Designing chimpanzee buildings is not an easy task. There are so many functional needs to take into consideration, not to mention having to make everything virtually indestructible as well as fun for smart and strong chimpanzees.
For our most recent construction, in order to connect the two new greenhouses to one another so that chimpanzees could pass from one to the other, a door needed to be installed between them, but we also wanted a human hallway in between the greenhouses with a shelter overhead.
After much rumination, J.B. and Marc Brown of Marc Brown Design came up with a door above the hallway. Our doors on the new side of the building are on a hydraulic system and remotely operated, so the next challenge was figuring out how the human door-operators could see the door while operating it.
The solution was to create a small space of caging embedded within the ledge of the greenhouses on each side that allows the humans a clear view of both sides of the door (Door Q, in case you’re curious), while operating the door using the lever on the left in the photo below.
Aside from the outdoor Chute, It’s currently the only place where the chimpanzees are directly above human space.
Rayne thinks this perspective is very fun, and she surprised me the other day by greeting me from above.
You may notice that Rayne has a strange looking pinky toe on her left foot – this is from a recent injury during introductions. If you know chimps at all, you won’t be surprised to learn that Rayne is not bothered in the least by this injury. She allows us to spray it with Vetericyn, and I’ve seen her friends occasionally paying close attention to it, but otherwise I forget she was even injured. Even directly after the fight when this injury happened, she was ready to be reunited with the sparring chimpanzees, so we put them all back together for the big playroom romp that J.B. wrote about.
The toughness and silliness of chimpanzees will never cease to impress me.
Every time some idiot says animals can’t smile or laugh, I’m sending them here! That is most definitely a smile!
“Spider chimp, spider chimp, does whatever a spider chimp does…”
What a crack-up ! These pictures are great.
I’ve found that one of the best things about photographing animals as opposed to people is that they just dont care if they’re going to look goofy.
Sweet Rayne, so brave and so silly.:heartbeat:
Ditto!:joy:
Where there’s a will there’s a way. To the humans, make sure you bring an umbrella while walking through that hallway.
I love her smile as she’s looking down on you. that’s got to be really fun and interesting for them!
In a worst case scenario like a blackout where the hydraulic doors would not be responsive, is there a way to manually open and close doors so that the xhimps remain safe?
Im sure they have a genny
Hi Mary – We have a standby generator for power outages and a backup hydraulic pump that can be activated by turning a few levers in case the primary pump fails.
How reassuring to know that you are being watched over by someone like Rayne.
I think I love these pics of Rayne smiling down at you as much as she loves being able to look at you from above. Her big grin is perfect.
What a lovely smile Rayne is giving you Diana, very touching.
She must know and feel she is in the best place she can be, considering….and I think she likes you ?
The emoji is not working…it was a big smily-face….
Angels above! What a great perspective, and I wonder what they think when they look down? :blush:
I like your punny alternative title Rayne from Above. Anthony’s puns are contagious.
Must have made your day to see Rayne smiling down at you. It’s fun getting to see snippets of the new chimps. Helps me to get to know them better. Rayne is certainly a favorite of mine (well, to be honest they are all *favorites*). I seem to have a special weakness for her face and ashen forehead.
And thanks for sharing the complexities of the construction and inner workings of the hydraulic doors. I often see chimps moving about buildings and walkways at various sanctuaries and all looks/seems easy. I appreciate the way you explain the challenges you had to overcome during the construction process to ensure your own personal safety as well as the safety of the chimps. J.B. is a mastermind. And Rayne is the beneficiary!
Rayne just tickles me!:joy: