Burrito and Missy have so much fun together! They played this particular game for nearly an hour this morning.
chimp enrichment
Chimps’ Choice
Once again, last month’s Chimps’ Choice– acidophilus and gummy vitamins- was a huge success! We did, however, receive a few packages that did not have names on them, so if you sent some, please send me an email ([email protected]) and let me know so I can be sure to send you all bumper stickers!
For this month’s Chimps’ Choice, we are requesting seeds for the chimps’ garden (which is looking incredible this year, by the way!) We don’t want people to go to the trouble of going out and buying them, so maybe you have some laying around your house? Or maybe you could stop by your local nursery to see if they would be willing to donate some for the chimps? Get creative! Though not at all comprehensive, I’ve made a list of fruits and veggies we can grow in this area that the chimps like, just to give you an idea:
Carrots
Corn
Cucumbers
Kale
Greens
Bell Peppers (red, orange, yellow, and unique colors are best- Foxie refuses green!)
Onions
Green onions
Leeks
Radishes
Beets
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cherry Tomatoes
Sunflowers (or any edible flowers)
There are lots of other veggies that can be grown here that I probably haven’t thought of, so if you come across something that your are unsure is suitable for our area, send me an email and I’ll let you know.
Despite this cold summer weather, this year’s garden is still managing to be quite successful. We have a couple of new features that are both practical and add an interesting aspect to the chimps’ view– beautiful wooden compost boxes and a pea/bean teepee trellis. The teepee will soon have tons of beans and peas growing up the sides, along with beautiful mammoth sunflowers. BIG thanks to Dakotta from the High Mountain Sustainable Project for his amazing artistic skills! He rocks!! 🙂
Burrito eating squash from last years’ garden:
There’s really nothing like a kiss from Negra :)
Troll dipping
Negra’s active day
Negra’s not the most active chimpanzee by a long shot, but she was all over the place yesterday. Here she is looking out her new window (the photos through the glass turn out blue, so I doctored it a bit. I like the reflection of the clouds).
I love this expression!
She even investigated some enrichment, which she rarely does:
Sunny summer weather= playful, happy chimps!
Here’s a pretty cute video I caught yesterday with Missy and Burrito playing. Just before this (and before I had a chance to get the camera) Missy had covered herself (head and all) with a pink blanket, and was chasing Burrito around the playroom. She looked like a pink snuffaluffagus! 🙂
Missy and a coconut
We put out three coconuts for dinner the other night and they were great for enrichment as well as food – they kept the chimps busy for hours. Missy was not the only one who used a tool to poke through the eye of the coconut and get the juice out. I don’t know if they learned that technique by observing humans or if that’s something they picked up on their own – either way, it’s pretty smart.
I love how this video shows many aspects of Missy’s personality – playful, athletic, a little silly and intelligent.