Snow day for the chimpanzees at Saint Louis Zoo

The chimpanzees had a snow day today! Taking advantage of the five-inch snowfall the night before, zookeepers made snow piles and added grapes, grapefruit and Kool-aid for the chimps. Seven-year-old "Tammy" snagged all the goodies while the others explored their snow-covered Fragile Forest habitat. "Utamu" tasted the snow and even made snowballs to bring inside to eat while "Beauty" checked out the snowy climbing structures.

In winter, the chimpanzees live indoors in the tropical climate-controlled Jungle of the Apes. However, zookeepers also give them the option to go outdoors if they choose. Normally the chimps like to check on their yard to see if anything has changed and bask in the summer sunshine or nap under the warm heaters. Snow is something different for the chimps, and this enrichment from Mother Nature encourages them to explore their habitat a little more than normal. The cold air, wet snow and even the geese flying overhead are all new experiences which provide for wonderful enrichment for the chimpanzees.

After about 15 minutes, the chimps were finished with their exploration and came back inside. Keepers didn't see any snowball fights, in case you're wondering!

For more information on chimpanzees, visit http://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/mammals/lemursmonkeysapes/chimp...

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• snow
• winter
• chimpanzee
• weather
• Saint Louis Zoo
• St. Louis Zoo
• monkey
• primate
• zoo
• animal
• funny
• cute

[ZooVisitorMM]

This looks like so much fun, for every creature involved, human and otherwise.

And it definitely shows evidence of my belief that zoo animals have good lives!