The chimpanzees have enjoyed celebrating the holidays in the last few weeks in a variety of ways.  This time of year we all love the music, lights, and goodies that go along with the season.  The chimpanzees are no different!

The chimpanzees enjoyed candy canes one day this month.  This is a rare, once a year treat for the chimpanzees.  The veterinary and behavior departments work together to carefully monitor the chimpanzees weight and sugar intake.  Some of our chimpanzees are even on their own personal exercise programs!

On Christmas Eve the caregivers played carols and put up sparkling lights to entertain the chimpanzees.  We have discovered that many of the chimpanzees that don’t care for a wide variety of food really enjoy the sensory experiences that are provided for them.  In addition to the lights and music, we had a saxophone player come out and play live music for the chimpanzees.  Rita, Matthew, Keeli, and Flora were all enthralled with this experience.

The holiday celebrations continued with our enrichment technician and animal carestaff delivering over 260 presents to the chimpanzees.  The gifts were filled with donated nuts in the shell, pretzels, and more.  To see photos, check out the photo gallery link on our homepage or find us on Facebook or Flickr.com.   We thank all our volunteers and donors for making this holiday season one to remember for the chimpanzees and staff of Chimp Haven!