Raise your hand if you like to do puzzles.
There are lots of different kinds – jigsaw puzzles, word puzzles, logic puzzles, math puzzles, etc, etc. Remember the Rubik’s Cube fad? Or perhaps you are mechanically-minded and like to figure out how things come apart and go back together. Maybe you’re more of a physical person and you like to do actual obstacle courses. Video games are really electronic puzzles, and we know how popular those are.
There was an increase in humans doing puzzles this last year during the pandemic and lockdowns. I’ve read a few articles about why we humans like to puzzle, and the explanations generally include things like: puzzles provide us with a sense of control, and when we solve a puzzle our biology rewards us with a chemical hit of dopamine. There’s some intriguing research showing there’s more than just a dopamine surge going on in our brains when we we are working on puzzles.
We, as primates, are hardwired to solve problems. We often do it all day long, and even choose to do it in our leisure time.
Why am I talking about this?
At the sanctuary, we provide the chimpanzees with food puzzles. A few of them have been featured in recent videos, like Honey B and Willy B acing Anna’s inspired Slinky Madness puzzle and the video that J.B. shared last week of Honey BÂ fishing out a peanut from a boomer ball puzzle.
On both of those video posts on social media, there were a couple of comments that questioned whether the chimpanzees were being led to frustration with these puzzles. There was even the notion that the puzzles were cruel.
A long-time blog follower, Dan Oksiuta, responded wonderfully to one such comment by saying, “While the puzzles & caging may appear unnecessarily frustrating, it is reasonable to assume they experience the same emotions of accomplishment & satisfaction as humans completing a difficult task. Treats probably taste better, too.”
Thank you for that, Dan!
The food that we include in food puzzles is a really minuscule amount, and it’s outside of their regular meals, so they aren’t choosing to solve puzzles out of hunger. They have a similar drive as we do and receive similar intrinsic rewards for solving puzzles (plus the sweet reward of a peanut isn’t nothing).
For those who have been following the sanctuary for a while, you already know that Jamie is a chimpanzee who often prefers to use a tool to get food instead of having it handed to her. Jamie’s brain seems especially wired for problem solving.
Just like humans, not all chimpanzees are the same. I don’t think I’ve ever done Sudoku and really most of my puzzling and problem solving is more of a practical nature (i.e. “how can I fit just one more houseplant on this table”).
Burrito used to be pretty bad at solving food puzzles, giving up rather quickly. As the years have passed, though, he’s gotten quite accomplished at puzzle solving. Even in the early days, when his puzzle solving wasn’t what it is today, he was eager for the nightly enrichment.
Negra, who is not known to exert extra energy for much of anything, delights in all sorts of food puzzles; in fact it’s a rare evening when she’s not clapping for her caregivers to hurry up with the distribution of the night enrichment. She might prefer the easier enrichment, like peanut butter in between the pages of magazines, but she’ll engage with even the more challenging puzzles before bedding down for the night.
An aside, take a look at our Enrichment Database for examples of the food puzzles as well as the more generalized enrichment we provide.
Boredom is the ever-lurking nemesis for primates in captivity. It can lead to depression and all sorts of strange behaviors. Providing ways for primates to problem solve is one way to keep boredom at bay.
Actually, you could consider forages to be giant food puzzles. When we spread out food, sometimes hiding it, the chimpanzees have to locate and gather their food, and they are in somewhat of a competition with the others in their group. This is an important skill to have and develop when you are a species that must find ripening fruit in the jungle.
Images or videos of chimpanzees in captivity foraging for food, especially if they are outdoors, rarely if ever results in people commenting that it must be frustrating or questioning why we don’t just hand them food (we do that type of serving too). I think it comes back to our superficial, knee-jerk perceptions of animals in captivity. We want to see them in “natural environments”, not necessarily because that’s what they like the most or what’s the most enriching, but because that’s what makes us feel the best.
So, food puzzles hanging on caging just doesn’t sit right with some people. We hear you. We don’t think chimpanzees should be in captivity either, but they are. I wrote a little post called What is Natural a long time ago that addressed something similar.
The thing is, a chimpanzee working on a food puzzle indoors in captivity is a good thing, as long as they also have access to the outdoors, live in a social group, and have a wide variety of other ways to alleviate boredom and do the things they are hardwired to do. It’s as least as natural as a human solving a Sudoku puzzle on their couch.
Here are some photos from today of chimpanzees problem solving:
Foxie with a purpose:
Jody with her forage haul, heading back to the greenhouse:
Jody experiencing the sweet rewards of a successful forage:
Willy B is still the only one of his group of three who will venture into the open Courtyard. Mave and Honey B are more comfortable inside and in the Chute. We’ll be thinking of ways to help them look at the outdoors differently and are hopeful that their expanded space will help, but, in the meantime, we make sure the spaces they do spend their time in have lots of things for them to do.
The next two photos aren’t great, but they show that we put some lettuce on top of the Chute for Mave and Honey B while Willy B went into the Courtyard to get his lettuce.
The photo below is of Mave up high in the Chute pulling the lettuce through. She spends a lot of time with this food puzzle, which we’ve just recently introduced:
Honey B really likes to “groom” pebbles out of our boots. There’s no food reward, but she clearly gets a lot of satisfaction out of this task.
J.B. put lettuce at the top of the structure to entice Willy B to do some extra climbing in the Courtyard.
Sometimes it’s fun to watch other people work. Here’s Mave and Honey B watching J.B. painting murals on the other side of the window.
Tobin says
This is an elucidating blog post, with a perfect photograph of Willy at the beginning.
PatC says
Awesome post. Using a brain when you’ve got one is a good thing, no matter where or how you happen to be living.
Anamaria says
My hand is raised….sudokus and crosswords every day! Love the pic of handsome Willy B 🙂
marianne says
Hi Diana, great educating blog, thank you.
I would like to know how you found out about Honey B ‘s love for the pick-stones-out of-boots-puzzle???
I agree with her; I also find it irritating to find little stones inbedded in the soles of my shoes….they HAVE to come out!
Diana says
That’s a difficult question! I’m not sure when we first discovered this – pretty soon after meeting her, I think. It’s not unusual for chimpanzees to be interested in footwear, and offering up the bottom of a shoe is one of the safest “contact” interactions with captive chimpanzees (as long as the chimp can’t pin your foot), so it’s likely she was able to express her desire to pick stones out of our shoes pretty early on upon arriving to the sanctuary :).
Barbara H says
I am a puzzle person for sure. I have been my whole life. I do word, jigsaw, sudokos etc. I thoroughly
enjoyed your blog. The chimps have soooo much going on in their lives. They must be so happy now
that they are living in the sanctuary. Kudos to all of you. Loved the pictures also. Thank you.
Caroline says
What a great blog this morning! I never see frustration in their faces; only determination, curiosity, interest and challenge accepted! They are such intelligent animals and it is important they have activities and challenges during their day and you all give them so much care, respect and attention, thank you. It looks to me that they look forward to new activities and puzzles and have alot fun and get a great sense of accomplishment. This makes them healthier and happier, because we all know that a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Love and hugs to you all on team Cle Elum,
Most sincerely,
Caroline
Zabby says
Superb blog! (Even dogs like food puzzles.) Chimps have food puzzles daily in the wild. I think it’s wonderful how hard you work to creatively provide them with this kind of mental stimulation in captivity.
Linda C says
Hi, Diana!
I’ve always loved puzzles, but rarely have time to enjoy them. I do still make time to read, and some of my favorite literary pieces require tge reader’s engagement, so I do still get to “puzzle” even if minimally. Lately, my puzzle is “how to prevent students taking online exams from cheating”.
One of my fav Jamie videos involves her solving the food puzzle for the sake of solving it. She saves the food for later. Show THIS to the naysayers!
https://youtu.be/-VEwbvYCJ1A
Francoise says
Wow. I recall seeing that video when first posted. Wicked smart! Jamie is. Nothing stops her. She and J.B. are kindred spirits. When it comes to creating and fixing and jerry-rigging at the sanctuary J.B. is the king. Jamie would be an outstanding apprentice and I’m sure would teach the boss a few tricks.
Linda C says
There are so many things that I’m sure they could never have imagined the job would entail: construction, design, and welding skills, xraying fingers and toes, mending fences, cooking, and….. racing garden tractors!
Dawn Durbin says
Excellent blog! Of course, we all enjoy a good puzzle, even if, the only reward is the action and the solution!! Thank you for your care and understanding of these special creatures
Marcia says
Thanks for this great blog post Diana. I love watching them food puzzle. Seems clear to me they get great satisfaction out of solving them and getting the sweet rewards. I meant to comment on the recent one of Honey B and the Slinky Madness Puzzle. I could hear her thoughts so clearly all the way through and was incredibly impressed with how she ramped up the pace as she neared the finish line, with the added intensity of Willy B heading her way. “Oooh almost, almost, ooh so close, oh no here he comes! Ok I’m doing this! No way he’s getting it from me! Yes, first piece! In! Ok quick next…” Loved it. I watched it over and over.
About J.B.s painting audience.. I know another sanctuary offers painting as enrichment. I imagine you have good reason for not doing so and wondered what it is. I’m gussing it’s the mess and the fact that they eat it? Non toxic or not it can’t be great for them. I ask because I thought it would be so fun for them to paint along with J.B.
Diana says
Hi Marcia! We do offer paints to the chimpanzees on occasion. Jamie and sometimes Annie used to seem to enjoy painting in the early years. Mostly now it seems that eating the paint is the more fun than applying it to paper. Actually, the day I posted this was supposed to be “art day” so I should have gotten the paint out, but I ended up going in a different direction!
Dan Oksiuta says
Diana, this made my day! If my comment spurred some thoughtful reactions it gives me a great feeling of accomplishment & satisfaction. Thank you for using it! You made another happy ape.
Diana says
I’m so glad to have made your day, Dan!
Kathleen says
The way I see it, it all comes down to CHOICE. Personal autonomy. You express this in numerous ways daily through this blog. We all witness the chimps individually making choices as they go about their day. This freedom to choose becomes all the more important when we consider the life each individual lead before coming to CSNW. At some stage in each of Ten’s lives, they were forced to suffer under human care. Most times in a biomedical laboratory but sometimes for entertainment too. They had zero choice in partaking in those activities.
After forcing these chimpanzees to undergo cruel, frightening circumstances and neglect, we also created the reality that they must live out the rest of their lives in captivity. Living at CSNW is so important because even though it is a captive life, as a sanctuary you have given them back their dignity. From the minute they wake to the time when they go to sleep at the end of the day, everything they do is their choice. You supply daily enrichment items but it is still their choice to interact or not with what is offered to them.
Trolls, boots, headbands, scooters, pine trees, pumpkins, spring grass, night bags, hidden treats scattered all over Young’s Hill, blankets, snow and icicles, natural or man made, as caregivers you enrich the chimps lives in ways I could have never imagined if I hadn’t been here for almost 10 years observing. They Choose. YOU give them the freedom to choose, and this must feel like everything to an animal living in captivity.
As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. These photos speak volumes! (as do your “before sanctuary” photos compared with the photos posted here.)
Ken says
Thank you for the wonderful blog and photos Diana. I always enjoy the links to the older post that I haven’t watched as I find it always educational and I really appreciate your explanation for the reasoning behind the food puzzles. I enjoy watching those videos the most not that it is them sometimes having a hard time figuring out but it is their intelligence and that they are always able to figure out a way to get the reward.
God bless you all at the sanctuary it is definitely a wonderful place with wonderful people.
🙂