Mounds and Mounds of Treats!
You may have seen a photo or video hop across your feed of a chimpanzee using sticks to fish into termite mounds and go at it like ice cream on a summer day. Termites for treats? Over here in the U.S.A, insects aren’t exactly at the top of our dietary regime. In fact, they are enemy #1 for building safety since they love the wood in structures. But for chimps, the little critters are a natural part of their diet, and big reason we understand how intelligent they are. They use tools like us! So how do we encourage this amazing behavior without the risk of our villas being eaten away? With mounds and mounds of treats of course!
Artificial Termite Mounds of Treats
At Project Chimps, we build artificial termite mounds to encourage the chimps’ natural behavior without risking damage to our buildings by bringing in real termites. The mound shapes may vary, but all are built relatively the same. You have a wide base made of a cross bar, a side door for easy access, and the entry holes for the chimps to stick their tools into. The “outline” of the mound a mesh fencing that is folded over the base to create the overall shape the designer wants.
The next step is to pour a quick-dry concrete solution over the structure and mold it to the correct shape. The same concrete process is used for the door, plus some locks to keep it secure. The chimps have tried on more than one occasion to breach the mounds for hidden treasures, but no luck yet.
Mounds of Treats and Heaps of Help
On the inside, each mound contains a hollow space with PVC pipes that caregivers can access through the locked side door. Each pipe connects to a corresponding hole on the surface of the mound, so by filling the pipes with treats, the chimps can scoop them out later with their tools! Some of these treats include:
- Peanut butter
- Fruit jellies or jams
- Seeds or nuts like pistachios
- Applesauce
- Anything sweet that’s safe for chimps to eat!
The pipes are cleaned daily to keep bugs or mold from growing. Thanks to the design, caregivers can easily clean the inside of the mound to ensure nothing nests inside to take advantage of the mounds of treats.
In the past, Project Chimps enlisted the help of the local high schools to build the termite mounds. Being a nonprofit, we’ll take any help we can get. It’s a plus when local kids can get in service hours or class projects with the benefit of contributing to the community, like their treat-loving neighbors. If you’d like to help build future termite mounds, contact our team to get in touch!
The Man Behind the Maintenance
The only reason chimpanzees haven’t overrun Blue Ridge, GA yet is thanks to the man behind our maintenance – James Lacombe, or as we know him, Jim. Project Chimp’s resident Facilities Manager.
Jim is the go-to guy when it comes to maintenance around the sanctuary. From installing doors and fixing carts to removing trees and repairing the roads, he has it covered. If you can imagine the regular maintenance a standard house requires, multiply it by six acres and then some. Project Chimps is a big place. We need lots of room for our residents to explore and play. With regular use comes regular issues, so it’s one of the biggest requirements for such a large facility to have a team specialized in repair.
Shocking Problems
One example of a recurring problem the facilities team faces are praying mantises. That’s right, you read that correctly! These insects, specifically the Carolina Mantis, are native to Georgia and like to make themselves known at the sanctuary. According to Jim, the electrical lines that run the perimeter of the sanctuary are popular places for the bugs to latch on. We’re not sure why they do this, they just do. Unfortunately, when one does, it gets electrified, bringing the voltage down throughout the facility. That’s when the team must scour every line until they find the little bugger and knock it off to return full power.
Be a part of the Facilities Team
As handy as the chimps are with tools, in sanctuary they get to focus on scooping treats while we handle the heavy machinery. Interested in maintenance work? Consider volunteering with our facilities department. Or if you’d prefer to be the one filling up the mounds of treats, you can volunteer in the kitchen or in Chimp Care. Check out our volunteer page and apply today!
