Boy Meets Girl – Entry #10

Missed the earlier entries? Start here.

The group is ready to go outside for the first time together! I wonder if Rosemary will finally be brave enough to go into the habitat with the support of the boys?

This is always an exciting day because they get to explore together and show off their favorite locations and activities in the habitat. It will also show us if they are fully comfortable with each other when we ask them to come back in for dinner.

Our first step is to prepare the habitat, which we do every morning by patrolling for any fallen trees or large branches that may have fallen the night before. We also scatter seeds, small nuts, and other goodies in the grass, fill the man-made termite mounds and sometimes hide other enrichment items in the various platforms in the yard. It changes every day to keep it novel when the chimps go out to explore and forage.

Once it was secure, it was time to open the tunnel doors from the outside porch and let 19 chimps pour outside together – our largest group yet!!

Time to head out to film what the chimps are up to in the yard! Stay tuned for more!

See the next entry (and the video!) already posted on our Giving Day for Apes 2020 page now!