Kirk

Kirk has continued to be a good leader and stable alpha for his group. His caregivers monitor his mobility and give him supplements and medication to help him be the strongest he can be! He is now venturing out into Peachtree Habitat more frequently. In the past, he would mostly hang out in the open-air porch at his villa. Three of his group mates patrolled the habitat until he would call them back in with a pant-hoot followed by a display if they did not respond or come back to check in with him quickly. 

Kirk is a conscientious leader who looks out for his fellow groupmates. If he has any disagreements with his male family members he works to reconcile and will be seen playing chase even with his antagonists. 

As the alpha of his group, he rightfully expects to be able to get whatever food from the others that he wants. However, because we need him to allow the lower ranking female chimps to get their food too, his caregivers use cooperative feeding. This involves using positive reinforcement rewards like peanuts or juice when he allows the others to get their food.