As an administrative staff member at Chimp Haven, I rarely get an opportunity to interact directly with our chimpanzees. After working at the sanctuary for a few months, our enrichment specialist, Erin, found out that I play the violin. She asked me to provide enrichment for the chimpanzees. Unfortunately, I am a shy musician. I really don’t like the stage. Whatever skills and talent I have seem to plummet when I play for an audience. But I put my fears aside and broke out the strings for them.

Now, it’s my pleasure to play approximately twice a year—when it’s not too hot or cold. A wood instrument does not do well in temperature extremes, and I don’t either—I pour sweat in the summer, and my fingers freeze in the winter. Erin drives me around in a golf cart to each social group. I set up my music stand—the only barrier other than mesh between me and the chimpanzees—and begin to play without any fanfare.  We don’t call the chimpanzees as we normally would for enrichment. Instead, we allow their curiosity to be piqued when I begin to play.  One chimpanzee may sidle over to the mesh while another chooses to stay in their favorite spot, but listen attentively. Feuding group members may take a seat and sway side by side. Usually boisterous chimpanzees become very quiet.  One Chimp Haven resident even taps her foot. Sometimes when I’m finished and I look over my music stand, quite an audience has amassed.

Although one chimp threatened to fling dung at me, I guess I’m not too bad after all.  I can’t find a more honest audience. When I play for the chimpanzees, they’re not the only ones receiving enrichment.

Several of the chimpanzees at our facility have attachment objects, which the staff refers to as their “babies.” These babies may be actual toy baby dolls or stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, purses, boots or other objects. Chimpanzees carry these babies on their backs or in their “hip pocket” (the fold of their inner thigh and belly). These babies are usually unique to the chimps that care for them, and they do not typically share these attachment objects. However, all rules were out the window in The Great Baby Switch of 2013.

Kim

Kim and her friends were going to be integrated into Farra’s group, so they were living in the same part of the building but in separate bedrooms to get to know each other from across the way. They would rotate into each other’s bedrooms so everyone would feel comfortable in neutral territory before the big meeting day. One day Farra forgot her baby, a yellow strip of soft jacket fabric that she has carried for years. I came into the wing and realized that Kim, who is notorious for loving a wide range of stuffed animals, had taken advantage of Farra’s lapse in baby supervision. Kim had the fabric draped across her arm, grooming and cradling it. Farra was watching from across the way, distraught that this chimpanzee she barely knew was now the guardian of HER baby. I tried to trade Kim for the fabric, offering her juice and fruit, and several other babies, but Kim would not give it back.

Farra

Fortunately for Farra, Kim relinquished the Yellow Baby and all went well during the introduction. The two groups came together, and Farra proudly paraded around her returned Yellow Baby. I thought all was well until I came in one day and Kim was cradling a huge stuffed orangutan…that did NOT belong to her.

“Kim, that is SPIDER’s baby!” I admonished, referring to another chimpanzee in her new group. Spider loved her fluffy orange toy and could be seen with it always. I was worried that Spider would be as upset as Farra had been, but fortunately Spider was very laid back about the whole situation. We gave the group a multitude of toys to see if Kim would adopt her own special baby. Kim chose a small bear, a purple Barney, even an old sock! To my great amusement, Kim and Spider would freely trade stuffed animals. It was as if they had agreed upon a stuffed animal babysitting cooperative!

Farra, however, seems to be keeping a closer eye on her Yellow Baby. She is pleasant to Kim but is rightfully wary!

Wednesday, May 1, restaurants in Shreveport, La., Chester, Conn., Columbus, Ohio and Texarkana and Houston, Texas will unite to help Chimp Haven raise funds through its second annual Chow Down for Chimp Haven. Participating restaurants will donate 10-20 percent of their proceeds on this day to the chimpanzee sanctuary.

Last year’s Chow Down raised $2,000 for Chimp Haven’s education committee – a group of teachers and community leaders dedicated to educating youth and teens about our natural world. With additional funding, a new education program, Safari Summer Camp, was added. Campers learned about chimpanzees of Africa and discovered the natural wonders of Louisiana. This year’s goal is $5,000 to care for the 111 chimpanzees retiring to Chimp Haven this year from the New Iberia Research Center.

“We began transferring the recently retired chimpanzees in December 2012,” Chimp Haven President and Chief Executive Officer Cathy Willis Spraetz said. “The sanctuary has raised over half of its $5 million goal and we ask that our local and neighboring communities view this event as an easy way to help these chimpanzees find their forever home at Chimp Haven.”

Individuals can go to any of the participating restaurants and mention that they would like to support Chimp Haven when they place their order. Participating restaurants include Raising Canes on Mansfield Road, Shreveport, La., Zocolo Neighborhood Eatery and Drinkery, Shreveport, La., Bistro Byronz, Shreveport, La., Ruby Tuesday, Texarkana, Texas, Monster PBJ Food Truck, Houston, Texas, Firkin & Phoenix Pub, Houston, Texas, Surly Girl Saloon, Columbus, Ohio and Six Main Restaurant, Chester, Conn.

“This year’s participating restaurants have accepted a noble task,” Spraetz said. “Now we ask that the community come out and fill each restaurant, supporting not only Chimp Haven but their local businesses as well.”

For more information about Chow Down for Chimp Haven,  call 318.925.9575.

Anyone who is familiar with Chimp Haven has heard about our accidental family that was formed with the births of Tracy, Valentina Rose and Natalie.  All are daughters of Conan and are able to live together with moms Flora and Ginger (Tracy’s mom, Teresa passed away).  Our most famous family extends to Tracy’s two half-sisters, Johnnie and Anne, Flora’s sister, Jessika along with several unofficial “aunts” and “uncles.”  This large group, however, is only one of many sets of family members that have retired at Chimp Haven and despite living apart for most of their lives, many of these chimpanzee families share similar features.

• Juan and his son Jonah both like to show off their perceived strength to the carestaff by bouncing on the mesh and displaying in a similar fashion.
• Former resident Janice and her daughter Jessika are renowned at Chimp Haven for their nest building prowess.  They both make intricate nests out of any and all available materials including hay, blankets, cardboard and branches.
• Penny and her son Nicky have a similar temperament.  They stay calm and collected most of the time but exhibit some of the most stubbornness a chimpanzee can muster.  They both enjoy ignoring offers of fruit and juice when the time comes to shift for cleaning and will sit nonchalantly in their bedrooms.
• Paul and his son Jeff are two of our most notorious ladies men.  Both live with multiple females and will most often be spotted in the company of one of their female roommates.  They often will only shift for the carestaff when their favorite lady has decided to move.

Unfortunately, many of these parents and children can’t live together again and most won’t remember their offspring, but the carestaff can still recognize similar characteristics between them.  Hopefully, there will be many more families to retire in the future.

Paul (father)

Jeff (son)

]]> http://www.chimphaven.org/the-apple-doesnt-fall-far-from-the-tree/feed/ 0 http://www.chimphaven.org/second-annual-earth-day-festival-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=second-annual-earth-day-festival-2 http://www.chimphaven.org/second-annual-earth-day-festival-2/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:01:48 +0000 jwhitaker http://www.chimphaven.org/?p=3118

Chimp Haven believes that environmental awareness begins at home and invites Shreveport and its surrounding communities to see it in action, Saturday, April 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., for its second annual Earth Day Festival in conjunction with Chimpanzee Discovery Day. The festival will include food, art and exhibits by local environmental organizations, businesses and artisans.

Visitors will enjoy live music by AirHeart, as well as activities for the whole family. There will be opportunities to view the resident chimpanzees, new and old, in their natural environment as they forage for food. Guests will also have the chance to talk with staff members about their distinct personalities and natural behavior. Behind-the-scenes hayride tours will be offered every hour, on the half hour; however, seating is limited so it is recommended to make reservations prior to the event. Cost for the hayride is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 12 and younger. Additional educational activities include fishing for candy termites, visiting the conservation station, and learning about chimpanzees’ habitats and behavior.

Educating the public about conservation is an important component of Chimp Haven’s mission. This event allows the sanctuary to not only be a teacher but also an example of environmental stewardship.

“The focus of this year’s event will be sustainability, which is important not only for the wellbeing of humans, but also for the natural habitats of chimpanzees,” Chimp Haven President and Chief Executive Officer Cathy Willis Spraetz said. “As we educate individuals during Earth Day of the importance of developing personal sustainability practices, we also educate them on how to preserve the natural habitats of chimpanzees in Africa from right here in our community.”

This event is free and open to the public; however, donations are welcomed. Visitors may consider bringing peanut butter, flavored ice pops, animal crackers, elbow macaroni, instant rice, bagels and applesauce for the chimpanzees. Early arrival is recommended for best viewing. All children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

For more information on Earth Day or to RSVP for behind-the-scene hayride tours, please call 318.925.9575.

Earth Day Festival Vendor Information:  Vendors and exhibits include Bird Group of Shreveport, Cathy Catering, Geauxsicles, Louisiana Nursery, Noel Community Arts Program, Pratt Paper, Robinson’s Rescue, Sci-Port, Starbucks, Southern Style Cooking and Woo Hoo Woopies.

One of the best parts about being a chimpanzee care giver is training.  At Chimp Haven, we train the chimpanzees to present body parts, which is useful for medical reasons.  But it is also mentally and physically engaging for the chimpanzees and helps to build a positive relationship with the care staff.  The chimpanzees also learn commands such as “give,” so that they are trained to hand us objects.  Sometimes when training with a chimpanzee, they may not understand what you are asking them to do or they might try to get more treats from you without doing much work.  When that is the case, some chimpanzees may start performing the “give” behavior by handing you things that you do not ask for.  They will grab anything such as sticks, hay, and old pieces of food.

Recently, while training with Jimoh’s group, baby Valentina Rose was running around with the arm of a baby doll that Flora, her mother, ripped apart.  I was training with Sara Soda and Valentina dropped the arm near her when she came to investigate the training session hoping to receive some goodies.  Sara seemed to be a little lazy, not wanting to move to perform many behaviors.  I asked her for “arm”. Without hesitation, she looked down, picked up the doll’s arm and quite literally gave me an arm!  Of course she was not aware that the object she just handed me was actually called “arm” but it was still an incredible moment.  It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen while training.

On Thursday, April 11, Chimp Haven learned of the unfortunate passing of animal activist and Chimp Haven supporter, Clare Haggarty. Clare, a 22-year veteran of the National Anti-Vivisection Society, worked very closely with Chimp Haven in the retirement of many chimpanzees. We offer our deepest sympathy to Clare’s family, friends and all those who have had the privilege of working with her. She will be greatly missed; however, her inspiration will live on as we continue working to retire chimpanzees in her honor. Click here to read more about Clare Haggarty.

The double doors swing open forcefully and I catch the first glimpse of the precious cargo. His eyes are wide open with both the look of bewilderment and intrigue as he peers through the silver bars of his transfer cage taking in the sunlight and early morning breeze. Tobias is quickly moved onto the truck and tightly secured. I step onto the truck, introduce myself and offer reassurance. Just as quickly as Tobias appears, Lori emerges abruptly from the same double doors. The routine continues as Twyla, Sabrina, Kim, Ashely and Jolene are loaded onto the truck. To break the monotony of the early morning day, Tinkerbell, a large dark beautiful female, emerges vigorously shaking the transfer cage. I am quickly reminded of the strength of the chimpanzee as she effortlessly “rocks the boat” with four animal caregivers struggling to control her. She is placed on the truck and the day’s valued shipment is complete! Eight chimpanzees peer at me anxiously awaiting departure. Several of them are distracted by the windows on the truck and they stand on tip toes to stare at their outside surroundings. The doors to the transfer truck are closed and we begin our journey to Chimp Haven.

Chimp Haven staff welcome us with applause and cheers of joy. Veterinary staff quickly gear up and open the doors, offering first sight of the chimpanzees’ new lifetime home. Current Chimp Haven residents vocalize what I believe to be a welcome to the newcomers as they are removed from the truck. Amongst the foreign faces of Chimp Haven staff, the chimpanzees seem to find comfort when they see a familiar face. Though just a brief encounter at pick-up and transfer, it is evident that my face and voice have been permanently etched into their memory as they reach for me in search of reassurance. I oblige, as we get them transported to their new enclosures. It is personally fulfilling to be a contributing factor in the chimpanzees’ transition to retirement and sanctuary living. The memories of the journey, the first steps into the lush play yards and habitats, and the priceless looks into the skyline above will forever be etched in my own mind and heart.

After working with chimpanzees for nearly a decade, their intelligence still never ceases to amaze me.  Chimpanzees are said to be the cognitive equivalent of a 4-year-old human child. Two of the most fascinating cognitive traits of chimpanzees are their ability to deceive and empathize with others.

Ben is a playful chimpanzee who enjoys interacting with his human caregivers and, as we recently learned, is quite taken with a lovely female chimpanzee named Pam. Ben can sometimes be seen dragging his leg awkwardly behind him as if he is injured.  Usually he only does it to get attention, but one can never be sure. Recently, while interacting with one of Ben’s group mates I noticed Ben dragging his leg. I immediately turned my attention to him when suddenly he was “healed”. Yep, he pulled a fast one on me. He even proceeded to enlist me in a game of chase! Ben at one time also used this leg dragging technique in an attempt to capture the attention of Pam. When he first met Pam, he could periodically be seen leg dragging while in Pam’s presence, only to stop when he realized that Pam’s attention was focused elsewhere. Once he realized that Pam was watching, he continued dragging his leg. Now that Ben has lived with Pam for awhile, he no longer uses this technique, presumably because he has realized that it doesn’t help to woo Pam.

Brent is another chimpanzee at the sanctuary who has been observed using deception to get what he wants.  Recently, care staff heard Brent give a few weak coughs. As chimpanzees can contract colds from each other and humans, the veterinary staff keeps a close eye on them to monitor their health. But Brent’s cough seems to come and go. Not because the veterinary staff medically intervenes, but rather for juice. We’ve discovered that it comes when staff has a bottle of juice around, a favorite treat of Brent’s, and goes when the juice has run out.

Empathy is another complex emotion that we’ve witnessed many times with the chimpanzees. Flora will frequently share food with her close friend Gina who is very timid and low ranking. Food sharing is quite uncommon between adult captive chimpanzees so witnessing such rare compassion is very touching. Generally food sharing is seen between a mother and infant; however, Flora will not share food with her infant daughter Valentina Rose, just Gina. Very interesting.

It’s always fun watching what each chimpanzee will do next and trying to determine what they are thinking. I imagine with the arrival of many chimpanzees this year, there will be plenty deceptive and empathizing moments. I can’t wait!

Spraetz, an Atlanta native, comes to the sanctuary with more than 24 years of experience as a chief executive to nonprofit organizations in Georgia. Most recently, she served as president and chief executive officer at Partnership Against Domestic Violence, the oldest and largest domestic violence organization in Georgia. Her expertise lies in board development, fundraising, financial acumen, program innovation and staff talent development.

Spraetz will be working closely with staff to prepare the sanctuary for the remaining New Iberia chimpanzees in addition to developing fundraising and organizational advancement opportunities. In our time of transition, we encourage suggestions as to how we can better serve our chimpanzees, donors and supporters. Please send any comments to information@chimphaven.org.