Blog Post
White 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 MoreMeet Dr. Dufresne, DDS – A Chimp Dentist
Where might you find a chimp dentist? One is closer than you might think! Like a lot volunteers at Project Chimps, Dr. Joe Dufresne wears many hats. On an average day, you might find him painting or helping with some other type of maintenance work, and he has even served as the driver of the transport truck that brings new chimpanzees to the sanctuary.
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 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 MoreLearn about chimpanzee conservation
Chimpanzee populations are now under more distress than ever before. A population that once totaled more than 1 million now teeters around 200,000. What can you do to help?
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.
Read MoreHealth Update: Jamie (Nov 2020)
Jamie is spry for her age. While she is active and agile, the team noticed that something was just a little off – she was drinking a lot of water. While subtle as that symptom might be, it indicated there could be something going on that needed to be investigated.
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