Originally the idea for this enrichment device was something more like "Fishing for Peanut Butter." Very straight forward device.... we recycle our used peanut butter plastic jars and swipe peanut butter into container.
Punch a hole in the jar and attach it to the habitats using a rope climbing clip. Then you hand out chopsticks to the little monkeys who then have to learn how to use the chopsticks to fish for peanut butter. It was really a clever, idea envisioned by Shelly Ladd, our enrichment coordinator.
However, the monkeys (likeToby & Willie) looked at the chopsticks and were like what's this for... I'll just use my hands. In the end, we were not able to teach the primates to fish for peanut butter (the failure part) but on the successfuly side, we had a very cool enrichment device that helps us to recycle our plastic, create a fun play toy for the smaller monkeys, plus we do not have to place the whole jar in the enclosure anymore where the monkeys normally destroy them after their first use.
All around it's inexpensive, environmentally sound, reusable, safe and and a lot of fun for the primates! Way to go staff for making a simple idea work! Photo Credit goes to Shelly Ladd. If you would like to see more capuchins and more enrichment devices, go to www.primarilyprimates.org and visit our video library!