Enrichment

In the wild, chimpanzees can travel as much as 7 miles a day and are exposed to many different challenges and situations during the day requiring problem-solving abilities in order to survive. Sadly there are many chimpanzees in captivity that are not exposed to situations that challenge them and they are instead destined to a life of boredom and frustration. Many captive chimpanzees exhibit many abnormal behaviours such as self-mutilation due to lack of stimulation.

MONA believes that it is very important to expose the chimpanzees in our care to as much variety in their lives as possible. To do this, we use many different forms of enrichment to give them opportunities for problem-solving, to give them things to think about, and to help them stay healthy, physically and mentally. The chimpanzees did not choose to live in captivity and it is our responsibility to enrich their lives and give them the best possible quality of life.

Here are some examples of our enrichment techniqes:

1. Permanent structures such as platforms, climbing structures, ledges, etc.
2. Semi-permanent items that are removable such as tyres, hammocks, ropes and cargo nets.
3. Non-permanent objects are placed in the chimpanzee enclosures daily and cleaned after they leave the area (magazines, paper, cardboard boxes, clothes, shoes, toys, etc.).
4. Food Puzzles are means of food dispersal that requires tool use and critical thinking skills to obtain the food such as a tree trunk with holes filled with raisins or cereals or an artificial termite mound (under construction).
5. Food can be presented in a variety of ways to encourage foraging such as hiding it in boxes, adding straw or sawdust or hanging the fruit in bags.
6. Music: playing the radio or tapes with different sounds.

Thanks to the generous support of IPPL-UK and its members we have finished the construction of an artificial termite mound for the chimpanzees.