Posts by Debbie
The lesser of two evils
Given the economic crisis and the shortage of jobs in this country, this sentence is going to sound pretty crazy: I hope that I will be out of a job someday. Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE my job. Why wouldn’t I? I get to spend my day enriching and taking care of an…
Read MoreTake Action Tuesday: New children’s book exploits Anjana and tiger cubs
Exploitation comes in many forms, and, unfortunately, it isn’t always obvious at first glance. Many of you have seen the “cute” pictures of a baby chimpanzee holding white tiger cubs or the photos and videos of an orangutan with a hound dog. These images and stories have been circulating and re-released in many forms over…
Read More“Fake Neggie”
All of the chimps have nick-names that have caught on over the years and almost all of the caregivers use with them. Annie is “Annie Bo-Bannie,” Burrito is just “Mr. B,” Foxie is “Foxie Fox!” Jody is “Jo-Jo,” Jamie is “James,” Missy is “Miss” and Negra is “Neggie.” Missy has a tendency to sometimes lie…
Read MoreThe Landmine Snare
Maureen McCarthy, PhD candidate at the University of Southern California, was our very first guest blogger. She is doing field research in Uganda, and while there she has been featured as a regular on Scientific American’s blog. The entry that follows is particularly moving. WARNING: some disturbing images are included in this entry. — This…
Read MoreEyes
The chimps all have such expressive eyes. Just take a look:
Read MoreChimpanzee smiles
One of the very first things I learned about chimpanzees when I started working in this field was how they smile. I went to a presentation before visiting the chimps that I eventually worked for at the (now former) CHCI, and they explained that when we were around the chimpanzees we needed to cover our…
Read MoreYoung’s Hill party forage
I mentioned earlier on the blog that today is the second anniversary of the opening of Young’s Hill. Watch the video of their first day out here and check out the previous post for some photos of the chimps on that very emotional and moving day! Today we wanted to celebrate the anniversary in the…
Read MoreTwo year anniversary
Today is the second anniversary of when the Cle Elum Seven were given grass under their feet and sun over their heads for the first time in decades—and for some—their first time ever. Celebrate their freedom with us and share this video from their first day out to commemorate the last two years of Young’s…
Read MoreJamie helps flush the drain
Jamie is always trying to help us get our jobs done the right way. Sometimes she helps scrub the mesh fencing for us, other times she wipes the floor down. She monitors us while we clean, almost as if she is there to make sure we are doing it right! Yesterday I caught her doing…
Read MoreVirtual tour of the chimp house
All the time we refer to different places in the chimp house on the blog—you’ve probably seen us write about the front rooms, the playroom, the greenhouse, and of course Young’s Hill. I can imagine that it might not make a lot of sense for the majority of our blog readers who have never seen…
Read MoreAnnie’s 39th birthday
Wow. I can’t believe Annie is 39 today! It’s an honorary birthday, because we don’t know exactly when Annie was born. She was captured from Africa and used in biomedical testing for over three decades before coming to CSNW. Today, we celebrated her freedom from the lab by throwing two parties—first in the greenhouse, we…
Read MoreKindred Beings release
One of our guest bloggers, Dr. Sheri Speede, has a great new book released today called Kindred Beings: What Seventy-Three Chimpanzees Taught Me About Life, Love and Connection. Be sure to check it out! Sheri will be doing a book signing tour, and will be stopping in nearby Seattle on October 10th at the Elliott Bay…
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