Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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Sanctuary

Cy and Honey B Meet Again

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As Chad mentioned yesterday, it was a busy day and today was no different. Introductions continue, today we were able to have Cy and Honey B meet again! We can almost guarantee when we try to separate chimps to do introductions that Cy is the first to offer his help. While this is helpful, we also want Mave, Willy B, and Honey B to meet other individuals. However, it is important for everyone to establish strong relationships with each other, so meeting multiple times is good. So far Honey B is kicking butt at making friends! As you will see in the video, Cy and Honey B have a lot of fun together, it is rough play, but the both of them have a good time!

Do not forget to bid on our amazing auction items. If you haven’t looked at the art pieces yet, they will take your breath away! I personally have my eye on the Nutmeg watercolor. Join us on Saturday at 6pm for virtual HOOT!

Cy greeting us good morning in the Green House.

Lucky wrapped in a LOT of paper.

What A Day

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Whew! What a day! When we arrive in the morning, we never know what kind of day it will be. This is why we expect most scenarios that can arise and try to be prepared for them.

After we got done cleaning all the enclosures, we were prepared to start the introduction process for today. As we are continuing planning and preparing for each introduction, we decided it was time to try a two-on-two introduction. One thing to keep in mind is that just because certain combinations of one-on-ones go well doesn’t necessarily mean things will automatically fall into place when you combine certain dyads together. So today Cy and Lucky met with Willy B and Mave. When they first met through the mesh caging, there was the expected displaying and screaming. When things calmed down and they were showing signs of wanting to be together, we let them into the same areas with each other. When the doors opened, they greeted each other with some grooming. But it was short lived. Similar to humans, when you are starting to get to know another person, you’re also getting to know their body language and how to translate their intentions. There was some miscommunication between Cy and Mave. Cy seemed like he wanted to play, and Mave misinterpreted it wrong. There was a lot of screaming from all parties and a non-injurious scuffle. We were able to separate everybody from being in the same area, though they still could have contact through the mesh. After an event like this, it’s also important that amends can be made. As we were discussing our plans to reunite them with their respective groups, we found all four of them grooming and playing with each other through the mesh. We allowed them to continue their interactions to ensure there were no hurt feelings between them until dinner time.

(Front to back) Mave and Willy B (left side) groom with Cy and Lucky (right side).

Though this meeting wasn’t the best outcome, it also wasn’t the worst. There were glimmers of hope mixed within the chaos. And amends were seemingly made as it took a little bit of convincing at dinner to have Mave and Willy B leave Cy and Lucky at the mesh caging. Most of this is what we expected might happen and were prepared for it.

So with the kind of day it was, I wasn’t able to get very many photos. But thankfully, Kelsi and Sam allowed me to use some of the photos they were able to get from throughout the day to share.

Kelsi was able to get this photo of Lucky lounging on the firehose after her meeting with Mave and Willy B today.
Sam was able to get this photo of Burrito today during a break between one of their play sessions.
And one I was able to take of Cy eating a sweet potato yesterday during lunch.

We want to thank you all for the support you have given us throughout this process and throughout the years.

For those you have followed for a while, then you know that our annual gala is upon us! Similar to last year, Hoot! will be held as an online auction! There are some amazing items up for bid, with bidding live now! Be sure to check out some of these items and don’t forget to tune in this Saturday at 6PM PST for the live event! We hope to see you there!

Twinkle, Twinkle (Lots of Stars)

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Although the sanctuary is located in a moderately-populated valley, the skies here are still dark enough for stargazing on moonless nights.

I get excited about this lack of light pollution because of my newest hobby: astrophotography. This genre of photography encompasses any imaging of objects and phenomena in space. Those celestial subjects can include the moon, the sun, the other planets, meteors, auroras, Imperial battle stations, neighboring galaxies and stars, and anything else that emits or reflects detectable electromagnetic waves.

Like many who dabble in this art form, I began by taking long exposures of the night sky with terrestrial landscapes in the foreground. It might sound expensive and difficult, but taking these wide shots only requires a hobby camera, a sturdy tripod, and relatively dark skies.

While the techniques do require some patience and persistence to master, you can learn the basics by watching tutorials on YouTube. The most tricky step in the process is tinkering with the camera’s exposure settings. Most importantly, the shutter needs to be open for the right duration to let the perfect amount of starlight reach the sensor. I typically leave the shutter open for 10-20 seconds. Then, I manually focus the lens on the stars (which is practically focusing “to infinity”), set a delayed shutter timer, and make sure the white balance is capturing the scene’s colors with the appropriate warmth or coolness. From there, photographers can create more artistic, difficult or unique shots (e.g., by blending multiple captures into composite images), but this certainly isn’t required.

For months, I’ve dreamed of photographing the chimpanzees’ home under the Milky Way, capturing their little world in the same frame as countless others. The proverbial stars aligned around Labor Day; I volunteered to watch the sanctuary at night in place of Diana and J.B. (who took a much-deserved weekend vacation) and was lucky enough to have a clear, moonless night during my tenure as the overnight watchman.

I set out just after sunset and admired the silhouettes of the forested hills against the rose-colored sky. Eventually, the scene darkened and rendered the Milky Way visible with the naked eye. I trekked around the perimeter of Young’s Hill, trying not to annoy the nearby cattle with my headlamp or step on any nocturnal critters that might be lurking in the prairie grass. Eventually, I picked a good location where the Ponderosa pines made a natural frame around my window into the cosmos.

I wondered if any of the chimps were still awake or if all sixteen were blissfully curled up on piles of fleece blankets in the heated playrooms. From what we’ve seen, they’re mostly heavy sleepers. (Burrito, for example, picks his sleeping spot right after dinner is served.) Still, it’s possible they occasionally venture out into the greenhouses long after the humans have left and watch the Milky Way turn overhead as the coyotes yip in the distance.

We humans know what the stars are but that doesn’t make them any less wonderful. I like to think the chimps are awestruck by them, too.

The following are my favorite images from my nocturnal hike around the sanctuary. I hope you all enjoy them!

“Blue hour” sunlight illuminated one of the sanctuary’s several ponds.
The sunset provided a fitting backdrop for the silhouettes of trees scorched by past wildfires.
This 15-second exposure shows one arm of the Milky Way galaxy over the new wing of the sanctuary’s Chimp House
You can see the fences of Young’s Hill, the chimps’ outdoor habitat, in the foreground of this 15-second exposure.
A Starlink satellite crossed the frame during this 20-second exposure taken behind Young’s Hill.
I tilted the lens upward for this 15-second exposure that shows three of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. There are currently ~1600 of them orbiting the Earth, with thousands more to be launched soon.
This 15-second exposure shows the light pollution from nearby Ellensburg, the largest city in our county. It also captured the star Enif (known as the “front hoof” in the Pegasus constellation) and the lights of a passenger plane leaving Seattle. (Note: the blinking red light on the plane’s left wing and white light on the tail tell you the plane was traveling from right to left when this image was taken.)
Bonus Photo: the smoke from the 100,000-acre Schneider Springs fire drifted towards our valley over Labor Day weekend, creating a gnarly afternoon sky.

 

 

 

Raisins and Magazines

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Yesterday I watched Cy’s group put on a dramatic display around their playroom just before lunch. This isn’t unusual, as chimps do daily dominance displays. What I found amusing about this particular show of passion, was that in the middle of all the chaos, plastic barrels getting thrown around the enclosure and pant hoots echoing off the wall, sat Cy.  He was completely calm and absolutely enthralled with his latest magazine. The same thing happened this morning as most of the chimps investigated a food puzzle. As you will see in the video, Cy had better ideas.

Let’s Try This Again

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I had this blog written around 1 pm. It was intended to be all about Neggie, but then we did an intro with Honey B and Terry today. Honey B and Terry’s first introduction didn’t go as we had hoped. Since then we have had them meet at the mesh a few times. Yesterday they met again at the mesh and it went really well, they were playing and laughing. We were so close to opening the door, however we humans were not quite ready yet. So today we decided if it went as well as yesterday we would open the door. Today we opened the door after letting them hangout at the mesh for a while and they did SO well! As you will see in the video, they are laughing, wrestling, and grooming. These behaviors give us hope that they have potential to integrate into a group of 9. Now, I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. Dyadic meeting can go really well, but once you had more chimps, it changes the dynamic of the group. But for now this was a HUGE success!

Since I teased you with an almost Neggie blog I might as well share it! This morning, as Missy’s group went onto Young’s Hill, I saw the usual people go outside. Missy sprinting out first, of course. Foxie, Jody, Annie, and Bubba formed a line and all marched out together. Jamie sauntered out on her own, but when I turned around to look at Negra in her usual nesting spot, she wasn’t there. Instead she was sitting on the Hill soaking in the warm sunshine and eating some delicious grass.






CSNW (Lip)SmackDown

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As mentioned last week, chimpanzees produce several different noises while they’re grooming. Lip smacking, blowing raspberries, and teeth clacking, are among some of the sounds produced. The meeting between Cy and Willy B was perfect example of teeth clacking.

For this week, I decide to let you hear some of the other noises in the form of a Guess Who game!

Below are two other residents here producing some grooming noise. Can you guess who they are?

Guess Who Part 1

Guess Who Part 2

I will give you some time to take a guess. In the meantime, some other little updates from today!

It was a fairly quiet day today, overall. We did continue with the introduction process between Willy B’s Group and Cy’s Group.

The first meeting today was between Willy B and Terry! Just like last time, when Willy B and Terry realized it was their time to hang out with each other today, they were excited to say the least. There was no initial display that we might expect between two adult males. It was instant grooming, playing, and laughter between the two.

Next was Terry and Honey B! As you may have read about their last meeting, things didn’t go as planned. We are taking it very slow in allowing these two to get to know each other. Today, they just met each other through the caging and did not share the same space. Though Honey B was a little apprehensive of first, her confidence grew. When it did, she almost beckoned Terry to meet her at the caging. He obliged, which resulted in a long grooming session, and a longer play session between the two. We will continue to provide them opportunities to interact with each other through the caging before they both are comfortable enough to play with each other in the same space.

Have you locked in your guesses yet!?

If not, I will give you a little more time. Here are some photos I was able to capture today (and one from last week). Is there a clue with in the photos of who they are? Maybe? Maybe not?

Gordo in a box!

 

Lucky and Rayne hanging out with each other on a front room bench!

 

Nutmeg in the creek! (He’s a wild steer now. You can’t change his mind.)

 

Willy B with one of the new Giant Kongs last week!

Ok! Without any further delay… *drum roll*

The first video is Terry!

And last but certainly not least, the second video is Honey B!

How many grooming noises did you hear in those videos and what kinds?

Thank you for playing along everybody!