"Why do you love chimpanzees so much?"

Ay ay ay. Life has taken me away from the computer and on some serious adventures lately, and my blogging has been a bit lax. Apologies! I'm back, and have so many things to write about. 

Being in the field of primatology/conservation/education/advocacy/whatever else is included in that is always a hard one to explain. "Why would you ever build a non-profit? Commit yourself to never making copious amounts of money? Living in a tiny house while giving all you have to a species who can't even thank you for it? " Just some of the questions I've been asked. The honest truth is, I can't answer that. I can't put words to my love for non-human primates. The closest thing I can equate it to is your love for your children or family, which even then is a vast and almost inappropriate comparison. Working with non-human primates is my passion, and I can't even begin to imagine my life without them. I'm STOKED to live in a tiny house and give every penny back to chimps. There is honestly no other way I  want to live my life. It's my calling. That thing that keeps me up at night, in the most beautiful way. 

I'm not a religious person, by any means. I respect Christians, Lutherans, Atheists, you name it. Everyone has a right to believe whatever they want. I feel extremely lucky to have grown up in a non-religious household as I was able to look at all religions from the same standpoint. I didn't grow up with a bias towards Taoism or a strong connection with Jesus, I got to read and learn about all of them individually; which I think is how every child should grow up. With the ability to choose what he or she believes. At this point, I'm very fond of Buddhism and Animism. I think the Buddha had some amazing ideas about spirituality within oneself and I do firmly believe that all things (living and non) have a spirit, which is the essence of Animism.
         
              *I wear a tiny golden Buddha necklace everyday, as I purchased it for myself a few weeks ago in hopes that during times of struggle I would look inward instead of outward for guidance. I guess that is my main struggle with some religions; that they ask you to pray to someone else for help. I've always inherently believed that we all have the power within ourselves to make things happen. Those who had to ask others for help annoyed me. (The stubborn-ness blob that is me still does think that a little.)*

I name my car, my mailbox, my innate objects. I talk to my dog and cat just as I talk to my friends. And when I'm working at the chimp house I am, yes, working with 7 chimpanzees, but mostly I'm spending time with 7 friends. 7 different personalities who are all old enough to be my mother and therefore get more respect than most people in my life. No they don't speak my language, the desk doesn't parlay with me in English. But beings understand other beings. Jamie chimpanzee can understand what I'm saying, and I can understand her body signals. We communicate on a daily basis. This idea that human beings are better than the rest of the animal kingdom because we can speak to each other is hogwash. Animals communicate just as much (if not better) than we do. In turn, part of the reason I love chimps so much is because in my eyes, they aren't' just chimps. They aren't just helpless animals (in fact, Jamie would probably slap my face if I called her helpless.) They long for social interaction, friendships just like humans do. Would you feel comfortable if your sister had to sit in a room with no outside light the size of a bathroom everyday for 20-30-40 years? With no friends? Probably not. Chimpanzees shouldn't have to be put in that situation either. Humans are responsible for the lives these chimps have, and I NEED to be a part of the solution, not the problem. 

My favorite trait of the chimpanzee is their loyalty. Choosing a particular trait in anything is a little weird, like , "oh hey Liz I love your ability to problem solve its my favorite thing about you!" So maybe favorite is the wrong word, but it's truly a trait I envy. In the past few months I've learned more about loyalty than in the last 23 years of my life. Friendship and loyalty in humans is such a fragile weird thing. It takes forever to give and earn but is so quickly discarded at the drop of a hat. Humans talk about betrayal and how painful it is, but they turn around and do it to someone else without even realizing it. I take solace in the fact that my fiancee+babybrother+squirrelfriend (code names, you know how I do) have been so unbelievably amazing and define the trait of loyalty every day, but many other times I've not been so lucky. Working in the chimp house and seeing the bonds between the Cle Elum 7 is sincerely refreshing and beautiful. They are not biologically related, but they have created a familial tie, friendships that never break and the dynamic they have with each other is seriously something I long for. Its the family over everything else, whether they are protecting each other from other animals invading their space, the humans they feel have overstepped their boundaries or big B when he did (or didn't) do something wrong. They fight, just like brothers and sisters fight, but at the end of the day, the bonds they have outweigh everything. It's quite honestly one of the most beautiful interactions I have the pleasure of catching glimpses of, and I wish some more humans had this ability.  So there. Just a glimpse of why I do what I do. 

Now, being an official level 3 caregiver, I'm creating better relationships with the 7 beauts in Cle Elum. Neggie has almost stopped refusing food from me. I've got the order down of which foods she likes and in which order. Jamie and I are breaking records on times walked around the hill in one day. (Last monday it was 6, she did a total of 9 or 10 total.) Miss Jody gives me a nice butt bounce greeting in the morning. Annie even comes over and sits near me when other chimps are around. The friendships I'm creating here mean more to me than most of my human relationships and I'm not even a little ashamed to admit it. 

                                               here is Jamie (left) and Miss Negra (right)

                                             Jamie just doing some modeling, you know. 

The next two photos are of Jamie and I reading a magazine. The first one, I am holding it while she uses the tool to flip the pages.  The bottom image is after I gave it to her to peruse on her own. 

Here is a video of a walk with Jamie (and eventually Missy.)

The cracking sounds are Jamie eating peanuts as she waits for Missy to catch up. 

Lars and I traveled to Texas for the NAPSA conference and it was the best few days of my life to date. Amazing people doing amazing things, and I sincerely didn't want to leave. 

Sanctuary plans and wedding plans are moving along, slowly but surely. I'll be around here more often, pinky promise. 

love to you and your non-human primate friends. 

b

Fear. (oh, and my *Secret Friend* Annie turned 40.)

AH. again with the losing track of time and the blogging and the Internets and the failing. 

Hi. 

I would like to start this post with some talk about fear. I am fortunate enough to know a lot of amazing people who cycle in and out of the coffee shop on a regular basis. Many are in fact, members of my Board of Directors for my chimpanzee sanctuary. Whether they are my regulars or people I'm just meeting for the first time, I love to tell them about my chimpanzee adventures. If nothing else, they hopefully go to CSNW's website and follow the stories of my 7 favorite non-human primates, or at the very least they google how chimps are different than monkeys later that day. The other day, I was dumbfounded by a 10 year old, and her mother who legitimately shocked me. (Which, if you know me at all; is hard to do.)

*Sally, which is of course a code name, came in with her mom the other morning, and we began talking about the zoo and chimps and how I was building my own sanctuary. A topic that is usually received with "wow! That's so cool, good for you!" or some similar comment. Little Sally's reaction however, was no where close to that. She looked at me, straight-faced, literally no emotion and said "aren't you scared it won't happen? My back up plan is accounting" Followed by her mother's comment "What is your backup plan if things don't work out?" 

I was like WHAT THE WHAT. I had nothing. I spit out some guttural noises before landing on "Oh, it will happen." And Sally and mom took their drinks and went to school.  

Lets be clear. My OCD nonchalantly runs my life. My back up plans have back up plans, I'm always 1 month ahead of schedule on everything, I can't sleep if the house is a mess and I'm always ALWAYS at least 15 minutes early to everything. Now, I'm trying to tame this OCD to a dull roar as I do like to enjoy life sometimes, but there are things I just have to plan for. And when Sally asked what  I would do if this didn't work, there was no answer. I will not settle for this not working. The end. 

How do I know this whole sanctuary thing is going to work? Well, first of all this is ME we are talking about. I am honestly the most driven person I know, and I'm not the least bit ashamed to say it. I take a lot of pride in my ability to see something I want and get it done. Especially with something so close to my heart as building a sanctuary. 

The other reason, and perhaps the biggest reason I know it's going to work is my fear. Now, it's taken me a lot A LOT of years to get fear to work with me and not against me. Fear, regret, embarrassment. All feelings I think are useless unless you know how to work them. I don't even use the words "regret" or "embarrassing" anymore because I have blocked them. Like that weird friend on facebook who just keeps showing up on your feed and commenting on your photos after you swear you deleted them a year ago, I BLOCKED THEM. Think about it for a second: what does regretting something get you? You can't go back and change the past, so why regret anything? USELESS SEE.  
The problem with human beings is we let fear control us, instead of using it as a tool. Don't get me wrong, I'm scared. Shitless. Honestly. Starting a non-profit from the ground up with nothing isn't going to be a cake walk. It's not even going to be a walk. It's going to be a crawl. A long, hard, painful crawl. I lie awake most nights envisioning the worst case scenario, and trust me I've been through them all. I would list some here, but they really just make my stomach hurt. Instead of wallowing in my fear, I move through it. I plan for worst case scenarios, but I don't dwell on them, I make decisions that are tough but I know are ultimately the best ones. Fear will devour you, for sure, but only if you let it. 

So here's my challenge to you, blog-reader. For the next day, for the next week, for the next month, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE; when you are scared of something, do it. Tell Teddy you love him, go skydiving, read 50 shades of Grey because you are terrified of it, tell so and so you want to take a break, DO WHATEVER YOU ARE SCARED OF. That's exactly how I started. Little things. Taking time off when I was so scared I would look lazy. Dying my hair blonde when most people said it would look bad, telling that person that our friendship was poop. It's hard, sure. But nothing worth while comes easy. Now I'm not saying do all the things I did, it's your journey so everything relates to your life, but try to do something that scares you. Whatever the outcome, I'm sure you'll learn something. Use fear as a tool, not a crutch. 

And sidenote, for you mom's out there: PUH LEASE don't strike fear into your kids so early in life! Don't touch the stove it's hot, don't run into traffic, sure. Tell them all about the dangers of those things. But let them dream. Let them want to be actors, musicians, poets, veterinarians. Life is tough already. We don't need to be squashing their dreams at age 10 because it's "risky." LIFE IS RISKY. We don't need backup accounting plans at age 10! We need more mud pies and books at age 10! yikes. We all learn soon enough that back up plans are important, we don't need to rush our youth into accounting, dear lord. NOT ACCOUNTING. 

There, off my soap box. Lets talk about Annie Chimpanzee: 

Miss Annie! (photo by CSNW)

Some salad bowls with grass, an Annie favorite. 

On September 10th, Miss Annie turned 40 and there is no way I could miss it! Annie is pretty shy and has become my "secret friend" as she doesn't like anyone else to know that we are friends. Which is fine with me. I'm in her house, and it's her rules. 

A party plate with some chow, baby oranges and a plum !

Miss Annie enjoying her party. 

Miss Jody munching on some chow. 

Queen Neggie <3 

 A festive snack in the greenhouse. 

And of course the day wouldn't be complete without a walk around the hill with Jamie Chimpanzee + a boot. 

In other news, I am almost don't with Level 3 training. I am serving meals BY MYSELF and need a trainer with me for a few more interactions and then I will be done. Very exciting. On Monday Jamie and I took 3 walks around the hill. I love every second of it, even when it's boiling outside. Seeing Jamie get to walk around the hill with the earth beneath her and the sky above her almost brings tears to my eyes every time we are outside together. I can't wait to experience chimps/great apes/monkeys being outside on their own for the first time. BECAUSE IT WILL HAPPEN. 

T minus 10 days until Texas for the NAPSA (North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance) conference and I am SO EXCITED. Can't wait to hand out my business cards and meet people who care about primates just as much as I do. 

Also, don't forget to check out sokwesanctuary.org 
Sorry there's nothing on it yet, using the interwebs is hard. And I'm teaching myself. And working 60 hours a week at 2 jobs. And building a sanctuary. And volunteering at a sanctuary. And planning a wedding. And remembering to spend time with my friends. And not eating. 

IDLE HANDS ARE THE DEVIL'S HOMIES OR WHATEVER THAT SAYING IS. 

love to you,
B.

Jamie on: Hair

The saying "you learn something new everyday" seems to be ringing true for me a lot lately. As an anthropologist, I love when my norms are questioned and turned upside down. Discovering new ways to look at things is really mind blowing, when you think about it. Humans hate being questioned, as a general observation, it seems yet we re-invent ourselves almost every day. Every year for sure, as we lay out our resolutions. We have completely different goals than the last year, and are in such different places than we were the year before. ITS SO WEIRD that we crave to re-invent ourselves and change our minds yet when others notice and question it, we become so defensive . WEIRD WEIRD. 

WELL THERE GOES THAT TANGENT. 

anyway, moving along in my level 3 training I'm getting to know each of the chimps on a more personal level and it's so exciting every shift I'm there. Missy and Annie are slowly warming up to me as a friend and it makes me so happy as they are usually the last two (besides Negra) who choose to interact with a human. On monday, Missy even played a little tug of war with me, which was exciting. Her play face is in fact, not a play face at all. Elizabeth said "She's very serious about this game." No chimp laughs, no chimp smile, just one objective: Winning. (Which she did. She kicked my ass at tug of war and I'm not even a little ashamed to admit it. Missy is small, but so gosh darn strong.) 

I spent my 23rd birthday at the chimp house last week and I was so thankful to be with my favorite primates (human and non-human) in Washington.  (please view the blog post from CSNW here: 
http://www.chimpsanctuarynw.org/blog/2014/08/happy-birthday-becca/  ) *also, a very VERY heartfelt thank you to my amazing fiancee for getting me exactly what I wanted, a Tanzania dora doll, the Brady Bunch movie set, a book I've been dying to read and a wonderful day with the Cle Elum 7. * 

In honor of my birthday I decided to finally give Jamie the pair of cowboy boots I was saving for her. I bought these boots at a goodwill about a year ago, with the intention of one day giving them to Jamie myself. Not dropping them off and having a caregiver or staff member give them to her, but me: walk around the hill with her and the boots and then let her groom them. When I got to the sanctuary that morning I was nervous. It sounds ridiculous right? If nothing else, I guess you see now how important the chimps opinions are to me. They truly are my peers and friends, not animals. I wanted Jamie to like the boots, much like you want your friends to like the gifts you get for them. So, I had the staff inspect my boots and we waited until after cleaning and meals to give them to her. 

Why not give them to Jamie on her birthday you ask? Easy: everyone and their mother sends Jamie boots for her birthday. When that day rolls around and we clean the playroom out and lay the fresh enrichment out, its boots from corner to corner. I wanted this moment to be something between me and her. Not me her, 1000 other boots and all the staff who are there for all the chimps birthdays. 

James with a boot. Credit to CSNW.

We finished our cleaning and had some time before serving lunch, so Debbie told me to put on the boots and we went to see if Jamie wanted to take a walk. I put on the boots and we went out to the greenhouse to find James. I said "James I got you some new boots!" She turned around, immediately puffed up (all her hair standing on end, in this case meant excitement) and ran out the door to the hill. She wanted to walk alright. Debbie and I walked around the outside and met her at the bottom of the hill and before I could say boo Jamie took off running up the hill. Now if there is one thing Jamie and I absolutely agree on; (besides the fact that our carrots need to be peeled.) its running. We do not run. Ever. Usually a walk around the hill is fine, with Missy running behind for a little while, but not

running. On this day however, inspired by her new boots. Jamie ran all the way up the hill. Across the top. And all the way down. Debbie Jamie and I were all heaving by the time we got to the bottom but Jamie's happiness was undeniable. She approved of the boots. Debbie and I arrived back at the greenhouse to give Jamie the boots (where she promptly threatened us, as she wanted to go around the hill again but we came inside and she was not having it.) Despite that setback, staff said that they have never seen Jamie run up the hill. She hadn't been that happy in a long time. 

I ALMOST CRIED. The boots I gave to Jamie made her so happy. I was happy. It was a good birthday. 

BUT BECCA WHAT ABOUT HAIR.

oh yes. Jamie and hair. In learning something new everyday I've learned that Jamie loves hair. At CSNW its a rule that the chimps cannot touch or groom your face or head with their fingers or a toy, but that doesn't stop Jamie from being completely fascinated by it. I don't blame her, the way humans grow hair is weird. No wonder we are cold all the time. 

Recently I've dyed my hair more blonde, and put some purple streaks in it (why, BECAUSE I CAN. ) When I got to the sanctuary on Monday I greeted Jamie with a good morning and a friendly chimp laugh. Elizabeth said "oh you should show Jamie your hair. Braid it for her, she loves that." I laughed at first, thinking wow that's really weird that Jamie would like if I braided my hair for her. I let me hair down and showed Jamie the purple and her eyes were as big as plates. I said "How's it look James?" and she starred with her beautiful eyes right at me and just kept head nodding as if to say "yes yes. love it. love." I pulled my hair to one side and started to braid it as Jamie's hair started to stand on end and more head-nodding erupted. The rest of the day she kept asking for my hair. "No James, you cannot. Sorry lady. I would like to keep it." was the common response. 

I also got a lot of tug of war and chase time in with Big B who spent the entire time chimp laughing which makes me laugh which makes him laugh, and we spend forever cracking each other up. He is quite the character. I love LOVE playing with B. I also got to groom Foxie a little, and Jamie of course and clean their skin of bugs. So that's awesome. Annie and I are what I call "secret friends" when other chimps or humans are around Annie has no idea who I am. When it' just me and her we play a quiet mirror game until someone walks in and Annie pretends like she has no idea who I was just playing with. Sneaky girl. 

In other COMPLETELY AMAZING AND AWESOME NEWS Lars and I have decided on a name and created our business cards for my chimpanzee sanctuary. I've been swallowed by the worm hole of the website, designing the cards and getting them ordered and preparing for our trip to Texas in early October. Looking at a card with your name on it that says "Founder" is so unbelievably exciting and terrifying. 

So there it is! (minus my phone number so you yahoos don't call me) Sokwe Sanctuary. omg. I feel sick. Sokwe means Chimpanzee in swahili and after spending some time in Tanzania I felt like the name sokwe was just perfect. also, that is a real website! that works! Does it have 2 things on it? maybe. But hey, learning how to make it pretty is really complicated! But check it out, send me and email at becca@sokwesanctuary if you want! 

love love love

b

The Socially-Awkward Tales of Burrito:

BIG B IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. 

If there is one thing that's true, it's that everyone who has ever visited CSNW has been smitten by the likes of Big B, Burrito Chimpanzee. You can never be mad at B, even if he just spit all over you, or got so excited about smoothie that he knocks the cup out of your hand and all over your face. (that was a thing)  If you haven't seen him, here are some shots from CSNW to help you fall in love. 

I mean come ON. Look at his face? ADORABLE. 

B is easily the most charming chimp I have ever met, and that's probably the same for the other people who have met him. He's a big sweet dude, a gentle giant if you will. B is the youngest and only male chimp at CSNW. Just imagine for a moment that you are a younger brother, TO SIX OLDER LADIES. I do not envy Burrito in that respect at all. He's probably the only chimp who could handle all of his run-ins with the ladies and still manage to groom and play with them at the end of the day. Its his charm, I'm serious. 

One thing most people don't realize is just how socially awkward Burrito actually is. He's got the cards stacked against him, that's for sure. Burrito never experienced being outside until he arrived at the sanctuary in 2008. B was born in a laboratory, shipped around between human houses and more labs until he arrived at CSNW where he got to be outside on Young's Hill for the first time in his life. Being able to be outside is just one part of the chimp lifestyle, and missing out on all of that left Burrito with some learning to do, and 6 older sisters who were going to teach him whether he was ready or not. 

In a typical chimp society you have an alpha male at the top of the hierarchy. Below that are high ranking males, and below them high ranking females, then other males and females, then adolescents then infants.  The alpha male mates with the high ranking females and produces the offspring, and as soon as the other high ranking males know who the alpha's mate is, they can court other ladies. The alpha male is typically the father to a few offspring with different moms in a group. Females are the ones who rotate out of the group, as they don't want to mate with close relatives. As an outsider looking at the Cle Elum 7, you would think that Burrito is the alpha of the group and can mate with all the ladies, right? 

INCORRECT SIR. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200. 

If you've been following for a while you will know that Jamie is the alpha of the group, and B is very much on the low end of the hierarchy. B is the youngest chimp, which doesn't inherently make him the lowest; the hierarchy is constantly in flux, but he is definitely not the alpha and definitely not mating with any of the ladies. 

Here are some facts: 

- Neggie, Missy and Foxie do not cycle, and are unable to have children. (Neggie is simply too old to do so, and Miss and Fox had procedures before they left the lab)

-Jamie, Annie and Jody cycle*, but they are not able to have children because of lab work and also because ...

-Burrito is practically their BROTHER. 

(*Cycling: essentially like a humans menstrual cycle. When a chimp is cycling it means she is ready to become pregnant, and the dudes notice because of their swelling, which is the skin on their behind. During their cycle chimps bleed the way humans do, and their butts become large and pink. A while ago I thought there was a fight in the chimp house because when we were cleaning it there was blood everywhere. Panicked, I told the staff and they were all like "no ya boob, Jody is cycling." phew. I thought someone lost an ear or something.) 

Anyway, yes, Burrito is very much the younger brother of the group. I get asked pretty frequently if the chimps mate with each other, and the easy simple answer is no. The ladies do not look at Burrito as any sort of mating option. The same goes for Burrito.. for the most part. More of Burrito's social awkwardness: B is a dude. He sees these ladies with their pink butts and is like "oh yeah, I like that!" But his mind says "NO wait, that's my sister/aunt/whatever and that's weird" in my head I think of it like this: his mind says no, but his body says yes. So poor B, doesn't know what to do when the ladies around him are cycling. At the chimp house on Sunday I watched him walk up to Jamie, who was cycling, and look at her almost like "is it weird that I like you?" and Jamie looked at him like "OH HELL NO. bye." and went to the greenhouse. Poor B can't catch a break. 

Because B never grew up with a chimp family, he never grew accustomed to greeting, how to greet a chimp or how to receive a greeting. It's an adorably sad moment when someone comes up to greet him, he usually lifts his head up and shuts his eyes. His way of saying "I can't see you, you can't see me!" He's getting better, but sometimes still he tries to avoid greetings. He also doesn't know how to react when grooming. Chimps do a lip smacking sound when they are grooming, as though they are eating the bugs off of the skin. A way to let your friend know that you are just there to groom. B can't really do the lip smacking thing, and is usually so excited that anyone is letting him groom that he ends up making his raspberry noise similar to when he is eating. I think he just gets so excited that he is grooming someone that the noise comes out whether he means to or not. 

B also adds to the day by displaying. I have a theory that all of his combined testosterone and being cooped up with all those ladies results in these moments, but I digress. B will walk bi-pedal, hair standing on end making a "whoo-whooooo" noise and bang on things for a few seconds and then run around as fast as he can until he decides to take a breather. Then on his own he will being to "whoooo" again which is a sign he will display yet another time. Most of the time the ladies just stay out of his way. But by nature, when a chimp is making a call like that, the others join in as a sort of back up and it becomes quite loud in the chimp house. Sometimes the ladies end up displaying and running around as well, banging on toys and the chimp house itself. It happens pretty often in the mornings, maybe they are just that pumped for breakfast. 

There it is, the most adorable and charming chimp and all of his socially-awkward grace. B is quite the dude, and you can't help but love him. (unless you are one of the ladies in the chimp house.) 

In other news, I am in level 3 of phase 2 of level 3 training! (did you follow that or what?) This is the "observed by trainer" phase where the staff member watches me and I do most things on my own! I'm still working on interactions with a few chimps as some days there are only two of us there and our cleaning and work takes priority instead of training, but things are going well. Serving meals to the chimps has become the least stressful, and even Annie chimpanzee who never gave a rat's patoot seems to be warming up to me. Wahooooo! 

meow meow

-B 

Personalities and Preferences:

Starting your level 3 training is almost exactly like your first day of high school. You are a freshman, lowest on the totem pole and all you want to do is make sure the older kids think you are cool and spend their time helping you instead of shoving you into a locker. Granted, I'm really stretching the metaphor here; but the sanctuary is like the high school, the seniors rule the house, and the chimps are the seniors of the place. No matter what I think I know about how things work, the chimps are ultimately the ones who let me know what's going on. 

Monday was a interesting day for me in my training. Usually I get to interact most with Jamie, because a) she is really interested in the humans of the sanctuary and b) other chimps take longer to warm up to interaction with the humans. This time, I got to spend some time with Foxie, Burrito, Jamie (of course) and shockingly, Missy! 

(photo by CSNW)

This is Missy! (Also known as Miss, Miss-Miss, Missy-Miss and most commonly identified by the white patch of skin on her upper lip.) 

Missy is known as the acrobat. She is almost always in a constant state of motion running around inside and outside and is often only a reach away from her best friend Annie. Both Missy and Annie are not very interested in their human caregivers, so even some staff have yet to interact with Missy in the way they have with Jamie or Burrito. So, it came as a shock to me and staff member Katelyn, when Missy presented her back up against the caging asking for grooming FROM ME. Missy sat for at least 10 minutes, rotating like a rotisserie chicken after one side was groomed enough, and back again. It was amazing. When a chimp who pays little attention to staff members she's known since the beginning wants a newbie to groom her, its a little shocking and also amazing.  

Another big moment of the day was holding one of Foxie's "babies." 

(photo by CSNW)

Foxie loves troll dolls. And Doras. They are her babies, and she usually always has one on hand. Most staff believe they are substitutes for the actual chimp babies she had while in medical labs. All of the female chimps were breeders while in the lab, and Foxie had 5 babies including a pair of twins.  Fox loves playing with her babies and caregivers, often passing them in and out of the caging with staff member Katelyn, who will do a dance with them and give them back to Foxie. She is a chimp who takes a little time to warm up to new people, and on monday let me give her a little knuckle rub! Not for very long, but it was progress! While Katelyn and Foxie were playing, Katelyn handed me her troll doll. Like touching, you have to be around for a little while before Foxie is okay with letting you hold her babies. I was ready for spit to fly once Katelyn handed me the doll. To my surprise, Foxie didn't mind at all. Katelyn said this was a really good thing, and probably means that Foxie and I can play once I'm officially a level 3! 

Later in the day after all the chores were done and before dinner time, Lisa took me outside to see if Burrito wanted to play. Burrito loves playing chase and tug of war with his caregivers, and is usually up for playing anytime. We went to the greenhouse where Burrito was and Lisa showed me how to play tug of war with him. Both of them having play face on and laughing, I was so excited to try and get some time in with Burrito. Not long after that, and just as Lisa and I were going to switch places, Jamie rolls in bipedally, pilo-erect and throws poop at Lisa for playing with B. (This is a daily occurance with Jamie, she doesn't really like when caregivers give other chimps all the attention, and especially if you didn't ask if playing was okay. Like Foxie and her trolls, sometimes one caregiver will play with Jamie inside while another caregiver plays with someone else outside, so Jamie is getting the attention she wants.) We apologized to Jamie, and she presented her back for grooming, which I had the pleasure of doing. I grabbed a small stick and began to groom Jamie's back while Lisa continued interacting with B. After a few minutes, Lisa said we could switch and I could see if Burrito wanted to play chase. B, lying on his back with a toy in his mouth could not have been bothered, and when I tried to play chase he just breathy laughed at me like "uh, are you blind? Jamie is right here and there is no way she's going to let us chase." So we just played a mirroring game (where I mirrored what he did, which most of the chimps hate but Burrito really loves.) until it was time for dinner. 

and their delicious dinner was lettuce, corn, carrots, peppers and a night bag (which is a bunch of nuts.) 

So, its getting pretty exciting as training goes on, getting to interact with everyone more is SO AMAZING and I can't wait to continue. Everyone has such a distinct personality and play favorite that you have to remember what each chimp likes. Foxie likes quick almost poke-like knuckle rubs for play, but Jamie wants slow almost massage-like knuckle rubs. Missy likes being groomed slowly and only where she presents whereas Burrito likes to play chase and bang loudly on anything that makes noise. It's honestly amazing getting to know each personality individually and solidifies my life plans more and more each time I'm there. 

Oh don't worry, Jamie is still the boss and always supervising me. Here she is watching my clean room 4: 

 And here she is taking a siesta before dinner: 

And just because I know Jamie cares, here are the awesome socks I wore for her: Neon orange lions on them, and she definitely checked them out. 

In my sanctuary news, I am all registered for the NAPSA (North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance) workshop 2014 in San Antonio! All of the sanctuaries of the US will have a representative there and Lars and I will be learning all the ins and outs of just about everything we will need to know about starting and maintaining and chimp sanctuary. I'm honestly probably too excited about it. Booked our swanky hotel (the Menger, seriously so beautiful) and made a countdown for it. Lars and I are working on business cards, websites and a name so we can trade at the workshop and make some seriously awesome connections. It's definitely a big scary step but super informative. (Even Lars is excited people, this is real.) Locations are down to: Montana, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. Here's to making a decison! 

I really also have to give Beth, Josh, and Lars all of the love. They are seriously holding me together at this crazy busy point in my life, and I know it's only going to get more hectic as time goes on. They will definitely have a wall in my sanctuary with their names on it in the BIGGEST letters, and will get to meet my chimps first. Do chimps have godparents? Well. they will now. Seriously, amazing people I've got in my corner. 

lurv lurv lurv 

b

"She would rather eat poop than take food from me."

July marks my two year anniversary with Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest! Wahooooo! A true testament to the age old "time flies when you are having fun." I can still remember my first shift at CSNW, driving home from Cle Elum and just crying like a small child. This is what I wanted to do, and I was so horribly happy. And now, after 2 knowledge packed years, I've made it to the 3rd level, and again am so horribly happy. 

Monday was a very good day serving the chimps. I assisted serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. For the longest time, I was always the most nervous to serve to Jamie, because she was who I had to impress. If I could make Jamie happy, then everyone else would be cake. WRONG. wrong wrong wrong. Jamie is as calm as can be when I'm serving. You know who can't stand me at all? Neggie. Negra Chimpanzee ain't having none of my serving, my tattoos or my sheepish demeanor when I offer her food. 

(photo by CSNW)

Neggie is the oldest chimp at CSNW, and compared to all of the other chimpanzees, physically, it is clear that prior to coming to the sanctuary she had a harder time. Neggie was the only chimp at CSNW who has born in Africa, captured as an infant and brought to the US to be a medical tester. Like the other ladies at CSNW Negra was a breeder, and used as a hepatitis vaccine tester. Many of the staff believe she still suffers from PTSD, as she often asks for grooming from the human caregivers and almost immediately threat barks in disgust like she didn't want to be touched at all.  Neg doesn't really "like" anyone in the way that Foxie plays with her dolls with her caregiver or Jamie walks around the hill with boots with her caregiver. She usually keeps to herself and takes many many naps. 

This is Annie, who is only a few months younger than Neggie, and you can see that Neg looks vastly older than Annie. Most birthdays of the chimps are honorary as the info from the medical labs can't be exact all the time, they were guessing how old the chimps were when they arrived. Neggie is 41, but many think she is older than that. 

Anyway, when I first arrived at the sanctuary I fell in love with Negra. She reminded me so much of my grandma, a woman who's been through so much and is sassy. She can and SHOULD do whatever she wants, because she's had a long and stressful life. In the past few weeks I've discovered that Neggie is not about taking it easy on the new server. Serving all the meals on monday I had the normal layout:

-served Jamie first, she was calm and took all food from me easily.

-Foxie blowing raspberries as loud as she could, so annoyed at my slow pace. 

-Burrito also blowing raspberries and banging (excitedly) on the caging. 

-Annie, hanging back and waiting for me to serve some others, ultimately taking food from me easily.

-and my sweet, ever so patient and wonderful Jody girl, who a midst all the chaos sat patiently and always gave me her lips, (which is what you want to do. serving to hand is also acceptable, but a little more tricky.)

and of course, my two least impressed ladies, Miss and Neg. 

Missy and Neggie have a different relationship. Neggie has a habit of taking Missy's chow, and because Neg is older and higher ranking than Missy, Miss hands it over to her. She could fight to keep it, be vocal and tell Neggie to buzz off but in this community its easier to fly under the radar. 

Neg is not a fan of me at all. She can sense my hesitation with her and plays into it with every meal. Neggie likes to do this thing where you offer her food, and she will put her hand out, or her lips to the caging to say "yes I want those radishes" and when you put it up to the caging she will rip it as fast and as hard as she can from you and threat bark. When this happens, whoever is nearest to her will also threaten me, as the chimps each other's backs when it comes to being mad at human caregivers. Even though I didn't do anything to Missy, she heard Neggie getting upset and was there to offer back up. Even though Neggie often steals food from her. Its like the notion of family, I can make fun of my sister all I want, but if you say anything I'm going to punch your lights out. 

Neggie's trick sounds pretty cute right? WRONG. Its scary every time, even when I know its coming. She has this look in her eye like "Sure, go ahead and offer that to me. See what happens. I dare you." She even goes so far as to completely turn away from me when I am serving. She even turned down limes and beets (some favorites) because I was serving them. During lunch on monday Neggie was no where to be seen, so we walked around the other side of the greenhouse to see if she wanted some of the food I had and she was eating poop. (which is common for Neggie to do.) I looked at Katelyn and said "This is how much she hates me. She would rather eat poop than take food from me." 

Guess you can't win em all. 

The progress on getting on Neggie's good side continues, although at a glacial pace. 

In other news, location hunting for the chimpanzee sanctuary I want to start has begun! Working on a mission statement, board of directors and a name. Pictures of all of the poster boards full of timelines and ideas coming soon. My house is a disaster area. But here we are. By the eve of my 30th birthday, I will *hopefully hopefully* have a home somewhere in the PNW for chimpanzees who have been medial testers. 

Jumping in with both feet and I couldn't possibly be more terrified and excited. 

TUNE IN NEXT MONDAY; where maybe Neggie will take food from me, instead of eating poop. (probably not though.)

-b 

A Poke, a Threat Bark and some Spit, OH MY!

Sitting down to write this particular blog is proving to be very difficult. So many emotions, all the feels. You know those times when you are so happy/excited/nervous/relived/stillnervous that you just jump up and down and mutter strange noises that sound like words without the vowels? 
That's pretty much how I feel about this Monday with the chimps. 

here's a visual, for reference. 

As we know, I am in Phase 2 of Level 3 training, this is called the "assisting" stage. Essentially I am a puppet and only do what the caregiver with me says I am allowed to do. I don't do anything unless the caregiver instructs me. This is exciting because I get to start interacting with the chimps face to face. *poops pants* 

We start during lunch (I had to finish my last 30 minutes in the observation stage at breakfast, and breakfast is a very high arousal situation. Everyone hasn't eaten since dinner and they are pretty amped up. lots of banging and vocalizations. Not ideal for the chimps or a new caregiver to start the assisting stage with breakfast.) The chimps had corn on the cob, carrots and bananas. All long foods, usually what a trainee starts with so you aren't as close to the caging and you can practice the way you need to hold foods. 

Lets keep in mind here, that I am a new caregiver. I'm inserting myself into the hierarchy, whether the chimps like it or not, and have never served the chimps before. I've been briefed by the staff: 

 * Jamie probably won't take food from you. You're new, and she won't want food you've touched. Don't take it personally. 

*If she takes food, she will probably get upset when you serve anyone else. Since you've never served before, Jamie might think you won't come back around to her with the rest of her servings. And she will let you know. 

*The chimps might not be happy to take food from you. Watch for pokes. 

*Always always offer Jamie food first. She's the alpha and you are new. Its like getting on your boss' good side on the first day. 

*Don't let it scare you when Burrito bangs on the caging at you. He's just really excited to eat. If he rips things from your hand, its usually not aggressive. Just excited. 

*Its a good idea when you are starting out to check in with Jamie when serving if she doesn't want something right away. Let her know you are going to serve someone else and you will be back with more for her. 

*Take your time and practice how to hold your fingers. They will yell at you for being slow, so just tell them what's going on. 

*Keep in mind how close your body is to the caging. We don't want anyone reaching out and pinning you to the cage. 

YOU try keeping that in your head while 7 chimps are all waiting for their food. (that's not even the whole list.) 

Elizabeth served the corn first, to take some anxiety and excitement down with the chimps so they had some food to munch while I *slowly* served some bananas. So there I was, a bowl full of bananas and 7 chimps ready to test me. 

there I am. 

As instructed, I offered my boss Jamie a banana first. Simultaneously the correct and scariest hurdle. Jamie, as I've said before, is the most intelligent chimp at CSNW and loves to give new caregivers trouble. She wants to make sure we know she's in charge and we run things by her before doing them. I was ready for a number of things to happen: 

a) she wouldn't take the food or even acknowledge me. (very common with new caregivers)

b) she would find some poop for me to eat. 

c) she would display and vocalize once I offered the banana.

d) she would simply walk away. 

Offering food to a chimp goes like this: I show Jamie what I have, say "James, do you want a banana?" she nods (or walks away) and I place the banana in the caging and once she has it I let go (or try my luck with another chimp.) Jamie could also choose to not take the banana, and let me offer it to another chimp before becoming loud and aggressive as if to say "I DID NOT SAY YOU COULD OFFER ANYONE ELSE." 

To my utter shock and disbelief, Jamie did exactly what I least expected. She gently took the banana from me. No poking, no threat barks and no poop. I wanted to scream and cry with joy. Jamie was okay with me serving to her. The only parallel I can draw to the human world is getting a promotion. Jamie said I could stay. I quietly said "thanks, James" gave a submissive head nod an said "I'm going to serve Foxie now James, okay?" and moved down to Fox who had her lips through the caging and was blowing raspberries as loud as she could, as if to say "Hello! I'm starving down here!"  

The rest of lunch went shockingly well. Missy, who takes a little longer to warm up to humans got a little upset with me because I was taking a little too long, which was expected. Offering Jamie a chow bag I got a little poke, also expected, spit from Fox and a threat bark from Negra because I'm new and Neggie barks at everyone. 

Neggie's spirit human would have to be Miranda Priestly from Devil Wears Prada. She's terrifying, but she is one of the strongest women you know. 

I could even believe I had served my first meal. I felt like I just got off a roller coaster. Like I was just in a room with 7 individuals I respect more than anyone and all I wanted to do was impress everyone and make sure they were all happy.  SO. MANY. EMOTIONS. 

After lunch, Lisa radioed me to come to the greenhouse. Jamie was letting Lisa groom her, and we were going to see if Jamie would let me step in and do some grooming. *poops pants x2*

Grooming is big in chimp culture. I would equate it to getting your hair done in a small shop in a small town. (insert Steel Magnolia reference here) Its a time to wind down, hear all the gossip with your friends. Chimps are in low arousal, relaxed and trusting of whoever is doing the grooming. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBf9YjuPSo0

I watched Lisa groom Jamie with a stick for a few minutes (video link above) Lisa gave me the tool and got up so we could trade places. The second she stood up, Jamie spun around and grabbed her own tool and looked at me like "Oh no no, I will be doing the grooming around here." Jamie inspected my boot with her stick. Sincerely another big moment of the day, although it might not sound as glamorous as it actually was. Jamie being interested enough to groom me means a lot. I took off my boot, showed her the inside; my socks; and let her groom me until she noticed Ellie (the elk) outside and had to go show her who was boss. 

I served dinner with Katelyn, and this time the chimps had onions, sweet potatoes, peppers and apricots. Katelyn served the apricots first, to release some tension once again and get the most prized item out. I thought I got lucky with lunch with everyone being so nice and easy going for my first meal. Like in the movies when they be-friend the nerd to get what they want. "oh I'll be nice, because you have the food I want. But next time, look out for poop. it's coming." Now I was serving smaller foods and was once again ready for the chimp revolt with a new server. And again to my shock, the chimps handled me serving dinner (slowly, again because of the onions who decided to be slippery bastards.) and all went well! Jamie had a look on her face, I'm not even kidding, that seemed to say "oh hunny. you are so young and inexperienced with serving it's almost laughable. One day you'll learn how to go faster." The pity in her eyes was unmistakable. It may have taken a little longer, but it was a success. Caregiver Katelyn said the chimps seemed very comfortable and relaxed with me, which rarely happens on a trainees first time serving food. 

Longest blog post ever? Oh trust, it will only get worse after more interactions with the chimps. Not sorry. 

here is Burrito (closest to us) and Jody. I love the way Jody relaxes, all sprawled out on one side. Burrito sat down, looked at Jody and took the similar position. Jody knows how to get comfortable, for real. 

My way of decorating the green house after cleaning. Soon the chimps will say "oh great Becca's here. She likes to tie all the blankets on shit." 

In other unrelated news, LFJ and I are writing and illustrating a book on the differences between primates. You know, so maybe I'll stop yelling at small children at the zoo for calling an orangutan a monkey. (Probably not though, I love yelling.)

That is all I have for this week! Stay tuned for what happens next on "Becky becomes a caregiver." (I would watch that TV show.) 

lurb lurb

b

A lovely reader asked
"Why do you say "served" instead of "fed" when talking about the chimps?"

        We say we are "Serving" the chimps because we are there for them. We don't "feed" them like you feed pets, we are feeding them as individuals we work for. Feeding implies that it happens on our schedule, when in reality it's their time and when they want it. (obviously not whenever or else the chimps would over eat and be unhealthy) We ask Jamie if we can serve breakfast, what foods we can serve first and if it's okay to serve an individual. This is their home and we are just living in it. It keeps all our egos small and reminds us why we are here.