Yesterday someone asked whether the chimpanzees like to use water to cool off. The answer, as it often is, is both yes and no. Yes, the chimpanzees do enjoy water, quite a lot in fact! But, no, they don’t really jump in the pool to cool off. Rather than hanging out in water they prefer to use water to cool off in other ways. For example, bottled water can be a fun treat, drinks from the hose are a daily favorite, and ice cubes are a rarer treat but greatly appreciated nevertheless. Water can also be useful, for cleaning faces, or cleaning other things.
Today’s weather forecast called for heat in the ninties with little wind and a lot of humidity. Thanks in part to yesterday’s question I considered filling things up with water to be a great enrichment idea for the day. The chimpanzees appeared to appreciate it as well!
Negra:
Missy:
Jody:
Jamie:
Foxie:
Burrito, however, chose to get his water from the spigot instead!
Do chimpanzees sweat? They are rainforst creatures but was wondering if they sweat and are bothered by the high temperatures.
Karen,
Chimpanzees do sweat although not in exactly the same way that humans do. There is some research to suggest that when chimpanzees sweat it is not triggered by response to heat although I cannot say that definitively.
As for whether they are bothered by the heat, well, that’s subjective. Some of them seemed to be full of energy and unfazed by the temperature while others were content to lie around most of the day. Tempers did appear to be shorter although it is possible that did not have anything to do with the heat!
adorable! love the one of foxies tongue!
Poor Foxie and Negra look miserable.
Where was Annie? I mean I know she was there but was she being camera shy? 😀
Annie was there and participated in the water enrichment. Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture of her today!
I wonder how they would respond to a sprinkler. That used to attract me more than a pool would.
I liked all the pictures. I enjoy looking at all their flicks. They are priceless faces. I adore them.
Great photos! Who doesn’t love to play with water? Hey, snow cones would be fun…but sort of the wrong time of year for that, isn’t it? 🙂 I can just see the people in Seattle cringing when they saw that Folger’s container! 🙂