Recently in Party Category

Back in February we featured Brandon Wood on our blog. For those of you who don't yet know him I encourage you to find out more about this amazing individual. Visit his blog at http://makeachimpsmile.blogspot.com/ or find him on Facebook. Yes, Brandon is a SuperKid and inspiration to chimpanzee advocates everywhere!  Yesterday, in celebration of his birthday, we here at CHCI threw a party for the chimpanzees sponsored by his mom, Deanna Fawcett Wood. 

The human caregivers had a blast setting up the party room for the chimpanzees. Forage treats included in the party room were as follows: cherries, peaches, apricots, walnuts, licorice and grape juice.  From what I could tell the party was a success with the chimpanzees too!

Dar enjoying his forage.

Loulis food peering at Tatu's plum.

Loulis relaxing in the party room. Notice his drooped lip? That's a relaxed and happy chimpanzee face.

Dar with one of his favorites . . . juice, of course!

Tatu discovers the piñata treats.

Tatu & Loulis in the party room enjoying their respective treats.

The party continued later with pizza, fruit tea, and a fruit platter for dinner.  All and all it appeared a satisfying party for these three chimpanzees.  Thanks again to Brandon & Deanna for making it possible.

This morning's party in celebration of the 4th of July was a laid back affair. Decorations and forage treats were provided for the daytime enrichment that all three chimpanzees relished; these included saltine & peanut butter sandwiches, raisins and red licorice. After the initial rush for the forage, Dar and Tatu headed outside to enjoy the morning sunshine leaving Loulis alone in the East playroom. Loulis took this opportunity for play (with the human taking pictures!) and for finishing up the leftovers.  A little while later, Tatu joined Loulis in East and settled down for a post-party nap.  

Thanks to the generous donations from both the Groves Conference 2010 and FOW member Evelyn Tulloss the party in honor of Washoe's birthday this year was quite a success.  The funds were used to purchase decorations and treats for the playrooms as well as a Dairy Queen dinner later that evening. 

While filming the festivities I was witness to much chimpanzee excitement, expressed in food-grunts, squeaks and even a pant hoot or two, and what seemed to be general contentment in a well orchestrated party.  Two events stand out in memory that I'd like to share. 

First, Loulis, in his quest for treats, happened upon a large plastic mirror hung on one of the rungs in EAST playroom. Often Loulis pulls things down or off of the walls and platforms during his food forages and I expected to see much the same on this day. Instead, Loulis used the mirror to watch Dar who was engaged with a frozen juice bottle across the enclosure. Loulis appeared to be entertained in this way for a short while as he enjoyed his own treats at leisure.
 
Second, Tatu encountered a new and different toy in the shape of a large syringe-like squirt gun filled with water.  What I found so interesting about this encounter is that it slowly unfolded throughout the mornings activities.  When they first entered the EAST playroom Tatu found the squirt gun lying across a large tractor tire. She picked it up at this time, examined it briefly, and then laid it back in the same spot.  Following this introduction she came back to it again and again as she foraged for treats, each time touching it or picking it up but subsequently replacing it on the tire.  Once the foraged treats were consumed and the "party" portion of the morning was winding down, Tatu casually approached the tire, picked up the squirt gun, and continued on to a safe spot in WEST from which to thoroughly examine this new object. After initial defeat, having first tried to bite the end off, Tatu quickly figured out the real mechanics of this toy and squirted the water out onto the floor. This sudden pool was quite a surprise to Loulis who had been closely food-peering as Tatu finished her treats!
Unfortunately, I don't have pictures to show you of these events. However, I hope you enjoy the ones that did turn out.  Thanks again for helping us to enrich the lives of Washoe's family in so many ways!

Loulis's  birthday is May 10^th.  Often his birthday falls on Mother's Day and, even when it doesn't, it's so close that the celebrations have been combined together into one big party.   This year's party was sponsored by the generous donation of Pamela Farr in memory of her mother, Helen Balich Farr.  Pamela's donation provided a fabulous luau themed party with plenty of treats for the chimpanzees.    Treat bags included any combination of the following items:  granola bars; pretzels; ranch-flavored sunflower seeds; chewy fruit snacks; strawberry newtons; peanut butter sandwich crackers; apple juice boxes and raisins.  In addition to the treat bags, Audrey Johnson, one of CHCI's current volunteers created home-made frozen peanut butter banana pops as a special surprise.  Decorating was fun and accompanied by the excited breathy-pants & occasional pant-hoots of the chimpanzees as they watched the preparations. 

Loulis with a banana pop from the top of the platform in the East playroom.

Tatu (foreground) and Loulis (background) foraging for treats.

Dar in action (in the shaky tree) snagging a treat bag from the wall.

Loulis on his way out to enjoy both the sunshine and more banana pops.

For those who don't know, recently CHCI started offering the ability to sponsor a party for the chimpanzees by donating for the cost of party decorations and treats. Some generous folks (Thanks Kevin & Jennifer!) donated to the chimpanzees in honor of their friend Sun's birthday. Their donation provided trail mix, party decorations, soft pretzels and animal crackers. The trail mix and animal crackers were taped up tightly in cardboard boxes to make the forage challenging. As the caregivers carried the enrichment and party treats past the chimpanzees into the playrooms and announced that today was a party, excited breathy pants began. They peered through the doors watching us climbing high to scatter the treats around and decorate the room with sci-fi themed enrichment.

            When the doors finally opened, the chimpanzees hurried excitedly into the east playroom and began hunting for goodies. Tatu immediately found a soft pretzel hidden near a tire, still warm from the oven.

Loulis foraged through some clothes, eating raisins and M&Ms that were scattered in some clothing.

Dar stumbled upon what looked like spaghetti noodles and dumplings and gave it a try.

He quickly discovered to his dismay it was fake, just yarn made of noodles and fake dumplings; after this initial disappointment Dar searched a little harder and soon climbed up high onto a platform to discover one of the big taped boxes filled with trail mix and animal crackers. Dar pretty quickly figured out how to get the box open. It took a little time pulling apart all of that tape, but he enjoyed his reward, a whole box to himself. 

            The rest of the morning was fairly relaxed. The chimpanzees continued searching for treats excitedly and Loulis engaged in a very fast game of chase with one of the caregivers in between forages. Tatu found another treat box up high in the climbing tree while Dar made his way to relax near the cargo net. All in all it was a very happy morning!

St. Patrick's Day at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute was a day of celebration! Thanks to a sponsorship by Katie Dobkowski, the chimpanzees enjoyed an elaborate feast of treats in the morning and a special evening meal. The morning's festivities were so exciting, in fact, that neither Tatu, Loulis, nor Dar came in for lunch!

The interns on staff the morning of March 17^th put out decorations and all kinds of treats for the chimpanzees to enjoy. On party days, special food items are scattered around one of the playrooms and hidden in enrichment items to allow the party to last all day! For this party, food was hidden in small envelopes, sealed containers, purses, bags, and even scattered over the high climbing structures! Sometimes the chimpanzees are still munching on morning treats on their way in for dinner in the afternoon! For St. Patrick's Day, Tatu, Loulis, and Dar enjoyed raisins, figs, mixed dried fruit (including prunes, pears, apples, and apricots), peanuts, sunflower seeds, and even some peanut butter-filled pretzels. Some extra-special treats included cheese crackers, some pieces of candy, and apple juice boxes. The feast was met with excited food grunts and squeaks from all three chimpanzees. Loulis especially enjoyed the pretzels with peanut butter, while Dar ate many of the "Fig Newton"-style apple bars. Tatu tasted a little bit of everything, especially enjoying the juice boxes and cheese crackers.

The chimpanzees are always served a carbohydrate-based dinner, and its ingredients vary each day. On St. Patrick's Day, the chimpanzees were served sandwiches with peanut butter and bananas. Sandwiches are a favorite around CHCI, and these sandwiches were served with a side of potato, carrot, and onion casserole prepared by CHCI technician Lisa Schuster-Lyons.

Thank you to Katie Dobkowski for providing support for this celebration! The decorations looked great and the food was delicious! Parties are a very special way for the human caregivers to make captive life more interesting for Tatu, Loulis, and Dar. To find out how you can sponsor a party, please visithttp://friendsofwashoe.org/party_sponsors.shtml.

Since the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day fell on the same date this year, the chimpanzees at CHCI celebrated Chinese New Year a little early. For Valentine's day, decorations and other related party items were prepared over the three-day weekend and were ready for the chimpanzees to enjoy!



While every day at CHCI there is a theme to the enrichment that the chimpanzees receive, the themed enrichment on holidays is extra special. All of the students and volunteers at CHCI worked together to make hand-crafted decorations for the chimpanzees' RED HUG/LOVE DAY celebration. The East Play Room was decked out in red and white and pink streamers, hearts, and clothes. Cellophane bags held stuffed animals and tasty treats. Perky purses and apparel pockets hid more treats, including lollipops, chocolate-covered marshmallows, peanut butter cheese cracker packs, raisins, sunflower seeds, and 100%-fruit-juice boxes.



Dar collected several of the cellophane bags and sat on the wooden platform to enjoy the spoils: lollipops, raisins, and sunflower seeds. He opened all of the bags with his teeth and peeled the cellophane back like wrapping paper. Loulis went for the treats hidden on the upper wooden platform - marshmallows and fruit juice. Loulis also pulled down all of the streamers one by one, making a colorful mess on the floor. Tatu found all of the peanut butter cheese crackers and ate the peanut butter first, before enjoying the crackers.



After all the treats were gone, the chimpanzees settled down for mid-morning naps. Valentine's Day was a sweet success!

This year the Chinese (Lunar) New Year and Valentine's Day fell on the same day, so we celebrated the New Year a little early. In the East Room, interns hung paper dragons, dragon masks, red decorations for luck, pictures of tigers and fish, and a huge sign that said "Happy New Year" in English and Mandarin. There were also raisins, an exciting favorite.


When the doors opened, there were lots of pant-hoots, and excitement as the chimpanzees raced around, picking up raisins all over the playroom, and playing chase. After all of the raisins were gone, Loulis made another loop around the room, pulling down all of the decorations, red sheets and clothes, streamers, the paper dragon hanging over the wooden platform, and finally the red "Happy New Year" sign.



For dinner, all three of the chimpanzees attended a special order Chinese take-out party sponsored by Kathy Gee.  We ordered the following items from Panda Garden for the feast: Egg Flower Soup, Crab Cheese Won Tons; Almond Chicken; Garlic Chicken; Vegetable Fried Rice and extra Fortune Cookies (3 each).  Prior to the start of the meal the interns were drooling over the smell and we took bets on which items might be favored.


The meal offered a number of surprises.  First, the Egg Flower Soup was served as a forage in paper cups hidden in the night-time enclosures.  Although Dar tasted the soup, the forage was primarily commandeered by Tatu, who drank almost every cupful while Dar and Loulis looked on.  Crackers were a bust so Dani, the evening's server, moved onto the main courses.  In the second surprise of the evening Dar took a shining to the Crab Cheese Won Tons and managed to eat all eight!! Tatu picked through the offerings for bits and pieces while Loulis tasted everything on the plate.  Interestingly, no one was very taken with the chicken.


The fortune cookies were served for desert and enjoyed by all, once we told them they were cookies!   Prior to that explanation the chimpanzees merely looked askance at this seemingly ridiculous looking offering.  At least, that's what I imagine they were thinking considering their initial facial expressions and general lack of excitement.  Overall the meal was quite a success but maybe next time we should try some pork? 

Today is Tatu's birthday and an exciting day for her indeed, filled with the many treats she loves, pants and hugs from her dear mates, Dar and Loulis.  As I pondered Tatu's birthday this morning on my commute, I thought about her mother, Thelma.  Tatu's birthday, like most mammal's birthdays, really involved two people, Tatu and her mother.  Usually mothers are overjoyed at the appearance of their wrinkled baby.  I wonder how Tatu's mother, Thelma, felt.  On December 30, 1975 Thelma lost her baby.  Tatu arrived in the Gardner's cross-fostering laboratory on January 2, 1976, just 3 days old.  Meanwhile Thelma had a total of 8 babies; she was used as a breeder by the biomedical community.  She went from the Institute for Primate Studies in Oklahoma, to the Laboratory for Experimental and Surgical in Primates (LEMSIP), to Coulston Foundation and now thankfully she is in sanctuary at Save the Chimps in Ft. Pierce, FL.  So Tatu's birthday gave me pause today to think of the sadness that her mother endured on the day she lost yet another baby.  I follow this with applause to the many people who continue to work to end this cycle of exploitation.  Thanks to you all.

 

Here are some pictures from the party today!

 Humans prepping all the exciting treats for the day - including Tatu's favorite: MILK!

Tatu enjoying some of the treats from the party!

Dar stuffed his mouth with three clementines before heading up to the cargo net.