A common question we get from curious supporters is “how much do the chimps eat?” While we don’t actually weigh their daily portions out or count calories, we use a rough estimate and a little bit of trial and error to adjust the chimps’ diets accordingly. Lately we’ve been serving Burrito and Foxie an extra portion of primate chow since they are two of our more slender residents.
Burrito loves emptying bags of primate chow into his mouth and is a big fan of this “Burrito gets more” plan. This is an older photo, but you get the idea!
In general, the chimps each eat 3 servings of fruit for breakfast (one of which is a fruit smoothie), 3 servings of vegetables at lunch, and 3 servings of veggies/fruit for dinner. What makes up a serving is a little open to interpretation, but you could think of a standard sized apple being considered 1 serving. Oh and I almost forgot! We serve Willy B extra produce each day because he’s a big guy and needs to maintain his muscular physique. All in all, our fridges empty at a considerable rate.
In the age of COVID-19 we’ve had to reorganize a lot of the ways we provide care for the chimpanzees including how we get the chimps their weekly shipment of fresh produce. Thursdays have become the sanctuary’s “produce day.” JB drives to a neighboring city and does our shopping at a wholesale store, then staff member Anthony and volunteer caregiver Lisa do a mass washing and reorganizing of our 2 fridges.
If you would like to help keep the chimps’ fridges stocked full of fresh fruits and veggies, you can become a Produce Patron on our website. The chimps and those that love them thank you! Here’s today’s well-stocked veggie fridge:
