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Prime Apes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation 11000 s.w. 57th Ave Miami, FL 33156 vo1 3 No1 Summer 1997 Part 1 of 4
FINALLY, WE HAVE OUR SANCTUARY HOME!
After 3 years of searching over 150 properties in Florida, we've found our sanctuary location for orangutans and chimpanzees. We've had to consider many factors such as climate, surrounding development, landscape, and nearby veterinary facilities in order to locate a site where we could care for adult apes for the next 50 years.
Our property is located in South Central Florida in Wauchula (near Sebring and Avon Park). It's 3 hours north of Miami, 11/2 hours south of Orlando, or 1 hour south of Tampa. It's a truly beautiful tropical forest setting very similar to the natural habitat of these apes in the wild. In addition to large oak trees, sweet gum, and southern maple, there are palm trees and banana trees... as well as citrus and exotic fruits growing on the site. A creek runs through the middle of the sanctuary, and there are two geodesic-dome buildings to house our office, staff, and visitors. An additional small cottage at the north end of the site will make a comfortable temporary home for students doing observational and behavioral research. (The property and structures have been purchased privately and are being donated to our 501 (c)(3) nonprofit sanctuary.)
We received immediate approval from the county for zoning, and our next step is to build habitats and nighthouses for the apes. The challenge is to construct something which will meet all state and federal requirements for housing adult orangutans and chimpanzees as well as providing enriching habitats with large spaces for climbing and running..... and within a budget we can afford! We've had good advice from zoo personnel and private builders and we are very happy that Lundy Clarke of the engineering firm of CRA Clarke, Inc. has donated her expertise in design and planning.
In addition to moving our 6 orangutans and chimpanzees from Parrot Jungle to the sanctuary, we've been asked to take several more apes who are in immediate need of care. However, the costs of building large enclosures to house adult apes are more than we have in our Habitat Fund. We must raise these funds now to proceed with this project, and we need your help. If you have any construction skills or expertise... or can donate building materials, please contact us.
I hope you'll continue to be involved in our efforts to offer care in a natural and enriching environment to great apes in need of a home even though we'll be in a new location. And we certainly want our members and friends to visit us in Wauchula.... a really lovely part of Florida along the beautiful Peace River.
While we're looking forward to our move, there is also sadness in leaving our temporary home at Parrot Jungle & Gardens. It has been a wonderful place to start this project.... close to our many volunteers and supporters in Miami. Wetre grateful to Parrot Jungle's owners for their help and financial support and also to our members whose donations and continued support are helping us to realize our goal of providing care for chimpanzees and orangutans. It's very exciting to be so close to fulfilling our dream of a sanctuary home for great apes! Patti Ragan. Brad and Trouble
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Prime Apes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation 11000 s.w. 57th Ave Miami, FL 33156 vo1 3 No1 Summer 1997 Part 2 of 4
MEET RUBY TUESDAY
Tuesday's orangutan mother was raised by humans in captivity and (as is often the case with hand-raised apes) did not have the opportunity to learn' the skills necessary to care for a new infant. She did not hold Ruby properly or feed her, so Ruby was pulled the by the veterinarian for foster care by humans.
Ruby had some serious health problems in her first years and therefore was unusually small compared to other female orangutans her age. She never seemed to care for the variety of foods offered to her and would go months without gaining any weight. Last year, her problems escalated and Parrot Jungle's veterinarian, Dr. Susan Clubb, tested and X-rayed Ruby and also consulted several other veterinarians for help. It was determined that Ruby had some allergic reactions to food as well as an unusually high level metals in her appendix. With the help of Dr. Robert Pane of South Kendall Animal Clinic who donated X-rays and his clinic for surgery and of Dr. Douglas MacCoy of oral Springs Animal Hospital who contributed his surgery skills for an appendectomy, Dr. Clubb worked diligently with Ruby to get her on a path to good health. After her covery from surgery, she was put on a special diet of potatoes, rice, and Ensure Plus. Within a few months she had gained weight (going from 27 to 43 pounds) and today is normal-sized orangutan eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. (We are very graeful to those who helped Ruby!)
While great apes are known for their intelligence, we feel Ruby is one of the most intelligent apes we've cared for. She "sizes situations up" and understands immediately what she needs to do to get what she wants. She devises many innovative ways to reach items outside her enclosures using sticks, blankeis, and toys as "fishing poles". Ruby is extremely expressive and lets us know how she feels about what's going on including throwing dramatic temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way. When her caregivers are trying to feed her some healthy food which she.may not like, she will place one hand over her mouth and the other hand over her eyes so she doesn't even have to look at the unwanted food.
Ruby has distinguished herself fby her amazing interaction with other small animals. Our apes have-all been exposed to other species with various reactions. The female chimps, Kenya and Noelle, tend to be rough with other animals while our orangutan Christopher is frightened by them (even if they're smaller than he is). Ruby, however, seems to genuinely !ike small creatures such as rabbits, kiffens, puppies, ducks, and chicks. She apporaches them careflilly, gently pets them, and has even tried to kiss some puppies!
Her favorite activity, of course, is climbing in the large trees at Parrot Jungle, and she loves to be with our other orangutans, Christopher and Pongo. Ruby turned five years old on June 9. Brad and Trouble
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Prime Apes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation 11000 s.w. 57th Ave Miami, FL 33156 vo1 3 No1 Summer 1997 Part 2 of 4
MEET RUBY TUESDAY
Tuesday's orangutan mother was raised by humans in captivity and (as is often the case with hand-raised apes) did not have the opportunity to learn' the skills necessary to care for a new infant. She did not hold Ruby properly or feed her, so Ruby was pulled the by the veterinarian for foster care by humans.
Ruby had some serious health problems in her first years and therefore was unusually small compared to other female orangutans her age. She never seemed to care for the variety of foods offered to her and would go months without gaining any weight. Last year, her problems escalated and Parrot Jungle's veterinarian, Dr. Susan Clubb, tested and X-rayed Ruby and also consulted several other veterinarians for help. It was determined that Ruby had some allergic reactions to food as well as an unusually high level metals in her appendix. With the help of Dr. Robert Pane of South Kendall Animal Clinic who donated X-rays and his clinic for surgery and of Dr. Douglas MacCoy of oral Springs Animal Hospital who contributed his surgery skills for an appendectomy, Dr. Clubb worked diligently with Ruby to get her on a path to good health. After her covery from surgery, she was put on a special diet of potatoes, rice, and Ensure Plus. Within a few months she had gained weight (going from 27 to 43 pounds) and today is normal-sized orangutan eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. (We are very graeful to those who helped Ruby!)
While great apes are known for their intelligence, we feel Ruby is one of the most intelligent apes we've cared for. She "sizes situations up" and understands immediately what she needs to do to get what she wants. She devises many innovative ways to reach items outside her enclosures using sticks, blankeis, and toys as "fishing poles". Ruby is extremely expressive and lets us know how she feels about what's going on including throwing dramatic temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way. When her caregivers are trying to feed her some healthy food which she.may not like, she will place one hand over her mouth and the other hand over her eyes so she doesn't even have to look at the unwanted food.
Ruby has distinguished herself fby her amazing interaction with other small animals. Our apes have-all been exposed to other species with various reactions. The female chimps, Kenya and Noelle, tend to be rough with other animals while our orangutan Christopher is frightened by them (even if they're smaller than he is). Ruby, however, seems to genuinely !ike small creatures such as rabbits, kiffens, puppies, ducks, and chicks. She apporaches them careflilly, gently pets them, and has even tried to kiss some puppies!
Her favorite activity, of course, is climbing in the large trees at Parrot Jungle, and she loves to be with our other orangutans, Christopher and Pongo. Ruby turned five years old on June 9. Brad and Trouble
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Prime Apes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation 11000 s.w. 57th Ave Miami, FL 33156 vo1 3 No1 Summer 1997 Part 3 of 4
WILD CHIMPANZEE LIFESTYLE by Dora Nolan
Tool Use
Probably no other facet of chimpanzee behavior has received more notoriety than the manufacture and use of tools. Tool use includes pounding of nuts and hard shells with sticks and stone hammers, probing for honey and insects with twigs and grass stalks, poking at unfamiliar items with sticks, prying open ant nests with small branches, and sponging water from hollow trees with wads of crumpled leaves.
According to Christopher Boesch, who studies chimpanzees in the Tai Forest of the Ivory Coast in Africa, it takes 10 years to perfect the efficient use of hammers and anvils to open palm nuts. A nut must be hit at just the right angle and hard enough to crack the shell without pulverizing the nut. Dr. Boesch writes: "Time and again, we have been impressed to see a chimpanzee raise a 20 pound stone above its head, strike a nut with ten or more powerful blows, and then using the same stone, switch to delicate little taps from a height of only four inches."
Likewise, it takes 4 or 5 years to develop the skills necessary to successfully fish termites from a mound using a stick or stem. First, the chimpanzee must locate the tunnel entrances which have been sealed by the workers. Next, a stick must be chosen which is flexible but not too flimsy that it will collapse in the crooked tunnels. Finally, the stick is moved about in the tunnel to entice the termites to bite and then smoothly withdrawn to prevent losing any of the termites which have taken hold. Then you have to eat them before they bite you!
During tWo termite collecting seasons at Gombe in Tanzania, primatologist Geza Teleki followed the chimpanzees on their daily rounds of termite mounds. To better understand the intricacies involved, Dr. Teleki practiced fishing alongside the chimpanzees. At the end of the second season he was unable to achieve the chimpanzee's level of competence at selecting proper probes or in locating tunnels.... often resorting to his pocket knife to uncover sealed entrances. Brad and Trouble
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Prime Apes Newsletter for the Center for Orangutan & Chimpanzee Conservation 11000 s.w. 57th Ave Miami, FL 33156 vo1 3 No1 Summer 1997 Part 4 of 4
A NEW STUDY ON "IMITATION" by Jesse Bering
In conjunction with the Psychology Department at Flonda Atlantic University, the apes from the Center for Orangutan and Chimpanzee Conservation have recently participated in a six month study on imitation.. They were tested on their ability to imitate new tasks after a short delay. This form of imitation is referred to as deferred imitation, and is considered a more complex cognitive skill than immediate imitation because it requires an individual to retain a mental model of an event in order to reproduce the event at a later date. Although the phrase "monkey see, monkey do" is widely used, there are surprisingly few experimental studies confirming the imitative abilities of great apes.
Recently, scientists have speculated that this ability, along with several other advanced cognitive skills, develops only in a human cultural environment, where an ape is "encultutated' by humans and habituated to think inhuman-like ways; Since the apes housed at the Center have been foster-raised by human caretakers, they are considered enculturated (as opposed to mother-reared) and therefore are ideal subjects for an imitation study. The project was completed in June, and the results are now being analyzed. The paper should be under submission by January of next year. Brad and Trouble
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