About Volunteering at A.P.E.S.
Here at A.P.E.S., our volunteers take on a role similar to that of a keeper in a zoo. We clean the cages, prepare meals, do dishes, prepare enrichment, and other upkeep that may need done. It requires a lot of hard work, and we look for dedicated volunteers to help out. Volunteers are required to come at least one designated day each week and work for about 3-4 hours. Volunteering with A.P.E.S. is a very rewarding educational experience.
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We are always accepting volunteer applications! Call Pam at: 614-657-8944
Click here to view a video on volunteering.
The Volunteer Experience
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Mandi Talks about Training
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As a student at Ohio State, I am reminded of how knowledge outside of the classroom is crucial. In order to understand the concepts we are learning, it is necessary to put that knowledge to use. This is why I am so thankful for APES. APES allows me to put to use my animal science, anthropology, psychology, and animal behavior classes. I am able to witness first hand how primates behave, and how to interact with them. From volunteering here for the past couple years, I have gained an incredible opportunity-working with gibbons and capuchins, a feat few college students have the chance to enjoy. Gaining experience with non-domesticated animals can be incredibly hard to come by, but APES is caring enough to train those with little previous experience, provided one is willing to put in the time, dedication, and effort. This is an opportunity that has really opened up numerous avenues for me. For example, I am currently working with Dr. Yocom, a psychology professor at OSU. We are working on cognition research with the gibbons, first investigating whether they understand nonverbal communication cues from humans (pointing, gazing, etc) in order to locate food hidden out of sight. The work we do with the gibbons can help us further understand their mental capabilities, which will allow us to better understand how to house, care for, and provide enrichment for these truly unique animals.
From this experience, I have seen the dedication, financial commitment, time, and energy it takes to run a primate sanctuary. Grocery trips are frequent, vet treatment is regular, and housing improvements are made. Unfortunately, APES receives no government funding, and is funded solely on the basis of donations alone. It may not seem like much, but small donations can go a long way: from providing meals to implementing enrichment. APES has given me an endless amount of things to be grateful for, and I can only hope that the needed funding is accrued for the primates’ sake as well! |
Mandi has trained some of our gibbons to turn and present a body part for inoculation:
The process to train them to do that has been different for each one. Some I used mimicry. I would say side and then put my shoulder up against the mesh and click and say good and then reward them. After a while they learned what I wanted them to do when I would say side. At that point it was a bunch of repetition. Some I would repetitively say side and as they turned, I would click and say good and then treat. As they progressed, I would expect more of them before rewarding, so no longer was close going to be enough to get a reward. They had to turn all the way to their side before I rewarded. The red ball on the end of the stick is a target stick. I target trained them to make it go easier to injection train them. They know that if they touch the red ball that they get a reward. So I can then put the target stick up to a body part, foot for example: I put it at their foot and said foot then good and then treated. The clicker is a bridge. It is basically telling them that they did a good job, and a treat is coming. I often use dates for the reward. Click the photo below to see a video demonstration. |