Celebrating JENNIFER’s 18th birthday!
April 21st is a special day at Project Chimps. Not only is it the 111th day of the year (112th on leap years), but it’s also Jennifer’s birthday!
Jennifer (or Jenny) has always been very social, both with humans and her fellow chimps. As a higher-mid-ranking chimp, Jenny seems to have been trying out different social groups recently. Rather than just hanging out beside her sister, Gertrude, she seems to be enjoying the company of others.
An active chimp, Jennifer is brave enough to jump in line with the boys at mealtime, is always part of grooming sessions, and she’s even a member of the esteemed “Cool Girls Club.” She seems to be becoming more popular with the males in her group as well! She joins in any time she sees a good play session going on (especially if Jason‘s involved).
Jennifer enjoys all enrichment items but she especially loves the paper towel enrichment filled with scatter and shredded newspaper. When caregivers throw these over the mesh, Jenny will collect as many as she can to keep them for herself!
Jennifer is very smart, and she’s never afraid to let the other chimps or humans know what she thinks. If any “contraband” makes its way inside the enclosure, she brings it directly to caregivers to dispose of. She and Gertrude are also known to join forces to “hold the room” when staff are trying to clean. Because staff can’t clean until all chimps are in another room, we see it as Jennifer showing us she’s boss!
She’s easier to identify thanks to her lanky limbs and is always one of the last to return from outside. She loves all things garlic and can be heard throughout the entire sanctuary if she’s unhappy with a group mate.
Today, on April 21st, we hope you’ll join us in wishing Jennifer a happy 18th birthday! If you’d like to pick out any enrichment material to celebrate, please consider sending a gift from our Amazon wish list! Happy birthday, Jennifer! Thank you for always keeping us on our toes!