One of the most important aspects of animal care is making sure that our residents are physically and mentally stimulated. To achieve this, we give out daily enrichment meant to engage their minds and encourage natural behaviors. While Born Free USA’s primate sanctuary strives to provide the monkey residents with conditions as close as possible to the wild, the sanctuary monkeys are nonetheless in captivity and, without adequate enrichment, animals in captivity can become bored and frustrated and will often exhibit stress behaviors such as endless pacing or even self-harming.
Our team loves to think up, create, and give out enrichment items. When a holiday comes around, we get to have even more fun than usual by involving the monkeys in the festivities. Last Sunday was Easter, and so a member of our staff, Nikki Skelton, hard boiled and dyed dozens of eggs for the monkeys. Some of the eggs were hidden around enclosures while others were placed inside Easter baskets, which were themselves were part of the enrichment – monkeys Natalya and Naveen spent the whole afternoon unweaving their baskets’ wicker strips. Anything that keeps our monkeys occupied for more than a few minutes is a resounding enrichment success.
One group of four long-tail macaques – Connor, Gizmo, Tiny, and Edgar – also had a great time. They watched as we set up their Easter enrichment treats around their enclosure and eagerly waited to be let back in to investigate what we were up to. Connor, the highest-ranking member of the group, rushed over to the Easter basket, grabbed an egg, and carefully peeled the colored shell to expose the deliciousness inside. Tiny, Gizmo, and Edgar searched the yard while Connor was busy with the basket. Tiny found two eggs, and then climbed up on top of a platform to slowly eat them both. After Connor was done with the basket, the others were able to inspect it and found raisons and peanuts hidden in the weave. All of them made excited, happy noises as they made sure they found and consumed every possible treat!
The monkeys, of course, are not aware of holidays. All they know is that they were given a novel food item, presented in an engaging way, that allowed them to use their minds and bodies to forage for food and manipulate items just as their wild counterparts do. By allowing them to engage in these types of natural behaviors, we help reduce stress and boredom that can be extremely detrimental to such intelligent animals.
For the Monkeys,
Katie
