Chimp Chat

Tsotsi and Sandali in action

Check out these gorgeous pictures taken by our dedicated zoo volunteer, Angela Black.

 

Can you guess what their favourite food is?

Hi to you all and Happy New Year.

Are you ready to hear about our four handsome chimps and how they are settling into their wonderful outside habitat? Well, here goes!

Life in a day of chimps consists of firstly filling those tummies with a great bucket full of fresh fruit, greens and vegetables (only the best will do for these precious creatures). Just to name a few from the menu - we give them apples, pears, carrots, sweet potato, capsicum, cucumbers, turnips, parsnips, oranges, lemons, sweet corn, water and rock melons, pineapple, boiled eggs, lots and lots of different variety of greens and not to forget their drinks of tea, just to name a few.

The boys go outside!

Well, well attention all... I have some wonderful exciting news to talk with you about. Yes, Boyd, Gombe, Tsotsi and Sandali have entered the amazing outside habitat. It’s been a little wait but has finally paid off with alot of work from the dedicated staff to make this happen.

Sandali starts to trust the others

Hello again.

The boys have been living in each other pockets for 5 weeks now and have created a strong bond towards each other (which is a very important step as male introductions can get quite aggressive.)

Our beloved  Sandali was a little put out for a while, moving away when one of the other chimps would get  too close, he would not come into the dens whilst others where in there and also refused to be locked in with them.   After a week he decided that it wasn't all that bad to trust the others and was then feeling comfortable enough to eat with them.

Boyd and his Mirror

Hi guys...I wanted to share a moment I had in chimp world today with you all,

I had a beautiful moment this morning when I put a plastic mirror in the chimp play-room. Usually if the boys see a mirror it's through mesh so that they cannot break it. Today however I had a donated mirror that the boys could actually hold and move by themselves as it was ‘chimp friendly’.

The boys together at last

Footage: Robi Watt

Chimp boys now side by side

Well, another week has passed and the chimp boys are still very happy to participate in their special co-op feeding sessions. Recently we have locked them into their dens and they are still hand feeding from us, whilst side by side.  This is a huge improvement.  '

Co-operative Feeding Sessions

Hello to all you fans of our beautiful chimp boys.

My name is Gale Akerman. I am a senior primate and native keeper. I have been working at Monarto for 6 years now. I have had the opportunity to work with every animal that lives here. Which has been a awesome experience for me. Before I came to Monarto I was working in Adelaide zoo for 14 years. Wow that time is adding up!

Anyway enough about me, it’s the chimps you want to know more about.

This week we have been doing co-operative feeding sessions. This means asking  them to come down as close as possible  to each other side by side (still separated by the mesh).

More about Boyd and Gombe

Hear more about how our two boys, Boyd and Gombe, are settling in to their new home.

Footage: Robi Watt

Busy Exploring

Hey again, great to see you back here checking out what is the latest updates here at Chimp Chat.

Come and visit us at Monarto Zoo! This week the chimps have been learning to use new parts of their house, mainly the raceways - these connect their night quarters to where their new outside yards will be, the big play room where you can see them now and other areas of their house.

Update on Wellington Zoo Chimps

Final touches has been put on preparations for the import of 2 Chimps from Wellington Zoo. This included the approval of the facility by AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) to import and quarantine the animals at the new facility at Monarto Zoo.

Last Wednesday, officers from AQIS inspected the facilities and provided feedback on the documentation to finalise this import.

We expect to be able to import the chimps on August 27. The animals will be quarantined inside the building (with the existing 2 animals). Once released from Quarantine we expect to be able to introduce the 4 animals to the outside area.

 

Gert

Lava Lamps & Puppet Shows

Hi guys!!

Good to see you back checking out what is new and exciting in the chimp universe here at Monarto.

Ok, well a few things to tell you, I will start with a little snowball that turned into a big one!

Recently I sent out an email to all the keepers at Adelaide and Monarto zoo asking them to keep in mind when cleaning out old items at home that I would love them for the chimps, things that might go into the bin or to the tip. The response we got was huge and lots of people donated unusual things. We got the following; a huge lava lamp, lots of stuffed toys, whistles, bells, musical instruments, puppets, wind chimes, old perfumes, old children’s toys, a bike!, tinsel from the Christmas tree, blankets, wicker baskets... the list goes on.

Update on Tsotsi & Sandali

Sandali and Tsotsi are getting on SO well... they are really loving life. I have noticed them watching the outside exhibit with anticipation and I suspect they are getting ready to explore out there!!!! They will unfortunately have to wait a bit longer as we would really like to introduce the Wellington boys into the exhibit space at the same time.

How much fun!

It's been like a mad house...

Welcome to chimp chat!!

You wouldn’t believe how much work has gone on over here in chimp world at Monarto Zoo...

The exhibit is in its very last stages of completion and everything is being polished up ready for the opening of the chimp area to visitors this weekend!

It’s been like a mad house the last few months, and since we managed to get the two male chimpanzees “Sandali” and “Tsotsi” to live together happily, life has been a lot happier for them and for the keepers!

Meet Cassandra, Tsotsi and Sandali

Welcome to Chimp Chat!

Welcome to “Chimp Chat”! Here is where you where you can find all about the new Chimpanzee Habitat at Monarto Zoo and of course the Chimpanzees that live here already and the chimpanzees that will be moving in soon!

My name is Cassandra Butler and I am the senior keeper of primates here at the zoo. That means my job is looking after all the primates in the zoo which is a fantastic job!

Lately I have been spending most of my time (I even sleep here sometimes!) in the chimpanzee house making sure the two boys that live here are liking their new home.

We currently have two male chimpanzees called TSOTSI and SANDALI.

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