Enrichment
Pine browse and ice block enrichment
Sparkling Cider Enrichment
Today we loaded up a spray bottle with sparkling cider for the chimps. Everyone enjoyed the spray, although Negra had to take a break to spy on us in the mirror, and Missy and Jamie decided they would prefer theirs in a cup.
Play!
Put up your feet and watch this looong and lazy video of Foxie and Jamie’s looong and lazy play session. Turn up your volume for lots of chimpanzee laughter.
Novelty
Here’s a video of Annie and Jamie exploring a cool new toy:
Caregiving
One of the more fantastic things that has happened in the last year is that the chimpanzees have new caregivers – staff and volunteer. Jackie is our newest staff person, and she is just finishing up chimpanzee care training. It is so fun to see the chimps react and interact with new friends. Today I spied on Jamie and Foxie playing with Jackie through the barn doors. Jamie had a stretchy hose-like thing that she was using to play tug-of-war. Being Jamie, she naturally wore a bikini top draped around her neck (complete with trolls tied to the strings).
In addition to playing with the chimps, which is a very important job, Jackie’s been hard at work caring for the chimps’ garden beds. Check them out!
Hanging out with Foxie
People sometimes ask how we interact with the chimpanzees through the fencing. While there are plenty of things to do that don’t involve any physical contact at all (chase!), there are safe methods of physical contact that allow us to tickle or groom — or be tickled or groomed by — the chimps. To make sure everyone stays safe, our fingers never penetrate the plane of the fencing. In this video, Jackie, our newest caregiver, uses a decapitated troll head (!!!) and a piece of bark to groom and tickle Foxie.
