Ronald

Despite being the oldest chimp in his group, Ronald is the smallest male in Harmony villa and most workers learn to ID him based on the fact that he “looks like one of the girls.” However, with a big brain attached to that small body, Ronald recognizes what foods he can convince caregivers to give him through the mesh, as well as which foods he must go to the hopper for!

Ronald can often be counted on to display at another group of chimps in the habitat, hitting the mesh and alarm calling. However, when Kennedy, who is Ronald’s son, met Ronald at a shared door, instead of kicking the door, Ronald gave Kennedy his tummy, which was a friendly way to say everything was okay. It was a sweet father-son moment, even though they most likely don’t realize they are related.

Historically, Ronald has been hesitant to get his breakfast and dinner out of the hopper, so his caregivers cut up his produce and served it to him individually. More recently, though, he has become bold enough to start taking his dinner enrichment out of the hopper. We are so proud of him!