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. 

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If I could pick one word to describe Ester I would have to say “stubborn.” She is a lady who knows her worth and if she’s not feeling it, it’s not going to happen. The girl simply cannot be bothered.

When it comes to positive reinforcement training, you never know what mood she will be in. Sometimes you can walk in and she comes right down from her usual spot to engage and get some attention, tickles, and goodies. Other times, she’s so comfortable in her spot that even the enticement of a snack isn’t good enough for her. While that can be frustrating to her trainer (myself), we respect the hustle.

Speaking of getting the girl to move, group moves are a whole other story. At Chimp Haven, we often rearrange the locations of our chimp social groups, asking them to move to a new living space to provide novelty or to meet the overall needs of the colony. While Ester is usually willing to make her way through the chute systems that connect all the chimpanzee living areas at the sanctuary, outdoor chutes are a no-go. Of course, at Chimp Haven, it’s always her choice. We once lied in wait for more than five hours to see if she would move through an outside chute and follow her family into another living space. She won that round, and her entire group moved back to her that day.

Ester is so cute, with her pink muzzle and two teeth and crooked fingers (the effects of arthritis). While she may look like a sweet, older lady on the outside, looks can be deceiving! (Just kidding, she is very sweet, but when things get wild you can usually find Ester in the middle of it all.)

Her social group’s alpha, Tabu, loves to get worked up and display at his neighbors across the hall. He puts on quite a loud show, banging on furniture and mesh. Usually if you go to see what he’s doing, you’ll also find Ester, bipedal and swaying to the drums of his display. She’s usually in the other room, so she doesn’t mess up his mojo, but she’s a supportive lady who’s just matching her alpha’s vibe.

She’s always been an excellent friend in the group and you can tell the other members feel at ease with her. You can often find them lounging together on a shelf or outside on their structures.

Ester is a staple here at Chimp Haven. She is well-known and very loved by humans and chimps alike.

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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.

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Pocket Peanut
It’s an obvious one, but you learn right away that all’s fair in love of food. One of the biggest hurdles of being a lower ranking chimp is that getting your daily banana isn’t so straightforward. So for us with low ranker chimp friends, having a pocket snack is the way to go. Whether it’s a banana, peanut, fruit gummies, or carrot, sometimes the illusion of being empty handed is the easiest way to hand off the goods.

Rendezvous
Every chimp’s home has a few hidey holes, corners where the rest of the group can’t see some chimpie easily or there’s a convenient barrel to stand next to. Some of the lowest ranking chimps are the cleverest and will walk new people to these secret spots where it’s the perfect place to get an extra snack and no one else will be the wiser.

Play It Off
For a lot of our chimps playing is their favorite thing in the world. Whether it’s with another chimp or a caretaker, they will drop anything to come bounce and laugh. For some of our big boys, they can be convinced to keep their hands off a friend’s snack with a couple stomps. You learn who your playful boys are by watching the group. When things get tense, our fun loving kids will get right up in a big, fluffy boy’s face and start bobbing their head, and suddenly the whole situation diffuses. Stomping has been the saving grace of many caretakers.

Bait and Switch
Some of the tricks of the trade aren’t even handled by caretakers. Chimpanzees are deviously clever of their own accord. One of the best tricks some of our chimp geniuses have shown off is peeling their banana along the side (not from the top like us) and the result is a very convincing whole banana. They drop this empty skin when they see the alpha eyeing their snack and nine times out of ten this gives them the exact amount of time to run off with the actual banana and eat while the alpha is left opening an empty skin.

Sharing is Caring
Often there’s just no getting around having a swarm of begging chimp faces and only having one piece of food. When the chimp who was intended to get that snack isn’t high ranking enough to shrug off the competition one of the nicest things about chimpanzees is that they can and will share. More often than not everyone is perfectly happy with having just a little bite of a treat and then let the majority of the banana go to the intended chimp. Sometimes the receiving chimp will even break off a piece to share with a friend giving them a pouty lip. Granted sometimes they know behind those big begging eyes is a tantrum waiting to happen. Better to give Maxi a piece of your banana now before she starts crying and rolling around on the ground.

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Below are just a few of the things I would imagine the chimps are grateful for this year.

A lot of our chimps grow attached to material objects and even become known for carrying around items that are specific to them. Our care staff have affectionately dubbed these items as their “babies”. Whenever big changes happen in their family groups or environment, it can be comforting to have a constant that they can care for.

For Sahba in Yeltsin’s group, this item would be her signature red dumbbell, a long-time resident in her hip pocket. You will rarely see her without it (though we can promise it will never be too far). That dumbbell has been with her through multiple big changes in her time at Chimp Haven – enclosure moves, finding a more suitable family group, and the loss of a friend. Sahba is no stranger to change, but she will always have her red dumbbell. We can make sure of that.

Across the way in Spider’s group, you’ll find Opal, a dedicated mom to a set of toy keys. When she is feeling particularly maternal, she will have multiple sets of these keys with her. But like every busy mom, she sometimes needs a break. When those times come, she will enlist another group member, Sassy, to babysit (whether she wants to or not).

But, we can’t talk about dedicated “moms” without bringing up Happy from Sparky’s group, who refuses to be separated from her stuffed animal baby, Grumpy. Typically a very calm personality, though quick to anger if she thinks you might take her baby away, Happy never lets Grumpy leave her side.

Finally, another iconic baby lover is Ashley Lynn from Toya’s group. While Ashley Lynn is capable of loving any stuffed animals, she has a special place in her heart for dinosaurs – green dinosaurs to be specific. And while she may not be as attentive a mom as the other girls mentioned, she will always love her green dinos.

No matter the form their chosen baby takes, these “moms” are surely grateful for the chance to exercise their maternal instincts, as well as the constant comfort of having babies by their side.

It’s always sweet to see the love some chimps show to the seemingly boring objects in their enclosures (milk crates, boomer balls, and, of course, red dumbbells), but for some chimps, their excitement comes in the form of some very specific interactions with their human caregivers.

Sparky, the namesake of his group, absolutely loves boots. He will follow his care staff around the perimeter of his enclosure and wait for them to put their boots up against the mesh for him. He likes to groom the boots and even gives them the occasional kiss. And even if you can’t give your boots, Sparky is content to just walk around the yard with you, and will often make a beeline for his favorite members of the Chimp Haven staff.

Bo, who is also the namesake of his group, can take a little more time than most to get comfortable with new staff members. But you will always know when you’ve won him over when he starts to show his playful side. Whenever his favorite people walk in, he will almost immediately start bouncing on all fours, and he really wants you to join him. If we could, we would spend far too much time (or not enough) just bouncing with Bo-Bean.

Down the hall we have Fancy, from Zort’s group, who is known for a personality that is as big as her belly. While she certainly has days where she wants absolutely nothing to do with us, catching her in a playful mood is always a fun time. Her particular obsession? Belly pokes. Fancy will throw herself up against the mesh for any human she sees and will demand that they poke her belly. And, when she’s feeling particularly demanding, she’ll even provided you with a stick she found outside so that you have no excuse to deny her. She’s a chimp who knows what she wants.

Shahee and Chester from Gracie’s group are just two peas in a pod when it comes to how they like to interact with care staff. Similarly to Fancy, they like to demand what they want. In the case of these two boys, they will both sit at the mesh, blowing raspberries and pointing at whatever forgotten treat they have their hearts set on. It does not matter how many pieces of floor chow you give them; they will always move on to the next and beg for it just as fervently as they did the first.

Another duo, this time from Pierre’s group, is Devon and Papa Bear Pierre himself. While these two don’t necessarily have much in common with each other, they do share a love for one thing: running with their caregivers. While Devon likes to run back and forth between their bedrooms, Pierre prefers to run a lap around their corral-style enclosure. Either way, you can rest assured knowing that they will never fail to get their steps in.

While we do always encourage the chimpanzees here at Chimp Haven to interact with their groupmates and engage in species specific behavior, some of them are just more people-oriented than others. Whether the interaction they crave comes in the form of a game of chase or demanding their very niche desires, these chimps are always grateful for the caregivers that show them that extra bit of love and attention.

Although all of our friends here at Chimp Haven are lovely angels who can do no wrong, some of them do find an extra sense of joy when it comes to messing with both their chimp friends and human caregivers.

Sydney, in Sean’s group, and Orianna, in Blue’s group, both seem to relish the minor despair care staff experiences when working around them. These are two girls whom we would say are too smart for their own good. Their favorite game seems to be cornering a caregiver to throw at them, messing with our tools if we are unfortunate enough to leave them too close, or fully stealing our items from us. These girls may breathe mischief, but it’s all in good fun!

In a similar vein, Sassy from Spider’s group also fancies herself a little troublemaker. However, the trouble she causes is not with her humans, but instead with her chimp family. From stealing her friend’s key baby to use as a weapon, to picking on the smallest male, Sassy has earned the title of “Chaos Queen.” But although she is always quick to start trouble, she rarely sticks around to participate in the ensuing drama. Like Regina George, she just wants to watch the world burn.

Their methods of self-entertainment may not always be the most convenient for us humans, but these mischievous chimps love any opportunity to challenge both us and themselves.

Sometimes what brings our chimps the most joy isn’t a comfort object, favorite humans, or even any kind of interaction at all. Sometimes, all it takes to light up their day is the simple pleasure of doing something they love.

For Suhna in Gracie’s group, that would be nest making. Building nests is a natural, albeit learned behavior that even wild chimpanzees participate in. Some chimps here at Chimp Haven are more interested in nest building than others. Suhna is one of these chimps. Few things excite her as much as a fresh pile of hay to take for herself. Or better yet, some nice, cozy blankets to fashion into a nest. Not many other chimps will nest with as much fervor as Suhna does.

Where Suhna’s favorite activity is a natural behavior seen in most chimpanzees, Zoe from Tabu’s group has a fun little quirk that is all her own: she loves to spin. We like to joke that Zoe does not know how to walk in a straight line, because every chance she gets, she will spin, twirl, and somersault her way over. Up high in the brachiation bars, or down low on the ground, Zoe loves to use the environment around her to facilitate her ballerina dreams.

Getting to live out their retirement here at Chimp Haven means that chimps like Suhna and Zoe have the freedom to do what they please, in whatever way it pleases them. The opportunity to be able to utilize their environments in ways that bring them joy is absolutely something worth feeling grateful for.

All of our chimps have such unique and distinct personalities, with their own likes and dislikes but, there are some things that we can confidently say they are all grateful for: their friends. It would take a lifetime to go into detail about each unique friendship here at Chimp Haven, so let us just highlight one:

Jana in Yeltsin’s group is a strong personality. She is a lady who knows what she wants, and can hardly be convinced to do something she doesn’t want to do. This includes moving out of her indoor space when it’s cleaning time. You would think that the daily food toss of fresh veggies and fruit would be enough to entice her to go outside, but the thing is…Jana has great friends. Jana’s friends, Lyle in particular, will bring her food back to the bedroom to make sure that she does not have to leave if she does not want to. We have to admit, it is very sweet. How can you not feel grateful with friends like that?

From makeshift babies, to games of chase, messing with their friends, and building the best nest ever, there is so much to be grateful for when you’re living the Chimp Life. And as the lucky humans who get to care for them every day, we are also so grateful to have that privilege. We love our chimp friends here at Chimp Haven, and we are forever grateful for the ways in which they challenge us and enrich our lives on the daily.

The post The Things They’re Grateful For appeared first on Chimp Haven.

This fall that included Pickle Day, a “happy hour” for Gracie’s group, and brightly colored origami. Scroll on for cute pics of the chimps digging in!

Pickle Day

Calvin, Sidney, and Sean, who takes the prize for best pickle face!

Happy Hour

Happy hour included sugar-free Pina Chimpladas and Pant-hoot Mocktails with edible straws. L-R: Josie and Suhna

Origami

Sara Soda and Hannah appreciated the care that staff put into their origami pieces, while Sonya was less than impressed.

The post Photos: Fall Enrichment Brings the Pant-Hoots appeared first on Chimp Haven.

Henry was rescued in 2009 when animal control officers found him in a rusty cage in a garage in Houston, Texas. He was alone and surrounded by filth. For 15 years, he had existed like this, living as a “pet.” It was reported that in his early years he was moved from owner to owner and was known to have been badly abused.

While it’s illegal to import primates into the United States for the pet trade, U.S. breeders provide a continuous supply of baby primates to meet demand, shipping to buyers across the country. For relatively little money, a person can buy virtually any species of monkey or ape, but rarely understand the consequences of owning a primate.

Henry’s chance for a new life arrived when he was rescued. Severely underweight and malnourished, various animal welfare partners in Houston worked intensively on Henry’s recovery. From the start, they could see he was friendly and liked people—a miracle in light of what he had suffered throughout his life.

After a few months of rest and veterinary care, Henry was ready for the next phase of his recovery. He was driven to his new, permanent home at Chimp Haven.

Integrating Henry into the chimpanzee population at Chimp Haven took months. The fact that Henry had never socialized with other chimpanzees meant that he had to be slowly introduced to other chimps. The process, very carefully choreographed, was arduous. Having been socialized by humans, Henry did not know how to act like a chimpanzee.

Fortunately, his new family members were patient and mentored him. Sarah Anne (who has since passed), would even bring Henry food and blankets when he chose to sleep outdoors away from his groupmates during his early days at the sanctuary.

Henry has now been at sanctuary for as many years as he was kept as a pet; years which have included incredible, inspiring moments and heartbreaking challenges. Though today he is thriving in his life at sanctuary, Henry still at times struggles socially and behaviorally with his fellow chimps and will likely have quirks that will need to be managed for the rest of his life.

We are incredibly grateful that Henry had the opportunity to come to Chimp Haven, where a team of dedicated, expert caregivers are committed to providing him with the very best life, despite the challenges he’s faced as a result of his early years of neglect and lack of appropriate socialization.

Estimates suggest there are thousands of primates currently held privately as pets in the United States, if not tens of thousands. When human owners can no longer manage their care, the responsibility falls to rescue organizations and sanctuaries to pick up the pieces and manage the incredibly complex and expensive care for the remainder of the animals’ lives, which for chimps in captivity, can be well into their sixties.

Private ownership of primates has a tremendously detrimental impact on animals, threatens public safety, and strains resources of the community, sanctuaries, and rescue organizations.

The Captive Primate Safety Act seeks to prohibit the private possession, sale, and transport of primates, and if passed, would essentially end the chimp pet industry. Please join us in putting an end to private primate ownership, and ensure chimpanzees are cared for by accredited facilities and sanctuaries. 

The post Henry’s Story appeared first on Chimp Haven.

Myth: Many chimpanzees know sign language and can be taught to communicate this way.
Very few chimpanzees actually know sign language! There have been a small handful of great apes who have been taught some form of sign language or symbols to communicate, but certainly not the majority of the population. This myth probably stems from the many gestures and facial expressions chimps already use to communicate with each other and the deep interest in knowing if our closest living relative could master and use a language familiar to us.

Fun Fact: Chimpanzees are purposeful pointers.
If you’ve ever pointed a finger to identify something you want, you are a purposeful pointer! Chimpanzees also fall into this category. They are capable of pointing to an object they want to let someone know that they want it. At Chimp Haven, Emma is infamous for pointing at nearby blueberry bushes or our food storage building any time staff is near in an attempt to acquire some additional snacks.

Myth: Chimpanzees are monkeys.
This is a very common misconception about chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are not monkeys! Most primates fall into two categories: great apes and monkeys. There are many differences between the two, but the easiest way to tell if a primate is a monkey or a great ape is by noting whether or not they have a tail. Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons all do not have tails – making them apes! Monkeys not only have tails, but are usually smaller in size compared to apes.

Fun Fact: Not all alphas are male.
Chimpanzee family groups are organized into hierarchies for both males and females. In most chimpanzee troops the leader of this hierarchy, or “alpha” of the group, is male. However, there are some cases when a female will rise through the ranks to become the alpha. Some of our notable “girl bosses” are Slim and Ellie.

Myth: Chimps can smile like humans do.
Chimpanzees have a wide variety of facial expressions but a true smile is not one of them. The expression commonly believed to be a smile – where the lips are pulled back completely to show both the top and bottom teeth – is actually what we call a fear grimace. Chimps make this expression when they are afraid, unsure, stressed, or wanting to appear submissive to a more dominant troop member.

The closest expression chimps have to a smile is a play face. A chimpanzee enjoying a good tickle session with another chimp may show their bottom row of teeth with their mouth open and relaxed. It may even be accompanied by laughter (one of the best sounds on earth in my opinion). More on that below.

Fun Fact: Chimpanzees laugh.
This is one of my personal favorite facts about chimps. No matter what mood I’m in, hearing our retirees laugh will instantly brighten my day. The laugh of a chimpanzee is breathy and can be subtle or loud depending on the individual. Not every chimp laughs every time they play, which makes it all the more special to hear.

Myth: Chimpanzees only eat fruit and leaves.
Chimpanzees might seem to be herbivores but they are technically omnivores! While they do eat mostly plants and fruit, a very small portion of a wild chimpanzee’s diet is meat. Chimpanzees are skilled hunters and male chimpanzees are quite strategic, planning organized hunts to find their catch. At Chimp Haven chimpanzees receive daily protein biscuits instead of meat, and we haven’t heard any complaints yet.

Fun Fact: Every chimpanzee is individual in appearance and in personality.
A common question care staff is asked is, “How can you tell them apart?” The answer is: many different ways. The ways one chimpanzee differs from the group are the exact same ways you might differ from your friends. Some chimps have more hair, darker hair, lighter eyes, speckling on their faces, different shapes of facial features, or even could be taller or larger than their groupmates. For instance, Latoya has a lot of light brown splotches on her face and bright orange eyes, whereas Gracie has a pink splotch on her upper lip and darker brown eyes.

Another thing that makes each chimp an individual is their personality. An example of this could be the rewards used during positive reinforcement training sessions. Chimps have preferred foods, just like humans! Hulk will only train if apples are available, Ellie will not accept dried fruit, and Bryan is fine with just some juice.

We hope you enjoyed this quick look into chimp myths and facts. What’s your favorite chimp fact??

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Chimpanzees in the wild are very resourceful as they find their meals throughout the day. Like humans, chimpanzees are omnivores, meaning that they eat both plants and animals. Wild chimps will eat most fruits or vegetables that they can find, use tools to hunt insects, and will even hunt small mammals for meat.

At Chimp Haven, the chimps have their meals hand delivered to them by their caretakers, and the veterinary staff has built a menu to make sure that they receive the balanced diet that they need to live a healthy lifestyle. Even though they don’t have to hunt for their meals, the behavior staff still works hard to entice the chimps to still use their natural instincts to obtain food, like having to find tools to get goodies out of their termite mound.

To start the day, the retirees get a feast of fruit, leafy vegetables, ground vegetables, and non-leafy vegetables. The usual fruits that are included in their diets are apples, tomatoes, and oranges, but sometimes the enrichment team will give them special treats of grapes, pears, apricots and more. Let’s not forget the most important fruit- their daily banana! Every single morning, each chimp gets a banana to start his or her day off right!

Just like vegetables are important for people to stay healthy, chimpanzees need them too! The leafy greens that they get for breakfast are typically kale, romaine lettuce, or cabbage. They also get a non-leafy vegetable in their breakfast, such as cucumbers, broccoli, or green peppers. Lastly, they get either regular or sweet potatoes to add some starch to their meal!

Along with their fruit and vegetables, the chimps also get chow biscuits twice a day- once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The biscuits provide essential vitamins and protein that they need. Similarly to their bananas, the biscuits are very popular amongst the retirees! They get very excited when they hear us take the lids off of the chow bin and try to get as many biscuits as they can fit into their mouths and hands at one time. Some even use their toes to hold additional biscuits!

At the end of each day, the chimps each get a carrot. Once they munch down on their carrot, they usually start finding their sleeping spot for the night. The night staff then starts chopping up and building the meals for the next day, so when the chimps wake up, their breakfast is already ready to go!

The post Everything a Chimp Eats in a Day appeared first on Chimp Haven.

Opal is particular about who gets to “babysit” her keys. Only a few trusted chimps in her group have earned the right to safeguard her most prized possession when she has more pressing matters to attend to (like charming a caregiver for extra fruit snacks).

Opal isn’t the only chimp with a special item which care staff refer to as “babies” – far from it, in fact. Fanny loves her stuffed monkey. Sheena used to carry a troll doll wherever she went. Violet had a very serious, long-term love affair with a Sponge Bob Square Pants toy.

While many chimps gravitate toward stuffed animals, others are not limited to soft, cuddly “babies.” Alice’s baby is a rubber boot. Elijah’s is a big, blue 50-gallon barrel.

Regardless of how or where the baby presents itself, one thing remains the same: the chimps love these attachment items, and often take great care to take their babies along wherever they go.

The reasons why some chimps develop attachment to items while others don’t vary. Some chimps seem to use their babies as comfort items, and some enjoy having ownership over an item that is all theirs, while others relish in the responsibility of caring for their items the way they might care for a baby chimp.

Whatever the motivation, the chimps’ “babies” provide them with happier, fuller lives and provide care staff with endless entertainment.

Take Elijah and his blue barrel, for example. In addition to choosing a seemingly odd item as a baby, Elijah also created endless hijinks when it came to carrying the barrel indoors and outdoors. Often the barrel would create a bottleneck at his bedroom door, but that didn’t stop Elijah from making sure his baby came inside at naptime.

Over time, most chimps outgrow their babies or go through phases where a new items catches their attention for a while. Some though, care for their babies for a lifetime.

Everyone at the sanctuary remembers the sweet relationship between Grandma and her stuffed chimps and gorillas. It was clear she had, at some point in her life, been a real life chimp “auntie” in the ways she doted on her stuffed animals. While Grandma passed in 2015 at nearly 62 years old, staff still loves to remember how she sweetly cared for her babies.

“She would hug and kiss them when she was reunited with them after a bath and take them everywhere,” remembers Caregiver Erin Loeser. “Often she wouldn’t shift outside until she had her baby with her, so care staff would tell her, ‘Go get your baby, Grandma!’ and she’d get it and then shift.”

For many chimps like Grandma, having a “baby” to love makes their time at sanctuary all the sweeter, and the care team is happy to oblige.

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When did you first know you wanted to work with animals?
When I was about 5 years old, I would try to take care of the animals in my yard, like frogs. Then when I was 9 I did a trainer project with my best friend to teach my dogs tricks. I have been working on this goal since then!

What is your job?
My title is Behavior Coordinator. This means I help people who give the chimps enrichment (like toys) and watch the chimps go about their day.

What is a primatologist?
Someone who studies and knows a lot about primates.

What is a regular day?
Normally, I meet with my team and we work together to make enrichment and watch the chimps. I also buy things for the chimps that they need or want. Finally, I usually do data so we can understand what the chimps are doing and why. Since they cannot tell us how they feel, this is one way to understand.

What is your favorite thing about your job?
Helping chimps. I love meeting new chimps and getting to see all my chimp friends.

How do you talk to the chimps?
I mimic their noises, like pants and bounce up and down to say hi. Most of the time I want them to be friends with other chimps.

Can you be friends with the chimps?
Oh yes! My best chimp friend at Chimp Haven is Gisoki. He is so sweet, smart and fun. I have had a lot chimp friends over the years and all of them are special to me.

Do the chimps trust you?
Yes, most of them have been raised around humans and are friendly and trustful of them, including me. Some chimps take a while to warm up though.

Do the chimps have names?
Of course. All of the chimps have names though most of them were not born here so they came here with their names.

What is something humans can learn from chimps?
People can learn a lot from chimps. The most surprising thing about chimps is how resilient (like being tough) they are and still want to make new friends, see new areas and try different foods.

Do you have any advice for kids who want to grow up and be primatologists?
Yes, my advice is to learn what you can about lots of animals and find the way to be an advocate for animals. Remember that this does not necessarily mean you have to be a veterinarian.

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Chow (verb)
To “chow” a group of chimpanzees is to provide them with their daily chow biscuits. The chimps receive these large, protein-dense pellets twice each day to provide them with extra nutrients. Caregivers pour the biscuits into canisters attached to the chimps’ bedrooms, and the chimps get to take what they please. Each group gets a certain amount based on group composition and the chimps really love them!

Use it in a sentence: “I already chowed Spider’s group this morning.”

Wad (noun)
A “wad” is how the chimps like to enjoy their biscuits. They will gather up a mouthful of chow, go to a lixit (their water source), douse their mouthful of biscuits in water, and create a semi-solid mash. They’ll hold the wad in their lip or hand and take bites from it. We think it doesn’t seem that appetizing but who are we to judge! Perhaps they’re onto something.

Use it in a sentence: “You should have seen the impressive wad Cocoa Puff had today!”

Shifting (verb or noun)
“Shifting” is what we call the process of asking the chimpanzees to leave their bedrooms and move to their outdoor space to allow us to clean up their rooms each day. If it’s raining, or if the temperatures outside are too hot or cold, we won’t ask the chimps to shift outside — instead, we’ll ask them to move to a neighboring bedroom while we clean. Of course, here at the sanctuary it’s always up to the chimps, and sometimes they don’t feel like shifting. That’s okay; usually we’ll come back and try again when they are feeling up to it.

Use it in a sentence: “Shifting at building B went really well this morning – everyone went outside.”

Food Toss (noun)
A Food Toss is the process of feeding the chimps their daily diet of fresh fruits and veggies. A Food Toss may be conducted by tossing the chimps’ diet over the top of their open air corrals or placing it in the troughs attached to their play yards. We typically use a Food Toss for the chimps’ main meal each day to encourage the chimpanzees to “shift” outside while we clean their bedrooms.

Use it in a sentence: “When I did Zort’s food toss, Fancy was really invested in her kale.”

Hosey Squirt (noun)
When a caregiver gives a chimp a drink from the water hose, it’s referred to as a hosey squirt. While the chimps always have access to multiple water sources in their rooms or outdoor spaces, sometimes the hose water is too good to pass up. When staff is hosing down an area, it’s very common for a few chimps to wander up and wait, (sometimes patiently, sometimes while making loud raspberries with their lips) for a quick drink.

Use it in as sentence: “Hulk got so many hosey squirts today.”

Baby Earl (verb or noun)
Credit for this term goes to our Positive Reinforcement Training Program Coordinator, Rebekah. Care staff use large and small pressure washers to wash down all sorts of spaces at the sanctuary each day. When we received smaller versions of our usual large pressure washers, the idea was tossed around that these “baby” versions should each be designated an individual name. Creativity must have been running short, because the name “Earl” stuck for all of them and has ever since. It’s universally used among care staff and no one has ever looked up the given name for the little guys.

Use it in a sentence: “I baby earl-ed the driveway of C today and it looks so good!”

Spoon Tickles (noun)
In order to keep all of our chimps and staff safe and healthy, Chimp Haven is a “no touch” facility, meaning that we don’t actually touch our chimpanzees with our hands. Instead, we use long handled spoons to interact with the chimps while still keeping a safe distance between us. Some of the chimps are ticklish, and when we interact with the spoons, hearing their breathy laughs is one of my favorite things.

Use it in a sentence: “I tickled Jonah’s toes with a spoon this afternoon and he loved it.”

Baby (noun)
This is a term we use to refer to various objects the chimps will sometimes “adopt” and carry around for an extended period of time. Opal is one of our most consistent baby carriers. She has a set a plastic children’s keys with or around her at all times and sometimes more than one set is in play. Other notable favorites include: Gracie carrying around hats and Latoya’s love for a specific type of small stuffed monkey.

Use it in a sentence: “The chimps got stuffed animals today and Ellie has adopted a stuffed puppy as her baby.”

Chimp Tetris
Chimp Haven has a variety of different living and play spaces, and we often rotate chimp social groups so they’re able to experience a variety of these spaces. That process of transferring a chimp group into a new space is often complicated, and thus referred to as “chimp tetris” (another clever term coined by Rebekah). Chimp moves often require a lot of planning to meet the needs of the group being moved and also the other groups that occupy the space around them. Because of all the careful planning and thinking ahead involved in these moves – chimp tetris was born!

Use it in a sentence: “We did some chimp tetris this morning at Building B and Jonah’s group is loving their new yard.”

Nan (noun)
This is the shortened form of “banana.” As you can imagine, we handle a lot of bananas around here!

Use it in a sentence: “While I was passing out nans today Axel was being really sweet.”

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