By Jordan Green, Behavior Technician When doing positive reinforcement training with the chimps, we often reference a set of guidelines written by Karen Pryor called “The Ten Modern Principles of Shaping.” One of these principals states that a trainer should “raise the criteria in small increments” when working with trainees. What this means in practice…
Today, as many of our STEM colleagues hold important conversations around diversity and inclusion in our fields, we want to share an important perspective from Dr. Raven Jackson-Jewett, Attending Veterinarian and Director of Veterinary Care at Chimp Haven. Since 2010, Dr. J has worked tirelessly to keep the sanctuary’s 300 chimpanzee retirees healthy and thriving…
Written by: Hailey Adams, Behavior Technician Long shadows stretch from the trees as I move along the narrow trail following my dog, Parker, closely. We are walking the “monkey trails” named for their proximity to Chimp Haven, though they really should be called the “great ape” trails. We’ve started our hike early in the morning…
Written by Miranda Cave, Chimp Caregiver Chimpanzees in the wild are very resourceful as they find their meals throughout the day. Like humans, chimpanzees are omnivores, meaning that they eat both plants and animals. Wild chimps will eat most fruits or vegetables that they can find, use tools to hunt insects, and will even hunt…
Written by Jordan Green, Behavior Technician As new chimpanzees arrive at the sanctuary, staff gets to know them while they spend time in our McGrath Welcoming Center settling it. It’s one of my absolute favorite parts of my job. Learning the personalities, likes, and dislikes of our new arrivals and beginning to form relationships with…
Tag along with Chimp Haven’s Attending Veterinarian, Dr. J, as she describes her daily chimpanzee observation process. Each day I pull alongside my office building I am met by a familiar dark face with his lip flipped upward revealing four missing teeth. It’s Henry with his morning smile. As I make my way closer I…
Written by: Miranda Cave, Chimpanzee Caregiver Just like people, chimpanzees can be very picky about which foods they like and which ones they don’t. Some of them also have certain foods that are their favorites or particular ways that they prefer to eat certain foods. Some of the chimps are discrete when they refuse certain…
Written by: Jordan Green, Behavior Technician The chimpanzees who call Chimp Haven home receive enrichment 365 days a year to help keep them healthy and thriving. Enrichment is something that helps the chimps practice behaviors they would do in the wild. For example, we might scatter food in their rooms so they can spend time…
Are you interested in working with primates when you grow up? Chimp Haven’s Behavior Coordinator, Leilani, is answering 11 questions about working with chimps! When did you first know you wanted to work with animals? When I was about 5 years old, I would try to take care of the animals in my yard, like…
Chimp Haven supporters, As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact us all, I want to share an update on the latest measures Chimp Haven is taking to ensure the safety of our team and the chimpanzees. As a no-touch facility, our staff does not directly touch or handle the chimps, and all staff members wear…
Written by: Ellen Brady-McGaughey, Chimpanzee Caregiver Sabrina Boyd, Chimpanzee Caregiver After arriving at the sanctuary early last year from a research facility in Texas, Hobbes’s group of six – which included Bart, Maxi, Cybil, Taffy, and Kaya – was introduced to another group of 15 to create our largest group of 21 chimpanzees. Once the…
This week at the sanctuary, Donovan is feeling himself, Diane maybe forgot how to climb trees, Phyllis takes a much-deserved break, and more. First up, Donovan catches a glimpse of himself in Caregiver Nicole’s camera, and we think it’s safe to say he liked what he saw. Next up, did Diane forget how to climb,…
Chimp Haven Supporters, Like you, Chimp Haven is monitoring the news and developing situation around the COVID-19 virus. As a supporter of Chimp Haven, I want to let you know how the sanctuary is preparing to ensure the health and safety of our visitors, staff, and the chimps. First, as we announced earlier this week,…
Our first five arrivals of the year came to us in January, and they’ve spent the past few weeks getting settled in. Meet our newbies below! Alfredo Alfredo may be a sanctuary newbie, but he’s already a staff favorite. Everyone loves him, and as you get to know him, it’s no mystery why. He loves…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you this week! Thirty-nine-year-old…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you this week! Happy…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you this week! Sometimes…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you this week! Randy…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you this week! Thirty-four-year-old…
It’s that time of year: when we pause to reflect on all that the present year brought us, and all that we hope to accomplish in the year to come. This year, you helped Chimp Haven achieve incredible progress for former research chimpanzees this year – and we are so thankful for your support. In…
by Jordan Green, Behavior Technician (formerly Animal Caregiver) If you’ve ever visited Chimp Haven, you may have heard some terms and phrases we use as caregivers that are unique to life at the sanctuary (and honestly sound a little strange at first!). Below are ten definitions that will have you speaking caregiver in no time!…
The below is a statement from Rana Smith, President and CEO of Chimp Haven, regarding this morning’s decision from the National Institutes of Health to withhold all 44 chimpanzees who currently remain at the Alamogordo Primate Facility from transferring to retirement at Chimp Haven: We are disappointed by the decision of the National Institutes of…
With 31 new chimps joining us at the sanctuary so far this year, the Chimp Haven family has now grown to nearly 300 chimpanzees! As we prepare for more new arrivals this fall, we continue to make progress toward our sanctuary expansion to make room for nearly 200 chimpanzees who still remain in research facilities…
While summer is technically winding down, you wouldn’t know it at Chimp Haven! The chimps are still enjoying long summer days and their favorite warm weather activities. Here’s what they’ve been up to this summer: In fact, the only thing that beats fruit during the summer is one of the chimps’ very favorite treats: Popsicles!…
It is with heavy hearts that we share the sad news that Chimp Haven’s oldest resident, Sarah Anne, has passed, just shy of her 60th birthday. Sarah Anne came to Chimp Haven in 2006, and her intelligence, feisty attitude, and regal disposition quickly made her one of the most beloved personalities at the sanctuary. Before…
With nearly 30 new chimps joining us at the sanctuary so far this year, the Chimp Haven family has now grown to nearly 300 chimpanzees! Right now, our new arrivals are spending their first sunny spring days at the sanctuary, and we’re so excited to continue to get to know them. But as you know,…
These chimps are spending their first spring at the sanctuary thanks to you!
If you were to ask the chimps, we bet they’d say spring is their favorite time of year. With cold weather on the way out and sun on the way in, they’re spending more time outside at the sanctuary napping, playing, and soaking up the sun!
As all of us – humans and chimps! – happily welcome spring at the sanctuary, we also continue to welcome new chimp retirees to our Chimp Haven family. We’re thrilled to share that our most recent arrivals (whom you’ll meet in this newsletter) bring our current colony to more than 280 chimpanzees. Right now, they’re…
by Jordan Green, Chimp Haven Animal Caregiver It’s safe to say that caring for chimpanzees – let alone more than 270 of them – is a unique profession! Caregivers are often asked what it is like to work with chimps from friends, family, and sanctuary guests. I surveyed some of our caregivers for their favorite…
Chimp Haven retirees are trained (using positive reinforcement) to participate in their own veterinary care and individualized wellbeing plans. Chimps can be trained to show care staff a scratch on their arm, to take an injectable medication (such as insulin), or even to allow for monitoring of more complex health issues, such as arthritis or…
Today the Chimp Haven sanctuary is home to more than 270 chimps, most of whom have been retired from biomedical research. But with more than 200 chimps still remaining in research facilities waiting to come to Chimp Haven, our work is not done yet. With our current facility very close to capacity, we’re expanding to create…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two…
With Valentine’s Day coming up, we’re celebrating ALL the love here at the sanctuary. One of the most wonderful things about life at Chimp Haven is watching new friendships, families, bromances, and, yes, even romances, develop between the retirees. We’re excited to share a few of those love stories here with you the next two…
This holiday season, as we reflect on all that we have to be grateful for, all of us at Chimp Haven remain so thankful your support. In 2018, we welcomed an incredible 42 new chimpanzees to Chimp Haven, bringing the total number of chimps in our care to 268. Nicole, who arrived this spring from a…
Chimp Haven retirees are trained, using positive reinforcement, to participate in their own veterinary care and individualized wellbeing plans. Chimps can be trained to show care staff a scratch on their arm, to take an injectable medication (such as insulin), or even to allow for monitoring of more complex health issues, such as arthritis or…
Chimp Haven retirees are trained, using positive reinforcement, to participate in their own veterinary care and individualized wellbeing plans. Chimps can be trained to show care staff a scratch on their arm, to take an injectable medication (such as insulin), or even to allow for monitoring of more complex health issues, such as arthritis or…
This summer, Michelle Reininger took the reins as Colony Director at the sanctuary after serving on the Animal Care team for five years. A native of South Dakota, Michelle began her career at a Texas sanctuary working with big cats, bears, wolves, and chimps. We sat down with Michelle to learn more about her path…
If you’ve met Opal, you’ve no doubt met Opal’s keys. Since the 38-year-old arrived at the sanctuary in 2016, it’s hard to remember a time when she didn’t have her beloved set of plastic toy keys in tow. Where she goes, they go. Opal is particular about who gets to “babysit” her keys. Only a…
Jordan Zivnuska, Animal Care Giver, Chimp Haven Loving. Playful. Protective. These words all describe Kelsey, not only as an individual, but in her role as a best friend. Kelsey arrived at Chimp Haven in 2016 and over time was introduced to her current troop. Kelsey is one of the higher ranking females in her group…
Clicks and juice for LaToya! This lady recently made some great progress in her positive reinforcement training. One thing you should know about LaToya is…she doesn’t like to shift. Shifting is something that happens every morning so that staff can clean the chimps’ habitats: all the chimps in a group are asked to come outside…
Today the Chimp Haven sanctuary is home to more than 250 chimps who have been retired from biomedical research. Here, they spend their days enjoying the Chimp Life, with forested habitats to explore, friends to meet, and fresh food to enjoy. Of course, our goal is to make sure all former research chimps get a chance…
Jordan Zivnuska, Animal Care Giver, Chimp Haven Chimpanzees, being incredibly intelligent tool users, are always coming up with new ways to surprise the care staff at Chimp Haven. Tinkerbell is one of the best at keeping us on our toes, as she recently proved in a battle of wills that we’ve come to know as…
Angel and Opal are part of the latest crew to retire to Chimp Haven and like the majority of chimpanzees at the sanctuary, these two come from a research background. However, unlike some chimp siblings born in captivity, these girls have lived with one another for many years. Beside the fact that they share the…
I am reaching out to share some important news regarding upcoming changes at Chimp Haven. It has and continues to be my honor and privilege to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer for this amazing organization, and I am very proud of how together, we have been able to not only maintain but grow…
Elijah, one of our newest retirees, has grown very attached to a blue barrel that is in his group’s outside enclosure. When he notices that it is time to shift to a different enclosure so staff can clean, he will move his barrel with him. This involves a lot of shimmying on his part because…
Recently, there have been a number of articles and blog posts focusing on the retirement of federally owned chimpanzees to Chimp Haven. This story really began many years ago when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) determined that there was no longer a need for chimpanzees to be used in any invasive research and that…
Chimp Haven’s oldest resident, Sarah Anne, just got a little bit older. Because she was born in the wild we do not know her exact birthdate, but we can estimate that she was born around August of 1959, making her 57 years old. The average lifespan of a chimpanzee is generally between 30 and 40…