Posts Tagged ‘enrichment’
Quite an Earful
Of all the abnormal behaviors that chimps perform, Genesis certainly has an interesting one. She loves to put things in her ears. She even jumps up and down to make the objects move around inside. She’s quite an earful!
Read MoreA Chimp’s Guide to Stealing Food
Stealing food is a strategic business in the chimp world. While it may sound like a simple interaction, there are actually many reasons why chimps steal food – and no, it is not just because they are hungry. Here is a chimp’s guide to stealing food while keeping a clean slate.
Read MoreChimp Diets – What’s on the Menu at Project Chimps?
Just like humans, chimpanzees have their own unique dietary needs and preferences. For example, you will probably try in vain to get a chimp to eat foods such as kiwi, squash, kale, and green beans. But you will be very popular if you present favorites such as onions, eggplant, sweet potatoes, apples, and bananas.
Read MoreOutside Looking In: Enrichment
We all have these preconceived notions of what we think we know about chimps, myself included. It’s not our fault, really; we only know what we are taught. But trust me when I say that no carefully crafted nature documentary or Hollywood film could do them any justice.
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 MoreThe Tire Tower
In honor of Earth Day, we bring you a special update about a brand new climbing structure we just installed today in the Peachtree Habitat for the chimps! It is entirely made out of old tires that were headed to the landfill, left-over paint that was going to be discarded, about $25 worth of hardware, and Caregiver Aide Alyssa’s imagination.
Read MoreLuke discovers his hidden musical talent
This past week, we brought an electric piano into several of the villas for the chimps to investigate if they chose to. Some chimps, like twins Buttercup and Charisse, were immediately interested and could not wait to tap out a few notes. Others, like Emma, were more interested in trying to take it apart. And then, there was Luke. Who was simply waiting to show off his hidden musical talent!
Read MoreVolunteer Megan Hume finds Zen in Helping Chimps
When a friend at her yoga studio mentioned they should raise money for a nearby sanctuary that housed chimpanzees retired from scientific testing, volunteer Megan Hume was intrigued and excited…
Read MoreChimps Watch the “Human Parade”
Project Chimps volunteer and Australian expat Gordon Hewett describes the ways human visitors serve as enrichment for former research chimpanzees during sanctuary tours.
Read MoreLocal Volunteers Keep Chimp Sanctuary in the Swing
Volunteers are the backbone of a wildlife sanctuary like Project Chimps. On April 6, 2019, the sanctuary honored local volunteers for their more than 7,300 hours of service to former research chimpanzees in 2018.
Read More