April 2009 Archives

 Editor's Note: Everyday at CHCI we put out a wide variety of enrichment items for the chimpanzees, usually based around some theme. Here are the themes from the 30 days of April, 2009.

   1. Pajama Party
   2. Gina Day
   3. Fish Day
   4. General Enrichment
   5. General Enrichment
   6. Envelope Day
   7. Box Day
   8. Chimpanzee Baby Day
   9. Super Normal Stimuli Day (really cute stuff)
  10. Orange Day
  11. General Enrichment
  12. General Enrichment
  13. Easter
  14. Model Day
  15. Smell Day
  16. Ball Day
  17. Kite Day
  18. General Enrichment
  19. General Enrichment
  20. Pasty-White People Day
  21. Africa Day
  22. Clothes Day
  23. April Showers Day
  24. Backwards Day
  25. General Enrichment
  26. General Enrichment
  27. Spider Web Day
  28. Bank Robber Day
  29. Sunglasses/ Beach Day
  30. Up-High Day  

The "luck o' the Irish" was with Tatu, Loulis, and Dar on St. Patrick's Day, also known as GREEN DAY, accompanied by green decorations, treats, and an exciting dinner! The day began with the usual breakfast smoothie, and while the chimpanzees enjoyed an after-smoothie apple, the interns at CHCI went to work putting out an extravagant forage!  Thanks to a generous donation from Ginna Keulen, the East room was decorated from floor to ceiling with green streamers, plastic tablecloths, garland, and a large inflatable leprechaun (GREEN PERSON).

For some special treats, the chimpanzees foraged for apple juice with soda water (dyed green of course), spread out throughout their enclosure in paper cups.

 Also included in the donation from Ms. Keulen was a package of mint chocolate kisses (CHCOCOLATE SWEETS), and from the treat drawer at CHCI came walnuts, dried apricots, dried pineapple, and grape licorice!  The chimpanzees were very excited at the prospect of all of these treats! Dar especially enjoyed the green apple juice, while Tatu and Loulis seemed to prefer the nuts and chocolate kisses. The treats were hidden around their East room enclosure, in hats and clothing, under tires and even on top of their climbing structure.

Dar was so excited about the party, when asked what a picture of a leprechaun was, he replied, ICE CREAM (which the chimpanzees sometimes use to refer to parties). Tatu, Dar, and Loulis all enjoyed their special Irish celebration!

Tatu asks to smell your breath and then guesses what you had to eat last. Typically she signs "ONION" whenever I blow in her face. In my defense, it is usually after I've been in class for a few hours and I haven't had anything to eat or drink. Whatever, like your breath is always great. Tatu loves onions so I'm not that offended, but I would still rather see her sign something more pleasant, like sweet... Anyway, I went to do an interaction and Tatu came up to the human cage. She signed "SMELL"... I had just downed an entire cup of of coffee a few minutes before going in. To my delight, Tatu smelled my breath and signed, "COFFEE". I replied, "RIGHT YES I DRANK COFFEE"... Finally, something other than onion 

Jobetta Hedelman visited CHCI during one of our Chimposiums and read Next of Kin. She wrote a piece about her experience in the April 4 edition of the Yakima Herald-Republic.