Watch the GLTs on the web camIssue 9
August 7: Where Did Everyone Go?
The family crossed later than usual today, around 7:30 a.m. It was the same old routine we are all used to by now. They all started in bench holly, traveled down to shed holly and then went back to bench holly. After a couple hours in bench holly they crossed back for food using the low black walnut to the fence. After a quick bite to eat they started to head back toward the low black walnut but tricked us all and went to tree nine instead. They foraged and scent marked tree 9, each going inside in to check it out for a moment, but after only a few minutes they were ready to head back to Holly Hill. Laranja crossed over first followed by Samba and then Eduardo. Gisela, however, was left behind. When she finally came around the corner of tree nine, she had no clue what had happened when she saw that everyone was gone. Eduardo and Samba had not ventured far from the black walnut on the Holly Hill side waiting for Gisela. Gisela called quietly and then started to infant rasp, which caused Samba to come back to check on Gisela. Samba sat in the middle of the black walnut watching Gisela, waiting for her to come. However, Eduardo soon came back and went all the way to tree 9 to get his little princess. Gisela immediately crawled on his back and Eduardo made the cross carrying Gisela all the way back to the bench holly. Perhaps Laranja and Samba did not see him carry her across because they started long calling back and forth several times. Soon, though, everyone was back in the bench holly, where they family spent the rest of the day until about 3 p.m. when the kids came out of the holly to play on the ground while Laranja and Eduardo stayed low in the trees on either side of the kids. Around 4 p.m., they all crossed back over via the low black walnut and all used the fence to get to the food tray. Time was then spent in the hemlocks and tree three grooming, playing and resting as usual. Everyone was back in tree zero by 6:15 p.m. with everyone inside the box by 7 p.m. except for Eduardo.
August 8: A Scandalous Red Light District Evening
Today began as every other day has with a cross to Holly Hill at 7:03 a.m., a trip to bench holly, then one down to shed holly with a cross back for food a little after 11:15 a.m. After some big appetites, the family crossed back to Holly Hill, however everyone did not all cross together. It appeared that the whole family would cross back together as they all traveled down the ropes toward the low black walnut together, however, Eduardo and Gisela continued on past the black walnut and went for tree nine. Laranja and Samba on the other hand crossed over, leaving Eduardo and Gisela behind at 12:15 p.m. When Eduardo and Gisela finally looked around and noticed that mom and Samba were nowhere in sight, they were both a bit confused and Samba must have been scared because she quickly jumped on Eduardo's back. It took them a while to discover where Laranja and Samba had run off to, but eventually they discovered them over on Holly Hill, so they finally crossed via the low black walnut. Eduardo crossed with Gisela on his back and took her all the way into the bench holly. This is so difficult for him to do as Gisela is quite large now, almost half of Eduardo's weight.
After crossing back the rest of the afternoon on Holly Hill was spent playing and lounging in the bench holly before crossing back at 3:18 p.m. along the low black walnut. Eduardo was the only one to take the fence back. Laranja and the girls used the ropes. It's funny whatever makes them decide each time they cross whether the fence or the ropes are more suitable for travel that day! After eating for a while the family spent some time in the hemlocks and we all thought the day was winding to a close as it usually does with some foraging, playing, and resting around this area. Boy were we wrong!
Around 5 p.m. Laranja began making her way for the rope that leads over to the Red Light District. Her interest in this rope quickly turned into her crossing over to the RLD. Samba had watched mom cross over and immediately was curious herself, following mom over. A few minutes later Gisela had noticed that mom and sister were over there and she slowly made her way over the rope to join the girls who were foraging in the dogwoods. Eduardo had been lounging in tree three, watching as everyone crossed over, though he seemed a bit reluctant to cross himself. Perhaps he knew there was nothing exciting and nothing to forage on over there from his trip there last week. Eventually though he slowly ambled over to join the rest of the family. This was not a short trip, like Eduardo's last week. The whole family stayed over in the RLD for a little over an hour, exploring all over. For about the last half hour of their adventure over there Laranja seemed very jittery and agitated. It appeared that she was desperately trying to figure out a way to cross back. We suspect that she and eventually the others were not able to find the rope again that leads back to Beaver Valley.
As Laranja appeared to be searching for a way to cross back a deer had ventured onto Bird Hill and Eduardo soon caught sight of it, quickly running over to try and scare it away. Laranja followed and both were eventually able to chase it away. Once the deer was gone both Laranja and Eduardo tried to find a way to cross high up in the trees back to Beaver Valley. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful. It was about 6 p.m. at this time and I had run back to get some mealworms for the family to entice them back to their exhibit since it appeared Eduardo was considering following the deer up Bird Hill. However, while I was inside they started to come back on their own, though not along the rope as they had come. Laranja, with the girls following closely made her way all the way down to the white ash, where she came out over Valley Trail where some of the white ash branches meet with some of the branches from the hemlock. The branch she came out on was very thin and Samba quickly followed her out on it. Laranja hesitated, turning back, however Samba was not going to wait around to cross and she leaped into the hemlock, followed shortly by Gisela. Laranja eventually made the same jump into the hemlock as well as Eduardo, who had finally caught up with the family. There was no need to use the mealworms now; however we still gave them to the family as a treat after coming back on their own a little after 6 p.m.
After crossing everyone quickly made their way to the mealworms and soon into tree zero. It was a late night however as everyone except Gisela was still awake at 7 p.m., with Laranja grooming Samba. All that activity so late in the day presumably kept the family awake a little longer than usual.
August 9: A Very Typical Day
Today was a very usual day for the tamarins, as there were no new patterns, activities, or excitements for the day. The family crossed before 7 a.m., went straight for the bench holly as usual, crossed back to Beaver Valley at 9:33 a.m. for some food, taking the fence back to the food tray. The most excitement for the day was that Gisela led the family down the fence. She has been leading the family more frequently lately, although she is not always the leader. When she is, she really shows us her more independent side. It's funny how she can be so independent and fearless one minute and then a scared, shy little girl the next with all this riding on Eduardo's back we have seen this week.
After breakfast the family crossed back to Holly Hill, where the monkeys went back into the bench holly before venturing down to the shed holly at 11:30 a.m. Finally a little after 3 p.m. the whole family crossed back to Beaver Valley via the low black walnut, spending the remainder of the day among the hemlocks, tree three, and tree zero. Everyone was in tree zero by 6:30 p.m. and all were fast asleep by 7 p.m. Not an overly adventuresome day, but still an active, playful day. It's funny to see how steadfast patterns can become.
August 10: The Rain Calls for Shed Holly
It was a rainy start this morning and this seemed to affect the GLTs only mildly. Earlier in the season we would have seen the family hunkered down in the nest box for the day or at least until the rain had stopped, but the chillier temperature and the rain only delayed the family's cross to Holly Hill slightly. At 7:30 a.m. the whole family crossed over via the low black walnut. Instead of heading straight for the bench holly as usual, they all slowly made their way down to the shed holly where they stayed for about an hour and a half before venturing down to the bench holly. The rain surprisingly did not prevent the family from making this move, as it was raining during their voyage to the bench holly. They were also quite active, playing all over the shed holly and only really huddling together once to stay dry. The rain wasn't too hard this morning, though, and I'm sure those holly trees provide excellent coverage for them. The rest of the family's time on Holly Hill was spent in the bench holly resting, foraging, and exploring.
At 1:30 p.m. everyone crossed back to Beaver Valley where the rest of the afternoon was spent among the hemlocks, tree three, and the zero-to-four and three-to-four ropes. Some grooming, foraging, playing, and lots of lounging consumed the GLTs' time for the rest of the afternoon. It was a fairly late trip back to the nest box at 6:30 p.m., but it was straight inside and fast asleep, as everyone was resting by 6:45 p.m. The late afternoon among the hemlocks and tree 3 tired everyone out and everyone was out like a light as soon as their heads hit the pillow.
August 11: Can't Stay Away From the Fabulous Holly Hill
The day began with the family's typical routine. They all crossed a little after 7 a.m., led by Laranja, then the girls, and Eduardo brought up the rear. This seems to be a pretty typical pattern lately, for Eduardo to cross over last behind everyone else. It's almost as if he is waiting to make sure the rest of the family makes it over safely before he goes. After the cross they headed for bench holly after stopping off for a while in the magnolia trees. From the bench holly it was down to shed holly as usual, though they all stopped around 9:15 a.m. in tree 33 and went way up high, presumably to forage. However, when they go up this high it becomes impossible for the watcher on Tamarin Run to see the monkeys and very difficult for the watcher on the elephant walk to see them, so they may just like to hang out there for a few minutes before moving on to the shed holly. This has been a common pattern though on many days, to stop off in tree 33 for a while before finally making it into the shed holly. About an hour was spent in the shed holly before the family started making its way back to the bench holly very briefly before finally crossing back for some breakfast around 11 a.m.
It was just a short trip back to the food tray as the family was back in bench holly for the 11:15 a.m. scan. The bench holly wasn't very alluring either, however, as the family made its way back down to the shed holly at 11:45 a.m. This is the first time I have seen them visit the shed holly twice in one day after returning all the way to the bench holly. This doesn't particularly mean anything. It's just interesting! This was only the beginning of the interesting new pattern for today.
The family crossed back to Beaver Valley at 1 p.m., ate, rested, played, and then at 2:45 p.m. Eduardo crossed back to Holly Hill. Everything was pretty typical up to this point. We all suspected that no one would follow Eduardo over, as they never do this late in the day. All of a sudden though Laranja started leading the girls down the ropes towards tree eight and sure enough she led them all over to Holly Hill across the low-lying black walnut. Laranja and the girls have never crossed over to Holly Hill this late in the day before. And what makes the story even more interesting is that this was not just a quick trip like Eduardo's late afternoon trips usually are. The whole family stayed on Holly Hill, mostly in a monkey ball in the bench holly until 5:30 p.m. when Laranja finally led the family home over the low-lying black walnut. She took the ropes back; however, Eduardo and the girls all came to the fence taking it over to the hemlock. Everyone foraged for a bit on top of the spare nest box holder in tree 2A and in the trees around tree three before making their way back to tree zero for the evening. By 6:45 p.m. everyone was inside the nest box, though Samba was still awake at 7 p.m., but looking very sleepy.
August 12: August Is Vacation Time!
Today was a short day on Holly Hill. The family did not cross until 7:25 a.m. and the GLTs all were back in their main exhibit for the afternoon shortly after 12 p.m. Eduardo did end up crossing back by himself around 3 p.m., but only stayed for half an hour before returning to the family who were all hanging out in the hemlocks.
Their time on Holly Hill was their usual pattern of bench holly to shed holly with a trip past shed holly to forage for a bit in the magnolia and evergreen trees. On their way back from the shed holly they all crossed back to Beaver Valley without stopping back at the bench holly first. Once everyone was back, they all had a bite to eat as usual, but then the family shocked us, as apparently it was vacation time. Laranja led the whole family down to tree nine, where the whole family ventured inside around 12:45 p.m. and remained inside for almost an hour before heading back to the nest box. Who knows what the family does while inside? Presumably, they all just rest, but I bet those girls play and wrestle a little, too. There's nothing like a little getaway, though, to the fabulous vacation home on a summer afternoon.
After about an hour of eating and lounging around the nest box it was time to come and show off for the afternoon Zoo crowd and what better place to do show than in the hemlocks and tree three. The entire 3-5 p.m. shift was spent resting, grooming, and lounging around in these trees with some occasional play bouts among the twins that got the crowd roaring. It was a nice relaxed afternoon, which ended early. By 5 p.m. everyone was back in tree zero and by 5:30 p.m. everyone was inside the nest box where they stayed for the rest of the evening. All were asleep by 6:30 p.m., even though it was not a very active day. Sometimes we all just need a little R&R.
August 13: A Playful Duo
It was another short day on Holly Hill, with a later-than-usual cross over to the bench holly at 7:22 a.m. and a permanent cross back to Beaver Valley around noon. There was a quick trip down to the shed holly around 8:30 a.m., however all returned to bench holly for a while before crossing back home. Laranja and the girls used the ropes to get over to the food tray when they crossed back, and Eduardo was the only one to take the fence back. They all had a little Sunday brunch before Eduardo led the way to the vacation home again around 12:15 p.m. Isn't this what Sundays are for—sleeping late, eating late, and then lounging around the getaway home with a view? Tree nine (the vacation home) overlooks the stream on Beaver Valley, whereas the nest box merely views the cement walkway of Tamarin Run. Who wouldn't prefer a waterfront property for a little relaxation?
It was a short rest (about an hour) inside the tree hole before it was time to return home at about 1:30 p.m. The monkeys ate a bit before making their way to the hemlocks, where they remained for the duration of the afternoon, showing off for the public, particularly the twins. As the girls have become more and more comfortable in the exhibit they have turned into quite the little acrobats, hanging from their toes, dangling from the ropes and tree branches, jumping leaps over each other and their parents, and somersaulting all around. If ever there was a day to show off their skills, today was the day, as the cooler weather made this afternoon a perfect afternoon to take the family to the Zoo. The Zoo was packed today and everyone was thrilled to see the GLTs so close and easy to see. The twins played and played all over the rope from zero to four, in the hemlocks and occasionally in tree three, and the crowd just adored this special show. Eduardo and Laranja just sat close by, lounging and grooming each other, but watching over their girls at the same time. It was a very relaxed and care-free day for the family.
Around 3:45 p.m. the whole family came to the ground for about five minutes, and foraged a bit in the rocks below the rope from tree four to tree three. Shortly after this, they went back to playing and relaxing in the hemlocks before heading home to tree zero around 5 p.m. By 5:45 p.m. everyone was inside the nest box where they remained for the rest of the night. Everyone was asleep by 7 p.m. when the watchers left, calling it an early evening.
