TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Zookeepers at the Taipei Zoo have made “Spring Festival lucky bags” for chimpanzees, filling handmade burlap pouches with their favorite snacks to encourage the primates to explore ways to open them.

The zoo said in a press release that each pouch contained a different kind of food, such as figs, walnuts, sunflower seeds, medick, and Bermuda hay, seasoned with ginger powder so the chimpanzees can get warm in the wintery weather. In order to prevent the animals from fighting over the lucky bags, zookeepers began testing and making the pouches before the Lunar New Year to ensure that the quantity would far exceed the number of chimpanzees.

Every chimpanzee had a different way of handling the pouches and the challenge they posed, according to the zoo. As the pouches were sewn shut, the chimpanzees’ intelligence and the nimbleness of their fingers were put to the test.

Young Qijing watches as her mother figures out how to open a burlap pouch. (Taipei Zoo photo)

Older chimpanzees with more experience knew to feel and smell the pouches, and upon discovering that they held their favorite snacks, they rushed around the enclosure to collect the pouches. Once they had grabbed two handfuls and one mouthful, they would run into the artificial caves to open their prizes, easily tearing them open with their strong fingers.

Smarter chimpanzees were even picky about what they got and would confirm that the pouches contained their preferred figs and walnuts by feeling the hidden items’ hardness before opening the pouches. However, Qijing (琪靚), a two-year-old female, did not have the experience nor the strength to open the pouches; she could only watch as her mother opened them and wait for her mother to share.

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Mijue (咪覺) had not learned the skills necessary to open the pouches, either. He reportedly threw a tantrum in his frustration, punching and kicking the pouches before laying them down to make a bed, where he munched away at leftover hay and broccoli provided by zookeepers.

Mijue makes a bed out of burlap pouches. (Taipei Zoo photo)

The "lucky bags" are handmade by zookeepers and filled with healthy snacks. (Taipei Zoo photo)