OOTD: What Chimp Haven Caregivers Wear (and Why)

Ever wonder what it’s like to work at a chimpanzee sanctuary? Behavior Technician Gia breaks down the daily uniform and the reasons behind it.

Working with chimps is an incredible job, and if you see any of the animal care staff around the sanctuary, you’ll notice we all wear the same uniform and tools. At Chimp Haven, animal care staff consists of Husbandry, Behavior, and Vet staff. The uniform unifies us as an animal care team, but also serves very practical purposes. Come with me to better understand what a Chimp Haven “Outfit of the Day” (OOTD) looks like.

Khaki Pants

One major aspect of our uniform is our khaki pants. These pants are super comfortable, making it easier for us to perform all our daily duties. They also have multiple pockets for us to carry around our keys, notebooks, and treats (like fruit snacks) that the chimps really love.

Shirts: Long- and Short-Sleeved

Every animal care staff member wears a Chimp Haven staff shirt each day, and we have both long-sleeved and short-sleeved options. The short-sleeved shirt is perfect for hot, humid summers in Louisiana, but I personally love the long-sleeved shirts even more. Some of our residents like to throw things at us when they want to play or get our attention; even if their intentions are good, it’s nice to have our arms covered when that happens. Long-sleeved shirts can really be a lifesaver in those less-than-ideal situations.

Belt, Carabiner Tool, and Keys

We always wear a belt with our keys attached to a carabiner on our belt loops. We use keys all the time; we enter every chimp area with a key, and with the number of locks it takes to keep the chimps safe and secure, we always need the keys on our person. I also like to wear a carabiner tool that has a small pocketknife to open packages, cut wood wool and hay string, etc.

Steel-Toed Shoes/Boots

When working with chimpanzees, the animal care team often lifts and moves heavy objects (e.g. large enrichment items, bales of hay, power washing equipment). Wearing steel-toed shoes ensures that if something heavy accidentally drops on our feet, we have an extra layer of protection.

In addition, Chimp Haven is a no-contact facility; we never touch the chimpanzees with our hands or other parts of our body (with the exception of necessary medical care). Otherwise, we might contact the chimpanzees with sticks and long-handled spoons or with our steel-toed shoes (many of the chimps love our boots).

One of my favorite chimps, Gilligan, absolutely loves to play by touching the steel-toed tips of boots. Some chimps, like Bandit, will also play tag by touching your boot quickly, running across the yard with you, and touching your boot again. Steel-toed shoes not only keep us safe when we lift heavy objects, but they also allow for a safe way for care staff to interact and form strong relationships with chimps.

Bandanas & Headbands

All the items we wear in our daily uniform live at Chimp Haven forever; once they’ve gone near the chimps, they stay at Chimp Haven. Some of us have designated bandanas and headbands that we wear to help keep our hair clean and out of our faces while performing daily tasks like cleaning, distributing medications, enrichment, and positive reinforcement training.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

One of the most important parts of our daily uniform is wearing PPE (personal protective equipment). Anytime we are within six feet of the chimpanzees, we wear a pair of gloves, two masks, and a face shield. If we are making enrichment, diets, or anything that will be given to the chimpanzees, we wear gloves and masks. This is to protect both us and the chimpanzees. Just as humans can catch sickness from each other, chimpanzees can transmit illness to other chimpanzees and to humans (as well as humans to chimpanzees). Wearing PPE helps keep us and the chimps healthy by covering up our mouth, nose, and eyes when we are near them to prevent any illness from spreading.

Function over fashion? At Chimp Haven, it’s both – we may not make the cover of Vogue, but the chimps love to see us coming, and at the sanctuary, khaki and steel toes are always in style.

Gia Hamalis