Everyday I put on clothes that have pockets to hold my keys, cell phone and wallet. When I leave the house, I carry a purse to transport the many “vital” items I might need throughout the day. Most of the time, I do this without thought since it’s such a natural part of my day. While I am grateful for the ease that these modern conveniences provide I can tell you with confidence that they are not strictly necessary. You might think that carrying things around as a chimpanzee could be challenging. The chimpanzees do not have pockets or purses (although they do have access to them provided by the daily enrichment) and yet they manage to carry around the important things just fine. In fact, their ingenuity is often inspiring! There are various solutions to the problem of carrying things when you’re a chimpanzee. Here are just a few.
Of course, hands and arms are always up to the task.
Mouths are often quite useful as well.
Carrying things on your back takes a little practice, but Foxie is a pro.
Options that are particular to chimpanzees are the hip pocket (the area between the thigh and the abdomen) and the ever popular foot grab!
Sometimes, you just have to make it work with whatever you have at hand. Jamie’s problem solving skills often lend themselves to situations like this in interesting ways. For example, she has been seen on more than one occasion to use this table to carry her portion of food from a meal to a more comfortable location were she can enjoy her selection at leisure.
