Gombe, looking much better than when I last saw him
Yesterday I had a super day helping the primate keepers at Monarto Zoo. Most of the time was with the chimpanzees, but I also helped to clean out the colobus monkeys' bedrooms and also the black rhinos' shelters (while the primate keepers were at a meeting).
I helped hide the boys' food around the enclosure, it's amazing how big it is in there when you're actually walking around inside the enclosure! I blended up their dinner of soup and bottled it for them and rolled up balls of primate meal which was very messy and quite smelly, but fun as well.
Sandali
The chimpanzees were wonderful, when we got there in the morning Tsotsi and Gombe played tag around the bedrooms with big play faces and laughing audibly. Gombe seemed to be back to his usual self and later played chasing games with Boyd as well. Early in the morning, Tsotsi displayed at Boyd who acted submissively towards him. Later Sandali approached Boyd with his hair bristled and then they kissed and Boyd patted Sandali on the shoulder. Boydie was quite slow when he was walking around, probably results of being middle-aged. He'd had a tooth removed recently. Of all the chimps, only Sandali participated in operant conditioning before going outside, it was interesting to watch as he responded to different hand signals.
Gombe and Boyd
I've got to mention the colobus monkeys here as well. They're such interesting primates to spend time with, the juvenile Kyoda was just the cutest little thing, and his mum Misika was very good as to not grab at me (which I was warned of before entering the monkey house!). It was nice to see the group as they are not on public display so I hadn't seen them since I did work experience at the zoo last year.
Kyoda
On Sunday I helped out at the Australian Orangutan Project stall at the Malaysian Carnival which was really enjoyable and we sold quite a few cuddly orangutans! Tonight is the AOP movie night at Adelaide Zoo which I'll be attending in a few hours. :)
All in all, I'm having a great and ape-filled few days, my experience at the zoo has made me even more determined to help chimpanzees in some way.
Sandali
