Watch the GLTs on the web camIssue Five, July 1
Travel Paths
The GLTs have been traveling to Holly Hill every morning, fairly early. They usually all take the ropes to the low black walnutand use that branch to cross over. Laranja crosses back once or twice on her own to eat. She uses the low black walnut down to the fence line and walks along it until she can jump into the hemlocks to get to the main exhibit. To cross back, she either takes the ropes to the low black walnut or she goes straight up tree five and crosses into the top of the high black walnut. When the whole family crosses, Laranja comes the same way as before. The kids either follow her or they follow Eduardo down the tupelo tree at the far end of the exhibit to the ground and across.
New Hangouts
In the morning, the family has been spending a little time in the hemlocks before crossing to Holly Hill, usually before 8:30. They spend about an hour in the bench holly before Laranja leads them to the shed holly. After an hour or so, they head back to the bench holly and Laranja crosses back for food about once every hour until the rest of the family is ready to cross back. The rest of the afternoon is usually spent in the hemlocks.
The babies are often left to climb around while the family forages up the white ash behind tree three and the neighboring trees. They go up rather high. Eduardo once crossed over to the Red Light District.
June 25: A Brief Visit to the Elephants
The tamarins were stirring in the box shortly before 6 a.m. The first hour of their day was spent moving out to the food pans and back. Eduardo and Laranja made a brief morning trip to the hemlocks in the corner of their exhibit. At 8 a.m., they took off very decisively for Holly Hill. With no hesitation, Laranja took the ropes to the low black walnut to cross and the rest of the family climbed up tree five before moving down into the low black walnutand using the overhanging branch to cross as well. They spent some time in the bench holly before Laranja led them all to the shed holly at 8:45.
They played low in the branches before Laranja once again led them, this time back to the bench holly, at 9:50. She didn’t stay put long, as she crossed back over to the main exhibit alone to get some food at 10. Fifteen minutes later, she used the crossing from tree five to the high black walnut to rejoin her family. They spent a few more hours in their favorite tree before Laranja got adventurous and crossed over into the strip of trees bordering the elephant yard at 12:05. She foraged for a few minutes, and seeming to find nothing terribly exciting, crossed back. The whole family crossed back to the exhibit shortly before 1 p.m. Laranja took the low black walnut and then followed the fence until she could jump into the hemlocks. Eduardo and Mara climbed down the high black walnut and crossed on the ground. Moe got left behind and it took him a few minutes to get up the nerve to climb down the white ash and follow on the ground.
The babies were left alone quite a few times and in quite a few places, including when the family got fed at 3:20. They are getting quite adventurous in the trees, zipping up and down branches and even making a small jump now and then. When the family went to the hemlocks for the afternoon around 3:40, Baby 1 was even seen moving from one hemlock to the next! Everyone played and relaxed in the hemlocks for a few hours.
At 5:30, Eduardo crossed into the Red Light District, (the strip of trees between the bathroom and the exhibit), where he worked his way all around the edge, foraging, before he returned at 5:44. Laranja was scent marking a lot around tree zero and the hemlocks. The kids settled into the box around 6:15, with parents joining them shortly after. There was movement between the levels of the nest box but everyone appeared to be settling in for the night until a deer moved through the exhibit around 7, causing nearly everyone to exit the box and yell at the intruder. By 7:30, the deer had left the area and the family was back in the box for the night.
June 26: One-month Birthday for the Twins
Though Eduardo was the only one up and out of the box around 7, the whole family was up by 7:30 and made an early cross to Holly Hill at 7:40. Laranja led the way to tree eight, where she crossed using the low black walnut, followed by Eduardo, who was carrying the babies. Mara and Moe, however, climbed up tree eight and searched for crossing routes. They eventually came down the neighboring maple to the fence and then used the low black walnut to cross. At 7:41, a deer ran through Holly Hill setting off a series of calls from Laranja.
Around 9, the family moved down to the shed holly and then into the pines and magnolias just beyond it. Laranja was long calling the whole time, perhaps listening for some response from any nearby GLTs. Let’s hope she doesn’t hear any from the Small Mammal House! They headed back to the bench holly at around 10 and Laranja crossed back over alone to eat before taking the high black walnut to cross back to her family. At 12:45, the whole family returned to the main exhibit, Laranja using the low black walnut and the rest taking the ground by the tupelo tree.
During the afternoon, the family spent its time moving between the nest box and the hemlocks. Twice in the afternoon, both babies fell off of the nest box one after the other, on the side where the platform does not catch them. They were retrieved, no worse for the wear, by Eduardo and are doing fine. Later, both babies were seen climbing from one hemlock to the next during the family’s afternoon visit to that area. After Baby 2 again fell of the nest box but was caught by the platform at 5:15, the family began to settle down for the night. By 6 p.m., most of the activity was inside the nest box with an occasional trip outside. Eduardo seemed to want to enter the nest box but it must have been too warm because he kept coming back out. He was still out on his favorite branch (the one that sticks straight forward off of tree zero) when Jennifer left for the evening at 7:40.
June 27: An Extended Visit
The family was up fairly early, with everyone in the hemlocks by 7 a.m. They rested for 50 minutes before returning to tree zero and eating some breakfast. At 8:15, Eduardo led the cross to Holly Hill across the low black walnut Tree. Laranja, however, followed the ropes out to tree 13 and the kids followed parallel to her on the fence. Mara and Moe then turned around and took the fence back to the low black walnut where they crossed and Laranja followed them. At 9:45, Laranja led them to the shed holly and they didn’t move back to the bench holly until 11:30. Laranja then crossed back into the main exhibit to eat, taking the low black walnut to the fence and then into the hemlocks. No surprise as it had been almost four hours since she had been at the food pans! Mara and Moe started to follow but then stayed behind with Eduardo and the babies. After eating, Laranja yet again crossed back to be with her family in the bench holly. Around 3, Laranja led the group back, taking the low black walnut to the fence again. Eduardo, Moe, and Mara climbed down the high black walnut and took the ground to the fence line.
At 3:12 both babies were seen alone on the food pan where Laranja left them and then they climbed up the rope to the trunk of tree zero! They may have already surpassed Mara’s skills at scaling the ropes! They spent a lot of time playing on the platform, climbing up the rope attached to the bromeliad, and even jumping from the rope to the branch on tree zero and back. Eduardo and Laranja were off in the hemlocks together around 4. Laranja seems very clingy and has been following Eduardo like a shadow, and he has been mostly ignoring her.
At 4:50, a new water cup was hung by tree four and the entire family came to investigate despite the light showers adding their drops to the dish. The distant thunder didn’t seem to bother them in the slightest. At around 5 they all headed back to the nest box but seemed very restless and unable to settle down for the night, perhaps due to the heat. However everyone, including Eduardo, was in and settled by 7:30.
June 28: Caught in the Rain
The family was once again up early and already in the hemlocks by 7 a.m. The tamarins started a chaotic cross to Holly Hill at 8 a.m. Eduardo went on the rope to tree nine and checked out one of the holes before coming back to tree eight. Mara and Laranja each had a baby. Laranja left the baby on tree six and started to follow Eduardo across. Instead, they came down to the fence line and foraged around the kiosk. Mara and Moe went up high in tree eight. Moe came down to investigate the baby who was still alone in tree six, and Laranja finally came back and got it. She then crossed after Eduardo on the low black walnut. Mara and Moe searched for different ways over. Moe eventually found the way on the overhanging branch of the low black walnutand Mara, still carrying a baby, figured out that she could go from the maple in front of tree nine into the low black walnut and over. The family settled into the bench holly, occasionally calling at an employee who was weed-whacking in the Elephant Yard.
Laranja crossed back into the main exhibit to eat around 11 and the rest of the family followed her several minutes later. They stayed in the area of tree zero until around 2 when they made their usual afternoon trek to the hemlocks. At 2:23 it started to rain and all the monkeys ran for the nest box, leaving Baby 1 alone in the tree, calling. Moe and Mara had never been caught in the pouring rain like that before and Moe seemed especially bothered by it, jumping from branch to branch. Finally, Mara came to the baby’s rescue, retrieving it on her own. After sitting in the hemlocks for a few seconds, she eventually made her way back to the box using the ropes. This was surely a big undertaking for her as she normally avoids rope use at all cost, not to mention when weighed down by her little sibling! They all rested in the box until around 3:30, when the rain was over and Laranja and Eduardo left the box. Moe and Mara ventured out about an hour later. The rest of the afternoon was spent in and out, eating and resting in the area around tree zero. Eduardo and Moe were still out of the box together when the 5-7 shift ended.
June 29: Settling into a Pattern?
Out of the box at 7, the monkeys ate breakfast and played around the nest box until 7:40, when they headed to Holly Hill. Laranja led but then waited, pausing on tree eight. Eduardo followed with Baby 1 and waited with her as the kids caught up. Moe crossed first, running along the low black walnut branch onto Holly Hill without a backward glance. Mara followed with Baby 2, and their parents brought up the rear. They stayed in the bench holly until 9:20 when Laranja led them in the direction of the shed holly. They never made it that far because as they lingered in first Tree 33, then 32, it began to rain and they all fled back to the bench holly with Eduardo in the lead. They settled back into Tree 35, resting and foraging. Laranja very quickly crossed back to the main exhibit at 10:40 to eat briefly before taking the low black walnut to rejoin her family. An hour later, the whole family crossed back to their exhibit. Laranja, once again intent on refueling, took the low black walnutdown to the fence line and over to the hemlocks. First Moe, then Eduardo with both babies, and then Mara climbed down the trunk of the high black walnut to take their usual ground route.
They ate lunch near the nest box and 40 minutes later were in the hemlocks. On the way, Eduardo left both babies alone on the rope from tree four to tree zero. They ran up and down a short length of it, calling softly. A few minutes later, Mara came and picked one up and then shortly after, Laranja got the other. They left the babies to play alone in the hemlocks and went foraging high in the white ash behind tree three. This jaunt in the hemlocks lasted until 1:30, when they headed back to the food plans around tree zero to feed again. Then it was back to the hemlocks around 2:30. Baby 1 took a fall from a hemlock and was picked up from the ground by Eduardo. The family rested, played, and groomed one another until 4:45, when they took another foraging trip up into the white ash and neighboring trees of the corner of their exhibit. Mara jumped onto the fence and gave a few visitors a startle at 4:50. By 6, they were all settling into the box and, aside from a few individuals up moving around, had disappeared into the lower level.
June 30: Quite a Day!
Following their recent pattern, the family was in a monkey ball in the hemlocks at 7 a.m. The GLTs stayed there, Eduardo sitting with Baby 1, Laranja grooming Baby 2, and Moe and Mara playing, until 8, when they headed toward Holly Hill.
Mara seems to be getting a better hold of using the ropes, although she often ends up upside down. She and the rest of the family followed the ropes to tree eight. Laranja continued to tree nine and investigated it. Moe went straight up the low black walnut, and after hesitating for a moment to see if anyone was following, used the overhanging branch to cross over and climbed to the bench holly.
Mara stopped at the low black walnut and climbed down to the fence, watching her mother on tree nine. After a minute, she followed Moe up and over. Eduardo and Laranja both sat on the trunk of tree nine and Baby 1 climbed off onto the rope. Laranja left the other baby on the branch and crossed while Eduardo foraged. He looked like he was about to cross and leave both babies alone when Laranja came back. She picked up one baby and Eduardo picked up the other and crossed over together to join their older children.
They foraged briefly before taking off toward the shed holly at 8:30. They disappeared into the dense branches of tree 31 and, besides glimpses of Moe and Mara playing and one short trip from Laranja into the trees further down the run, they were mostly not visible. Laranja led them back to the bench holly at 10:30, when she crossed back to the exhibit to eat. Moe followed about a minute behind her and found the low black walnut crossing all by himself. Now if only he would do that instead of following his father to the ground every day! He joined Laranja at the food tray, where they foraged together for ten minutes before she crossed back to Holly Hill and he followed shortly after, jumping from tree five to the fence and running down to the low black walnut.
At 1 p.m., Laranja crossed back to the main exhibit again, followed shortly by her family who used the ground crossing as usual. They foraged around tree zero, and finding the mealworms in the new bromeliad by tree five, proceeded to tear it to shreds. Moe broke off the top stalk and carried it like a prize into the nest box. It was so big he had trouble fitting it through the door and had to make several runs at it. At 2:40, it was time for the afternoon trip to the hemlocks, where everyone relaxed and the babies played on their own while others foraged in the neighboring trees. At 3, Baby 2 fell from a hemlock but caught itself in a bush before it hit the ground. The only problem was that the branches of the bush were too light and close together for Eduardo to get to the baby easily and it took him several minutes before everyone was reunited. This excitement was followed by more resting, playing, and foraging in the hemlocks and along the rope to tree five.
At 4:50, Eduardo, Laranja, and Moe jumped from tree five to the fence and foraged all the way to the hemlock corner. They left both babies with Mara on the bromeliad holder on tree five and Mara didn’t stay to babysit for long. The little ones jumped and wrestled on the edge of the circular platform and it seemed inevitable when they took a tumble right over the side. Everyone ran back from the other end of the exhibit lightning fast and they were down the trunk of tree five in no time. Laranja picked up Baby 2 from the ground but the ever-so-independent Baby 1 quickly climbed up a bush by itself. When Eduardo attempted to retrieve it, it complained loudly and wouldn’t come. Dad gave up and went to join the family on the trunk. Laranja left Baby 2 on the vertical surface of the trunk about three feet up and went to the ground with Eduardo and Moe, seeming to forage. Baby 1 continued to climb up the bush, closer to the tree. Mara tried to pick it up but again it responded with loud cries and bit at her face. An attempt to leap to the tree trunk fell short and it grabbed a lower branch on the bush, one more failed attempt and it finally allowed Mara to rescue it. At this point, Laranja picked up Baby 2 from the trunk and they were both deposited on the bromeliad feeder with Mara once again. Baby 1 soon slipped off the edge yet again but caught itself a foot down on the trunk and then tried to leap up unsuccessfully but caught itself on the back of Mara, who had climbed down to get her younger sibling. Once again, big sister saved the day!
After all that excitement, everyone moved back to tree zero and after 30 minutes of foraging, they settled into the box around 5:40. There, the babies could be seen nursing while everyone else relaxed.
July 1: Oh Deer!
Despite the chilly air, the monkeys were up very early and crossed to Holly Hill at 6:45. On their way over, their friend the deer moved into the main exhibit. Mara and Moe, each carrying a baby, scurried across the low black walnut and into the bench holly. Laranja and Eduardo moved back into the exhibit to defend their territory from the intruders. They scolded the deer until they moved up and onto Holly Hill, then the parents followed, calling until they were out of sight.
They sat in the high branches of the bench holly, warming themselves as the sun lit up their coats like orange flame. Moe and Mara tore around the tree playing tag, chasing, and wrestling each other. Laranja long called periodically and then crossed back to the main exhibit to eat at 8:40. Three minutes later she was back on Holly Hill again. All was quiet again despite Moe and Mara’s raucous playing, until the two fawns wandered down the hill and sprinted underneath the bench holly. Laranja, of course, was not a happy camper and called after them until they were out of sight.
At 11, Laranja crossed back to the main exhibit to eat briefly and returned to the family just in time to see the doe move under the bench holly. They called at them continually until around 11:40, when the deer started moving toward Olmsted Walk. Laranja followed them, darting low in the trees now and then, which startled the fawns into bolting this way and that. She chased them all the way to the shed holly with the rest of the family following closely behind, assured that their territory was deer-free, before they finally returned to the bench holly.
At 12:13, Laranja crossed back to the main exhibit via the low black walnut. Eduardo with both babies, Moe, and then Mara returned by way of the ground under the tupelo tree. They all set about foraging in the food pans and around the hemlocks. Moe and Laranja both spent quite some time hanging upside down on a coconut mealworm feeder. Eduardo sat in the furthest branch of the hemlock tree next to tree four, just staring out over the path and consequently posing for his delighted public. Moe and Mara joined him there as well, foraging for insects amongst clumps of dead leaves.
At 3:30, everyone was around tree zero when the fawns ran through Holly Hill, making terrible crashing noises. Eduardo and Laranja were up like a flash and bolted to the hemlocks, predator calling and glaring at the deer. After they had gone, things once again settled down and the family moved off toward the nest box once more at 4:40. The trip was short lived, as the fawns once again crashed through the undergrowth on Holly Hill and Laranja climbed to the tip of the lowest branch of the hemlocks, calling and looking like she wanted nothing more then to cross over there and confront them. The entire family joined her and stared for a few minutes before relaxing and foraging in the hemlocks. They left the babies alone in the hemlocks to climb around as they searched in the vines that curl all the way up the white ash behind tree three. At 5 p.m., everyone returned to tree zero and they were in and out of the nest box until 6:30, when everyone disappeared to the bottom level except for Mara who slept above.
