Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

winter

Sun’s Out, Puns Out!

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Today’s weather was consistently sunny and a bit warmer than usual: a merciful break in what has otherwise been a wet and gloomy winter season.

The chimpanzees spent the day lounging in the greenhouses, grooming each other, and even doing a bit of reconnaissance from the taller structures on Young’s Hill. The embedded video and following photos show some glimpses of their peaceful afternoon.

Jody:

Rayne:

Meanwhile, back in the foyer, Jenna, Grace and I had a difficult time coming up with a title for this post. Obviously, there should be some connection to be made between the weather and the chimpanzee activities. “Something to do with sunshine?” Can you do anything with the word ‘season’?” “Does anything rhyme with ‘greenhouse’?” Still, the inspiration didn’t quite come to us.

Lately, I’ve felt pressured to create corny puns and obscure references since that is apparently what I will be remembered for as a contributor to the blog. So many of you kindly wished me well in my next endeavor (more on that next week) but it shocked me how many people said they will miss my puns. I have cautiously pushed back against this claim given that the other caregivers also spit out some amazingly awful, groan-inducing titles, but get none of the backlash from our peers who are fervently anti-pun (see: J.B. Mulcahy).

As always, I’ve taken the time to provide examples of other peoples’ campy titles:

Terry: The Whole Tooth and Nothing but the Tooth, Cold November Rayne, Let Tree-dom Ring, Grapes n’ Roses, This Is A Bit Munch, Sani-Terry Grooming, Missy, I Love You From My Head To-ma-toes, Be Right as Rayne, Chimpanzees in the mist(er), Alpha Cy-chology, Leeked Photos, Twosday, Pretty Fly for a Shy Guy and Fantastic B’s And Where To Find Them

Those are just the ones from this last year! I can think of other egregious ones, like the time Sam called an Independence Day blog post Corn in the USA, but it would take a long time to retrieve all of them from the archives.

My point here is that the whole team is in this together. I am being unfairly singled out for getting on board this trend well before it took off.

Anyway, I hope you all appreciate these photos and video clips as much as we all appreciated a bit of a respite from the dreariness of this winter.

One more photo, this one from last week:

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P.S. Check out the following event and don’t forget to sign up here!

Virtual Visit -Let’s Learn about Positive Reinforcement Training!

January 22nd, 2023
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm PT

As Jenna explained yesterday in her post that blatantly referenced lyrics to a classic Eminem song, the sanctuary will be hosting another virtual event on this upcoming Sunday, January 22nd, 2023 at 1pm PT. The two of us plan to explain how we caregivers use Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) to facilitate chimpanzee health and wellness here at the sanctuary. The virtual event will include a live visit in the Chimp House with a Q&A session to follow. You can reserve your spot by clicking here. We hope to see you there!

for the Winter Warriors

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If you follow the blog, you may have seen the brief mentions from Kelsi and then J.B. of the very eventful end of December that the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest staff and volunteers endured this year.

For the first time in over a decade (as far as we can remember), J.B. and I had scheduled a short trip to visit family together (together!) on the east coast for some winter celebrations. Almost as soon as we left, things started to malfunction at the sanctuary as Cle Elum was hit with extreme cold temperatures. J.B. helped troubleshoot the issues at a distance, but the staff on the ground had to navigate mechanical failures and multiple days with a non-functioning well, all the while caring for the chimpanzees and cattle, getting to work in icy conditions, and taking turns staying overnight to look after office cat LouLou and pups Abbey and Benny.

The nonhumans were none the wiser to these issues as the staff and volunteers managed to maintain the routine and get creative with procedures as though everything was in pristine working order. Meanwhile, J.B. and I had to extend our time away due to the weather and the complete meltdown of the aviation industry.

All of this, whilst also being away from their own families, the staff carried on with the CSNW Christmas countdown on the blog and the preparation for holiday festivities without skipping a beat.

J.B. and I couldn’t be more grateful. Neither of us worried in the least that this crew of staff, volunteers, and their spouses could handle whatever obstacle Mother Nature and Murphy’s Law presented to them. There was never a doubt that the nonhumans at the sanctuary were in the best hands possible.

Today, we thank them most humbly with this sponsor-a-day post, and invite you, too, to thank them for looking after the sanctuary every day under any and all circumstances!

A Wintry Mix

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This has been one wild winter so far. From below zero temperatures to nearly 40º back to below freezing in the span of a couple of days, it’s sometimes hard to tell what the weather is actually going to be from day-to-day. We check the weather constantly, sometimes multiple times a day, because what was being reported in the morning, can drastically change by the afternoon. Whatever the weather brings us, however, our jobs as caregivers is to be flexible to give the residents as many options as possible given the circumstances.

As Anna wrote last week, some pathways were cleared to allow Burrito’s group the option to go on the snow-covered Young’s Hill if they choose to. Today was one of those days where they chose to.

Burrito looking for the best spot of snow to snack on.

Missy went straight for the closest, tallest structure she could get to so she could take in her surroundings…

Which Burrito also wanted to see.

Jody was very calculated in her choice of snow to snack on.

Not just any snow would do!

Though Annie spent the most time outside, she always would look back at the door leading inside.

But once Missy headed back in, so did Annie.

With Burrito not far behind.

Though we may never know what they are exactly thinking, it did seem like they were taking in as much outside as they could today. We do have a forecast of wintry mixes coming up for the next couple of days. And before we know it, the snow will begin to melt and Spring will be here (at least that’s what I’m telling myself). So might as well grab as many snow snacks while you can!

Some bonus photos:

Negra grunting at me as I greeted her this morning.

Gordo eating last night’s dinner from the top of the firehose.

Betsy chowing down on some hay yesterday when it was bright and sunny.

Secret Santa

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Boy howdy! What a busy day! Besides our daily Chimp House duties, we had our bi-weekly staff meeting, are deep in preparing for the resident’s Christmas party, sorting through gifts that arrived from the recent Comfort & Joy auction, and trying to keep up with Burrito!

We want to thank those who have purchased items off our Amazon Wish List! We just wanted to let you know if you have purchased something off the wishlist, or sent something directly to us, please be assured that we have or will receive it. It may just take a little bit for us to process things in order to send out the confirmation it has arrived.

If you would like to still purchase items off our wish list for their Christmas party, there’s still time! But time is starting to run out for it to be delivered on time. If you can, please peruse through our Amazon Wish List. We hope to make this Christmas a special one for them!

Now for some photos from today!

Terry taking his chow biscuits to go!

Missy trying to encourage Negra to get our of bed!

Honey B enjoying some persimmons at lunch!

Annie also enjoying her lunch persimmons!

Missy enjoying a forage of cabbage and snow!

Willy B eating his lunch chow biscuits with a view!

Beautiful Lucky!

And handsome Cy!

Mave taking in the sun coming through in the Oakwood Greenhouse!

Rayne taking a rest after lunch!

They Always Do

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Winter here on the eastern slopes of the Cascades can be difficult. We go to work in the dark and return home in the same. The wind stings, the cold air bites. Thick mats of snow and ice cover the landscape. Wintry conditions turn scenic drives across the mountain passes into foggy, wet, anxiety-inducing ordeals.

Yet, we carry on.

We play in the snow with friends, take our vitamin D supplements, struggle to keep our houseplants alive, finally read the books we bought in a frenzy over the summer, stay in touch with friends and family, exercise in some loud building under fluorescent lighting, and make the most of the relatively warm days when we get them.

Eventually, the days start feeling longer again. The wind stings a little less, the temperatures rise a little. The snow melts to reveal the wet dirt underneath. We begin to make plans for the coming weeks without worries of getting stranded, spinning out, or missing a flight. One day at a time. Suddenly, we find ourselves standing in an elk-trodden meadow of balsamroot and lupine watching the spring thunderstorms roll by.

From last week into this past weekend, the chimpanzees have had quite a bit of drama and it’s been a challenge to navigate. But, as Diana and Jenna pointed out in their respective blog posts, there has also been a lot of rest, recovery, and reconciliation going on. Chimps are great at filling the intervals between conflicts with productive, calming activities: building nests, grooming companions, playing chase with caregivers, foraging on some greens you found on the Hill, etc. Perhaps the best way to get you and your loved ones through hard times is just to give someone a breathy pant, eat an icicle, pile up some blankets, take a nap, and move forward. As someone told me recently, why worry about the whole necklace when you can just keep putting beads on the string?

Cy’s group, the chimpanzees who have been fighting the most frequently lately, have actually been relatively peaceful for much of their tenure as an integrated social group. It wasn’t always that way; we can all remember last spring when their union was so new and fragile that we gave them nonstop supervision, around the clock, for weeks on end. If you had visited me in the foyer one of those nights and told me those new relationships would continue to grow and thrive for six months before enduring a rough patch like this one, I would have been ecstatic.

Yes, there are tough times that seem like they will never end…

…but they always do.

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The distant glow of sunrise over the Chimp House front entrance at 4:44am on June 23, 2022. It wasn’t an unusually important day, but I have this photo from my overnight shift that I have never posted here before. I looked back at my notes from that morning. The chimps slept relatively peacefully after a string of tumultuous nights.

Dr. Erin watching the chimpanzees via the security cameras:

Gordo taking a moment to relax today in the playroom:

The hallway between the Lupine and Marmot Mountain playrooms after a day of cleaning:

Jamie peering down from atop a platform (where she had made a humongous nest):

The shovel that now lives outside the greenhouse door (which keeps getting blocked in with ice).

“Commuting”

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This morning’s dusting of powdery, fluffy snow converted the drab November landscape into a winter spectacle.

My morning drive to the sanctuary cuts through open farmland into desert hills furnished with towering wind turbines. The highway then plunges into the Yakima River canyon and winds upstream along its forested banks and basalt cliffs. Closer to the sanctuary, the roadway climbs just enough to peek out of the canyon to see the rolling foothills of the Cascades with their thick coats of evergreens: cedars, firs, hemlocks and pines. One last curve leads into a quaint pastoral valley flanked on either side by steep hillsides speckled with woodland, upon one of which the sanctuary was built.

There are many days when this scenic commute feels like an unadvertised employee perk, offering us sweeping views of quintessential northwest landscapes with nonexistent traffic. Of course, there are contrasting days when this highway becomes a nightmarish gauntlet of hazardous elements. Depending on the season, the perils may include black ice, crossing wildlife, reckless country drivers, wildfire haze, whiteout snowstorms, stray boulders, surprise farming equipment, and never-ending bridge repairs. Despite driving the course thousands of times, none of us can reliably predict what each driven mile will entail.

This morning, we were all treated to a stunning frosty landscape bathed in warm sunlight. I think the chimps must have rushed to the windows to take it all in. I pulled off the road on my way to the sanctuary to take some photographs with the intention of sharing the experience with you all. The pictures don’t do it justice, but hopefully they convey some of the wonder.

 

Where There’s a Hill, There’s a Way

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The chimpanzees in Jamie’s group often begin their mornings by patrolling their outdoor enclosure, Young’s Hill.

Downpours, blizzards, and extreme cold are just about the only events that can deter them from engaging in this ritual activity. The temperature was well below freezing this morning when I opened the door to Young’s Hill after breakfast. I was quite cold despite the morning sun and a couple extra layers over my scrubs, so I doubted any of them would want to be outside either. I had equipped my shorter camera lens thinking that I might photograph a brave chimp or two as they curiously peeked their heads across the threshold.

I was quite wrong (as we humans so often are when we attempt to predict chimpanzee behavior).

The chimpanzees darted out into the wide open habitat in a single file line, diverging further up the slope and dispersing among the structures and bamboo. Some individuals seemed more interested in watching Aaron, Gary, Jose, and J.B. work on The Bray, while others trekked uphill to the grove of pine trees. I managed to get only unflattering shots of their backsides as they disappeared beyond my view.

Missy and Annie:

Missy, Annie and Burrito:

Foxie, Burrito and Annie:

Jamie, Foxie, Burrito, Annie and Jody:

Foxie and Burrito:

Missy (if you can spot her):

Only Negra chose to remain inside. As comedian Jim Gaffigan would probably describe her, Negra is “what you would call indoorsy.” With the exception of special events, Neggie generally prefers to nest in the greenhouse after breakfast and leaves the outdoor exploration to her companions. I stopped to visit her on my way back to the Chimp House and saw she was snoozing peacefully under a mountain of fleece blankets in the warm greenhouse.

The care staff had been busy cleaning the playrooms for a short while when J.B. shared an unexpected photo in our team’s group chat. Negra was now sitting atop a platform outside on Young’s Hill! The Queen, for some reason, decided that this chilly morning was the perfect moment to go on a hike.

I detoured into the foyer to switch lenses and dashed outside in a desperate attempt to document the moment (hoping to share it on the blog this afternoon). I made it around the corner just in time to get a single blurry photo of Negra plodding her way back into the greenhouse. Some of the other chimps remained outside for a bit longer, but Neggie’s interest in the outdoors appeared to have subsided for the day.

However brief, these unexpected winter adventures have been reason enough to keep the outdoor enclosures accessible even when the conditions are less than ideal. We never know what interests and motives the chimpanzees might have, so we give them the freedom to choose their own path whenever it is safe to do so.

Burrito sunbathing this morning:

P.S. It’s 3:00 p.m. and I just stepped outside for a quick breath of fresh air before publishing this post. The sun is now behind a wall of incoming clouds and the temperature is about to start plummeting. I started to think about how the chimpanzees were probably snuggling in the heated playroom when a dark, incongruous silhouette atop Young’s Hill caught my eye. I could just make out Missy’s stout frame as she galloped alone along the far edge of the enclosure. It was yet another surprise that shouldn’t have surprised me.