Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Terry

Terry’s Not So Teeny Tiny Nest

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Terry is a simple guy in many ways. He is not a picky eater, he is a great friend, and is not very dramatic. He’s just sensible. He also does not seem to need much for his evening nest. Most of us caregivers don’t see him make elaborate nests very often. I personally don’t see him nest much at all, but maybe that is because he waits until the Chimp House is closed up for the day.

Yesterday, as I was closing up the Chimp House for the day, I caught Terry building the most epic, largest, paper-filled nest in the Mezzanine. Have we been wrong all along? Or did the excess of paper (donated to us by our friends at Jerrol’s in Ellensburg) inspire Terry? Either way, I was so excited to catch this moment on camera. It was so sweet to watch Terry build his not so Teeny Tiny [Terry] nest.

Caregiver Kelsi in Terry’s nest today during cleaning:

Don’t forget! Our online auction is still going on as we speak.

Terry’s ornament is one of the auction items currently posted! Get your bids in now and keep checking back as new items are added often! Thank you for your support! ☺️

Chimps Chimp

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I thought that today I’d talk about the chimps’ human vs. non-human relationships and their personal preferences. Avid blog followers often hear us use the phrase “chimps chimp.” We use this phrase to explain a chimp like Missy. For example, though Missy does have human relationships, she seems to prefer to be surrounded by her chimpanzee friends (which we love). While other chimps, like Burrito, specifically seek out their caregivers for many interactions.

It is important to acknowledge that every chimp has a different background. While some of the chimps were raised in labs, others started their lives as pets. Those like Jamie and Burrito, who were owned by humans, tend to be more human-oriented. Despite this, we always want to encourage the chimp’s relationships first. For example, if we walk out to a greenhouse and see all the chimps grooming, we will walk away and come back another time, so we don’t disturb the grooming session.  Again, there are a lot of different factors that go into why chimps choose who they want for their company. The special thing about sanctuary is that the chimps are provided with as much choice as we can possibly provide, and choosing who they want to spend time with is one of them!

Jamie:

I think it will come as no surprise that Jamie is more human-oriented. Jamie does have close relationships with her group-mates, especially Burrito, but she is often looking for a caregiver to go on a perimeter walk with.

Missy:

Missy, like I have mentioned before, is more of a chimps-chimp. Missy is the closest to Annie, but she does seem to have strong relationships with everyone in the group. Missy does seek out caregivers every once in a while for a game of chase or tug-a-war, even some grooming! When Missy does seek you out for any interaction, it feels like a huge honor that you drop everything for!

Annie:

Annie leans a bit more chimp oriented. Annie’s closest friend is Missy. However, Annie will seek out caregivers sometimes, especially when she has a tool and groom her caregivers toes!

Foxie:

Foxie is a little of both. Foxie does spend a lot of time with her chimp friends, especially Burrito. However, Foxie does really enjoy playing with her caregivers! It usually involves entrusting her caregivers with a doll. As well as us holding an doll, throwing a dolling, or playing troll-ski!

Burrito:

Burrito might be pretty obvious. He is very human-oriented, play all day! Burrito is always looking for a caregiver to play with, especially to run around Young’s Hill with. However, Burrito does have good relationships with his group members and can even get the most serious chimps like Jamie to let out her silly side.

Negra:

Negra is hard to describe. I can’t say she sways one way or the other. She is well respected in her group and has strong relationships with all the chimps, but everything is on her terms and that goes for humans too. She will interact with who she wants when she wants. When she does decide to play with her chimp friends she is rougher than people would expect!

Mave:

Mave would be described as a chimps-chimp. She has always been very invested in her chimp relationships. Mave was a magnet to Dora and it has been that way ever since we integrated the two groups. Mave is still loyal to her friends Honey B and Willy B, but she spends a lot of time on her relationship with Dora. This year in particular I do find Mave seeking a rare game of chase with her caregivers, grooming, or giving more kisses out. So maybe we are growing on her :).

Honey B:

Honey B can be described as leaning towards more human-oriented. However, as her relationships grow in the group of nine, it seems like Honey B does seek out her chimp friends more, which is huge! As a caregiver, that is the hope to provide more social enrichment! However, Honey B also seems to like her alone time, which I can’t blame her for.

Willy B:

Willy B is definitely a chimps-chimp. Though he can be a troublemaker and start drama in the group, Willy B does seem to value his male relationships, especially Cy. Willy B also loves his friend Rayne, who seems to really get him.

Cy:

Cy is interesting because I think he wants to be more human-oriented, but is duty bound in his role as the male leader. Cy is well respected in this group and is seen in a lot of the grooming trains in the greenhouses. Cy really does love seeking out his human caregivers for a game of chase or grooming. Terry might be Cy closest chimp friend.

Gordo:

Gordo is another interesting one! I don’t think we consider Gordo either one. He is more peripheral – watching from the background. Gordo does likes to go out onto the Bray and watch the girls on Jamie’s side. Gordo is usually seen spending time with Dora, Mave, and Terry.

Rayne:

Rayne is a chimps chimp, she is very socially savvy! Rayne has a lot of strong relationships with everyone in her group. However, she does like to spend time with her caregivers grooming or sporadically playing chase.

Lucky:

Lucky seems to be more human-oriented, but with specific humans. She is slow to warm up to most new people. Lucky is known to put new caregivers through a hazing period. She is probably closest to Rayne, but also likes to have a little alone time.

Terry:

Terry seems to be a chimps-chimp, but loooooooves his human caregivers! Terry, like Cy, is often in the grooming trains throughout the day. Terry spends lots of time with all the girls. He is one of the girls 🙂

Dora:

Dora shocked us all! Dora is a chimps-chimp. Dora is now a social butterfly. Everyone wants to spend time with her. She spends a lot of her time with Mave, Honey B, and Gordo who she was closest to when she first arrived. When Dora first came to CSNW, she seemed to be a bit more closed off, but has really seemed to flourish in the group of nine.

Let’s Do a Perimeter Check!

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One of the first things we caregivers do each morning is to perform a perimeter check.  We check the all important rattlesnake fencing for holes.  Next, we check the primary and secondary fencing that surrounds the chimps 4 acre habitat to be sure that it has remained sound through the night.  We also make sure everyone onsite has performed a radio check, we check locks, and we make sure the fence voltage is within an acceptable range.

Next, we let the chimps out onto their respective outdoor habitats!  Young’s Hill is home to Jamie’s group, and Cy’s group has access to The Bray.  It’s fun to see who is first to go outside each morning!

Come along with us!

The Domino Effect

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The other morning, I was turning on lights and greeting the chimps to start the morning. As I turned on lights for Gordo’s group, he jumped up and initiated a game of chase with me, and off we went! Somehow, as I was running to catch up to him in the front rooms, the fun was doubled when Rayne decided to join in our game. As we ran through their spaces, Gordo decided to take a rest, but pretty soon that quick game of chase between me and Gordo had turned into a train of chimps playing together, and I was just the third (well, fourth) wheel! Rayne, Honey B, and Terry chased each other, with Honey B grabbing at Rayne’s feet playfully as they went. Once they were done playing chase and sat down to play more, Gordo appeared again and joined in on the fun. It made me think of dominoes, as it only took that one quick game of chase with Gordo to start up a chain of play among his group. I hope you enjoy today’s video!

Never Dull!

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It’s never a dull day when working with chimpanzees, each individual is so their own and also has their own agenda for the day! As you will see in the video, most days Gordo just wants to go on the Bray not giving his caregivers a second look, but on this day Gordo decided it was time to play chase with his caregiver from the chute to the Bray. While, Terry just wanted to give sweet kisses in the morning. I think we all know Honey B’s agenda is to derail the schedule for her caregivers as much as possible, as she should! But she also tries to carve out alone time with one of her close friends, Dora, which can often play into derailing her caregivers schedule, too. She is such a multitask-er :)!

Though somethings may “derail” our day, it’s also the fun part about our job. We don’t know what we are going to walk into, but what we do know is that everyday they are provided with as much choice as possible!

Gordo eating a pear series:

Bonus!!

Foxie playing a lazy game of poke the doll and maybe camera with me:

I just love her eyes in this one:

And a very snoozy Willy B! So snoozy I don’t think he even knew I took this photo:

CSNW Olympics

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The humans of the sanctuary have been very excited about the Olympics, and today we were able to share our excitement with the chimps by tuning in to the Olympics where they could watch too! Cy and Rayne were especially interested in watching this morning’s events. All of this inspired us caregiver’s to compete in our own Olympic sport – competitive nesting! The rules were simple, each nest builder received the same number of blankets to use in building their nest, and each was allowed one novelty item. The item had to be approved for the chimps to use already, but could be anything besides a blanket. Interestingly each contestant chose to use multiple colorful peace sign blankets – a wonderful choice in the spirit of the Olympics! After two high quality nests were made, caregiver Ellen assisted Judges Rayne, Terry, and Honey B in scoring each contestant. There were three categories to score: technique, creativity, and comfort. Kelsi scored high in all 3 categories, getting notable mentions for her inclusion of a knot in her nest design and the overall comfort of the nest with its high walls and a Squishmallow being utilized as her novelty item. Jenna also earned high scores, but lost some points in technique due to her difficulty completing the difficult slinky maneuver. We had a lot of fun in today’s event, and who knows…you all might get to see more events as the week goes on!