And Finally, I Can Return...

I worked at the zoo from 10:15 to 11:15 (a.m. of course) on Friday (11/07/08)

I made treat bags for use the next day. I just mixed some of the forage (consisting of popcorn, sunflower seeds, monkey chow, cereal pieces) with some raisins and crushed up vanilla wafers. Then I put about a handful in a paper lunch sack, rolled up the sack, and wrapped masking tape around it. They were put out the next day, so I didn't get to see the apes process them.

So I got to meet the new male chimpanzees, Mikey and Louie. Mikey is a "teenager" (between 8 and 12 I think) and Louie is about 5 years old. Mikey was someone's pet, and Louie was acquired by his owner to keep him company. As they were both hand raised (and treated extremely well, like her own children) they are much different from the other chimps. Mahale was hand raised, but she was never someone's pet, living in a house. For one thing, I can actually touch Mikey and Louie (but ONLY in the presence of a keeper). You have to be careful of Mikey since he is at an age where he is testing his limits and may try to grab, but overall he is very sweet. Louie, who seems kind of small to me (Chance is only a year older and seems nearly twice as big) likes me. He was very interactive, and Ann said he had been kind of subdued. He kept reaching out to me (in imitation of Mikey, but Ann said he wasn't doing that before) and was handing a piece of chalk back and forth to me. He is so sweet. They are both really pale, since they have lived inside. They have been outside for a few hours at a time, but mostly they are inside and thier skin hasn't had a chance to darken. Louie is so young his wouldn't be very dark anyway. They both like to play chase, where basically you run back in forth in front of thier cage. Mikey likes to stick his hands underneath the cage and have you step on his fingers! He thinks its pretty funny. He is also getting to where he displays. He kept dragging a white plastic barrel around, and throwing it. He also likes to shake hands or to see other people hold hands. He kept telling me and Ann to hold hands, it was funny.
As they were house raised, they haven't been put out in the yard or with the other chimps at all. Ann said they seem kind of scared of the other chimps. Hopefully they will all get used to each other. Another interesting thing is that Mikey has a symbol for "bottle". He hits his knuckles together. Ann said they are too old for bottles but thier owner probably felt so guilty about having to restrain them more that she would give them treats.
They are definately different from the other chimps. Its pretty sad that they went from being in a home with a "mom" they had known for a long time to a zoo. They are well cared for in a zoo, but what a rough upheaval it must have been. This is yet another instance of why no one should ever get a chimp for a pet (or any other ape for that matter). NEVER GET A CHIMP FOR A PET. They grow up, and become dangerous to you and themselves, and become completely unmanagable. I am very happy to get to see and interact with these two guys, but it is sad what they (and thier owner) had to go through just because she wanted a chimp for a pet.

When I walked into the enclosure, I looked around for JJ, because he will usually grunt or move around or something when I come in. I didn't see him, so thought that maybe he had decided to go out with the family that day. Later that morning when Ann said she was going to let Brutus out, I asked where JJ was. She turned around and said "JJ died". I was so sad, I felt like my heart was breaking. I said with tears in my eyes "What?" She said he had died Sunday morning, and it had been in the paper and on the news, and Dr. Hartmann had even known. She was sorry she didn't email me, but she thought I would know from one of these sources.
I don't read the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and rarely watch the news, and I was in Houston all weekend. At first I was angry that Dr. Hartmann hadn't mentioned it, but then remembered that I had missed class on Tuesday and he had canceled class on Thursday, so I hadn't seen him all week. When I think about it though, it was probably better that I cried in the privacy of the Great Ape enclosure in front of Ann rather than during Theory of Anthropology in front of all my classmates.
As I think I have mentioned before, JJ (which stands for Jungle Jack) had a heart condition in which he only had 10% use of his heart. Ann said that Daphne had fed him breakfast on Sunday morning, and he had even gotten a treat (pie filling) in which his heart medicine was hidden. She went to clean an enclosure and when she came back she found him lying on the floor. It appeared he had a heart attack or heart failure and just fell sideways while sitting down. He had even finished his breakfast, so at least he got that one last bit of enjoyment. It appears it was very sudden, as there is no sign of struggle, so it was definately best that way. Ann said they were all shocked, because they had expected some sign, even a hint of decline before this happened. They knew that although he was 21, he was on borrowed time and was not likely to live a very long life. I was quite sad, he was a beautiful guy. I never got any picture of his beautiful face, and never really got to know him. He was the first guy I would see in the morning, and the last one I saw when I left. I will really miss him.