Posts by Project Chimps
Movie Night
Chimps, like humans, enjoy a good movie. Their abilities to comprehend films helps us understand chimpanzees and how they think.
Read MoreIs there such thing as “too much napping”?
Napping is a daily routine for chimpanzees. Every day is different depending on their activities. By observing their napping behaviors, we are able to understand the chimps a bit better.
Read MoreWhite grape juice is not the same as red
Every chimp living at Project Chimps is unique. They all have different personalities, each has their own particular routines, and they even have various tastes for foods. However, one thing all chimps can agree on; white grape juice is not the same as red grape juice.
Read MoreAural Hematomas in Chimps
There is normally not a lot of space in this area of the ear so when it fills, it can be very tight and cause an uncomfortable amount of pressure. If due to trauma, there could be bacteria trapped inside and potentially lead to an abscess. As the body tries to fix itself, it sends a lot of its helper white blood cells and tries to remove the blood and repair the aural hematoma.
Read MoreThe Art of Nest Building
Just like humans decorating a bedroom, chimps create their own spaces too. Each chimp has a specific preference when creating their nests. Knowing this helps us understand unique qualities among chimps and their habits.
Read MoreAlex
November 6, 1984 – January 26, 2021 Alex was born on November 6, 1984 and came to Project Chimps on November 7, 2018. He was one of 14 chimpanzees in a social group that included Kareem, Jermaine, Ronald, Collin, Babs, LB, Sky, Almasi, Noel, Amy, Loretta, Sarah, and Harley. Alex spent his adolescent years confined in…
Read MoreHealth Update: Latricia (Jan 2021)
In early November Trish’s swell became quite enlarged and as stated, that is not unusual; a very large swell can be natural depending on where the chimp is in her cycle. But Trish stopped eating some of her food, which was our first sign that she was not ok. Upon closer inspection, her swelling was not even, and we believed she had an abscess.
Read MoreHealth Update: Gertrude (Jan 2021)
Gertrude has a history of abscesses (four have been observed since arriving at Project Chimps in 2016) and they have always resolved on their own without further intervention. But four in four years is too frequent to be coincidence and the pattern had to be investigated.
Read MorePositive Reinforcement Training – PRT with an EKG
If you know anything about chimps, you know you can’t make a chimp do anything it doesn’t want to do! If you need to, for example, listen to Kareem’s heartbeat with a stethoscope, that is absolutely not happening unless Kareem wants you to. This is where Positive Reinforcement Training, or PRT, comes into play.
Read MoreHealth Update: Precious (Nov 2020)
Precious arrived in sanctuary in 2018. During her exit exam from the New Iberia Research Center, her diagnostics showed that she was in the early stages of chronic kidney decline. We vowed then to offer Precious whatever she needed to be comfortable in sanctuary as her condition progressed.
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