Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest
Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary
Brief Description: Recycled fire hoses make durable climbing ropes
Materials: Fire hose in a variety of lengths
Assembly Instructions: Secure fire hose by bolting it to structures
How to Use: Chimpanzees can use hoses for climbing.
Cost: Fire hose is free if donated from local fire department.
Burrito swings on fire hoses.
Missy balances on a fire hose tightrope.
Brief Description: Bring snow indoors and it makes for excellent enrichment.
Materials: Fresh snow, forage items such as raisins or juice
Assembly Instructions: No assembly required
How to Use: Snow is a flexible enrichment item. You can hide treats in it for foraging, make edible snowmen, or pour juice on it to make snow cones. It’s even good plain!
Cost: free if you live in a cold climate. Some warm weather places can contact their local ice rink for donations of ice shavings (*confirm with your rink to make sure ice is safe to consume).
Jody and Jamie eat snow (with Foxie in the background).
Brief Description: Different types of paper can be added to enclosures to make for interesting nesting and play materials
Materials: Toilet paper rolls, paper towels, recycled packing paper, computer paper, magazines, newspaper, etc.
Assembly Instructions: No assembly required
How to Use: Set out piles of recycled paper for the chimpanzees to use as nesting material. If using toilet paper, string it around the enclosure and try leaving a roll partially intact for playing. Remove staples from magazines.
Cost: Free if using recycled paper. Toilet paper $5+ ,depending on amount purchased.
Jamie on toilet paper day.
Jamie makes a large nest out of paper and blankets.
Brief Description: Fleece blankets that are regularly provided for nesting can be tied around enclosures to provide either private nesting shelters or a puzzle the primates must untie in order to collect their nesting materials.
Materials: Fleece blankets (as many as you want)
Assembly Instructions: No assembly required
How to Use: Attach blankets to each other and the caging or other available places in the enclosure. Be creative and make complex structures with blanket walls and ceilings. Incorporate items such as toys and food into the blankets for added flair.
Cost: Free, depending on blankets already being part of enrichment.
A blanket fort built in the Playroom.
Jody deconstructs a blanket fort.
Brief description: Primates must use tools to get sticky food out of the bottom of containers
Materials: containers with narrow mouths (so chimpanzees cannot fit their whole hand in)
Assembly instructions: None required
How to use: Using a knife, smear a sticky treat like peanut butter into the bottom of containers. Provide tools such as chopsticks so the chimpanzees can reach the treat.
Price: None if using recycled containers.
Negra:
Brief description: Chimpanzees must search through magazine pages for smeared treats
Materials: Magazines
Assembly instructions: None required
How to use: Using a knife, smear a sticky treat like peanut butter on pages of magazines. Skip around in the magazine so the primates must look through every page.
Price: Free if using recycled magazines
Jamie flips through the pages of a magazine looking for peanut butter.
Brief description: Treats are frozen into bottles of water. Chimpanzees must work at getting into the bottle and will often enjoy both the ice and the frozen food inside the ice.
Materials: Plastic bottles
Assembly instructions: None required, unless individual enrichment safety guidelines require that you remove, labels, caps, etc from the bottles.
How to use: Freeze fruit, diluted juice, tea, etc into bottles of water.
Price: No cost if using recycled bottles
Foxie works on her frozen bottle.
