Cold, wintery days always bring a change for the chimpanzees and while they always have the choice to go outside when they want, if it’s too wet or cold, they often prefer to keep their forays short and return to the warmth of the chimp house for indoor activities. As caregivers we’re always trying to stay a step ahead to meet their anticipated needs for any given day and knowing the chimps will probably be spending more time indoors sets our wheels turning on how to keep their active minds busy and engaged and how to jazz up their days.
We often utilize food puzzles during the day as an added activity and thought today was perfect for two chimp favorites: buckets of snow with a few raisins buried in them and dipper tubes with peanut butter. Dipper tubes are small PVC pipes that we screw into the caging from the outside and the chimps use their fingers or a tool to get the contents out. Kind of like indoor mini termite mounds minus the termites. 🙂
Beautiful Annie was quite enjoying her peanut butter “termites”:
Bonus photo of Jamie napping:
Oh I love those photos of darling Annie. I especially love the turquoise tint to her mussel in the first few photos. Gorgeous.
Beautiful Annie! I can’t pick a favorite and Jamie looks so snuggly. Thank you for sharing with us.
What a lovely sequence of photos of Annie. She is indeed beautiful, and she looks veyr happy to be eating delicious peanut butter.
Annie is so sweet reaching into her “termite mound” to obtain her snack. Jamie just pulls at my heart when I see her with her boots and curled up with her blankets.
Beautiful, indeed! 10 and 14 are my favs. I noticed the blue tinge, too. I always marvel at the length of Annie’s fingers…….in the opening photo, I thought maybe it was Foxie sitting on top of the tower, and then I saw the hands, I always think of them as “piano fingers”, because of the way she holds them when she’s initiating play. Is it my imagination, or are her hands a little longer in proportion to her body than the other chimps?
Do they chimps have a “primate rocker”? I saw one of those the other day on some site, and thought it looked like fun.
I Love these pictures!
Annie has such a mischievous twinkle in her eye, She looks so happy.
Thank you for sharing.
Beauty-full photos Katelyn! But you have such a stunning model.
I always find it interesting, the similarities between all animals in captivity and in shelters. In my years of volunteering at shelters I never met a dog who didn’t LOVE a peanut butter enrichment toy (or just good old fashioned peanut butter smeared on a Nylabone!) And like your snow and raison buckets, in the shelter we make Busy Buckets. Busy Buckets are filled with water then you add a bone or two, a pull toy, a big Kong stuffed with something yummy (usually their breakfast or dinner) and then you freeze the entire thing. On a hot summer day, it is fabulous enrichment for the dogs who just like the chimps, can become bored and restless in a shelter environment. Just like the my shelter dogs, when it comes to the chimps, I delight in their delight. Be it fishing out peanut butter or snoozing with a favorite boot…..there is nothing better than the joyous rush of being a silent observer to their pleasure. Thank you!