Believe it or not, Jamie, the self-appointed boss, has a tendency to hoard enrichment food puzzles. If we put out a dozen Kongs with peanuts in them, Jamie always winds up with a big pile and more than her fair share. To encourage “sharing,” we try to spread out the enrichment as far as possible and we attach a lot of the chimps’ puzzles to the enclosure caging. We use padlocks to hang raisin boards and other puzzles and we have recently introduced dipper tubes which we screw into fixed spots on the outside of their enclosure. With a lot of focus and determination, Jamie has made these new dipper tubes into her own unique personal project. As you’ll see, she loves a good challenge!
chimp enrichment
The Jody Olympics
Jody is not the most athletic of chimpanzees. During her first years at the sanctuary she wasn’t always interested in traversing the great outdoors unless it was to forage for wild greens to bring back to her nest and she typically preferred to spend her days lounging with abandon, taking it easy. When she did decide to ramp up her activity a bit, our hearts swelled watching her endearing, but awkward attempts at climbing, running, and even brachiating. All run of the mill stuff for chimpanzees. But understandably, after decades spent in a space the size of a bathroom stall, she needed time to rest, recover and heal before the rebuilding could begin.
With the exception of Negra, Jody is also the most cold aversive of the group, so when she ran outside into the lower 20 degree morning today, clearly with her own agenda to explore every place she possibly could, it made my heart sing. While she still may not be the most agile or sure-footed of chimps, her adventurous and courageous spirit more than make up for it and she continues to grow stronger and more confident every day.
There isn’t much snow left on the ground, but with the temperatures staying below freezing what snow there is has pretty much turned to ice. But even that didn’t deter Jody this morning. Not to be outshone by resident athlete, Missy, Jody seemed to have decided to run her own Olympics course, in classic Jo Jo style.
Heading up the icy hill, she opted to utilize the firehose to hang onto as she bravely ventured onto the tundra:
Back down the hill she stopped to see if she could chip off an ice snack:
Her hair is pilo-erect (hair standing on end) due to both the cold and her excitement (notice that happy droopy lip!):
Nice lunge, Jo!
From here she quickly made her way up to the climbing structures to cross the swinging bridges:
I think this was my favorite moment! The structures were covered in ice and as she cautiously made her way across, she started to slide backward here, but she didn’t give up:
She made it! Looking pretty pleased with herself, as she should be:
No time to waste, she cautiously headed back across:
Here is a glimpse of Jody’s self-appointed coach/spotter/stalker, Burrito, who bravely, but reluctantly, followed her into the freezing temps every step of the way:
Making her way back down the hill toward the greenhouse Jody found a huge chunk of ice. A gold medal by her standards:
Do What You Love
Snow was a hot commodity today! Jody was really the only one that went out on Young’s Hill and braved the snow (I know, we were surprised too!), everyone else preferred the snow to be served in the warm and comfortable playroom. Jamie tried to go out on the Hill for a walk, but it was pretty cold out so she turned around. Everyone wanted to play and sometimes they all wanted to play separate games at the same time! There were only two of us and seven of them… Foxie was dropping her dolls down, Missy was running around asking to play chase and wanted us to open the barn doors of course, Burrito was rasberry-ing to play, and Jamie wanted to play chase inside (Jamie would sometimes get Missy or Foxie in on some of the games too). Jamie didn’t want to go out on the Hill so she told staff caregiver Katelyn to put a boot on and play chase with her! Jamie made Katelyn and I play a lot of chase, from the playroom to the greenhouse, back to the playroom, and again and again. Jamie would make these low playful grunting sounds that could just melt your heart. Afterward she would ask for her boots back and hug them tight. I even caught her in a corner of the playroom playing with a stuffed Olaf toy. If you can’t do what you love when the weather is bad why not find something else to substitute!
Jody out venturing the Hill for snow:
Missy
Relax!
A year ago yesterday we posted this video of Jamie exploring a sandbox. Jamie takes her job as boss very seriously, and she doesn’t often sit back and kick her feet up, so to speak. But something about sifting through the sand seemed to captivate and relax her. And watching this video captivates and relaxes us.
And here’s a bonus portrait of the Zen master herself.
Fashion Show
Jamie loves to watch her caregivers model boots for her. Sometimes this process lasts ten or fifteen minutes. Jamie is by no means a passive audience – she lets us know which boot she wants us to put on which foot, and she makes sure we keep the fashion show moving at a steady clip.
Enrichment comes in many forms
We provide the chimpanzees at the sanctuary with a wide variety of enrichment to enhance their daily lives. The great thing about enrichment is how flexible it is!
Some enrichment (and often the most popular kind) involves food…
A forage helps exercise the chimps’ bodies and minds:
Enrichment can also have nothing to do with food…
A daily rotation of toys and other objects give the chimps new things to play with and look at each day.
Enrichment can be large and permanent!
Enrichment can be tough and durable…
Or naturally sourced…
While some enrichment might require a bit of money and assembly time to create…
Other types of enrichment can be quickly created from recycled materials!
Making enrichment for chimpanzees relies on a little bit of imagination and creativity. If you know someone who works with primates and would like to share ideas with us, please feel free to direct them to our enrichment database!
What Did the Chimps Do Today?
We had a lot of playful chimps today! When the humans arrived this morning we found Missy and Annie chasing each other, Burrito with a toy in his mouth ready to play chase, Foxie throwing dolls, Jody breathy panting, Negra giving kisses, and Jamie ready with a grooming tool for boots. Throughout the day there has been quite a bit of napping and nesting because it was really cold today. However, do not fret, the chimps have been very busy! Burrito has been running around with his scooter and Jamie has been reading books and stuffing trolls into paper bags. Check out the video to see a few more of today’s activities!