Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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young's hill

Off-balance or perfect ten?

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We’ve had some beautiful, sunny, blue sky days this weekend which is unusual for this time of year, and Jamie is certainly taking advantage of it. Diana and Jamie went on at least six walks yesterday! Missy joined a couple of times, but of course opted to run at full speed while Jamie kept to more of a saunter.

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Then Missy decided to sprint toward the log bridge as if it were a vault, and she appeared to lose her a balance a little bit. Or maybe she meant to hurdle herself in that way, and it was actually an intentional landing. So, the question is, did Missy lose her balance or did she totally stick that landing? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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From scrawny to brawny

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When the chimpanzees first arrived at CSNW six and a half years ago, they were frail, weak, almost sickly ghosts of themselves. Through the years we have seen their once physically and mentally deprived selves transform into thriving, healthy, and fit chimpanzees full of personality.

The other day Jamie was sitting on a step in one of the front rooms and it struck me how strong her thigh muscles have become from her daily perimeter walks. It’s really very impressive!

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She’s really come a long way. These photos from the first days in sanctuary really highlight her fragile, atrophied leg muscles.

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In this photo you can see not only how scrawny and skinny her legs look, but also how much she plucked her hair from her belly while in the lab, likely due to sheer boredom:

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Sanctuary has provided Jamie the opportunity to patrol her territory, stretch her legs, and keep her mind active. Her life now is full of so much enrichment—both for mental stimulation and physical activity—that she doesn’t get as bored as she used to.

Of course, captivity is not perfect and Jamie still does pluck her belly every now and then, perhaps because it became a habit but also possibly due to periods of boredom. No matter how great we make her environment, we can never recreate the life she and all captive chimpanzees should have had in the wild. But for Jamie, the next best thing is taking walks around Young’s Hill while her caregivers follow along on the other side of the fence—always with at least one of her favorite boots, of course!

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Rain, snow or shine

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I’m often asked if the chimpanzees go onto Young’s Hill when it is raining or snowing. The answer is yes, they still venture outside, although I think we can all agree, sunshine is probably preferred.

As I’m writing this, Jamie is on her fourth walk around the hill (it’s currently foggy and sprinkling). And she wasn’t the only one to venture outside. Burrito, Missy, Jody and Annie joined her on the hill for a little while after lunch despite the fog and rain.

Sometimes the chimps go out to gather a “snowy treat,” as you will see in the some of the following photos.

It seems that no matter what the weather brings the chimpanzees still choose to go outside.

Annie

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Burrito

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Jamie

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Missy

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In memory of Carlene Garza

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Today we would like to honor the memory of a wonderful friend of the chimpanzees, Carlene Garza, and share a little of her life with you. How do you sum up a life in a few words? A valid question of course, and perhaps an impossible one to answer. But sometimes, even a small insight to a person, be it a kindness they offered, the way they chose to live their life, or the others whose lives have been made better for having known them, can show you just how big their spirit is and speaks larger than words ever could. Carlene was a long time supporter of the chimpanzees and followed our blog on a daily basis. Sadly, her family shared with us that she recently passed away after a long illness and we have been profoundly touched to learn of the impact the chimpanzees had on her life. Her husband, Joseph, graciously shared Carlene’s feelings about the work we do and the chimpanzees:

“Carlene became interested in the plight of chimpanzees’ in this country after viewing a documentary on the subject. She then went online to see what else she could find and stumbled on your website. When she got done reading the story about your sanctuary and the biographies of each of your charges, she was hooked. She visited your site and connected to your animals through Facebook and hardly a day went by that she did not check-in to see what they had been up to and new from the office. She had her favorites of course, Burrito, Foxie, and Jamie, but circumstances prevented us from supporting your great work in the manner we had wished. When Carlene became ill and we knew that there was no recovery, Carlene had asked that I do something for her friends at CSNW. I promised her I would do what I could. Carlene’s passing came way too soon and I decided that in honor of my dear wife, I would ask that family and friends make a donation to CSNW in memory of her. The success of this campaign has grown beyond my wildest dreams and I know that somewhere my wife has a big smile on her face because she was finally able to help her friends at the sanctuary. My hope is that periodically family and friends will think about Carlene, remember her cause and continue to support your work there at the sanctuary.”

We are deeply touched by Carlene’s story and are honored to have received many donations for the chimpanzees as a result of her and her family and friends. And they continue to come in!

Carlene and “the first love of her life,” King:

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As if the Garza family has not been generous enough, Joseph also requested that he be able to send Carlene’s cowboy boots to Jamie as a special gift. Well, in perfect timing they just arrived and we couldn’t wait for Jamie to see them! After a quick safety inspection, we asked volunteer caregiver, Sandra, to model them for Jamie’s surprise.  Jamie usually wants to immediately inspect new boots, but this time she immediately wanted Sandra to wear them for a walk around Young’s Hill!

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Upon their return, Jamie was ready to take a closer look at her gift:

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Jamie loves to groom her boots after they’ve been out for an adventure:

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Jamie asked for the boots after this photo and we passed them through the safety chute to her where she promptly held them to her forehead, a moment of pure boot love. Then she disappeared with them to the very top of the greenhouse where she built a nest with them. I couldn’t climb quite high enough to get a clear photo, but you can just make out the tips of the boots under her chin:

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Joseph, we cannot thank you and your family enough for all you have done for the chimpanzees. We are incredibly moved that you would choose to make their lives better and at a time when you have suffered such immeasurable loss. Please know that the chimpanzees lives have been made better as a result of your and Carlene’s incredible generosity, along with that of your family and friends. And the life of one who has made the lives of so many others better, is a life to celebrate. We are honored to celebrate Carlene’s memory with you today. From all of the primates at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we send you our deepest gratitude and wish you the comfort and joy that Carlene has shared with so many others.

Joseph kindly shared Carlene’s obituary with us. If you would like to learn more about the live of this beautiful woman, you may do so here.

More avian enrichment

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Hank the Hawk has had some competition lately from a bald eagle that has been hunting at the sanctuary. Bernard, as we are now calling this new visitor, is almost twice the size of Hank, with a 6- or 7-foot wingspan.

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Last weekend, he touched down about 100 yards from Young’s Hill.

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We’re not sure if the chimps have noticed him yet, but the other day Negra was alarm calling like crazy as she looked out the window. Perhaps this is what she saw:

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The arctic blast is still making life here miserably cold, but today the air was still and the sun was shining, so the chimps took the opportunity to spend some time outside. Jody seemed quite content at first, despite the cold.

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She and Missy perched themselves on some stumps while Foxie and Annie explored the rest of Young’s Hill and Jamie patrolled the perimeter of the enclosure.

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After a while, however, Jody’s look of contentment dissolved into her characteristic sneer of discomfort, or “cold face” as we call it, and she headed back to the warmth of the greenhouse.

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You can almost see her cursing the arctic blast.

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Jamie, on the other hand, is not fazed by bald eagles or arctic blasts.

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Ice cold determination

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It is a beautiful, sunny day at the sanctuary, but looks can be deceiving. We’ve only made it up to 27 degrees with a wind chill of 15. It’s very still and quiet outside and even the birds seem to be hunkered down out of the cold.

“Negra’s Valley” that she loves to watch over from her nest and the view from Young’s Hill:

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If you are new to the blog, Young’s Hill is the chimpanzees’ 2-acre outdoor enclosure and the chimpanzees have access to it year round (providing the voltage on the electric fence stays in our established security perimeters). While the chimps don’t care to spend a lot of time outside in extreme temperatures hot or cold, the option is there as their choice to make. And if you’ve been following the blog for awhile, you know that it takes some pretty significant weather conditions to keep Jamie from her Young’s Hill perimeter walks. But today was not one of them. Jamie has walked (or more accurately, ran) around the hill with her caregivers five times in these temperatures!

All the other chimpanzees spent their day nesting, grooming, and playing in front of every available sunny window so everyone stayed nice and toasty. And it took awhile to “warm up” enough outside before even Jamie would brave the hill:

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Here a caregiver is offering to go on a walk with Jamie and she sees her favorite boots:

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She spent a few minutes pondering but decided she was up for it:

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There was a lot of poking her head out the door to test the waters so to speak, but once she set her mind to it she was off! Which meant the caregivers had to run to catch up with her! Jamie has a will and determination unlike anyone I know. Head into the wind, she wasn’t deterred:

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We passed a herd of deer at the top of the hill, but Jamie had no time to bother with them:

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Once we got to the other side of the hill where we were less protected from the wind Jamie decided we needed to pick up the pace. And I have to say I agreed. We ran all the way back to the greenhouse and warm blankets fresh from the dryer:

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In extreme temperatures we trust Jamie to make her own choices about going for walks or not. That said, given her determination we closely monitor temperatures, and Jamie, to make sure she stays safe and healthy. Rain, shine, snow or wind, Jamie makes the most of each day in sanctuary. And we couldn’t be happier to be running along side of her.

So Like Themselves

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This morning I was contemplating how we as humans view chimpanzees and how my own views of chimpanzees have changed after getting to know many different personalities. And then I got to the computer and saw these photos that J.B. had taken this morning while strolling with Jamie and Missy.

I know most of you reading this already know how seriously we take safety, but for those who might be reading for the first time, I like to make sure it’s clear that J.B. was safely on the outside of the double electric fence when he took these photos.

No fence, however, prevents us from taking part in the lives of the chimpanzees – Jamie insists on her human caregivers joining in her strolls. And Missy sometimes comes along for the exercise, fun, and companionship too.

Today, Missy got an extra surprise – Jamie’s Halloween / birthday bag that was left at the top of the hill yesterday (see the Jamieween video for reference).

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After taking a look in the bag, I’m guessing Missy ran down the hill at breakneck speed – not because of what she saw, but because this is what she likes to do. She sometimes joins Jamie in strolling down the perimeter, but Missy’s speed is usually on “fast,” and she really enjoys running down from the very top of the hill, leaving us slower folks in her dust.

Jamie, on the other hand, makes sure that her human walking partner is keeping up:

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Walking around the hill is perhaps Jamie’s greatest pleasure. This is the face of contentment:

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Many people, when first learning about chimpanzees, are in awe of how similar they are to humans. And, in fact, many behavioral researchers have spent years comparing chimpanzees to humans in so many ways – language ability, counting prowess, puzzle-solving, teamwork, etc, etc, etc. I think this is what first interested me in non-human great apes. And it still does. It’s remarkable to see Jamie communicating her desires with her human caregivers using gestures, using a (plastic) screwdriver, drawing with a ball point pen, playing with an iPad, and many other activities that she enjoys. And their similarities don’t end on the individual level – observing the social interactions of chimpanzees often really does resemble watching a human reality show – strong personalities and lots of drama.

But what I like most about chimpanzees now, and I think what more and more people are being drawn towards, is their chimpanzee-ness. It’s true that they are so like us, and we, in turn, are so like them, but what they are even more like is themselves, and that’s what makes them fascinating, wonderful, and deserving of protection.