Marlon

On November 30, 2016, Marlon arrived at Project Chimps to finally live in sanctuary after almost 16 years in a research lab environment. Marlon often spends his time playing with Haylee and Precious and will join Taz, Josh, Quintin and Patrick on perimeter checks of the habitat to make sure everything looks good. Once finished, he and the group go off to lounge and enjoy the sun on strategically placed platforms in the North Yard of the Peachtree Habitat in celebration of a job well done.

Marlon is a very focused chimp who knows what he likes and prefers to stick to it. Care staff can often find him in his same favorite spots around the villa or with the same few toys in his mouth. He loves small toys he can chew on and the shapes from shape puzzles. However, sometimes this focus has been bit excessive and required intervention. For example, there was a time when “tickle sticks” (a popular tool for the chimps to use with many enrichment items) and a few other items had to be limited in DJ&T villa. This was because Marlon enjoyed displaying with them so much that he was displaying in inappropriate situations, which could cause problems within his group. However, after some time to cool off, tickle ticks are back in use at DJ&T villa with no issues!

Historically, Marlon has always been more human-oriented, so staff are careful to keep interactions friendly but brief to encourage Marlon to form bonds with his groupmates as opposed to his caregivers. Since his arrival, Marlon has become close friends with Quinton, a lower ranking male in his group, embracing whenever one is feeling stressed. High-ranking Jurita has also been going to reassure Marlon when there’s drama in the group. He’s made great strides interacting with his fellow chimps, and we can’t wait to see how he continues to grow going forward!