Dear Friends, Primarily Primates has been able to save animals from laboratories and defunct roadside zoos and offer real refuge for those who’ve been victims of the exotic pet trade—for more than 40 years—because of you. Your generosity enables us to provide lifetime care for all of our 300+ animals—including chimpanzees, gibbons, macaques, spider monkeys, capuchins, squirrel monkeys, mangabeys, or one of the macaws, parrots or lovebirds who live in our two spacious aviaries. One of the biggest creative challenges at Primarily Primates (or any other sanctuary) is meal time, but not just because it’s costly to feed hundreds of hungry mouths. Animals in sanctuaries don’t have the same opportunities for a changing environment as animals in the wild. It’s our job to provide the residents with daily changes to their environment with the goal of stimulating natural behaviors.  So feeding time is more than simply handing out healthy items such as fresh bananas, watermelons, sweet potatoes, greens, apples and coconuts, etc. In the wild, primates forage—spending a large portion of their day resourcefully seeking food. That’s why feeding becomes an elaborate ritual where foods are placed and/or hidden so animal must climb, and search to get them. That’s why our caregivers will sprinkle seeds on the floors of habitats or place foods in “puzzles” created by staff. One example is the “fishing board.” In nature, chimpanzees modify branches and leaves to “fish” for termites they hope to consume. So staff designed a board to hold containers full of coveted liquids and other treats. Then the chimps are given shoots of bamboo to retrieve items from the board, placed outside their enclosure, but within reach. As we strive to enrich the lives our residents, we find food is still one of the biggest expenses at the sanctuary. We rely on your support to make sure all of our residents are well-fed and happy. Please send your urgently needed contribution today. Here’s what your tax-deductible contribution can provide: * $25 buys a week’s worth of cucumbers; * $50 buys a week’s worth of carrots; * $100 buys all 37 of our chimpanzees enough apples for a week; * $150 buys enough sweet potatoes to last our chimpanzees over two weeks; * $250 buys about 1,200 bananas—which will last our capuchins an entire month; * $500 buys enough peanuts (for foraging) for the entire sanctuary for a whole month!   Please join us this #GivingTuesday and help us continue our mission of providing life-time care for all of the residents at Primarily Primates. Click here to make a donation.