Currently, the team is working to implement several solutions for monitoring heart health in the chimps. Like in humans, cardiac issues are common in chimpanzees, and Chimp Haven is committed to providing our residents with exceptional medical care. This includes monitoring their health through our Positive Reinforcement Training (PRT) program. PRT gives our team a lot of opportunities to practice creative problem solving. With roughly 300 chimps in our care, we’re lucky that our team is well versed in the art of chimpanzee creativity.

The chimps are occasionally sedated for routine medical exams. During these procedures, we can collect extensive information about their cardiac health and compare this information to the data collected during awake PRT sessions.

Animal care facilities across the globe are using a variety of strategies to collect cardiac data. In late 2024, several co-workers and I attended a workshop to learn more about these methods and how we can share our data with other facilities. Since there is still a lot about chimpanzee heart health that is unknown, we value these opportunities to collaborate with other professionals. Some of the procedures discussed at the workshop included awake blood draws, blood pressure readings, EKGs, and echocardiograms. While we are still figuring out how to implement some of these methods at Chimp Haven, many of our residents have become pros at Kardia Mobile, a method for awake EKG readings. Nine of our chimps have completely mastered this behavior while 64 others are still practicing with their trainers. Others are working on presenting their body parts, which is the first step towards interacting with the Kardia Mobile equipment. We are so proud of all of them and will continue to work with all of them at whatever pace works for their chimp schedules. Although we offer delicious snacks for participation, we can’t blame them for occasionally spending time with friends over training with us.

Speaking of friends, we don’t separate chimpanzees from their group mates to train with them. We believe this is best for the chimps, but it can be another obstacle that requires our problem-solving abilities. You may know by now that chimpanzees are master mischief-makers. Sometimes we need several staff members to train with a group to prevent other chimps from interfering with, breaking, or stealing the training tools we’re using.

Because our chimps can be rowdy with our equipment, our maintenance department has worked to chimp-proof our Kardia Mobile stands. They’re also fabricating a “mesh sleeve” that the chimps can put their arm through to participate in blood pressure readings and blood draws. Their inventiveness never ceases to amaze us.

As you can see, there’s still much work to be done. But we’re excited to be on this journey with our residents. We’ll keep you updated on their progress. In the meantime, if anyone figures out how we can get a blood pressure reading on Inky while she’s lounging in the forest, we’re all ears. 

The post Heart health training with the chimps appeared first on Chimp Haven.

Bischk is only 39 years old, but looks a few decades older than that, resembling the late great Maggie Smith in her role as Professor McGonagall. Her face is creased with wise wrinkles and dark brown eyes shine with clever intelligence, evaluating the world around her with unmitigated judgment. To stand in Bischk’s court is to be found guilty until proven innocent via covert handoff of dried fruit or popsicle. She is cunning and relishes mischief, stealing spoons and making people jump with a well-placed prod of her long fingers.

Her passion for causing trouble comes second to how much she loves to eat. With an enviable metabolism, she maintains a sleek frame no matter how much she eats, and her appetite is clearly communicated by her impatience when she sees food coming her way. Her demands are communicated via a charming lip smack unique only to her and an endearing pout, pushing her lips out at caregivers with her most convincing wet eyed plea, only to repay any generosity with a haughty jab of her fingers when you’re found empty handed.

When Bischk and I started our training together, she was eager to show me everything she knew, a flurry of limbs as she offered to present everything at once as fast as she could manage it. She found it faster to just try and guess what was going to be asked next than wait for the hand signal. The result of her intelligence was frustration with me when I refused to reward her for trying to mind read rather than look at my signal.

We went through a painstaking period of training for focus and attention, a foundation based on studio animal training. The first thing a dog actor being trained to work in films is taught is to look not at the treat, but at the trainer. That focus is critical to catching the next cue that will indicate it’s time to bark, beg, or roll over and fulfill their role in the scene. Applied to Bischk, who was training for medical behaviors, this was to enhance her attention span and patience. Session after session Bischk was peppered with treats for eye contact and attention to the hand signals being given. She both enjoyed and loathed these moments as this was a new request she hadn’t faced. Focus is an incredibly abstract concept to develop in an animal, especially in a chimpanzee who has a vivid inner life and motivations.

Another hurdle was Bischk’s proclivity for petty theft. As the embodiment of the idle hands saying, she often found it much more fun to steal the cue stick pointing at her body parts. She had good reason, often these items can be held for ransom, bartering plastic spoons for a peanut. While this was indulged at first, she started to try and take it more often, so we transitioned to letting this be her method of ending the session. It only took two instances of packing up after losing the cue stick for her to quit that habit. One of the things that makes training with apes so remarkable is how easily they connect cause and effect. It represents what intensely complex, social animals they are to be able to infer that something they do can cause a reaction in someone else, even in another species.

Without words we were able to come to an agreement that I would not work with her if she took the tools needed for a training session. And in turn, she told me clearly that she valued our sessions enough to set aside this hobby of hers (at least during training). It was a critical step to introducing the use of medical tools like thermometers and portable EKGs into her learning.

Today, Bischk is an entirely different trainee than when we started. She keeps her eyes on hand signals, looking to see what is being asked with immense patience. From a rough start at short, five-minute sessions, Bischk can now train almost indefinitely with ardent attention, as long as the food keeps flowing. Looking back at when this training relationship began with Bischk a year ago, it is impossible to imagine that she would ever have sat still long enough for a Kardia reading. Staying still is hard enough for people, it’s even more inspiring to see a chimpanzee do it, calmly seated with two fingers on the sensitive metal pads of the miniature EKG reader having her heartbeat monitored, without a word passing between us.

The post In Conversation with Bischk appeared first on Chimp Haven.

Each day I pull alongside my office building I am met by a familiar dark face with his lip flipped upward revealing four missing teeth. It’s Henry with his morning smile. As I make my way closer I am met with the sound of a kiss. Each day I greet him and express my matched love and appreciation by blowing kisses back to him: Muah!

After changing out of my clothes and into my scrubs, I put on my personal protective equipment (PPE) with a juice bottle in tow ready to begin my chimpanzee observations. The veterinary team performs these observations daily to look for wounds or any other signs of sickness in our chimps.

I walk through the doors and am met by three chimpanzees who are usually resting in their beautifully made nests. A quick visual observation of the trio and a squirt of juice for Coco Bean and I enter the wing and head to the left. I like to start there because I have to make good on my promise to Mr. Henry to come and visit with him.

Before I can make it to Henry’s group I’m met by Kasey’s group of 18 chimps. I am usually met by Kerstin who I call “Kooky Kerstin” because she is very playful and makes a distinct vocalization whenever she sees me.  She also usually demands my attention and play as I work to check over all the other members of her group.  A low-ranking female named Halley usually gains eye contact with me then moves herself away from the others to get her squirt of juice.

Just across the hall alas I am met with Donovan’s group, where Henry lives. This group – Henry, Juan, Twyla, Quinta, Wendy, and Midge – loves to interact with people and are usually the first to greet me begging for their serving of juice.

I venture outdoors to lay eyes on Barbara. She can be a grumpy little lady not desiring to be bothered. The chimpanzees definitely run the show at Chimp Haven, so I quickly leave her to rest not wanting to disturb!

I head back through the doors from which I came and quickly am on the lookout for TJ and Hawkins.  They are two boys in Spock’s group well known for throwing poop when things don’t quite go their way. I’ve learned I can usually make it through without the need for a shower if I quickly greet them and offer them a morning treat. This group is tricky because their alpha male, Spock, is quite demanding and doesn’t allow the lower ranking group mates to get too much attention.

Next up for vet evaluation is Hamlet’s group. I make a point to find Jacob, who is typically outdoors in the habitat, because he is getting up there in age at 60 years old. My habitat exploration is usually interrupted by “Ms. Wiggle tongue” herself (also known as Kaya) and “Ms. Smarty Pants” (aka Maxi), who are doing everything they can to get my attention for morning juice.

The “Golden Oldies” are next on my list. This group is one of my favorites because they are strongly bonded, look out for one another, and have gained the wisdom that comes along with aging.

I continue my rounds with observations of Flora’s group. You have to be pretty quick as they always seem to be in motion! I avoid a few demanding spits to the face shield from Diane and ensure everyone remains in good condition, even growing baby Carlee.

Last on the list are Keeli’s and Jordon’s groups. Whenever Keeli isn’t throwing a fist full of dirt my way I enjoy evaluating his group because they are one of the most intelligent groups we have, continuously shocking me with how bright they really are. Finally, I close out rounds with Jordon’s group and, like clockwork, they come over one by one and quickly continue on with their morning activities amongst one another.

If any medications are needed an email is sent to the veterinary technicians and medical records updated. Being a veterinarian for more than 300 chimpanzees can be a lot of work, but the absolute best part of my day is having the opportunity to just watch the chimpanzees living out the chimp life.

These observations aid in building the bonds and relationships needed to provide veterinary care to our many unique chimpanzee personalities. Our treatment protocols are tailored to each individual and allow us to provide top notch care for each chimpanzee resident.

The post Chimpanzee Observations with Dr. J appeared first on Chimp Haven.

The post Dental care at Chimp Haven appeared first on Chimp Haven.

When it comes to heart health, the best patients are those who actively and eagerly participate in their own care – and just like with humans, not all chimp patients are created equal.

Maxi, for example, is a heart healthcare whiz. When Animal Care Coordinator Ellen Brady-McGaughey requests an electrocardiogram (EKG) heart reading, 35-year-old Maxi is quick to oblige, eagerly placing two fingers in just the right spots on a portable device.

Other chimps, like 55-year-old Julius, are not as interested. As one of the sanctuary’s oldest residents, Julius would (understandably!) rather hang out with his Golden Oldie buddies in his play yard than sit for an EKG reading. But for an elderly chimp like Julius, heart health is one of the most essential components of the medical care provided at Chimp Haven.

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death for human adults and chimpanzee alike, and with a large geriatric population, the Chimp Haven team explores every avenue to provide the chimps a long, happy, and healthy life at sanctuary.

By inviting the chimps to participate in EKG training, they can monitor the chimps’ heart health without the need for sedation, which often becomes more difficult on the chimps as they age.

Although Chimp Haven uses the same KardiaMobile EKG devices advertised for humans, the process of getting a reading for a chimp isn’t quite as simple.

“Chimps are like kids; it’s really hard for them to stay still,” said Rebekah Lewis, Chimp Haven Behaviorist. “And staying still is exactly what’s required to get a solid EKG reading to evaluate heart function using the KardiaMobile device. The device requires the patient to steady two fingers on a reading pad for at least 30 seconds. I’ve tried it myself, and even as an adult putting my fingers in there and holding perfectly still for 30 seconds or even a minute feels like forever. So that’s one of our obstacles.”

It’s a challenge Chimp Haven staff take on enthusiastically, meeting with their chimp training partners every week and celebrating each step the chimps take toward learning the new behaviors. They provide juice, belly scratches, and plenty of praise as the chimps learn to approach, touch, and then hold their fingers correctly on the EKG device.

Some chimps, like Maxi, catch on within days, while other chimps need a little more practice. Regardless of their learning style, staff work together to brainstorm and adjust the chimps’ training sessions. The sanctuary’s maintenance team has also gotten in on the action, creating custom training equipment that includes a special juice holder for the chimps.

“Cardiac disease is common across all great ape species, so the information we’re collecting at Chimp Haven has the potential to help chimps everywhere,” shared Chimpanzee Training Program Supervisor Jordan Garbarino. “Not only can we make our chimps’ lives better, but we can contribute to the crucial work being done to understand heart health in all great apes.”

As more chimps are trained to participate in EKG readings, a broader picture of their health will emerge, allowing their care team to provide preventative care, detect cardiac health issues earlier, and ensure they live long and happy lives at sanctuary.

The post Leading with Heart for Chimpanzee Health appeared first on Chimp Haven.