Comments On: PrimeApes Summer 2000

PrimeApes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation
PO. Box 488 WAOCHOLA, Fl. 33873 Vol 5 No. l , Summer 2000 Part1
GREETINGS FROM WAUCHULA
For our first few years of existence as a non-profit organization. the newsletter reports to our members were about our intense search to find appropriate sanctuary land for this project ...and also of our efforts to raise funds to build habitats large enough to comfortably house great apes.
"Banana parties", yard sales, art shows, silent auctions, and breakfasts under banyan trees all contributed to our efforts to fund a dream .... a dream to provide a permanent home for great apes that were no longer wanted in situations where they were kept as people's pets or as performing animals used commercially for ads and entertainment.
Now, that "dream" is a reality, .and we have been settling into this beautiful sanctuary location for 2 years! Pongo, Grub, Toddy, Christopher, Kenya, and Noelle are living a comfortable and secure life with their own species in spacious quarters ...spending their days involved in many interesting and enriching activities, and eating nutritious and healthy foods.
But so many more intelligent and sensitive great apes are in dire need of care. We've started to plan again, and a new additional nighthouse for chimpanzees was recently completed. Thanks to some very kind and caring donors, we have raised some of the funds to build the new adjoining outdoor play area. Work on it begins soon and should be completed by the end of summer.
We still need your help in keeping that dream alive! The long term care and provision for these animals is a constant challenge. Since we receive no government funding, we depend on membership fees and donations to continue our work. It is so important at this point in our growth to expand our membership numbers.
Won't you please renew your own membership... and also bring in a new member? If we could double our members who care about these primates and help support this project with their dues, we would be well on our way to helping more orangutans and chimpanzees!
Patti Ragan, Director
OUR PRIMATE CAREGIVERS
Lisa Leitten graduated from John Carroll University with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She then attended Central Washington University where she began working with five chimpanzees (one of them, Washoe, one of the first "signing" chimpanzees) at the Chimpanzee & Human Communication Institute under the direction of Dr. Roger Fouts. Lisa participated in various studies looking at chimpanzee conflict and reconciliation, locomotion, enrichment use, and sign language studies. Her master's thesis, which is currently in preparation for publication, examined how the five chimpanzees responded to their conversation partner when she didn't understand their requests for different objects. Lisa is currently enjoying the new experience of working with our younger orangutans and chimpanzees. She is a vegetarian, has recently adopted a greyhound (only 3 weeks off the race track), and is an avid photographer .... capturing many of our local native wildlife on film.
Tina Gilbert came to us from Ohio State University where she graduated with a BS degree majoring in Zoology and Psychology with a minor in Anthropology. She worked as a volunteer for over 5 years with Dr. Sally Boysen (our Advisory Board member) who has directed a chimpanzee cognition study for over 20 years. Tina worked with 9 chimpanzees from ages 3-40, ... and the chimps in Dr. Boysen's program can all do basic math! (They have been featured on several television programs including PBS Scientific American "Frontiers" with Alan Alda.) Tina is teaching Grub and Noelle to recognize color narries and match colors (for their own enrichment). Tina has wanted to work with primates since she was in the fifth grade. She loves chimpanzees and plans to work with them most of her career. She is our resident computer expert helping out with many office projects in addition to her ape care duties.
We are very fortunate to have two outstanding caregivers who have such valuable experience with adult apes.
Brad and Trouble
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PrimeApes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation
PO. Box 488 WAOCHOLA, Fl. 33873 Vol 5 No. l , Summer 2000 Part 2
Our "thank yous" to all our members and donors who continually help us provide care for apes at the sanctuary as well as prepare for the addition of other apes who need life-long care.
A very special thank you to the following
"Ape Angels"
*Our dear friend and donor Austin Weeks who has encouraged us to look to the future longterm needs of this project by establishing an Endowment Fund with a generous contribution. As this fund grows (it cannot be used for current operation expenses) the l0- , 30-, and 50-year future of our apes becomes more secure. A part of every membership dollar goes into this fund.
*Lynn Messner, who (also looking to the future stability of the Center) has set up a Charitable Remainder Trust as well as a Charitable Lead Trust for the benefit of the orangutans and chimpanzees who will spend their lives here. Lynn has also made a generous donation to our Building Fund for the new chimpanzee outdoor area.
*Jon Stryker and Rob Schram of the ARCUS Foundation who graciously responded to a plea for help as we try to prepare our outdoor area for additional chimpanzees needing a permanent home. Their generous donation and matching grant challenge has allowed us to begin construction on the new enclosure this summer.
*Tiffany and John Boswell for their continued financial support that greatly help us with our day- to-day operations.
*Ferdinand & Barbara Phillips, Jane Phillips, Barbara & Linda Crutchfield, Wayne Huizuenga Jr., IBM Corporation, Elaine Broadhead, Cindy & Jose Campo, Laura & Bill Jack, and Martha & Martin Kahn who have each contributed over $1000 this year to help with the care of the apes.
*The Law Offices of Patrick C. Barthet, PA. for the donation of two computer systems; Charlie Carlon for a laptop computer and color printer to be used in our new ChimpanZoo program; Vernon Kisling for an office copier; and William Ragan for a deep freezer for our ape feed room. *Laura.Shroyer, who put her considerable artistic talent to work for our benefit and donated 5 beautifully framed stained glass windows of great apes and several mosaic garden stones which raised over $1500 for the Center. They were a big hit, and she's working on more at our members' requests!
*Linda Crutchfield for the wonderful donation of a purple martin birdhouse and 4 bat houses which we've set up around the property. Bats eat over 3000 mosquitoes per hour!!
*Sandy & Ron Bryant of Sandy's Big Tree Produce for the frequent donation of fruits and vegetables to feed the apes ....(as they grow, their appetites grow. and Publix of Avon Park for the donation of apples and bananas.
*Hardee County Commissioner, Walter Olliff for the donation of several loads of fresh mulch for the natural substrate in the domed enclosures.
*Florida Game and Fish Commission Officer Darryl Scott who donated his time to help us host our April member event with an information & display table about native Florida wildlife.
*Cheryl Wells and John Sims of Coconut Curios for the donation of batik and carved art pieces for our silent auction in April.
*And a special thank you to the volunteers who labored (actually huffed & puffed) to install large natural oak-tree climbing structures in both the orangutan and the chimpanzee domes. Disney's Animal Kingdom employees Connie Philipp, Mike Sharmin, Tony & Dani Barthel, Debbie Machamer, and Justin Chuven came on their days off to construct these giant log "jungle gyms". Also, Walter Olliff and Chris Danhauer were indispensable to this effort!
Brad and Trouble
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PrimeApes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation
PO. Box 488 WAOCHOLA, Fl. 33873 Vol 5 No. l , Summer 2000 Part 3
GRUB & JOE
Joe is a 9-year-old male golden retriever who needed a home this year. We welcomed Joe to our sanctuary just six months ago and he has settled in quickly to his "main-dog" duties. He greets visitors with a friendly and gentle approach and dutifully follows staff around the property when we go about our daily business.
Joe had never seen chimpanzees and orangutans before, so we kept him away from the apes for a week to give him a chance to get used to his new home. When he first saw the orangutans, he was puzzled and alarmed and barked nervously. It didn't (faze 9-year-old Pongo (because he was raised around 2 golden retrievers), but Christopher hid behind Pongo and peeked over Pongo's shoulder at the dog.
The next day when Joe went up to the chimpanzee area, Grub was the first to see him and had an enormous "excitement grin" on his face. (Grub also was raised around a golden retriever named Red who lived at Parrot Jungle and who looked just like Joe. When Grub was around 4 years old, he used to go outside and play tag with Red.) As Joe got closer to the chimpanzee enclosure, Grub ran right over to the dog and signed "chase" in American Sign Language. Joe was still rather alarmed to see such an animal and continued to bark at Grub. When he didn't respond to Grub's "chase" invitation, Grub ran over to his monkey chow container, grabbed several of the biscuits, and ran back to Joe offering him a biscuit through the cage wire. Joe, distracted by the possibility of getting food, stopped barking and took the chow biscuit from Grub's fingers. Grub immediately fed him 3 more biscuits, and they have been friends since that day.
SIGN LANGUAGE LESSONS
Staff member Lisa Leitten has been teaching our chimpanzees American Sign Language as an enrichment activity. She started with the 8-year-old male chimp, Grub. The first sign he learned was "CHASE," (his favorite game to play around his outdoor dome). In the beginning, it was a challenge to get the concept across to Grub that a particular "sign" had a meaning. Once he realized that a gestural "sign" brought results (such as chasing him around), he started learning other signs very quickly.
While Lisa started with Grub, she soon found that 5-year-old Noelle was sitting in the background and watching Grub sign. Soon, Noelle was copying him!! First, she began signing "CHASE" to us, and then Grub began to sign "CHASE" directly to Noelle. So far, Grub, Noelle, and Kenya have learned about 15 signs such as "DRINK", "BERRY", "BISCUIT", "NUT", "COOKIE", "APPLE", "POTATO", "PEPPER" and "BANANA." Now, they're learning some harder signs such as "GOOD", "HURT", "SHOE", and "DOG".
Even though Noelle is the youngest, she is very smart, and usually learns new signs faster than the other apes. Last week while playing with the chimpanzees, caregiver Tina Gilbert commented to Noelle that she forgot to wear her boots. Noelle looked up at Tina and immediately signed "SHOE".
We look forward to teaching fun new signs to all our apes!
social behaviors.
Brad and Trouble
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PrimeApes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation
PO. Box 488 WAOCHOLA, Fl. 33873 Vol 5 No. l , Summer 2000 Part 4
ENVIRONMENTAL ENRICHMENT
Kathleen Conlee
Environmental enrichment enhances an animal's over-all well-being. The most effective enrichment encourages normal behavior for that species. In the case of the Center's apes, examples of these behaviors are climbing, swinging, nesting, and foraging, as well as various social behaviors.
The most important form of enrichment is simply housing apes together. Social housing enables primates to express normal social behaviors, such as play and grooming. Apes who live alone become bored and possibly pressed. Another type of enrichment can consist of permanent climbing structures in their habitat such as tree trunks, ropes and fire hoses for swinging and brachiating. Orangutans, especially, spend a great deal of time in the trees in the wild. Tree branches, palm fronds, hay, cardboard boxes, and shredded paper encourage normal nesting behaviors. In their natural habitat, apes spend much of their day foraging for food. Therefore, many of our enrichment activities involve food, such as hay spread throughout the enclosure with hidden treats, blocks of frozen juice with fruit, puzzle feeders, and zippered bags filled with treats.
Finally, captive apes can also be involved in some human activities that they are interested in, but aren't necessarily found in the wild. Some ideas include water sprinklers, pools of water, piles of sand, durable toys ... and even such activities as watching nature videos, blowing bubbles, watching themselves in the mirror (self-recognition is unique to apes and humans in the order of Primates), wearing hats & masks, and even painting.
The Center's staff is always looking for new, safe, and challenging ideas for enrichment of the orangutans and chimpanzees at the sanctuary. If you have any new or unusual ideas for safe enrichment toys or activities please E-mail us at pongo@primeapes.org.
GAINING UNDERSTANDING
Our former Miami volunteer and current Florida Atlantic University graduate student, Jesse Bering, is interested in how apes think. Several years ago, he conducted a controlled study looking at the imitative abilities of great apes. This early study was recently published in the peer-reviewed science journal Developmental Psychobiology (Bering, Bjorklund, and Ragan, 2000). A longitudinal study tracing the development of imitation in the Center's apes as they grow older is currently under editorial review.
Currently, Jesse is working toward his doctoral degree in developmental psychology at FAU under the guidance of Dr. David Bjorklund, and they are planning additional studies designed to get at the intriguing question of how great apes understand the world around them. We've all wondered, for example, what's going on in that head of Grub's, but does Grub similarly wonder what's going on inside of your head as you stare deep into his eyes? Is bongo capable of reflecting upon his days at Parrot Jungle? Does Kenya know that you know that she's up to mischief when she gets that grin on her face? Did Christopher ever wonder where Ruby went after she passed away? These questions, for the most part, remain unanswered by comparative scientists, and we know little about how other species truly experience the world. If you would like to be a part of this fascinating study by volunteering your time please contact Jesse at jber4317@fau.edu
Brad and Trouble
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PrimeApes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation
PO. Box 488 WAOCHOLA, Fl. 33873 Vol 5 No. l , Summer 2000 Part 5
GROWING UP APE
Lisa Leitten
It is not uncommon to hear many of our long-term volunteers comment on how much the apes here have grown since their last visit. Recent guests may have discovered that all four of Noelle's top front teeth were missing! Along with changes in the apes' sizes, changes in their behavior are also taking place. Like humans, apes undergo physiological changes as they mature, which in turn causes changes in their behavior.
This is most evident in our nearly 9-year-old male chimpanzee Grub. As Grub begins to enter early adolescence, he is experiencing many changes, including an increase in testosterone. Grub is sometimes aggressive towards the other chimpanzees in his group (Kenya, Toddy and Noelle), and frequently puts on elaborate displays towards some of his visitors as well as the female chimpanzees. All of these behaviors are commonly seen in adult male chimpanzees in the wild and are helping Grub establish dominance in this group. However, even though Grub is occasionally exhibiting aggressive behavior, he is also becoming more tolerant of the younger chimpanzees' play antics, and sometimes we notice him becoming calmer around the group.
As all four chimpanzees spend more time together as a unified group, we've seen an increase in appropriate submissive behaviors towards Grub by the female chimpanzees. This lets Grub know that the females understand he is "in charge". We have also discovered that the females will sometimes come to each other's aid during conflicts with Grub, especially Noelle and Toddy, just as you may defend your friends when they are in trouble.
THE CHIMPANZOO PROGRAM
Tina Gilbert
We are excited about starting several new projects at the Center. One of these projects is the ChimpanZoo Program. Established in 1984, ChimpanZoo was cofounded by the Jane Goodall Institute, zoological facilities, and universities. There are over 20 member facilities participating in the ChimpanZoo programs all over the world...(in the United States, Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, and Uganda). The program uses consistent research techniques to learn more about chimpanzees in captive environments, provide new enrichment devices, and encourage education throughout the community. The ChimpanZoo members communicate this information by periodic newsletters, monthly reports, annual conferences, and the ChimpanZoo (CZOO) database.
At our sanctuary, ChimpanZoo volunteers will be trained in chimpanzee behavior, conservation, enrichment, and data collection using the CZOO software. Initial training will consist of several classes conducted over a one-month period. On-going training will continue by means of guest lectures and special topic classes held several times a year. After completing the initial training, the volunteers must pass a reliability test on their data collection skills. This test ensures the data entered into the CZOO database is accurate and reliable for use in behavioral research projects conducted throughout the ChimpanZoo community. Volunteers would then collect behavioral observations of our chimpanzees for one-hour intervals, recording data on a laptop computer.
We are in the process of setting up a training program and creating a curriculum for classes in order to properly instruct our volunteers. Also, we will be recruiting volunteers to help with the data collection for this project. Volunteers should be able to attend initial training classes and commit to at least two 1-hour observation sessions per month. No experience is necessary to become a ChimpanZoo volunteer since training classes provide all the information you will need to make observations and collect data. So, if you are interested in volunteering for this project please contact us at 863-767-8903.
Brad and Trouble
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PrimeApes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation
PO. Box 488 WAOCHOLA, Fl. 33873 Vol 5 No. l , Summer 2000 Part 6
SOCIAL SEASON
In February, over 80 people from the local business and government community in Hardee County visited us for an open house and joined our "bunch for lunch". It was a wonderful opportunity for us to meet members of our new community and for them to learn more about this project.
Then, in April, the Center's annual member meeting (our first one in Wauchula) was held with over 100 members joining us for lunch from all over Florida... as well as a few from out of state! We were pleased to see many of our "old friends" we haven't seen since we left Miami.
And again, in May, we were happy to welcome nearly 100 of our own nearby residential, neighbors to a covered-dish dinner. Some delicious food prepared by our neighbors... and of course, watermelons provided for the apes!
We are .fortunate to have so many friends of this project. If you haven't visited us yet in Wauchula, please put us on your calendar!
Jack Hanna and Spectrum Productions recently spent the day at the Center filming a segment about the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation for their syndicated television show "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures". The program, which aired nationally June 3, 2000 focused on the need for long term sanctuary care for great apes who cannot be housed in zoos. Some very good footage was shown of our orangutans and chimpanzees with various enrichment toys and activities.
A special thank you to Judith Newby and tappedinto.com for the donation of a channel on their Internet site. In July, you will be able to go to www.tappedinto.com and see several streaming videos of the Center and our orangutans and chimpanzees.
Additionally, our own web site, www.prime-apes.ore will have a whole new look in July thanks to Dave Game and Charlie Carlon.
OUR HEROES Dedicated volunteers help our staff provide care, food, and enrichment for the apes at the sanctuary as well as helping with special projects involving grounds maintenance, repairs, and office work In addition to many of our former Miami volunteers who frequently travel north to continue to help us, we welcome our new volunteers from areas around Wauchula who help us on a regular basis. Thank you to these wonderful people! , Jill Adams, Lorida. Monica Chaplin, Clermont. , Justin Chuven, Clermont. , Linda Cory, Davenport. Jill Frederick, Tampa. Heidi Holeman, Lake Placid. Debbie Machamer, Kissimmee. David Talbot, Orlando. Cindy Trotta, Tarpon Springs. Jennifer Yunger, Stuart.
GIFTS FOR THE APES
Many of our volunteers and visitors ask us what they can bring for the apes when they come to the sanctuary. Fresh fruits and vegetables are always a wonderful help ...especially apples which don't grow in this area.
Some non-perishable food items that we always need are: Lowfat Peanut butter, Honey Ensure (for Toddy), Coconuts Spices for olfactory enrichment, Plain rice cakes, Lowfat microwave popcorn, Dried fruit (raisins, berries, etc.), Rice Cereal (no or low sugar), Pedialyte, Gatorade.
And other items the apes enjoy are: Rolls of adding machine tape, Emery boards, Toothbrushes. Hairbrushes, Masks, Garden gloves, Kong (dog) toys, Used fire hose, Non-breakable plastic mirrors, Non-toxic paints or crayons,
OUR WISH LIST
And for the operations of this project we have our own list of special needs. (You never know who may be reading this right now and who may be in a position to help us with one of these items)... *A large loading dock scale to get weights on our apes for food and medication purposes. A food dehydrator to preserve fruits and vegetables when we are given seasonal crops.
*A stopwatch to time behaviors for ChimpanZoo observations.
*Televisions and VCRs for enrichment in the orangutan and chimpanzee nighthouses.
*A stethoscope and a CPR mouthpiece.
*A working phone system for our office.
*A laminator for sealing signs, photos and enrichment items for the apes.
*A mower/tractor for grounds work.
*An irrigation system to protect our back woods near the chimpanzees from fires during the dry season.
*And a pickup truck with a lift gate for moving the extremely heavy ape-transport crates in case of an emergency.
Brad and Trouble
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I apologize to the Center of Orang. and Chimpanzee for any foolish or obscene comments made under this subject PrimeApes. It takes all kinds. It in no way reflects the importance of your work with the closest beings to us humans the Great Apes.
Brad and Trouble
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save the apes!!! stop littering !!! every time you litter you are trashing their habitats!!they are just important to this world as humans are!!! stop littering !you would not like it if some one messed up your home!!! treat them fair!! save the animals!!!!!
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