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welfare

King of the Mountain

October 16, 2023 by J.B.

Fear is something we usually try to avoid instilling in the animals we care for. In fact, one of the original frameworks for thinking about animal welfare, known as the Five Freedoms, included as one of its central tenets the “freedom from fear and distress.”

But a little fear can also be a good thing.

As a caregiver, I love watching the chimps take their first anxious, tentative steps onto grass. I love watching them seek reassurance as they venture far into a new enclosure and away from everything they consider safe and comfortable. And I love seeing the expression of relief and excitement when they finally accomplish the thing they were so afraid of.

Certainly it would be better if they weren’t afraid of these particular things in the first place. But we all have some fears, and if we didn’t face them now and again we wouldn’t really be living. So long as we have choice, social support, and the ability to retreat to a place of safety and comfort when things feel overwhelming, it almost feels like a little fear should be a requirement.

Perhaps I just need a different word—something that refers specifically to a condition of one’s own choosing that is equal parts fear and exhilaration, but particularly one that involves overcoming some sort of obstacle, either physical or emotional. Words like thrill and frisson don’t seem to really capture it. I’m sure it exists…maybe someone reading this can help me.

In any case, witnessing this emotion in the chimps at CSNW is for me the peak of compassion satisfaction. It’s almost like a high. And it’s one of the rare times that I wished I worked at a bigger sanctuary, so I could see it over and over again.

As I close up the chimp house, I often wonder if the chimps reflect on their day. I hope that Cy is laying in bed right now, picturing that view of the valley and feeling whispers of the way he was feeling when he first made it to the top of the Bray.

Filed Under: Cy, Latest Videos, The Bray Tagged With: Bray, chimpanzee, Cy, five freedoms, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, welfare

Morning Exploration

July 8, 2017 by Diana

On these summer mornings, when there’s still a slight coolness to the air and the sun is low in the sky, the chimpanzees often explore the outdoor habitat. They head out on their own, in pairs, or sometimes as a group, generally splitting off to do some private exploration. They go to the top of the towers to see if the landscape has changed, and they pick edible plants for an after-breakfast snack.

We don’t often get photos of this morning exploration because the humans are busy starting the cleaning for the day.

Today, however, we have a full house of volunteers! I took advantage of the help and went to the top of the observation tower to take a few photos while Deb, Lynn, Rachel, and Dusty scrubbed and disinfected the playroom.

I had to use the telephoto lens to identify the tiny specs of chimps in the distance and even that lens wasn’t able to zoom in very close with the chimps at the very top of the two-acre enclosure. They would sometimes disappear completely, hidden by the tall summer grass. I love watching them out on their own with no concern for the human activity in the building, just soaking in the day.

 

Missy and Annie:

missy and annie on tower

missy and annie on bridge

 

Missy:

missy holding structure

missy on mound

 

Missy and Annie heading back to the greenhouse:

missy and annie coming back to greenhouse

 

Jody foraging for prickly lettuce:

jody foraging

jody with weeds

 

Jamie doing her own thing:

jamie tightrope walking

 

Filed Under: Annie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Sanctuary, Young's Hill Tagged With: chimpanzee, chimps, northwest, outdoor, rescue, Sanctuary, shelter, washington, welfare

Chimpanzee Violence

January 7, 2017 by Diana

A couple of days ago, there was fight in the chimp house that resulted in a significant injury to one of Negra’s toes. We are monitoring it to determine if intervention will be necessary, and she’s on antibiotics and pain relief.

You’d never know that she had the injury unless you actually saw it, though – Negra’s behavior is no different than normal and she was showing no signs of being in pain, even before we started her on the pain relief.

I’m just going to throw some photos of Negra in here. They aren’t from today, but they do show what Negra’s behavior is generally like:

Negra protruding lip sleep

She is getting some extra attention from the other chimpanzees because any injury is of interest to the group, with other chimps always wanting to inspect and groom wounds.

burrito grooming negra

 

Chimpanzees can be really intense. We’ve shared information about conflicts and injuries before, and I’ve linked to a few blog posts on this topic at the end of this one, in case you are interested in further contemplation on fighting and making up as a chimpanzee. And there was this story about a conflict that resulted in one of Jody’s toes being bitten off (don’t worry – there are no gory photos in the post).

You may or may not have noticed that a few of the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest are missing parts of ears, fingers, and toes. Most of these injuries occurred before the chimpanzees came to the sanctuary, though some have been from conflicts that have taken place in their sanctuary home.

Burrito's eye

 

I accept that chimpanzees can be extremely violent. I respect that serious conflict is part of their natural behavior in social groups. That doesn’t always mean that I can just shrug off conflicts and injuries. It can be difficult to process the many facets of  chimpanzees and to know that sometimes one chimpanzee who I care deeply about will hurt another chimpanzee who I care deeply about and that this will happen when I am the one responsible for the health and well being of all of the chimps here.

Maybe this is a little heavy of a blog topic.

It got me thinking about human relationships too. I often find myself explaining minor chimpanzee conflicts, which may seem like a major conflict if you’re not familiar with chimpanzees, as equivalent to a heated human verbal argument. I wonder, though, if that’s not a good comparison. After all, humans are also incredibly violent to one another.

Let’s face it, being a social primate is not that easy. We gain a lot with our social relationships, but we still have competing interests that have to be worked out one way or another; and then sometimes we’re just in a bad mood.

A recent non-invasive study of a wild population of chimpanzees was just published that found an increase in the hormone oxytocin during conflicts. Oxytocin, sometimes referred to as the “love hormone,” is perhaps most known for studies that have shown surges of the chemical in human and other animal mothers when they are with their newborns, and it’s thought to intensify the mother-infant bond. Clearly, the full extent of what oxytocin does and when it is produced is expanding. The theory put forth in this article and others about the increase of oxytocin during conflicts is that it bonds chimpanzees to their group and against a common adversary.

Perhaps the oxytocin-surge aids in the post-conflict bonding that happens with chimpanzees as well. Reconciliation is at least as important as the conflicts themselves in chimpanzees – they generally come together within minutes of a conflict ending in pairs or groups and inspect each other and groom.

Perhaps the immediate reconciliation aspect of fighting is the lesson that humans really could take from chimpanzees.

 

As I said above, we’ve covered the topics of aggression, conflict, violence, and reconciliation of chimpanzees  in other posts before. Here are a few past blog posts if you are interested in more perspectives on these topics:

Full Spectrum Chimpanzees

Conflict

Conflict and Reassurance

Conflict and Reconciliation

Reassurance

The True Nature of Chimpanzees

 

Save

Filed Under: Chimpanzee Behavior, Fights, Negra, Sanctuary Tagged With: agression, chimp, chimp sanctuary northwest, chimpanzee, csnw, fighting, Sanctuary, violence, welfare

What’s in a Nest?

June 25, 2016 by Diana

An intriguing article is making the rounds about a primatologist named Koichiro Zamma who has developed a bed, called the humankind evolution bed, that is based on how chimpanzees construct their own beds in the forests. Apparently he tried out a chimpanzee-constructed nest  while tracking chimpanzees in the wild and found it to be very comfortable, waking up quite refreshed after his night of nesting.

A prototype of his invention is currently on display at Kyoto University Museum in Japan. Articles say this about the bed: “The mattress features a depression in the centre to replicate the natural dip in a chimp’s treetop bed and has a raised periphery for the head, legs and arms. It is supported by a frame made from woven paper string for maximum breathability, and eight curved legs that are designed to allow the bed to rock almost imperceptibly.”

humankind evolution bed
Megumi Kaji of the Research Association of Sleep and Society takes a nap on the humankind evolution bed. Photograph: Koichiro Zamma

 

As we’ve written in the past, chimpanzees in captivity make similar constructions for their nests as their free-living counterparts, building up walls of material (blankets, straw, paper, etc), and laying in the middle.

Jody is a master nest-maker:

 

Missy makes a pretty mean nest too. This was one of my favorite photos from the early days of the sanctuary:

 
Missy in tire nest

In fact, these two were featured in this tutorial-style blog post about how to nest.

Here are some more photos of nesting from the Cle Elum Seven:

Jamie's paper nest

Missy constructed nest

Missy sleeping in a big nest

Negra nesting

 

I have to admit that I wonder if perhaps Zamma’s restful night of sleep was due to being particularly exhausted after a day of following chimpanzees around the forest, but I remain intrigued.

What do you think – are chimpanzees on to something that we should be paying attention to? Should we ditch our flat mattresses? Would you want a humankind evolution bed?

 

Filed Under: Chimpanzee Behavior, Free-living chimps, Nesting Tagged With: bed, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, humankind evolution bed, kyoto univiersity, Nesting, research, Sanctuary, welfare

Thank YOU for an amazing year

December 31, 2011 by Diana

Find out what the chimpanzees are wishing for in 2012:

Filed Under: Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Negra, Thanks, Young's Hill Tagged With: animal, chimp, chimp rescue, chimpanzee, csnw, northwest, Sanctuary, shelter, welfare

220 posts adopted on this significant day

June 10, 2011 by Diana

Exactly three years ago today, the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees left their laboratory lives behind and began the journey to the sanctuary.

And today we reached our 3rd anniversary fundraising goal – all 220 fence posts on Young’s Hill have been adopted. We have a LOT to celebrate!

The seven individuals we have cared for these past three years have changed and grown so much, and we’ve been so happy to be able to chronicle these transformations.

As amazed and in awe of the Cle Elum Seven as we are, we are equally amazed by the supporters of this organization.

We are all so grateful to you – the people who read the blog, connect with us on Facebook, send donations, attend events, volunteer, and write emails and letters on behalf of great apes.

There would be no Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest without you.

Here’s the first chimpanzee photo we posted on this blog, taken from this June 10, 2010 blog post.

Jody in her transport cage on the way to sanctuary:

Jody in transport cage in trailer 6-10-08

and here are just a few of my favorite photos of Jody over the last few years:

Jody in profile

jody holding feet

jody smelling rose

jody blue paper

jody with stuffed dog

jody sandbox eyes closed

jody after 4 months

jody logo

 

Filed Under: Fundraising, Jody, Sanctuary, Thanks Tagged With: animal, ape, chimp, chimpanzee, Cle Elum, Fundraising, northwest, refuge, rights, Sanctuary, seattle, seven, shelter, welfare

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