This summer we are delighted to have Emilie Dixon as our resident intern at the sanctuary! Emilie, an Anthropological Sciences Major at The Ohio State University, joined out team in June and will complete her internship in August. During her time with us, she is learning about primate husbandry, the issues primates face in various captive situations and the need for legitimate primate sanctuaries to offer rescue and rehabilitation, and the importance of individualized, well-rounded care in a sanctuary setting, which includes proper nutrition, medical care, appropriate housing, social opportunities, and engaging enrichment.
PRC interns are encouraged to design or replicate an enrichment project for the primates during their time with us. Emilie has been hard at work building a project she found on the Hose2Habitat website – a non-profit organization whose mission is “to improve the physical and psychological well-being of wild animals in human care by providing and enhancing enrichment for those animals through the donation of recycled and other materials, workshops, and other services.”
The particular project she chose is the Fire Hose/Container Feeder. You can find instructions to this project HERE
Emilie made a few alterations to the project to make the enrichment more resilient for some of our monkey residents who are a bit more destructive.
Emilie and Care Staff Supervisor Elizabeth are also making plans for a possible zipline swing for the chimps, so we’ll add info about that project if Emilie is able to make it happen.
We’re so thankful to Emilie for all of her hard work, kindness, and positive energy. She truly is a wonderful intern to work with and we’re so happy she joined the team!
Check out the gallery of photos and video of Emilie’s project! George rhesus macaque really enjoyed the new enrichment!
