Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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young's hill

A Chimp Guide to Shelter in Place

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I am extremely lucky to have a job that requires me to come in to work everyday. During these difficult times, it helps to have something to focus on that’s a welcome distraction from the outside world. Fortunately, the chimps don’t really know what is going outside of CSNW. Life goes on as normal for them! Which is why they have put together a guide to help inspire ideas on how to make self isolation fun. Or at least take your mind off things for 3 minutes and twenty one seconds!

Also….

Honey B has so much confidence. It is truly inspiring. She is always rockin’ some new enrichment.

Neggie’s wonderful face.

Annie enjoying the warm weather on Saturday.

Jamie 🙂

Blog post by Jamie

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Jamie’s a clever woman. If you’ve been following us for any length of time at all, this isn’t news. We have the great privilege and honor of getting to hang out with her every day and yet, she is always a delight and a surprise.

Sometimes it’s easy to make the ridiculous human mistake of thinking that Jamie is acting in a random manner without intent and purpose. When that happens, it’s usually because we just can’t figure out what she is trying to tell us, it’s not immediately apparent to us. But I guarantee you she always has something in mind.

This afternoon she headed out on a walk around Young’s Hill, her cohorts happily falling into line behind her for an after lunch walk around the hill in the sunshine and fresh air. But Jamie wasn’t just out for a stroll in the sunshine and fresh air. She’d been thinking and had a plan in mind. Once she completed walking the perimeter of the chimps’ outdoor habitat, she made a beeline for the bamboo in the center of the hill and immediately began collecting sticks of a precise kind and size. Jamie had been thinking about the fact that a volunteer caregiver had spilled peanut butter on her scrub top earlier in the day (which Jamie had politely pointed out) and if she had a perfect size tool she could get the peanut butter off the human under the guise of asking to groom her. The peanut butter had been washed off, but no mind, if you’re Jamie you never know when you might need a good bunch of sticks. You may feel like grooming the humans, attempting to poke an unsuspecting human, collecting a piece of gum just out of reach outside the caging, or maybe just taking a good selfie.

As I type this I can see Jamie in the camera, watching me from atop her barrel. She is kicking the wall to get my attention and saying, “Just hurry up and post my blog because I have a task for you!” It’s been merely a couple moments and I’ve been speaking to her the entire time, but Jamie gave up on the dawdling humans and took matters into her own hands. The task she had in mind was that a piece of gum had fallen into the crevice of the drain cover outside the door. Chad walked in to check on her and discovered a tool in the drain cover and now we can see Jamie in the camera chewing gum.

The boss lady calls again! So here you go, folks. And yes, she took this selfie with her stick :):

Picnic on the Hill

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For us chimpanzee caregivers, climbing on the wooden towers and platforms of Young’s Hill is almost as fun as watching the chimps do it themselves. Elevation, exercise and nature- That’s my style of social distancing.
 
Maybe I shouldn’t assume that the rest of the team enjoys it as much as I do. However, there is certainly something liberating about standing high above the Chimp House and looking over the surrounding farmland at the evergreen-covered hillsides of Upper Kittitas County. From this epic vantage, I get the same perspectives as the red-tailed hawks that circle over the valley and the bald eagles that watch over the Yakima River below. As Chad and I recently discussed while doing chores around the sanctuary (because we’re nerds who talk about animal welfare issues), several animal care guidelines now acknowledge that having surroundings that are aesthetically enriching can positively influence individual well-being. I wholeheartedly agree, and I’m proud that this sanctuary gives chimpanzees the opportunity to have such a dynamic sensory experience. It’s impossible to quantify the enrichment value of warm breezes, bright sunshine and green grass (what is enrichment, anyway?), but it would be naive to think that the chimpanzees don’t appreciate having these experiences in their lives.
With all that being said, the Hill isn’t just for looks. It is also incredibly useful for allowing the chimpanzees to spread out, survey the landscape, and exercise. Because of this, we often do “forages” on Young’s Hill (like yesterday’s, for example). Today’s was a special one, though, because the official enrichment theme was “Picnic Day.” The chimpanzees received an eclectic mix of checkered blankets and plastic drinking vessels alongside their usual provisions and toys. Of course, the most enjoyable part of the picnic experience seemed to be the food itself. First, Katelyn chopped up baby iceberg lettuce, red bell peppers, fresh cucumbers and vine tomatoes. Then, Chad and I walked around the Hill, placing and hiding small caches of food on each structure and landmark. The chimpanzees then had all afternoon to search for hidden food and take in the breathtaking scenery.
I had prepared a video to show you all how it went, but this rural internet is abysmal right now; according to the current upload speed, it will be hours before it is ready to watch. Instead, I will have to show you some photographs of Negra that Chad captured today.
Negra eats sunflower seeds during this morning’s post-breakfast indoor “picnic” (or, as I like to call it, Second Breakfast). Negra is a hobbit.
Neggie also foraged for lettuce and chow while participating in the afternoon’s outdoor activities. She did sit in the cabin, however (presumably to block the wind).
I’m not making any guarantees, but I will try to get the other video out sometime in the next week or two! 🙂
P.S. For those of you reading and following along, please continue to use caution, practice thorough social distancing, and take care of each other by taking care of yourselves! I’m wishing all the best for you and yours.

Happy Thoughts

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Years ago, a couple of volunteers (Roszika and Andy) started something they called Happy Club.

A small group of us would meet at a local ice cream/coffee shop and bring a list of five things that had made us happy since we last met. We would read our lists out loud to the group. In the sharing of our happy moments, we increased happiness exponentially within the group (I’ve done the math to prove that statement).

The in-person meetings petered out when people moved away or got busy doing other things (I do hope they were resurrected once in a while), and Happy Club was moved to a virtual platform that still exists. People don’t post to it too frequently, but every once in a while I’ll see in my Facebook feed that someone has posted their list of five things that made them happy that week. It always makes me pause and puts things into a different perspective.

Today was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day. It’s not going to last – there’s even snow in the forecast for Monday – but today was like summer. It would have been a huge missed opportunity to not set out a lunch forage on the hill, but luckily I didn’t miss the opportunity.

Here’s a list of things that made me happy today.

Number 1: The sun. No explanation needed.

Number 2: The staff at CSNW. Amazing, I tell you.

Number 3: CSNW supporters. I received texts and emails of support and a couple of notifications of donations throughout the day. I love people who share my love of the chimpanzees!

I realize I mentioned #2&3 in my video from the other day. Those two probably would make my list every week!

Number 4: Burrito

Burrito started his day wrestling and tickling Missy, then Jody, then Negra. Nothing knocks him down. He remains full of playfulness, charm, and energy. I don’t know how he does it.

Number 5: Negra

Unlike Burrito, she is not often full of playfulness and energy (though when she is, it is a pure joy to witness).

This is how Negra started her day:

Doesn’t she look so cozy? She also looks like she could spend the rest of the day in bed.

But, she didn’t. She tore herself out of bed for breakfast, and she was out on the hill for the forage with everyone else, though her style is to take it easy while the other chimpanzees quickly go from place to place looking for food.

Seeing Negra outside in the sun should be able to make anyone’s happy list.

Pretty soon, the hill will be full of green grass and Negra will be outside partaking of one of her top ten happy things. I am so looking forward to that! It’s okay if we go through one more snow storm first to get there.

Is That For Here Or To Go?

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The Group of Seven have always intrigued me with each of their individual ways of eating. Some like to be upfront and center of every meal service. Others will grab their food and go.

This morning Negra wanted to take her banana to go onto Young’s Hill.

Almost immediately upon going onto Young’s Hill, she was instantly distracted by a passing train.

This is usually Negra’s M.O. She will almost always take her food to go. She will collect all her food and hold off on eating until she gets everything. Then she will use her hands, feet, mouth, you name it. Anything she can use to carry food to a location that is quiet and away from the majority of the crowd.  As evident with this photo I took a few weeks ago during lunch time.

Missy, Foxie, and Jody will grab one item from the meal service, take it away to a quiet location to eat, then return for the next item being served.

Depending on the food, Annie varies her method almost every meal. Sometimes she stays near where the meal is being served to ensure she gets her share of the meal. Other times she will find a quiet location as well, as she did during lunch today to eat her beets.

Jamie and Burrito, on the other hand, are usually upfront and center most of the time. They usually won’t leave until they are served their chow or nighttime bags.

Jamie, at times, might follow Negra’s lead and save some of her meal to enjoy later. In this case, she needed a proper dining table to finish her sweet potatoes and nighttime bag of seeds, popcorn, and dried fruit.

Sometimes after a meal, Jamie will invite a caregiver to go for a walk around the hill. Today, after lunch, Jamie wanted to go for a walk around the hill. I obliged and joined her. However, instead of a walk, it was a sprint around the hill. I somehow was able to capture a photo mid-sprint.

This went on for some time. Up the hill. Down the hill. Then back up again. Then back down. Usually I can keep up with her. But with our extra preventive measures to ensure both the chimpanzees and humans safe from the current pandemic, I have slowed down considerably. I going to have to start running sprints on my own with a mask on to ensure I don’t get that “I’m disappointed in you” look like she gave me as we returned to the Chimp House again.

Chimpy Business

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It felt like Spring today. The sun was out and there were virtually no clouds in the sky. Just like in Spring, Jamie and her group wanted onto Young’s Hill right away to finish their breakfast chow outside.

Jamie was really happy to enjoy her chow outside.

She really, really, really seemed to enjoy her chow outside.

But after her last bit of chow was finished, it was back to business. Jamie, Foxie, Annie, Missy, Jody, and Burrito patrolled their outdoor enclosure. On their way back, they were greeted by Negra, who was waiting for them on one of the platforms.

Though patrolling can be serious business, Missy and Annie chased each other all the way down.

As the others made their way back to the indoor enclosures, Foxie decided to get some alone time.

Burrito, on the other hand, was on a mission to find the last snow patch on Young’s Hill.

As they were heading inside, Missy tried to get a peek on her neighbors.

Unfortunately for Missy, her neighbors decided to be inside at the time. Honey B was grooming Willy B. It seemed like it was a sweet, tender moment between two friends. But as you know, these chimpanzees can rarely contain their shenanigans. This is demonstrated in this photo series:

Grooming

Thinking about tickling Willy B.

Commence tickling!

Personally, my favorite part of capturing this sequence of events is you can almost see the shift in Honey B’s thought process. This tickle session lasted for a couple minutes before it turned into a pretty epic game of chase.

From our family to yours, we hope you have a great day!

Jody on a Mission

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Today was The Big Melt, or at least One Big Melt (more snow is on the way according to the forecast). The roof was dripping all day and the patches of snow on the ground seemed to grow smaller with each passing minute.

For Jamie’s group of seven, that meant time on Young’s Hill.

I was going to write out a whole narrative to go along with these sequential photos below, but I thought I’d let you all enjoy them on their own and write the narrative yourselves.

It starts with a determined Jody (as seen at the top of the hill behind the yellow bamboo in the photo at the top of this page).

Missy background, Jody foreground (hiding behind the structure)
a blurry, still determined Jody in the foreground with Missy behind her
Jody with the ice, Missy facing her

Missy in the foreground after Jody had passed, Annie in the background

I don’t know for sure, but I would bet that Jody did not share any of her ice ;).

Later in the day, we opened up the doors from the chute to the fenced-in courtyard for Willy B’s group of three. Mave approached confidently, but turned back around before getting to the end of the chute. Honey B insisted on grooming all of the humans who seemed to be standing around for no reason, and Willy B went to the top of the chute, looked down, and then went back inside to play chase with Kelsi.

So, today was not the day for the three to bravely explore their outdoor habitat, but we will keep offering them the chance.