In free-living situations, chimpanzees spend a great deal of their time traveling and searching for food. In captivity, caregivers spread out food in enclosures to encourage chimps to exercise and show their natural foraging behavior. At CSNW, we do forages on a regular basis. However, we make sure to continue to serve the majority of meals directly to the chimpanzees. This way we can monitor their diets and ensure that less dominant individuals are getting enough to eat.
Forages can be made more challenging by cutting food up very small or putting it in a difficult place to reach. Sticky foods like peanut butter or banana can be smeared on clean walls for additional enrichment.
Negra forages for cabbage.
Foxie collects primate chow on a forage.
