Posts by J.B.
King of the Crow’s Nests
Willy B decided he would try a few new things today. He began by climbing to the top of Ryan’s Lookout. I was impressed just to see him do that much and thought he might have called it quits after that, since it took him several minutes and multiple attempts to figure out how to…
Read MoreScenes from a Thursday Morning
Jamie inspecting the garden progress, Burrito tiptoeing through the tall grass, Rayne practicing her acrobatics, Dora all packaged and ready to ship, and the chimps enjoying the box that the enrichment came in—just another Thursday morning at the sanctuary.
Read MoreMercurial Males
Male chimpanzees can be pretty cruel to the females in their group. Why are some of them such jerks sometimes? From an evolutionary perspective, this aggression is thought to serve two functions. First, it may serve the purpose of establishing dominance. This is particularly true for adolescent males, who rise through the ranks in their…
Read MoreHappy Birthday, Meredith!
Today we are celebrating Meredith’s 9th birthday! Our girl Meredith went through a lot last year, having undergone several procedures over the winter to treat her arthritis and then enduring several months stuck in and around the barn during her recovery, but it was all worth it because she has spent a glorious summer roaming…
Read MoreWe’re Hiring a Chimp House Team Manager!
Our Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest family has grown a lot over the last several years. With more chimpanzees and cows to care for and a larger staff and growing volunteer program to oversee, we decided it was time to split the Chimp House Manager position into two positions to better support the hardworking people that keep…
Read MoreTotal Recall
What did we do to incur such a biblical plague of snakes this year? It seems we are constantly recalling the chimps, though, mercifully, nearly all intruders have been of the garter or racer variety. But rattlesnakes abound in this canyon, and to keep them out of the habitats we have to ensure that not…
Read MoreReason #2 Why Gordo Will Never Be a Doctor
The official term for fear of blood, wounds, and injuries is hemophobia. To say that Gordo is hemophobic is true and yet somehow insufficient. What we really need, and what appears to be absent from the literature, is a term for the fear of someone else’s injury which you yourself inflicted. Last week, I was…
Read MoreReintroductions
We’ve spent a lot of time on this blog discussing group formation, or introductions, so you probably know by now that they are at once the greatest and most terrifying activity you can take part in as a chimpanzee caregiver. While I wouldn’t put them in the same category, reintroductions can be a bit of…
Read MoreEKG Training
I love watching the chimps learn new ways to participate in their own healthcare. We’ve had a KardiaMobile device for a little while now, thanks to a generous donor who purchased it from our wish list, but only after making sufficient progress with other medical behaviors was our PRT team able to begin setting their…
Read MoreCow Lick
Getting licked by a cow is like being licked by a 1/2-ton cat (but without all of the kicking and biting afterwards). Their tongues are very rough! When their coats are longer, cow licks can result in some beautiful abstract impressionist artwork.
Read MoreGood Mood Jamie
When Jamie is in a good mood, the sun breaks through the clouds, the flowers begin to bloom, and the birds sing a joyful chorus. Happy Good Mood Jamie Day to each and every one of you.
Read MoreI Love You(r fennel)
Research has shown that chimpanzees utilize a wide variety of gestures to communicate with one another and that the meanings of these gestures are often understood by people with no training in chimpanzee behavior, suggesting the possibility of a universal ape vocabulary. As Dr. Catherine Hobaiter states, “They target them to a specific recipient, and…
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