Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

$$$

RuffDawg Toys

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Brief description: RuffDawg offers a variety of very durable rubber toys for dogs that have proven to be a bouncy, engaging enrichment item for the chimpanzees.

Materials: RuffDawg toys (many types can be purchased on chewy, some options are available on Amazon, or you may be able to get them through your local pet store). We have had success with the ball (XL & XXL), Big Dawg, Dawg Cube (XL), Dawg Heart (XL), Dawg Nut, Dawg XL, and football, all of which are solid with a sturdy rubber construction that the chimpanzees have been unable to chip away at so far.

Assembly instructions: No assembly required.

How to use: Provide RuffDawg toys in animal areas.

Price: Varies by toy and size. ~$17 – $35.

Fire Hose Hammocks

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Brief Description: Fire hose hammocks are made by weaving together lengths of durable fire hose. Fire departments are often willing to donate their older hoses for enrichment projects.

Materials and Assembly Instructions: One set of instructions can be found here (borrowed from Primate Rescue Center).

How to Use: Set forage items up in the the hammock in order to entice the chimpanzees into trying it out

Cost: Approximately $100 for fasteners.

Jamie relaxes in a fire hose hammock.

Outdoor Structures

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Brief Description: Structures such as cabins, platforms, and bridges add new dimension to the chimpanzee’s outdoor enclosures.

How to Use: Set forage items up on structures in order to entice the chimpanzees into trying them out.

J.B. building a new climbing structure on Young’s Hill.

Missy.

Jamie on top of Negra’s Cabin, with Missy, Annie and Jody on the ground.

Jody on the platform and Missy crossing the shakey bridge.

Treat Mound

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Brief description: This device is intended to simulate a termite mound (like those found in Africa with free-living chimpanzees). In the wild, chimpanzees use sticks to fish out termites. In captivity, most chimpanzees don’t enjoy termites as a forage item, so alternatives such as peanut butter and mashed bananas are used in the mound.

Materials and Assembly instructions: Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest based its termite mound on this plan from the Honolulu Zoo.

How to use: Put sticky treats in the PVC tubes and attach into the treat mound. Lock the treat mound so the chimps don’t have direct access to the tubes. Provide tools so the chimpanzees can fish into the mound.

Price: $500 to $5,000, depending on size of structure and materials used.

Missy fishes in the treat mound on Young’s Hill.

There are endless possibilities and cheaper ways of making a similar puzzle. Check out this treat board by the Rockhampton Zoo:

And this one from the Fauna Foundation

Interacting with Technology

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Brief Description: Some primates enjoy interacting with items such as cameras, phones, and tablets through the caging.

Materials: Tablets, smartphones, cameras, etc. Durable cases are strongly recommended if you allow the primates to make contact with them or are concerned about them getting wet.

Assembly Instructions: No assembly required

How to Use: You can download simple applications that allow primates to interact with a phone or tablet’s touch screen. Apps may include drawing and playing music. Chimpanzees may also enjoy looking at themselves in the camera, seeing photos, or watching videos.

Cost: These items can be quite costly. Fortunately, many people have them, so it can be easy to share. Apps for Apes is a program working towards donating iPads for enriching captive apes.

Diana shows Jamie photos on an iPad.