Watch the GLTs on the web camIssue 13, August 27
Travel Paths
Everyone, including Eduardo and the babies, is now using the low black walnut branch that overhangs the path to cross both to and from Holly Hill. On their way back, the GLTs almost always take the fence line down to the hemlocks. They have been visiting shed holly on a regular basis, taking the trees along Holly Hill and usually stopping to forage in trees 32 and 33. Once this past week they crossed to the Red Light District (the area of trees between the bathroom and the exhibit), moving through the hemlock branches above the path.
New Hangouts
No new hangouts this week. The monkeys are spending a majority of their time in the bench holly, the shed holly, or in the main exhibit around the hemlocks and the small trees behind tree three.
August 20: A Cold, Wet, Quiet Day
The morning started out wet and cold and the family lingered by the nest box longer then usual. At around 7:30, the monkeys moved up the back of tree zero to forage. They moved slowly down and made their way toward the hemlocks before taking the ropes to the low black walnut and crossing to Holly Hill at 7:47. They were very quiet for about four hours in the bench holly, moving around the canopy and settling into a monkey ball.
At 11:45, Laranja crossed back to the main exhibit, running over the low black walnut and along the fence line. She spent a few minutes eating before crossing back to join the family. They were again very unusually quiet for a few hours until Laranja, Mara, and Moe crossed back to the main exhibit at three, again using the low black walnut. They ate for about 20 minutes before crossing back. Eduardo promptly led the way down to shed holly, foraging all the way. It wasn’t long before they turned back around and headed for the low black walnut once more at 4:35. This time everyone crossed, including Eduardo and the babies, trailing down the low black walnut branch and along the fence into the hemlocks. The monkeys foraged in the hemlocks until it started to rain at 5:45. They high tailed it to their nest box to get out of the wet and promptly disappeared below the platform, only making a few brief appearances on the nest cam for the rest of the evening.
August 21: Cold (and Wet) Snap
Yesterday’s rain carried over to Tuesday morning and it had obviously taken a toll on the exhibit hardware. The rope between trees zero and four had snapped during the night, but this didn’t stop the monkeys from foraging around the hemlocks and tree three for two hours. At nine, they all took the remaining ropes to the low black walnut and crossed to Holly Hill except for Moe who took a detour up tree seven and into the top of the low black walnut before crossing over. They moved around the bench holly and the tall trees to the left of it, foraging for a few hours.
At 11:30, Laranja and Mara crossed back to the main exhibit over the low black walnut and started to take the fence until they spied a large coil of rope that had been set on the bench in the midst of repairing the ropes in the exhibit which seemed to startle them. Laranja wouldn’t let that stand between her and her food, though, and she and Mara took the hanging ropes to the food trays instead. Moe started to follow and got as far as the fence before seeing the rope pile and fleeing back over to Holly Hill. He moved into the white ash on the left of the bench holly instead, followed by Eduardo and the babies. After a few minutes of eating, Laranja climbed straight up tree five and crossed over into the high black walnut followed by Mara. The GLTs curled up into a monkey ball in the bench holly, undisturbed as a hawk flew over calling at 1:05.
About 15 minutes later, they broke their huddle and everyone crossed back to the main exhibit over the low black walnut. They ate from the food tray near tree zero briefly before moving into the small trees behind tree three to forage. They have started to come into berry and the family’s been taking full advantage of it. After a while, they moved back into the hemlocks where they foraged and played for several hours. The cold, rainy weather finally got to the monkeys too and they moved into the box shortly after five, disappearing below the platform soon after.
August 22: Sting
Another cold morning for the monkeys found them below the platform in their nest box until 7:20. They emerged and moved into the hemlocks to eat breakfast, Baby 2 cuddled close on Eduardo’s back.
They all crossed to Holly Hill around 8:45, moving into the high branches of the bench holly. They were mostly out of sight for a few hours, until 12:42 when Laranja and Mara crossed over the low black walnut into the main exhibit. They ate for a few minutes before Mara climbed up tree five and crossed into the high black walnut. Laranja lingered on the food pan a little longer before taking the ropes to the low black walnut and crossing back into the bench holly. All the GLTs sat in a monkey ball in the high branches, napping in the chilly afternoon air.
They crossed back at 12:45, everyone taking the low black walnut except for Eduardo who carried Baby 2 down the tupelo tree to the left of the bench holly. They all foraged in the hemlocks and quickly found the apple that was hung on the rope by tree five. Not quick enough to beat the bees though—as Mara reached for the fruit, she got stung on her left hand. She jumped and ran into the hemlock to the left of tree four, and sucked on her hand for a good five minutes. Before long she was back at the apple though, showing perhaps a little more caution toward the little yellow insects.
At four, a deer wandered across Holly Hill, prompting the family to glare from the hemlocks, predator calling for quite some time. They all moved back to tree five around 5:40, settling into the box at 6:15. At 6:30 no monkeys were visible above the platform. At 6:50, the deer walked through the main exhibit, prompting the monkeys to leave their box and defend their home one last time before returning to bed.
August 23 Where Has the Sun Gone?
The GLTs were out of the box and in the hemlocks foraging at 7 a.m. They crossed to Holly Hill at 7:55, with Eduardo in the lead. Everyone hopped down to the fence briefly before running over the low black walnut. Baby 2 lingered longer than the others and crossed two full minutes after everyone else. They moved into the bench holly and played high in the branches.
At around nine, they moved down to the shed holly where they stayed until 10:30. When they moved back toward the bench holly, they all crossed to the main exhibit over the low black walnut, moving into the hemlocks to eat. About 20 minutes later, Mara jumped onto the fence from the hemlock to the left of tree four and ran to the low black walnut where she crossed to Holly Hill. Moe followed her along the fence and everyone else took the ropes to the low black walnut and over. They played and groomed high up in the bench holly, all the kids playing together sporadically.
At one, they all moved down to the shed holly again where they foraged in the high branches and neighboring trees. They headed back to the bench holly at three, and Laranja crossed to the main exhibit briefly to eat. Everyone crossed back for the day at 4:30 over the low black walnut. They ate from the food trays by tree zero and the hemlocks. It was to be another early night as they headed into the box at 6:10, quickly disappearing below the platform to sleep. At 7, Eduardo and Moe could be seen sleeping together on the upper half of the nest box.
August 24: A Strange New Animal
At seven, the babies were still playing in the box but everyone else was out eating from the food trays. The whole family crossed quickly over the low black walnut at 7:20 and settled into the bench holly. They were mostly out of sight in the high branches before heading down to the shed holly at nine. They foraged and played there, about seven meters high, until about 10:20 when they headed back toward the bench holly.
At 10:51, everyone crossed over the low black walnut except for Moe, who sat in the bench holly and long called despondently while the others ate. After a few minutes, Eduardo climbed up tree five and crossed into the high black walnut. When he joined Moe in the bench holly, Moe chased him around in circles through the branches, chattering. Laranja, Mara, and Baby 1 all hopped from the hemlocks onto the fence which they ran along to the low black walnut and crossed. Baby 2 ran along the ropes parallel to the others but stopped at tree five, jumping into the small trees next to the fence. He long called several times before jumping to the ground and running to the fence which he used to reach the low black walnut and climb over to Holly Hill.
In the meantime, Eduardo had crossed back over from the high black walnut into tree five, looking for his lost child. Finding no one, he climbed from tree five into the top of the low black walnut and over to Holly Hill. They stayed in the bench holly playing and foraging for two more hours. At 1:40, the entire family crossed over the low black walnut and down the fence to the main exhibit. They foraged in the hemlocks and surrounding trees until 2:15 when Eduardo and the babies ran down the rope to the low black walnut and back over to Holly Hill followed by Laranja and Mara. Moe stayed and foraged for a few minutes longer before jumping on the fence and running along it into the low black walnut and over.
They were mostly out of sight in the high branches of the bench holly until 4:30, when they came back on the low black walnut once again. They reached the fence and suddenly everyone ran back over to Holly Hill and sat in the bench holly for a few more minutes. At five, they gave it another try, crossing over the low black walnut. Laranja, Moe, and the babies ran along the fence and into the main exhibit to eat. Mara followed along the fence to about the area of the fence when she stopped and looked down.
Leaning on the fence was a walking stick, belonging to one of the Small Mammal House keeper aides, which was adorned with several fur tails. Mara reached down and hesitantly touched it, jumping back quickly and running on to join the others. Eduardo was also intent on the walking stick, staring at it from the trunk of the low black walnut. He refused to move, watching the potential danger for any signs of movement. I walked up and removed the walking stick from the fence, hiding it behind my legs on the other side of the path. He moved to the kiosk and continued to watch me, peering from side to side, watching for the tails I had hidden behind me. I had to walk it halfway down the path and hide it behind a trash can before he would give up and rejoin the family. He’s such a good father, defending his family from this strange new stick animal.
They all foraged in the hemlocks until six, when they moved toward tree zero. They moved in and out of the nest box for the last hour. At seven, Eduardo, Mara, and Baby 2 were in the nest box while the others sat and watched outside.
August 25: Left Behind
The monkeys were up and moving early, crossing over to Holly Hill at 7:15. They moved straight to the shed holly, foraging along the way. They stayed mostly out of sight in the high branches for two before heading back toward the bench holly at 9:45. They settled into the big holly tree until 11, when Laranja, Mara, Moe, and Baby 2 crossed to the main exhibit over the low black walnut. Eduardo and Baby 1 stayed put until the rest of the family rejoined them after a few minutes.
At 12:30 they all moved back to shed holly once again. They spent a good amount of time yelling at a trespassing deer before moving into the surrounding trees to forage for about an hour. At 2:45 they headed back to the bench holly and promptly crossed back to the main exhibit. Only five monkeys crossed—Baby 2 was nowhere to be seen. The rest of the family went to the food trays and quietly ate, making no sign that they noticed their missing family member. No baby vocalizations could be heard from Holly Hill, where he had last been seen. After about five minutes of chowing down, Laranja sat in the hemlocks and long called a few times. After what felt like an eternity, a tiny long call could be heard from way down at the shed holly. Baby 2 must have been napping and got left behind!
The entire family charged along the ropes, crossing to Holly Hill to retrieve the baby. Laranja reached the little one and tried to pick it up, but he refused to be mothered and climbed back with them on his own. In the meantime, Baby 1 had been left alone in the exhibit and he long called unhappily. Eduardo ran back from the shed holly, overshot the crossing point, and climbed down the magnolia tree in front of the bench holly. He jumped to the ground and ran across the hastily cleared path to the fence and into the exhibit to comfort the abandoned twin. What an episode!
Soon after three, they were all reunited in the main exhibit and went about foraging in the hemlocks with renewed vigor. At four they moved up tree three and foraged through it and the white ash tree behind it. Laranja and Mara spent a few minutes on the ground by the base of tree three. A storm rolled in shortly after six, sending the monkeys into their box for the rest of the night.
August 26: Fall’s Well that Ends Well
(The babies are three months old today!)
The GLTs spent the first two hours of their morning foraging in the hemlocks in the corner of their exhibit. They all crossed to Holly Hill at 8:55 over the low black walnut. They moved through the bench holly and foraged in the squirrels’ nests in the white ash and tupelo trees to its left. At 11, they all moved back to the bench holly for half an hour before Laranja and Mara crossed to the main exhibit to eat. After a few minutes Laranja crossed back, followed shortly after by Mara. They all moved about the bench holly until 1:30, when they all crossed back together over the low black walnut. They foraged in the hemlocks and then the small trees to the rear of tree zero and then by tree five. At four, Eduardo led the way over to the Red Light District (the area of trees between the bathroom and the exhibit). The whole family followed but they were back in the main exhibit 15 minutes later.
At 5:30, Mara was on a branch in tree three about nine meters from the ground when the branch broke. She fell into the branches of a smaller tree below which broke her fall somewhat but she continued through and hit the rocks below. She was up right away and climbed up into a small tree, where she sat stationary for a few minutes. Then it was monkey business as usual as she continued to play with her siblings.
At 5:50, Mara moved back into tree three and vomited. She was very active and ran back to tree zero, where she joined the rest of the family. She spent some time playing with the babies in the nest box. Later she was seen drinking water, playing, and grooming the babies and since has seemed no worse for having fallen. At seven, Eduardo and Laranja were outside the box keeping watch as Moe slept below and Mara and the babies played on the upper level.
