When we set out food forages for the chimpanzees on Young’s Hill, the chimps’ outdoor habitat, especially on a gorgeous day like today, all of the staff onsite tend to gather at the base of the hill near the greenhouse, frequently with more than one of us taking photos.
It never gets old watching forages, and we often narrate out-loud to one another what’s happening. Today, Missy provided some excitement for our (and her) enjoyment.
The lunch forage was whole tomatoes (a Missy-favorite!), big chunks of lettuce, celery, mini sweet peppers, primate chow biscuits, and a few pieces of sweet potato.
Missy was keen on finding the tomatoes, but was also busy gathering lettuce. We spotted her on the treat rock (an artificial termite mound) taking a moment to eat some lettuce.
She must have spotted some tomatoes on top of Negra’s cabin from the vantage point of the treat rock, because she leapt off the treat rock in a way only Missy would. J.B. got a shot of her in motion!
Here’s the zoomed-in version of that photo. I dubbed it Stunt Missy.
Negra was settled in inside her cabin, casually enjoying some chow biscuits and lettuce, when Missy approached.
Missy was determined to climb up the log support of the cabin, even with her hands quite full. The humans watching wondering if she could do it…
Of course she could! She scaled up the log one-handed, not dropping a leaf of lettuce.
and enjoyed the tomato reward when she reached the top
