Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

young's hill

Their Side of the Mountain

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The mosaic landscape in which the sanctuary exists is truly breathtaking.

Even so, it’s difficult to assess the value that such a backdrop provides to four cattle and sixteen chimps who reside here.

For their part, the bovines appear most excited about their environment when it is carpeted with fresh green grass. They’re not particularly expressive otherwise.

As for the chimps, it’s evident that they at least take the time to observe their immediate and distant surroundings. The degree to which they value the aesthetic quality of their environment and the effect that this has on their wellbeing are much less clear. Given that chimpanzee cognition is a lot like ours, I find it logical to assume that they appreciate a good view. Sometimes, it even seems like they go outside just to soak up the weather and enjoy the panoramic perspectives of the surrounding hills.

This older photo by J.B. shows Foxie having one of those moments.

It’s not surprising that the chimps spend so much time exploring their own backyard. These chimpanzees live on some prime real estate.

The sanctuary occupies a grassy patch of land on the western flank of Lookout Mountain (which is not to be confused with any of the the state’s eight other landforms with the same name). Behind the sanctuary’s upper boundary, there is a network of dirt roads that wind their way up the slope to a few private cabins. Last week, I decided to “take the long way home,” pushing my old SUV up the ridge to get an eagle’s view of the sanctuary. As always, the view from up there was incredible.

From the side of the mountain, one can get a sweeping vista of the rust-colored hills and wooded rangeland of the Teanaway River valley to the north, the growing mountain towns of Cle Elum and Roslyn to the northwest, and the rushing waters of the Yakima River and its basalt canyon to the southwest. This entire patchwork is nestled below the mighty peaks of the Central Cascades.

Even with all these features visible from our backyard, the sanctuary itself might still be the strangest artifact on the landscape. It’s not too conspicuous; From a plane, it might be mistaken for a ranch or even some sort of outdoor sports complex. (I’ve joked that Young’s Hill could also double as an interesting paintball course.) From the ridge, however, it’s clear that the wooden climbing platforms and electrified fences are designed for another purpose entirely. If you didn’t already know the sanctuary was here and had never been to a similar facility, you’d probably never guess that sixteen chimps lived in one of the barn-like structures situated at the mouth of the canyon.

She’ll Let You Know

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This video is a perfect example of how Jamie gestures to let you know what she wants. If you couldn’t tell Jamie was a bit busy managing the humans today, as per usual. I love Jamie because she isn’t afraid to let you know what she wants. She obviously has no problem telling us what boots she wants us to wear, what books to give her, which piece of pepper she wants, or get the gator now! Most of Jamie’s communication is through gestures like pointing or slight head nods. In the video you can see I had picked out a boot in hopes that it was the one she had in mind. Sometimes we get lucky on the first try, other times you have to keep trying them on. She usually has a favorite pair that we try first! If she doesn’t like the boot, book, or whatever it is Jamie wants she will keep pointing until we get the right one. Occasionally she likes the boot, but wants a different person to put it on! It’s the best feeling when you have been trying to figure out what Jamie wants and then all of the sudden you get the combo! It’s a total rush because all we want to do is please her! Finding out what Jamie wants is just a small way to make her life better and we are happy to do it.

It’s December 1st which means we will start slowly adding Christmas items to the wish list, so keep your eyes peeled!

Foxie with Dora the Explorer:

Out of the Fog

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When I set out on my perimeter walk this morning, the sanctuary was blanketed in a dense fog.

Climbing the 80 or so feet in elevation to the top of Young’s Hill was all it took to escape into the first rays of morning sunlight.

This morning’s walk was particularly enjoyable because I got to imagine myself walking through the expanded outdoor habitats, which are just now beginning to take shape. The first of the massive steel corner posts were set this week by our friends at Sage Mechanical.

When we started building Young’s Hill back in 2010, we were working under a number of constraints, the most significant of which being that we didn’t own any of the vacant land beyond the pasture above the chimp house. In order to avoid any problems with future neighbors, we kept the fence line far away from the property boundaries. Since then, however, we’ve bought up all of the adjoining land and that has allowed us to push the fence line out as far as topography and underground utility easements will permit.

While most of the area we’re expanding into is also pasture, we were able to cut a little slice into the woods so that the chimps can enjoy the shade of a few tall pines, in addition to the less mature trees that we will be planting.

Those trees that had to be cleared for the fence line will become part of the numerous climbing structures we plan to build next spring.

Plans are also moving ahead for the large, fully-enclosed outdoor area on the west side of the building, which should get underway as soon as weather allows early next year. Meanwhile, the chimps continue to enjoy the greenhouses. Honey B actually let me close off the mezzanine for cleaning so that she could spend time out there (after only a short protest).

Mave was keen on getting Willy B to groom with her. Her invitation? Looking his way and shaking a large bamboo plant vigorously.

He finally obliged.

Rayne was keeping an eye on things from across the hall.

When you hear someone blowing raspberries in her group, it’s usually Terry. But this morning it was Cy, telling me to put the stupid camera down and play chase.

Throughout the morning, we have to shift the chimps around their various enclosures so that we can clean, and each time we do so we have to perform a series of safety checks that involves finding each of the chimpanzees. This morning, Cy was making that difficult. When this happens, we check the security cameras. He was just above us and out of view, engaged in his favorite activity – reading magazines.

Each time the chimps shifted to a new area, Cy would bring his reading material and find a new place to camp out.

By mid-morning, the fog had lifted completely and Jamie and Burrito set out to survey the upcoming changes to their sanctuary home.

I keep trying to tell Jamie that those trees will be hers. So far, she seems far more interested in the equipment. Which reminds of the time she wanted me to chase her with a chainsaw. Not safe, Jamie. Not safe.

A variety of play

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Enjoy this video of a variety of short play clips from around the sanctuary over the past couple weeks. Also, here are some photos from the chimp house today!

Dora enjoying the Greenhouse.

Willy B relaxing after breakfast.

Mave and Honey B in the afternoon.

Jamie watching Lisa and Burrito play chase.

Second Spring

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We humans talk about weather a lot, often marveling at even the predictable and banal. Like me today remarking at the wind gusts, “that’s some wind out there!”

The weather ties everyone to nature, even those who live in jungles made of concrete. It reminds us that we are not, in fact, in control of everything.

After a long and dry summer here at the sanctuary, the fall rains and cloud-filled days felt abrupt and at times a little oppressive. But the plants almost immediately showed their gratitude, making parts of the landscape look like a second spring. The grass sprung from the ground and the grazing animals filled their bellies with this earthly gift.

Today, the skies were clear and the sun bathed the landscape, quickly urging yesterday’s snow to feed the plants some more.

Even the chimps seemed to be operating under the rules of spring, with Jamie insisting I go on two walks with her in a row. One where five other chimpanzees joined, and one that was just the two of us.

On this second walk, with the warm rays of the sun tempering the wind, Jamie was in no hurry. She stopped to inspect a new log placed to brace one of the structures, and then sat on an outpost of that structure, gazing over her kingdom.

As I waited for her signal to continue, I marveled at the signs of plant life emerging amid summer’s leftover debris.

Jamie had me bring one of her new favorite boots on the walk with her. Luckily, she allowed me to wear my own boots and, instead, carry her star-spangled treasure.

As we continued on our walk, I kept looking at the ground and was surprised to see a brazen dandelion in bloom, another reminder of all the plant life under the surface, at the ready for the right conditions to show itself.

When I returned to the chimp house, I looked at the raspberry bushes and noticed new growth, taking one last giant photosynthetic gulp of the season.

Going around to see the six chimpanzees who arrived just shy of five months ago, I found them too soaking in the sun in the shelter of their newly paneled greenhouse.

It’s a little funny that we refer to these areas as greenhouses, a term usually reserved for shelters that allow plants to thrive even when the outside conditions wouldn’t allow the same, and not generally used to refer to shelters for nature’s more mobile kingdom. Today, however, the term seemed more than apt.

While not photosynthesizing, the chimpanzees were certainly soaking in the sun and perhaps storing some energy for future use.

Dora
Rayne
Rayne’s feet
Gordo
Terry

Novembrrrr

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Despite the November chill, the chimpanzees still seem eager to explore Young’s Hill.

Foxie, Burrito, Missy, Jody.
If you ask Missy, cold days are best when explored at a run!

In fact, the November cold creates a bonus enrichment that the chimps eagerly search for each morning…

Burrito was today’s winner of the coveted “tire ice.” 

Meanwhile, the Escher structure seemed like a solid hangout space.

Foxie, Jody, Missy and Annie
Foxie and Jody

Later, Foxie took it upon herself to make sure the structure was truly solid.

As she made it to the top, I caught her tapping and stomping her way along the walkway, making sure the boards were still securely mounted.

Inspector Foxie

The Buddy System

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As an atmospheric river flows over the Pacific Northwest and hammers the Cascades with wind, rain and snow, our sheltered valley has experienced an odd mix of beautiful and horrible weather this week. That hasn’t stopped one group of chimps from making use of their expansive outdoor habitat: Young’s Hill.

“The Hill” was completed in 2011 and serves as the primary outdoor enclosure for the original group of seven chimps. Over the years, J.B. et al. have furnished the habitat with groves of bamboo, a network of firehose vines, elevated wooden platforms, hanging tire swings and hammocks, and even an artificial termite mound. Since the enclosure contains an open pasture without any large trees, the crew has also added numerous pine logs for the chimps to climb on. While we monitor the larger structures for safety and stability, there’s not much we can do about the untreated timber decomposing at a natural rate. These need to be replaced every few years.

When we let the chimps have access to Young’s Hill yesterday morning, we were already aware that one of the logs (which had been sunk vertically into the ground) had blown over and was leaning on some firehose vines. Assessing the situation from afar, we agreed it still looked safe enough for the chimps to go on their morning patrol while we coordinated with J.B. to get it repaired.

After caregiver Chad did his routine race around the boundary with Burrito, Jamie demanded that someone accompany her on another patrol of the perimeter fence. I put the telephoto zoom lens on the camera and trudged up the hill while wearing her preferred Xtratuf boots. Burrito soon joined us, sprinting and laughing, and effectively replaced me as Jamie’s walking buddy.

I was resigned to finishing the patrol as the “third wheel” when I noticed Missy sitting on the aforementioned wonky post. Missy is an intrepid adventurer when outdoors, and she didn’t seem to care that the log was tilted askew and wobbled quite a bit. In fact, she seemed to even find the new perch to be comfortable.

As I continued to trek around the perimeter of the enclosure, I saw Missy again from a different perspective. This time, I could see that she also had “brought” a buddy with her: Annie. The two were sitting like gargoyles on adjacent structures, partially hidden in the maze of pine trunks and bamboo.

I saw the dark silhouette of another chimpanzee in the periphery of my vision, and turned the camera lens towards Foxie as she climbed up onto a closer platform.

Foxie seems to enjoy moments of solitude in the outdoors, but I remembered that she probably considers her dolls to be her adventure companions. Perhaps she doesn’t think of herself as being alone even though no other chimps are close by. Either way, it wasn’t long before Foxie also had a chimpanzee buddy: Jody. Together, they surveyed the valley and seemed most intrigued by a distant plume of smoke swirling upward from a prescribed burn.

Foxie and Jody resumed their journey as a duo, making their way through the tall grass to one of their favorite installations: the Lookout Tower. Foxie preferred to sit on the highest deck with her doll while Jody ventured out on the Shaky Bridge towards Carlene’s Tower.

 

After the chimps went back inside, Chad closed off the Hill and we did safety checks to unlock the enclosure for maintenance. J.B. was ready to go with a buddy of his own: a brand new Kubota L4060 tractor.

There are certain pieces of equipment that the sanctuary cannot do without, and a functioning tractor is one. J.B. has been planning to upgrade the sanctuary’s tractor for years and excitedly worked out the financing. With all of the maintenance and renovations to be done in the upcoming months, the time was right to welcome a new Kubota to the family.

To quote J.B. directly, “You can tell everyone that, second to my wedding day, the day the tractor arrived was the happiest day of my life.”

Importantly, the new tractor has a closed cab which will save us from freezing our eyeballs off while driving it in the winter. I’m excited that it came with cup holders so I can sip on cold brew while I plow the driveway in the winter, and J.B. personally added a Bluetooth music player so he can blast Van Halen (probably) while he moves things around with the forks.

Someday in the near future, even Young’s Hill will get a “buddy.” In addition to expanding the Young’s Hill perimeter to include more adjacent pasture and parts of the nearby woodland, we plan to build a second outdoor enclosure called The Bray. The new tractor will be invaluable as we tear down and build entire sections of electrified fence, plant more trees and bamboo, and furnish the two areas with new enrichment structures. (You can all read about our past, present and future plans for the facility in this blog post: The King of the Courtyard and His Growing Kingdom.)

Hopefully, the new layout will make things even better for the chimpanzees who call this place “home.”