The chimps enjoyed a St. Patrick’s Day feast this morning. Volunteers Katelyn and Connie brought potatoes, brussels sprouts, and Field Roast grain meat, as well as green fruit & vegetable juice. And while the staff were disappointed to see snow on the ground this morning, the chimps were more than happy to eat it – especially with a little bit of juice poured on top.
Food
Regular Morning Routine
As we mentioned on the Facebook page yesterday, sometimes the daily routine fluctuates, and as caregivers we have to be pretty flexible depending on the choices the chimps make. Typically though, we do have a regular schedule. First we invite the chimpanzees in for breakfast—and as long as everybody comes in, one person (the Care staff or Level III volunteer) will serve breakfast while the other person (the Lead Caregiver) will start cleaning the playroom. We never enter an enclosure at the same time as the chimpanzees, so we have to ensure that all the chimps are out of the room we want to clean, and that every chimp door is secure. We do this for cleaning the playroom, front rooms, and the greenhouse. (To see what cleaning is like, watch this video from a couple years ago). Today things followed the regular routine, which you’ll see in the video below.
Brussels sprouts
Burrito
Garden enrichment
Jackie has been working pretty diligently on the best enrichment of all — the garden. It’s really great for the chimps to watch the plants grow, see us harvest their food, and then of course get to enjoy the delicious fresh produce! I have been helping her, too. Here’s us sifting the compost which we use as a growing medium for the plants. Just like Jackie said the other day, recycling at it’s finest!
Here is the view of the garden from the south side of the chimp house:
And here are some of our fruits and veggies that are doing great! Broccoli, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and strawberries.
The chimps particularly like the fresh strawberries!
Annie:
Negra:
Missy eating a strawberry while Foxie laughs to get Jackie’s attention:
What’s for dinner?
The crowd gathers as J.B. hands out dinner. (Jamie and Foxie. Note the troll torso in Foxie’s right hand.)
For Burrito, it doesn’t really matter what’s for dinner – he’s excited about all food.
Foxie’s not that keen on vegetables, but red peppers meet her approval.
Missy loaded up on the peppers. Good thing she has a big chimp mouth and opposable toes.
Sometimes the chimps get exotic vegetables the humans aren’t even familiar with, like Thai eggplant. (Jody)
Potatoes and radishes round out the meal. (Missy)
And of course dinner is not complete without a night bag. (Burrito and Missy)
(Missy)
We are fortunate to receive a lot of donated food from volunteers, supporters, Spud! in Seattle and Safeway in Cle Elum. Many thanks to all of you for keeping the chimps happy and healthy!