Watch the GLTs on the web camIssue 17, September 24
Travel Paths
The family has been making the cross to Holly Hill two or three times a day. They almost always take the low black walnut over, either from the ropes or from the top of tree five. On their way back, they usually all cross from the low black walnut and take the fence into the hemlocks, though lately Laranja has preferred the ropes. Twice this past week, Eduardo reverted to his old habits and instead of following the rest of the family, he went back to the bench holly, into the white ash, and down the trunk of the tupelo across the path. They periodically take the fence or the ropes to the fence holly and then follow the fence down as far as tree 19, a small holly tree by Olmsted Walk. Part of the family crossed to Bird Hill again this week, crossing the path in the trees behind the nest box and then crossing back further down Valley Trail into tree 30.
New Hangouts
The only really novel hangout this week has been the family’s exploration of tree nine. The monkeys made several forays to check out and scent mark the holes in the large stump. Several times it has appeared that Laranja was trying to lead the family there late in the afternoon to sleep. So far they have either ignored her attempts or gone back to the nest box before 7.
September 17
The monkeys were awake early on this chilly morning and crossed to Holly Hill at 7:10. They went straight up to the tops of the trees and into the sun as they moved slowly down toward the shed holly. They reached it at around 8:30 and then continued past it, mostly out of sight in the high branches.
At 9:30 they turned and headed back toward the low black walnut, which they used to cross back to the main exhibit. They ate from the food tray hung by tree four before heading down the ropes toward tree nine. They explored the tree stump briefly before climbing up tree eight and moving about high in the branches for a few minutes.
By 10:45, they all made it back down to their main exhibit and groomed one another in the hemlocks. They foraged around the area for an hour and a half, moving into the trees behind tree three. Shortly before 12:30 they crossed back to Holly Hill over the low black walnut and settled into the bench holly.
They stayed mostly out of sight in a monkey ball in the high branches for almost two hours before crossing back to the main exhibit once again over the low black walnut. They foraged and played in and around the hemlocks until 4:10, when two fawns wandered through the exhibit. The monkeys all scattered as Laranja climbed toward the deer, predator calling. Baby 2 jumped on Eduardo’s back and the whole family joined in scolding the intruders for a good 20 minutes. They moved back to tree zero at 4:45 and by 5:15 on this cool evening, they had all settled below the platform to sleep for the night.
September 18: Exploring Tree Holes
Another chilly morning started with the monkeys seeking the sun high up the back of tree zero. Shortly after 8 a.m., they came down and ate from the food trays before crossing over to Holly Hill at 8:30. They settled into the high branches of the bench holly and were mostly out of sight for a few hours, moving in and out of the thick branches.
At noon, Laranja led them back to the low black walnut and across to the main exhibit. The monkeys all ate and came down to be weighed before taking the ropes off to tree nine. They explored the holes in the tall stump, moving in and out of them before continuing on the ropes to the fence holly. They foraged on the vines growing up through the holly, eating the small blue berries.
At 2:30, they headed back down the ropes toward the main exhibit, stopping again to explore and scent mark the holes in tree nine on the way. They foraged around tree four and the kids played crazily. Shortly after three, the four youngsters jumped onto the ground several times and chased each other around the branches haphazardly, often missing their landings. At five, they moved back to the nest box and having tired themselves out in the cool evening air, they all disappeared below the platform to sleep by 5:30. Eduardo made one more appearance to sleep on the top level at six.
September 19: Vacation Home?
The family was up and moving around the main exhibit at 7 a.m. as usual. They crossed to Holly Hill at 7:45, moving briefly into the bench holly. At 8:15, they headed toward the shed holly, moving into the trees past it to forage. At 9:15, they turned around and moved back to the low black walnut to cross back to the main exhibit. They foraged for mealworms in the bromeliad on tree five before moving down to tree nine again at 9:45. They disappeared inside the tree holes for 20 minutes before moving back to the main exhibit.
At 10:45, the babies played rough and tumble in the nest box. A few minutes after 11, Eduardo climbed down to the ground under the hemlocks and scent marked one of the large rocks lining the ground. The kids followed his example and played on the ground for about 20 minutes.
For a few hours after 12, they foraged in the hemlocks and behind tree three. At around 2:15, Moe climbed up tree 2A and played by himself on the extra metal nest box holder that is hung there. The sun hit it perfectly and lit his brilliant fur a blazing gold color. By 2:45, the whole family joined him there, sitting in the sun together before they climbed way up to the top of the tree. They foraged and long called for a few minutes before climbing back down and returning to the hemlocks to forage.
At four, Mara chased a squirrel around the branches. Shortly after five, Laranja led the family down the ropes to tree nine. The family quickly disappeared into the holes and stayed there for the next hour, only visible by a head poking out now and then. It seems Laranja wanted to spend a night in what used to be called their vacation home. A few minutes before six, Eduardo left the tree holes and moved back toward tree zero, followed by the babies. Before long, everyone had vacated the idea of spending the night away from home and were eating from the food tray by tree four. By 6:15, they were all inside their real nest box and asleep below the level.
September 20
At 7 a.m., the family was up and foraging in the trees behind tree 2A.At a quarter after seven, they took the ropes to the low black walnut and crossed to Holly Hill with Eduardo bringing up the rear as usual. They all headed down toward the shed holly, foraging though the trees as they went. They reached the shed holly around eight and moved into the trees beyond it. Mara and Moe found a squirrel’s nest in the magnolias near the path and foraged through it. At 8:45, they moved back toward the bench holly and settled high in the branches for 45 minutes. A few minutes before ten they all crossed back to the main exhibit and foraged in the food tray hung by tree five.
At 10:15, they took the ropes to tree nine and explored the tree for the third day in a row before continuing down the ropes. They moved through the fence holly and jumped onto the fence before climbing onto their favorite trash can. They scent marked it profusely before continuing down the fence all the way to the holly at the end by Olmsted Walk. They moved between tree 19 and tree 17, foraging until 12:15, when they started the hike back to the main exhibit. They stopped and foraged for a while on the edge of the empty bobcat enclosure.
At 12:30 they all jumped to the ground and played between tree 17 and tree 22 until a few minutes after one. They continued the move back toward home and made it into the hemlocks by 1:30. They foraged around the main exhibit, through the hemlocks and up tree three for the next few hours. For a few minutes after four, Moe, Eduardo, and Baby 2 foraged on the ground under the hemlocks. At 5:45, the whole family moved back to tree zero and into the nest box where they disappeared below the platform to sleep.
September 21: Ground Crossing Revisited
The family was up early and climbing in the trees behind tree zero along Valley Trail. A Zoo employee entered the exhibit on the side by the Red Light District and started cutting weeds and the monkeys scattered, scared by the noise. Eduardo and Baby 1 crossed to Bird Hill in the ensuing chaos. The worker left the exhibit after a few minutes but the monkeys continued long calling, trying to locate one another. At 7:55, Eduardo carried Baby 1 back across the path, crossing with a large jump into the tall hemlocks behind tree eight. They moved back into the main exhibit and ate from the food trays before crossing to Holly Hill at 8:30. They settled into the bench holly, resting in a large monkey ball and grooming one another for two hours.
At 10:40, Eduardo led them all back to the main exhibit over the low black walnut. They foraged in the food tray and bromeliad holder. At 11:05, Laranja led the cross back to Holly Hill and they once again settled into the bench holly with full bellies. They were out of sight in the thick branches for almost an hour before moving lower to forage.
At two, they all crossed back to the main exhibit once again. Everyone took the low black walnut except for Eduardo, who got left behind. Instead of following, he reverted to his old habits and climbed back through the bench holly, over to the high black walnut, into the white ash, and down the tupelo across the path on the ground. They all foraged and ate from the food tray hung by tree four. They investigated some strawberries that had been hung from the ropes but despite having eaten them cut up in their diet before, no one ventured to taste them whole. They picked them up and stared at them for a while before deciding they were unappetizing. Moe and Eduardo jumped to the ground briefly at four to forage. They all moved back to tree zero at five and moved in and out of the box for the next hour and a half. By 6:45, they had all settled below the level to sleep for the night.
September 22: Savoring the Last Day of Summer
The GLTs were up early yet again as the sun warmed the last day of summer. They were already foraging in the fence holly by tree 13 at 7:15. After a few minutes, they turned around and took the ropes to the low black walnut where they crossed to Holly Hill. They spent an hour in the bench holly before heading down toward the shed holly and into the trees beyond it.
At 9:30, they turned around and headed for the low black walnut which they used to cross back to the main exhibit. They all ate from the food tray for about 20 minutes before crossing back to Holly Hill and settling into the bench holly. They stayed in a monkey ball high in the thick branches of the holly for about two hours.
Shortly after noon, they crossed back to the main exhibit once again. Everyone took the low black walnut to the fence except for Eduardo who once again climbed over to the tupelo tree and down across the path. They foraged in the trees behind 2A and then rested in the hemlocks.
At 2:15 they all ate from the new food trays before crossing over to Holly Hill once again. Laranja led the charge, taking the ropes to the low black walnut and everyone else climbed up tree five and over into the low black walnut as well. They moved into the bench holly before settling into a monkey ball for another two hours of rest and grooming. Around 4:30, they started moving and headed toward the shed holly. They stopped in the magnolias across from tree 13 and foraged very close to the path.
Finally, a few minutes after five, they headed back to the low black walnut where they crossed back into the main exhibit. They foraged briefly in the hemlocks before heading back to tree zero at 5:30. They moved in and out of the box, staying active on the top level until 6:45. At seven, Laranja was out of the box watching from a perch and finally joined the family for the night at 7:10.
September 23: Autumnal Equinox
The family was out of the box at 7 a.m. and crossed to Holly Hill a few minutes after. They moved down toward the shed holly, foraging along the way. They reached the shed holly around 7:45 and then moved into the trees just past it, where they foraged for an hour. Shortly before nine, they headed back to the bench holly. The kids played in the thick branches for half an hour before the whole family crossed back to the main exhibit at 9:20 taking the low black walnut to the fence. They foraged for a few minutes in the food tray by tree zero before crossing back and settling into the bench holly.
They were mostly out of sight in a monkey ball high in the holly until 11:45, when they played on the ground by tree 33 and then moved back to the same clump of magnolias that they foraged in near the path yesterday. At 12:20 they moved back into the bench holly. Mara looked like she wanted to cross back to the main exhibit and had just jumped onto the low black walnut when Laranja long called from inside the bench holly and she ran back to the family just in time to chase off a squirrel that was intruding. They all crossed back to the exhibit over the low black walnut at 12:40. Everyone used the ropes to get back except for Moe, who seems to prefer the fence.
They foraged, played, and groomed in and around the hemlocks for a few hours. Mara investigated a mirror that was hung near tree four but the way it moved every time she jumped on the rope seemed to scare her. At 3:45 Baby 1 led the family down the ropes toward tree nine, which they investigated briefly before moving back to the low black walnut and jumping onto the fence. Eduardo led them down to the trash can by the fence holly, which they all took time to scent mark. The babies climbed down between the fence and the trash can, jumping onto the asphalt several times. Mara continued down the fence to tree 15 which she explored before realizing she was alone and returning to the family.
Around 4:30, they jumped into the fence holly, where they foraged and groomed each other. At 4:40, they all took the ropes back to tree nine and after exploring it for a few minutes, Laranja led them all home again. They ate from the food trays and Laranja appeared to be attempting to lead them all back to tree nine but the rest of the family played in the hemlocks instead. At 6:15, they settled into the nest box. By seven, everyone was inside with Laranja, Eduardo, and Baby 2 sleeping above the platform.
