The Contraption !!!!!

Sunday evening as always was the end of a hard summer week of incessant, but necessary visitors to our (Theme) park I was sitting in my office counting my blessing when the Primate Keeper paid a visit (I had an open door policy) to chat about some other means of keeping the Larger Primates, Gorillas and chimpanzees occupied (Other than copulation, eating and spitting at the public, that is) We sat for an hour and he left having planted a few sparks of ideas into my deranged mind, that night I came up with "The Contraption".



The Two adjoining ( but partitioned) major Primate cages were fairly new, three dimensional, constructed of steel framing suitable for them to climb around on and with at least twenty foot of height and more than fifty times bigger than that of their original display cages. Not being used to the new found space they used to rattle around the cages, displaying, spitting and splashing the public with water from their respective shallow ponds (Primates don`t swim well however the Gorillas at Ibdan university Nigeria were taught to swim in a sort of dog paddle and apparently enjoyed doing so, by Bob Golding their then curator) obtaining a great deal of satisfaction from doing so, all the time the public were "in".



Often I used to visit them before I left for home (and before they were returned into their indoor areas for the night) quietly sitting and watching them, and they in turn used to sit and watch me as I feigned "Grooming" myself (picking imaginary salt from by Hair (such as it is) and clothes and pretending to eat it (who was entertaining who I have to ask???).



"The Contraption" consisted of a simple twenty one foot scaffold pole bent into a "U" shape and used vertically to link the two cages together (across the roof" of the cages) terminating about eight foot into each respective cage. Through the tube a sisal rope greased with, petro gel, was fed and a small tractor tyre attached to one end, on the other end ( the Chimps side)was a large knot and that was it! The idea was that the Gorillas would play with the tyre and make the other end of the rope move (or vice versa) and that in turn would attract the Chimps, hopefully alleviating, a small amount of further boredom occurring. Was that a great and simple idea or what?



Well!!!!! during the short life of the "Contraption" this was what in fact happened. Initially the Gorillas were terrified of the new found Tyre but eventually after much observation, huddling into a group, along with some poking and running away they warmed to their new toy, the male finally giving it a pull and running off with it until it wouldn`t move any further (two knots further up the rope prevented it from so doing) The Chimp a large beautiful male called Sinbad in the mean time had found that he could chew the knot at his end and swing about on the rope much aiding his self assured and cocky display to his females, with chest out he was standing attached with one hand to the rope posing when suddenly he shot up into the air screaming and protesting aloud, the Gorillas hearing the commotion emanating from "next door" dropped the tyre and ran away and poor old Sinbad fell to earth in a heap(there was three foot of straw "deep litter" in both the cages, so no harm was done except to his pride). He further protested and slowly regained enough confidence to poke the rope again, treating it with a bit more respect this time not chewing it for a while.



Not to be out done and by now having pretty much "sussed" out the workings of "The Contraption", Simbad a not unintelligent Chimp, the next day ran over to the rope, as he was first let out into his enclosure and armed with the now pulled upon and gathered up rope he went across to his spy hole (a bolt hole without a bolt) in the partition between the cages and with one hand holding the rope tight so that the Gorillas tyre was about eight foot above the cage floor, and he waited. The male gorilla "Kumba" came out first inspecting the enclosure for any food which there always was, he took his pick and then the females were allowed to follow.



He sat eating for a while until he spotted the Tyre in the air on the other side of the enclosure, deciding that there was something "Wrong" he stopped what he was doing somewhat startled. roared, and ran over to the tyre, standing underneath it, deciding the best way to get it down. At the very same time the watching Sinbad let the rope go and the tyre bounced off Kumbas head frightening the Sh*t out of him, all of a sudden the tyre was alive? and he ran off grabbing a startled, now quietly browsing female, effortlessly carrying her back to "sort the tyre out".

Sinbad was ecstatic and stamped around screaming and puffing his chest until he collapse tired and started to eat his food, which the opportunistic femails had been readily devouring seizing any opportunity to get one over on him.



From this action I rightly or wrongly, deduced that Sinbad was a little more intelligent that Kumba but not by that much, he was maybe more devious and patient though which isn`t the norm for the blustery personality of the "usual" Adult, alfa male chimp ! The Contraption was a minor success!!



Twice (or more) annually, the deep litter in these enclosures, was replaced with new (other than regularly being cleared of the usual detritus and topped up) and the Chimps and the Gorillas would be circulated through the houses in turn, so that one enclosure became available at a time, for the clearance to take place.

The large set of enclosure double doors, would be opened allowing a "mini digger" into the enclosure and the clearance would commence. Due to the large and diffused amount of work required, in that the gardeners supplied and laid the straw with the help of the primate keepers and the labourers removed the old bedding and detritus, a few different ( should I say unsuspecting) people became available for Kumba`s amusement. When he was in Sinbad`s cage during his groups respective "rotation" he would (not unlike Sinbad) sit and wait with the tyre raised, eventually landing it on the head of a tractor driving labourer or a working gardener, both he and the keepers received much amusement from this action, until it was finally tied up out of the way by a "disgruntled soul" of a Ganger who obviously felt that his men should have seen it coming ?????? Mmmmmmmm :o)) so perhaps he wasn`t such a slouch in the intelligence stakes as I first thought???????