If you are new to the blog, or missed some of our recent posts, we are currently going through the process of reintroducing the group of 9. Here are a few posts to get you caught up (here and here!). As a part of this process, we have been providing the reintroduced group with a social enrichment puzzle each day. We learned about the concept of social enrichment from our colleague Dr. Andrew Halloran, who visited the sanctuary in October, and provided us with some initial ideas for social enrichment puzzles we could create.
What is social enrichment? Social enrichment can be many things. The answer to this question is easier defined by focusing on the goal of social enrichment, which is to create an opportunity for the chimpanzees to positively and regularly re-establish their dominance hierarchy. In the wild, chimpanzees would come upon limited, high-value foods (like a fig tree) as a group, and have to navigate the ins and outs of their social hierarchy in order to access the food. The most dominant individual would be expected to get the best spot with the most figs, while others must navigate the social scene and where they fall in it to know where and when they will be permitted to access the food. The limited nature of the food source may encourage submissive and affiliative behaviors from lower ranking individuals wanting access to the high value foods. In our case, we have created large puzzles where multiple chimps can work on them at once, but the puzzle can be manipulated in such a way that one chimp can prevent another from accessing the desired foods.
As Enrichment Coordinator, I have been working to dream up new designs to add to our social enrichment program in addition to the designs Dr. Halloran provided, and it has been a fun challenge! You really get to be creative, and I’ve had fun re-purposing some supplies we had laying around the sanctuary to make new puzzles. Here are some of the new puzzles I made:
Above is a giant raisin board enrichment puzzle, which was made from a large cutting board and some smaller boards that rotate to allow access to the holes underneath them. The chimps have repeatedly outsmarted my design on this and simply lift the whole board up and suck the raisins out from the opposite side! I am troubleshooting that loophole still, as they do need to be able to lift the board some in order to get the raisins they push out through the back of the board with a chopstick.
Above is a treat board, which has holes drilled into it diagonally (that do not go all the way through the board), which we have filled with pudding. There are two firehose segments that can slide over the board to allow access to holes (and treats) that are currently covered up. The board is then attached to the caging by the eye screws on either end of it, so the chimps cannot take the firehose off of the board entirely.
The best part has been watching the social enrichment in use, and seeing the chimps first learn how to use a new puzzle (they needed a few demonstrations), and then successfully navigate the social dynamics at play to access the puzzle. In general, we have seen what we hoped and expected to see – Cy in control of the puzzles. Willy has at times gotten to the puzzle first because he came into the space first, but Cy has been dominating the puzzles once he arrives and Willy has either been accepting only getting a small amount of the puzzle (and treats from it), or has been moving away to wait for his turn once Cy is done. There have been a couple instances where Willy B seemed to get frustrated about his lack of access to the puzzle and started to display, which Cy has answered with displays of his own. In these instances where Willy B has displayed, the cycle has occurred several times until Cy and Willy eventually display and leave the area, and once Cy is gone, Willy quickly returns to work on the puzzle. Is he a genius, or just taking advantage of how the situation played out? We hope the use of social enrichment will continue to help Willy B find and understand his place within the social hierarchy of his group, both in the current grouping (which is Cy, Willy B, Rayne, and Lucky) and as we add more individuals. I know Honey B is more than ready to get her hands on some new puzzles!
Don’t forget to check out the Comfort and Joy auction! You could help me make more social enrichment for the chimps by bidding on the Giant Holey Lids (trash can lids that will one day become a new and exciting puzzle for the chimpanzees)!
You get really creative with these, Ellen!
I notice Willy B even deferred to the ladies for a while! When Honey B cones in, it’ll be an entirely different ballgame!
I wondered if you do do something with a bucket turbed upside down in a tray, sort of like those cat toys that have a ball in a ring which goes around and around. (think Renuzit solid air freshener). One chimp would tip the bucket, the one on the other side would have to wait. But then I realized they would probably just throw the bucket to shake things out of it! :laughing:
Thank you! I think Willy B, for the most part, is either avoiding the puzzle because Cy is also utilizing it (and allowing the ladies to work on it with him), or Willy was not interested in the puzzle at the time. Typically when he approaches, the girls leave, so it seems to me when they were working on the puzzle on their own that he did not want it at the time. Honey B is so ready for her turn!
I love the brainstorming of new ideas! I would love to make several puzzles that are outside of the caging (currently all the designs we have made must go inside the rooms), so that we can more easily provide them to the chimps whenever we would like without having to ask them to move to a different space so we can access the area we want to place the puzzle. I like the idea behind this a lot, and might try out something similar soon! Perhaps using a sturdy plastic tote instead of a bucket so it’s larger!
It’s a shame they’re not like the capuchins with regards to sharing. It would be really cool to create a puzzle that required 2 chimps working together. But we know that probably would not end well.
Wow, what a challenge for you to stay one step ahead of chimp trying to figure out how to get a raIsin. i’m sure there are days where you can see their thought processes in action and know you have to stay on your toes to come up with a new challenge. Thanks for sharing these ways to establish social hierarchy.
Social enrichment is intriguing! I was so wrapped up in reading your post I almost forgot to watch the video. It’s all very fascinating to watch! This is quite the challenge for you, Ellen. I can’t wait to see what you create next.
I have to admit that I feel sorry for Willy B. If he were smart, he would find a picture of a giraffe or a cow, or someone wearing a plaid shirt, from one of the magazines and pin it to the puzzle with a chopstick. This would be a sure fire way to keep Cy away! Cy’s displays are impressive. But we know there’s a sweet guy behind it all. For Willy B, it sounds as if he might be getting a feel for the order of things, like it or not. I am looking forward to the next progress report.
It also appears as if Rayne and Lucky know their place. Do you think Willy is learning from their behavior around Cy and the group enrichment? When Willy B approached the firehouse board, both gals became scarce! I loved seeing them peeking through the window from the other room!
Thank you, Kathleen! When we were initially having a difficult time capturing Cy’s attention with the social enrichment devices (because he was more interested in reading his magazines), we did joke that we should attach some pages from his favorite magazines (like People) or pictures of Stanley Tucci!
I’ll be interested to see how Willy interacts once we add Terry and Gordo back into the group. I think Willy generally understands (and for the most part, accepts), that he is below Cy in the social hierarchy and asserts himself above the females. From my perspective, he seems to struggle more with his place amongst all of the males in the group, so I look forward to seeing how they navigate and establish their dominance once we get to that point!
Stanley Tucci, huh?
Maybe for his next birthday.He needs a cardboard cutout of Stanley Tucci!
Cy sucking the raisins out the back of the board! That’s the advantage of reading…
Well done Willy B for keeping it together as long as he did
Social enrichment is really interesting! I’d never thought of the social implications that enrichment could have for the group! Really neat to learn about!
Also poor Lucky! I did admit, I also got a laugh out of Cy stealthily stealing the raisin from her chopstick from the other side. That’s such a sibling thing to do!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I have enjoyed learning about social enrichment as well, as this was a new concept to me. It has been so interesting seeing it in action with the chimps. It has definitely created some great opportunities to observe the hierarchy in action. I also thought the same thing as Cy was taking Lucky’s hard-earned raisins, that it was such a sibling thing for him to do!
Great video Ellen, lots to learn for the vieuwer…
I’m tempted to think that Willy B. is displaying on purpose, so Cy will react and leave the room and Willy can than return and have the puzzle all to himself??
Or is he not thát smart……
I am also tempted to think that! It’s hard to know the intent behind their actions with certainty, but it seemed that way to me as well, especially since Willy B seemed to continue to hoot which led to Cy displaying, until Cy left the area. Once Cy was gone, he was very quick to return to the puzzle!
Cy says- it’s good to be king! I know it’s part of their society, but I always feel bad when others can’t have something because the alpha decides he wants it. They are all so amazingly smart. I was noticing you have to lock the boards to the caging so they can’t figure out how to get it off of there and do who knows what to your creations. Great work on these puzzles.
Thank you, Elizabeth! Yes, locks are necessary (more so if Honey B is around, she’s a professional at undoing carabiners if she wants to) to be sure they can’t take the puzzle “to-go”! These puzzles are heavier too due to their size, so it is safer for them to be well-secured to the caging.