Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

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wasp nest

A Delicacy Worth the Risk

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Today we set out a breakfast forage on Young’s Hill. Here’s a photo of the morning sun glinting off of Negra’s beautiful head:

As we were watching Jody forage near the cabin, she screamed a little and batted at the air. We all collectively thought she had been stung by a wasp.  When Jody started to walk towards the greenhouse, we noticed she was carrying a wasp nest!

A few years ago, much to our surprise, Jamie and Missy discovered the delicacy of wasp larvae.

Chimpanzees in the wild have also been known to brave a sting or a bite to get an insect meal.

Apparently Jody has also found out about this delicacy.

She did pay a price for her prize, today, though. At lunch, Dr. Erin noticed her right eye was swollen. She’ll probably sleep well tonight with a little benadryl and some ibuprofen. We hope the snack was worth it!

Chimpanzees and insect eating

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When I started to write this, J.B. was leading a Summer Visit tour:

JB giving presentation

I’d be willing to bet that one of the things he explained is what we put in the termite mound / treat rock on Young’s Hill. Generally, what we say is that the termite mound mimics ant hills or termite mounds that chimpanzees encounter in the wild, and we provide the chimpanzees with tools to access the goodies inside. It’s great enrichment because it involves tool use and problem solving, and it taps into natural chimpanzee behavior.

The difference, we explain, is that chimpanzees in captivity do not appreciate termites and ants! They react to “bugs” the same way most industrialized human cultures do – as a nuisance, but definitely not as a source for food. And that is why, instead of insects, we put things like mashed up bananas and/or peanut butter in the mound for the chimpanzees to fish out.

The chimpanzees, however, have a way of proving what we say to be wrong. I still don’t think that any of the chimpanzees would appreciate it if we put insects in the pvc tubes that screw into the termite mound, but Jamie and Missy have recently discovered a surprising delicacy – wasp larvae.

This is doubly surprising, given that the chimps certainly do not like wasps, and Jamie has been stung before. Apparently, that risk is worth harvesting this new treat. I wonder how they even discovered that the nests contained something they would like!

Here are a few photos I managed to get of Jamie with a nest that she brought in from Young’s Hill:

Jamie with a wasps' nest

 

Jamie with a wasps' nest 4

 

Jamie with a wasps' nest 3

 

Watching her, it wasn’t entirely clear to me how much of the larvae she was eating, because she seemed to be selectively eating some parts and not others, but she was clearly enjoying the experience:

Jamie with a wasps' nest 2

 

I haven’t been able to capture any photos of Missy with wasp nests, so you’ll have to take my word that she is very excited when she has a nest, perhaps even more so than Jamie.

 

Speaking of Missy, it’s her 40th birthday tomorrow!!!

Missy on the hill

Above is a photo of Missy from today as she took a rest before running the perimeter of Young’s Hill.

 

I defy anyone to call Missy old – she has one of the youngest spirits I’ve known in a chimpanzee. Whether she is searching for wasp nests, running like mad, wrestling with her BFF Annie, or demanding garden tomatoes, she demonstrates, daily, a sense of freedom that she’s found in her second chance at life (read this blog post from 2014 about Missy’s quite literal second chance).

We will be having a big celebration for Missy 40th tomorrow, so be sure to check here on the blog for photos of the party and wish her a happy birthday!