Chimps’ intelligence stands out for interns

When Victoria Washington reflects on her summer internship at Project Chimps, chimpanzee intelligence stands out the most.

“They are really smart, especially when it comes to trading and using tools,” said the recent graduate of Auburn University. “I was really excited to get to see that in person. I think that was the most amazing part about this experience.”

Victoria and the rest of Project Chimps’ most recent group of interns come from a variety of diverse backgrounds and interests. The group of five includes three current Ohio State University students — none of whom had ever met one another on OSU’s massive campus prior to arriving at the sanctuary — and Brian Shifrin, who has spent the past year working a variety of animal sanctuary internships as the start of a career change. But as the interns reflect on their shared experiences with chimps, intelligence and individuality are common themes.

Atlanta native Anna Carroll is a rising sophomore in her Animal Science program at OSU. She still has plenty of time to decide her future, but her time at Project Chimps may have altered her original plans to eventually work with elephants.

“I never really thought about chimps that much until I got here, and now I’m just so fascinated by them,” Anna said. “This is my first work with animals. Chimps, I definitely want them to be in my future for sure because they’re so amazing and so smart.”

Chimpanzees’ creativity on display even in their movements

Brian is the self-described “old man” of Project Chimps’ 2021 summer interns. He is currently on his fourth animal sanctuary internship during a whirlwind of a year. He previously worked in a school setting in California before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down facilities and led him to explore a different profession.

Brian worked with wolves, domestic animals, and big cats prior to coming to Project Chimps. Here, he was paired with caretaker and mentor Fred Rubio, as both share an interest in building and construction. Brian said he previously understood the fluidity with which chimps move, but he also now marvels at the creativity of their movements.

“They will come up with ways of using the climbing structures we give them that are ways I would never think of,” Brian said. “We made them a cool platform and put a bunch of cool stuff on top, and they’ll be hanging from the bottom. It’s one of those things where we’re similar to them in so many ways. But, we are also wired so differently at the same time.”

Chimpanzees’ intelligence, individuality common themes for interns

Ben Nemish and Grace Peters are both part of the Zoology program at OSU. Like Anna, they also discovered Project Chimps internship opportunities through an online career fair at the university. Ben spent the early weeks of his internship primarily in the Chimps Ahoy villa of the sanctuary. The framework provided him the opportunity to learn the individual personalities of that group of chimps to a surprising degree.

“One thing I did not expect was actually getting to know each individual personality of each chimp,” Ben said. “I’ve gotten to know all 19 chimps’ personalities, how they act with each other, how they act with people. My first week here, I was not seeing much difference, looks-wise or behavior-wise. Once you’ve been a while, you see how much different they are and how different their personalities can be.”

Grace has spent most of her time working in Chateau, the largest villa at the sanctuary. She also agreed to play the role of the “sheriff” during the sanctuary’s western-themed, Day of the Cowboy celebration for the chimps.

“I’ve had a really good experience here,” Grace said. “I’m a Zoology major and with that degree I’m hoping to move on to more focused primatology studies if I can. I’m also really interested in conservation work. I’ve really loved working at a sanctuary for that reason.”

‘Letting chimps be chimps’

Victoria said she enjoys the clinical side of animal care work, such as doing diagnostic samples. Working at Project Chimps was her first experience with exotic animals. Going forward, she hopes to find a job that combines diagnostic work and interaction with animals.

While Victoria has enjoyed her own up-close and personal interactions with the chimpanzees, her favorite thing has been observing their relationships and behaviors with one another.

“I like just watching them play with each other,” she said. “I think that’s the one thing I enjoy most — just letting chimps be chimps.”

Apply to become an intern at Project Chimps

Are you interested in a 12-week internship? Applications are now open for 2022. Learn more here.