Celebrating TRISTEN’S 15th birthday!
Today, July 2nd, we’re celebrating another milestone birthday as Tristen turns 15 years old. However, that’s not the only milestone taking place this year! This year also marks her 5th birthday at Project Chimps since she arrived from the lab!
Tristen came to Project Chimps in August of 2018 when she was just 9 years old. Today, she lives with her group in Dorothy Jo and Tilly Villa (DJT for short). Although Tristen isn’t the youngest chimp in her group, she is one of the lowest ranking members. Unfortunately, this means some chimps see her as an ideal target for food stealing — especially her friend Haylee.
Tristen and Haylee are best friends but the two are total opposites! While Haylee is known for her mischievous, playful and outgoing personality, Tristen is passive and tries to avoid conflict. This is great for Haylee as Tristen often just hands her food directly, but not so much for Tristen!
Luckily, according to her caregivers, she’s gotten much better at holding onto her food over the past year. She’s learning to eat her food items more quickly so Haylee won’t take any from her. This is a big improvement that has gone a long way to helping Tristen grow now that she’s a teen! While she used to be quite small, we’re proud to report that she’s now at a normal and healthy weight.
Tristen loves fruit, especially when it’s dried! During meal service, caregivers say she rushes to the hopper to receive her portion. She also loves the paper bags that contain their chow, which she rips up to create a tail for herself.
Tristen is known for her loud raspberry noises, which she makes while grooming other chimps or when demanding additional treats. She can be easily identified while out in the habitat thanks to her slim, lanky figure. However, caregivers say another way to quickly identify her is to look for a tail made of the aforementioned chow paper bags!
We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate Tristen’s 15th birthday here at Project Chimps. If you’d like to send her a birthday gift, please consider some of her favorite dried fruit options from our Amazon Wishlist! Thank you so much for supporting her care!
Tristen, we’re so grateful we’ve gotten to know you during these past five birthdays you’ve spent with us! We’re so excited to see you continue to grow and can’t wait to see what’s next!