Enrichment

Try this on for size

January 5, 2024 by Amanda Hathaway

Jamie received a fresh pair of Doc Marten boots a few days ago and has been asking her caregivers to model them for her. Today was my first day back from my weekend and item #1 on Jamie’s agenda this morning was to very clearly request that I don this piece of footwear for her enjoyment. Well, what choice do I have? Jamie is the boss, after all.

Jamie takes her boot to the one spot she where it will fit through the caging as Burrito looks on

Watch out for footwear projectiles – sorry it’s so blurry :/

Once I put it on, Jamie came down and displayed with the blue barrel

Mission accomplished

I Love Lucy the Bonobo

January 2, 2024 by Chad de Bree

Jamie is a person of particular tastes. She knows what she likes, and what she likes she really likes. One item that she really likes is the book series of Lucy the Bonobo.

You may have seen these books in the blog, when we do a shameless plug for our Amazon wish list (which this is also a shameless plug and you’ll see why soon), social media, and other places.

If you have been following for the past year or two, then you might also know Cy is a literary lover. Cy, however, has more of a taste for celebrity gossip magazines. He is, however, not the only one in his group who likes to thumb through books and magazines.

I realized today we haven’t touched upon the other “reader” in the group other than maybe a casual mention here and there.

For a long while now, we knew Rayne tends to seek out the cardboard children’s books to flip through, though she does have a “eat after reading” mindset. Lately, however, we began putting some Lucy books in her group’s daily enrichment. Rayne has taken a liking to Lucy as well! We have been noticing her carrying around Lucy books a lot lately. Unlike the cardboard children’s book, she has not adhered to her “eat after reading” policy. She leaves them intact and holds onto them as long as possible. Even taking them out onto the Bray with her.

It was this morning when I saw her holding the previous days’ Lucy book close to her chest that sparked the inspiration for today’s blog.

She even kept one to take with her to her nest later on in the day.

Hopefully now you know why this blog is a shameless plug for our wish lists. With two Lucy fans, we are going to need to have a stockpile ready.

In fact, we might have three Lucy fans in our midst! Several times today, I have seen Lucky carrying one around!

Unfortunately for Lucky, every time I saw her flipping through one, Rayne would come by and take it from her sooner or later.

Only time will tell if Rayne’s Lucy fascination will stick and if Lucky will be able to showcase her admiration of Lucy more.

So please help us keep our stock plentiful if you can!

Bonus Photos

“Mavey see, Mavey do!” Today, Mora had a leg up, literally.

Okay. Okay. Okay. In reality, if anybody copied anybody here, it was Dora copying a Queen of Relaxation.

And of course, our very own handsomely lovable Teeny Tiny Terry!

Christmas 2023

December 25, 2023 by J.B.

Our thanks, as always, to the dedicated volunteers who give up their own Christmas mornings to provide one for the chimps and to the staff that gladly work for an organization that never takes a holiday.

And Merry Christmas to all of our wonderful supporters! May you sleep soundly tonight atop your own mountain of gifts 🙂

A gift a day

December 23, 2023 by Amanda Hathaway

These lucky chimpanzees have been receiving a new gift every day from the Comfort & Joy auction and Today they got TWO!

Kathleen C. won the bid for a giant sheet featuring photographs of Rayne and Honey B taken by sanctuary staff. Melody W. bid on a very cute, very soft smiling tomato blanket for Missy, who is famous for loving tomatoes.

Volunteer Lizz helping to display the giant Honey B/Rayne sheet

Honey B the chimpanzee juxtaposed with Honey B the sheet

This tomato blanket looks just right in the greenhouse, no?

Big thanks again to Kathleen C. and Melody W.! We know the chimpanzees are going to get good snuggly use out these gifts.

And just for fun, please enjoy the goofball video above of Burrito with a giant kong!

A Trip to the Clinic for Honey B(‘s skateboard)

December 19, 2023 by Chad de Bree

*Right off the bat I want to apologize to anybody who became worried after reading the title!* (The alternative was “Honey B is Wheelie Excited,” but that crossed over into a threshold of cheesiness even I didn’t want to cross into.)

If you have been following our blog for a while, then you know that enrichment can be difficult for Honey B and friends. Some in her group love to eat things they shouldn’t be eating (certain plastics, rubber, certain fabric, etc.). One of the unfortunate consequences of this is when her and Rayne’s group integrated together, that meant some enrichment items Honey B, Willy B, and Mave had would have to be shelved either temporarily or indefinitely as staff try to alter current items or find an alternative.

During this year’s Comfort & Joy Auction, one item being auctioned for the chimps was wooden wheels to replace the rubber ones that come standard on Honey B’s skateboard.

A big thank you to Donna T. who placed and won the bidding for the wooden wheels.

The wheels came in last week and work was immediately underway so Honey B could finally have her skateboard back. Some of the staff (ok, mainly myself) were absolutely determined to find a way to make it so she can have it back. So thank you so much Donna! We and Honey B thank you for making it possible for us to give her skateboard back!

The Patient

Good as new!

Rayne tried to hand it back

“I think you forgot something in the enclosures again.” -Rayne (probably)

The Very Giant Caterpillar

December 18, 2023 by Grace

We’re continuing the trend of giving the chimps items our supporters donated to us during our Comfort & Joy online auction! Today, we celebrated with a very giant, very squishy, multi-colored caterpillar. I mean, how fun is that?!

I didn’t get a chance to snag much footage today, but Cy started out his morning grooming the caterpillar as I held it on the other side of the caging. Then it went over to Negra and her crew… check out today’s video for more!

A special Thank YOU to Diana K. for donating the Multi-Colored Caterpillar!

With Christmas right around the corner, don’t forget that you can help us celebrate with the chimps by donating items off of our Amazon Wish-List! See more by clicking here. 🙂

A Few Bonus Shots:

Willy B, giving us some serious model angles:

A Blurry-Terry, mid-Raspberry:

What does the fox say?

December 15, 2023 by Jenna

We received a giant stuffed fox during the Comfort and Joy auction, thanks to a special donor! Due to some enrichment restrictions, Cy’s group cannot have any stuffed animals (a few of them would eat it) but they still got to meet the fox and enjoyed it. Later in the morning, after cleaning the Playroom for Jamie’s group, we set up the stuffed fox on Burrito’s blue barrel. As you will see in today’s video, Burrito absolutely had the time of his life. What else is new?

Thank you Pamela N. for the fox!

Our new fox (shark was just a blanket on top):