Sweatbands and more bouncy balls:
Wooden spoons:
Wood wool:
Toy hammers:
Blankets!
Books:
Missy takes her job seriously. Like a hockey enforcer, her role is to aggressively protect her MVP, Jamie, and ensure everyone plays by the rules. But she’s also quick to reconcile after a conflict. After all, it’s nothing personal—she’s just doing her job.
Chimpanzees are actually quite well known for reconciling to maintain peace and repair relationships after conflicts. While chimpanzee fights can be loud, scary, and dangerous for those involved, opponents will often seek each other out almost immediately after a conflict to embrace, groom, and kiss. This may seem counterintuitive at first, but it demonstrates the value of social relationships in the chimp world.
The other morning, as we were cleaning, we could hear a steady beat of drumming. Often, when we hear this, it is the slow start to a display and usually we could put money on a particular “B” being the culprit, that “B” being, Willy B. Other times, we find the noise to be Willy B playing, usually with a box or a slinky, like the blog a few weeks ago! But this time, when we went to investigate, we found Willy B wasn’t displaying; he was playing. While, Willy B was playing with the green tub minding his own business, beating the tub to his own drum. He wasn’t just drumming on the tub, but rather had the large tub over his head and making the drumming noise! It’s always nice to see Willy B having fun!
Bonus photos of George in his nest the other evening!
Goodnight George!
