Posts by J.B.
Good morning, Neggie!
I am feeling quite lucky today as I just got back from a beautiful family vacation last night! After being away for a little while, the humans at the sanctuary are always happy to be reunited with their chimpanzee friends, and the feeling is usually mutual. I was delighted to see that Central Washington has…
Read MoreJamie's nest
It’s been very quiet here today. Freezing rain has left everything coated in a thick layer of ice, making it nearly impossible to travel to or from the sanctuary. Jamie didn’t seem too upset by the fact that her two-acre habitat had frozen over. In fact, she seemed to relish the opportunity to stay inside,…
Read MoreThe Shoes off My Feet
As the saying goes, if you really care for someone you’d give them the shirt off your back. For Jamie, it’s going to have to be the shoes off your feet.
Read MoreThe Bonobo Book
Today is sponsored by Kenneth Epstein in honor of Nicki Walters and in memory of her husband, Bill “Twister” Walters, on his birthday. Kenneth shared this message about today: “Nicki Walters honored her husband Bill by sponsoring the chimps on his birthday. That beautiful gesture of love inspired me and many of their friends and…
Read MoreDizzy with Excitement
At Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we encourage all of our staff and volunteers to communicate with the chimps in their language as much as possible. This means that we adopt a submissive posture when the chimps are displaying, we cover our top teeth when we smile during play, and we pant hoot with the group when…
Read MoreSafe and sound
We give out over 70 fleece blankets each day so that the chimps can sleep in clean, comfortable nests. Night nests are usually built up off the ground on the catwalks in the playroom or on benches in the smaller front rooms. Sometimes the chimps sleep near each other, other times they seek privacy. Annie…
Read MoreA Hug and a High-Five
Jody had some enthusiastic greetings for her friends this morning…
Read MoreMind Readers
Most people accept that chimpanzees are intelligent, but can they read minds? Not in a Carnac the Magnificent kind of way, but rather, do they know what other chimpanzees may or may not know? Can they take the perspective of another individual and alter their behavior accordingly? In other words, do they have what’s known…
Read MoreThe one, the only…
The one, the only…Burrito. Save
Read MoreWhat lurks beneath
Chimpanzees who have spent their lives in laboratories face a number of challenges as they adapt to life outdoors. Things that we take for granted – the rustle of leaves in the wind, sudden spring rainstorms – may be unfamiliar or even frightening to them. But there’s one fear that seems particular to Foxie. While…
Read MoreBuilding trust
Providing medical care to chimpanzees is always a challenge, but it can be particularly difficult when they have been subject to decades of invasive medical research procedures against their will. Years ago, we participated in a study that considered whether chimpanzees might exhibit abnormal behaviors that cluster into syndromes similar to posttraumatic stress disorder and…
Read MoreA small miracle
Nearly ten years ago, we met these chimpanzees in the windowless basement of a laboratory where they had lived for decades, often alone. Each walk around Young’s Hill still feels like a small miracle.
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