Project Chimps provides an ape-tizing menu for the chimps!
Every day the chimps receive three large meals and several snacks made up of a variety of items. The chimps are provided individual servings for their breakfast and dinner. In order to promote the chimps’ natural foraging abilities, lunch is always scattered around their enclosures. Snacks may also be scattered for additional foraging or placed inside an enrichment puzzle for the chimps to retrieve when they have figured out how to access the treat.
Chimpanzees are omnivorous frugivores. That means in the wild they eat all sorts of produce as well as some animals but are particularly fond of fruits. The list of food items is long: fruits, roots, nuts, leaves, plants, flowers, insects, meat and more. In the wild, meat makes up less than 2% of their diet. Here at the sanctuary, we provide a primarily vegan diet and the chimps can naturally forage for insects in their habitat if they choose too.
Sample Menus
Our Nutrition Committee is responsible for creating a balanced diet for each chimp. The quantities may vary between males and females, and may be decreased or increased for weight issues. Produce and browse will be swapped out seasonally and based on availability. During the growing season, we will pick produce from our very own Project Harvest farmland!
Supplements, like protein shakes, may be added to the diet of a particular chimp, or special flavored items will be used for individuals who need to take medications and have particular tastes.
In addition to the fresh items, the chimps also receive Chimp Chow, a fortified biscuit that contains essential vitamins. Most of the chimps receive the Mazuri® Primate Basix Biscuit variety, although we do mix it up sometimes!
The slides to the left show a week's sample menu for one male chimp.
Interested in the complete nutritional break down of the weekly sample menu? You can find all the nutrition facts here.
It costs $7 a day to feed each chimp. You can contribute directly to the menu in a variety of ways!
This project would not be possible without our many generous individual supporters and volunteers. We rely on donations to fulfill our mission, including caring for our existing residents and expanding the sanctuary to accommodate those chimpanzees still waiting in the lab.
Won’t you help us bring the remaining chimps to sanctuary by supporting Project Chimps today? Please donate today because...