One of the biggest challenges of this job is keeping Jamie enriched. The other chimps certainly need enrichment, too, but Jamie in particular requires a lot to keep her engaged. So I’m continually trying to find things that will be enriching for her. Kongs are a good food puzzle for the chimps because we can put nuts, peanut butter, or even mushed banana into the crevices making it tricky to get the treat out.
Recently I discovered these Kong “Genius” toys which connect together, and I thought it seemed perfect for Jamie! Thanks to Carrie M. who ordered a bunch of these Kongs for us off our Amazon wishlist recently, we were able to make several connected Kongs. Jamie of course hoarded many of them, but all the chimps were able to enjoy this puzzle. You’ll hear in the video just how happy Jamie is with all her food groans and grunts.
Speaking of Jamie and of the wishlist, we are in desperate need of a new boot dryer! Ours broke yesterday and as you can imagine we are constantly running the dryers to get Jamie’s boots quickly dry after we wash them. Dry boots makes for a happy Jamie! Both she and I would be forever grateful to anyone that is able to purchase a new one for us. If you do grab anything from the list now or anytime in the future, send me an email at [email protected] so we can be sure to send you a thank you! (UPDATE: Thank you Patrick and Carrie for purchasing the boot dryer for us! The boss will be happy).
Love the food grunts and using her feet to separate the pieces of the puzzle.
Thank you, Patrick and Carrie!
What are the other Chimps doing as Jamie hunts for food in her Kongs? Just curious if they watch her or are involved in their own little world.
The other chimps are usually finding their own Kongs (or whatever the evening puzzle may be). Jamie tends to gather more because she is most dominant, but that’s why we put out at least a dozen puzzles to make sure there’s enough to go around.