At the start of June, we were joined by friends from all over central Texas to get down to some enriching "monkey business" at the sanctuary. With this group of talented individuals, we got to work on our first-ever Primate Enrichment Build Off!

We pulled out all the tools—and all the stops—, put on our creative thinking caps, and turned our imagination to all of the items our supporters had purchased and donated to our Sanctuary from our Amazon Wish List. We laid out all the rope, PVC pipes, crates, plastic jugs, toy Kongs, and more—along with a ton of snacks!—and we got to work, crafting, constructing, and building.

We had to make sure that what we were building was not only interesting to investigate and play with, but could hold up to the monkeys "strong handling" of the items, and that the items would be safe for their frequently rough play. At the end of the day, our great team of volunteers constructed more than 150 heavy-duty enrichment pieces for the monkeys!

Monkey enjoys an enrichment item
Photo: Born Free USA/Time Ajax

While our more "wild" monkey inhabitants (who live and roam in our large free-range enclosures) don't think too much of human-made things, the primates who were formerly kept as pets or retired from research take great interest in these types of items. The unique items and toys stimulate their curiosity, engage their minds and bodies, and enrich their lives. And, as we sat back to watch what the monkeys would do when we placed the items in their areas, we were happy to see that they clearly benefitted from our volunteers' efforts and had an enjoyable time playing with the novel toys.

Thank you, Primate Enrichment Build Off Team! We hope to do this again next year, and you can help! Order an enrichment item—or any other item—from our Amazon Wish List!

For the Primates,
Tim