February 2009 Archives

CHCI would like to thank Friends of Washoe member Suzanne Beeler, of Austin, Texas for sponsoring this year's Valentine's Day party for the chimpanzees, as a gift for her mother Pam Feikema. We would also like to thank the Kindergarten and 5th grade students at Lincoln Elementary school for help creating decorations and Alexis McClelland of the CWU Civic Engagement Center for coordinating their efforts. Our second sponsored party this year was Valentine's Day, known as RED DAY or RED LOVE DAY around these parts. Because Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year, and we only have a skeleton crew on the weekends, we celebrated on Thursday, February 12. Of course, the 12th itself was important day, as it was Charles Darwin's 200th birthday! Thanks to the generous donation from Suzanne Beeler, caregiver Shannon Wallin was able to run all over town, shopping for treats and decorations for the big day. She found Necco hearts, chocolate-covered marshmallow hearts, cherry Italian ice cups, and raisins, as well as Valentine-themed window clings, streamers, tablecloths, plastic bags, treat containers, and wrapping paper. We also got several new toys for the day, including a two-foot long red toothbrush, a large ant toy, a huge chalk compass, a baby doll, a red foam crown, and a scrubbing mitten. These toys might not scream Valentine's to you, but it is always fun to get something new and unusual for the chimpanzees.

The Kindergarten and 5th grade students at Lincoln Elementary created some great decorations for the party. We had masks filling the windows in the East Room, and lined up brightly decorated (and googly-eyed) paper-cup shakers along the windowsill (see picture below).

All of the chimpanzees really enjoyed the celebration. Loulis explored the entire room before choosing what to eat first. The picture above shows Loulis looking under some decorations for some hidden treats. Dar enjoyed the frozen Pomegranate juice. However, it was very difficult to get to. The picture below shows the aftermath of Dar pouring some water into the bottle, which helped melt the frozen juice. Tatu collected as many treats as she could, mostly hidden in tires and boxes. Since the juice was frozen, she moved on to some Italian Ice and bags of candy (see bottom picture) coming back to the juice later on.

 

January 26, 2009 marked the Chinese New Year and the beginning of the Year of the Ox. In the traditional Chinese zodiac, the Ox is thought to represent success, through hard work and strength of mind. We've certainly lots of strong minds and hard workers at CHCI, so we're hoping for a particularly successful year!

One way we are hoping to make 2009 a success is by offering our friends and supporters a chance to sponsor a party for the chimpanzees.To kick off the new program, two familiar faces from CHCI sponsored this year's Chinese New Year party. Shannon Wallin is the lead caregiver at CHCI and has been working for the chimpanzees since 2000. Jason Wallin is Shannon's husband and a second year graduate student at CHCI. He's been working for the chimpanzees since 2003.

On most party days, CHCI students and interns decorate the chimpanzees' indoor areas (the East or West Rooms). Today, however, the celebration centered on dinner, so we decorated the chimpanzees' Night Enclosure Area.

Jason had printed out short signs with the Han characters for gong hei fat choi, which translate as "congratulations and be prosperous," a traditional greeting for the holiday. He also printed out drawings of Zao Jun, the Chinese kitchen god. Traditionally, Chinese families hang a paper effigy of the kitchen god above their fireplaces during the New Year season. These decorated the rooms, along with red clothing, red blankets, and some plastic oxen (okay, really they were cows).

After we put up the decorations, but before we invited the chimpanzees into the Night Enclosures, we put out some fresh oranges to begin the meal. Citrus is also a traditional food around New Year. Shannon and Jason purchased Cha Sui Bao (steamed pork buns) and spring rolls for the occasion and CHCI volunteers steamed a big pot of rice. These were all arranged on a platter, atop a pile of shredded cabbage.

The chimpanzees entered the Night Enclosures and immediately started in on their orange forage, with excited squeaks and food grunts. Austin, who was serving that night, offered CRACKERS (protein biscuits) as an added appetizer. Then he brought out the feast! Tatu watched with interest as Austin served up the rice, Cha Sui Bao, and spring rolls.

Everybody enjoyed the oranges and rice and each picked a bit at the spring rolls. No one, though, seemed to think much of the steamed buns--even after we broke one open to show her the meat inside. Tatu loves meat, but was apparently unconvinced by the slightly gelatinous, purple mass at the heart of the buns. All in all, though, it was a fun and different evening meal.

While we've learned that Cha Sui Bao might not be the chimpanzees' favorite food, our Chinese New Year party certainly was a success! Jason and Shannon we happy to help make it possible, and we all look forward to celebrating more parties with the Tatu, Dar, Loulis (and you!) this year.

Here at CHCI, we receive produce donations from one of our local grocery stores to supplement our food budget. This can lead to piles and piles of a particular type of seasonal produce, so much that we don't know what to do with it all! It's up to the interns' ingenuity and creativity with food to make the monotonous piles of produce into fun and interesting meals. With that in mind, the chimpanzees also have their own ideas on what they would like to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Combining available produce with chimpanzee wishes can be both a challenge and a reward. This afternoon, while on an interaction with the chimpanzees, Tatu requested cereal for dinner, a chimpanzee favorite. Since I was scheduled to make dinner, I decided to see what seasonal produce we had that I could use with the desired cereal. This week's grocery run produced a large pile of avocadoes (which Dar and Loulis in particular enjoy), bell peppers in four exciting colors, and onions (which everyone in particular enjoy). I decided to make farina for Tatu, and began digging around in the refrigerator for something to put in it. I found some string cheese in the door, along with a large pile of tomatoes. I grabbed both, along with an onion, and a pepper of each color, and began chopping. Soon I had a large bowl full of colorful pico de gallo, and four avocadoes on the cutting board. I halved the avocadoes, and mashed them up into a thick, green paste, then I mixed a little of the pico de gallo into the mashed avocadoes, and voila! Guacamole! Next I prepared the farina and, while it was sitting, cut up three sticks of string cheese. I mixed the string cheese into the farina, making a very sticky, gloppy, white mess. In went the pico de gallo to make it bright and colorful. Mexican Farina! Serve immediately to keep veggies crisp, with guacamole on the side.

I was scheduled to train on interacting with the chimpanzees. Lisa (my trainer) told me that Tatu would really like some lipstick. I went to the bin and picked out several colors (including black, Tatu's favorite) and some flavored chapsticks. We don't give the lipstick to the chimpanzees; they stick their lips out through the caging and we apply it for them. We went into the human cage (a place where we do interactions with the chimpanzees. It is designed to make it look like the humans, not the chimpanzees, are in the small cage) to offer them to her. I lined them up on the floor so she could see what options I had for her. I signed, WHICH YOU WANT? Tatu was eating a piece of lime so I waited for her to finish. All of a sudden, Tatu got up and ran into the other room. She turned in the doorway and looked back at me. I had no idea what she was doing and I think she could see that on my face. She came charging back to the human cage with her hair pilo erect and a hose in her hand. She looked like she was displaying threat behaviors so I backed up in case she was going to try to hit me with the hose. When she got to where we were, she shoved the hose through the caging like I thought she was going to, but she wasn't directing it at me. She went directly for the lipstick and knocked the black one into the red zone (the area around the enclosures where the chimpanzees can reach out and where we are never allowed to reach into...). The black lipstick was hers! Now whenever I apply lipstick for Tatu she positions me next to a hose so she is always ready (or maybe I am paranoid).