Watch the GLTs on the web camIssue Six, July 9
Travel Paths
The family is still crossing over to Holly Hill almost every day. The tamarins take the ropes to the low black walnut and use the overhanging branch to cross the path and climb into the bench holly in the mornings. Laranja usually returns once on her own taking the low black walnut and down along the fence line into the hemlocks. She then takes the ropes to the low black walnut to rejoin her family. When she does this a second time, the family usually follows. Mara and Moe have been following her over the low black walnut half the time. The rest of the time, they follow Eduardo down the high black walnut, white ash, or tupelo tree, and along the ground into the hemlocks. In the late afternoon, Eduardo and the kids often make a trip along the fence line to forage for insects. They jump down from the hemlocks and range all the way up to the low black walnut.
New Hangouts
Most mornings the GLTs spend about an hour in the hemlocks in the corner of their exhibit before crossing to Holly Hill. They spend most of their time there in the bench holly but will often move down into the shed holly for an hour. Now and then one of the adults will cross into the trees bordering the Elephant Yard for a few minutes. They all cross back into the main exhibit between 12 and 2. Most of the afternoon is spent in the hemlocks near the fence line. The kids especially seem to like the hemlock to the left of tree four and the hemlock that reaches over the path toward the Red Light District. Eduardo often leads foraging parties up the white ash behind tree three and also along the fence line from the hemlocks down to the low black walnut.
July 2: A Garden Party
The family was up shortly before 7 and moved to the hemlocks where the monkeys lounged until 7:15. They made a very smooth crossing to Holly Hill by way of the low black walnut and went straight into the bench holly. They foraged and rested there until 8:30 when they made their way down to shed holly. They went past it into the trees bordering the garden and stayed mostly out of sight there for an hour. A little after 10, they all moved back to the bench holly and Laranja crossed quickly back to the exhibit to eat.
They spent another peaceful hour in the holly until a deer moved through their territory, and Laranja proceeded to call until it was out of sight. After this excitement, at around 12:55, Laranja must have figured she earned a meal because she crossed back into the main exhibit. The family looked like it might follow but did not. Laranja crossed back to join the other tamarins again after a few minutes. They finally all crossed back at 1:20 after a short altercation with a squirrel. Laranja took the low black walnut to the fence as usual, only this time, Moe and Mara followed shortly behind. That left only Dad with the two babies to climb down the tupelo tree and scurry across the path to join them in the hemlocks.
They spent a typical afternoon in the hemlocks, foraging, playing, and grooming. They all took a brief respite in the nest box at 4:45, forming a monkey ball in their cozy picnic cooler. At 5:15, they all left tree zero to forage in the food pans and on an enrichment item of hanging fruit that they had neglected to find earlier in the afternoon. The babies were left alone in the nest box during this time and Baby 1 climbed out, jumped onto the branch, climbed onto the rope between tree zero and tree five. It made it about halfway down the length before Dad picked it up and returned it to the nest box.
Shortly after 6 they all settled into the nest box for the night and were in the bottom level, aside from Eduardo who seems to like to get away from the rambunctious children and watch out the nest box door in the evenings.
July 3: An Extra Crossing
The morning was once again spent in the hemlocks, although the family stayed longer then usual. The GLTs moved back and forth between the hemlocks and the nest box, picking up food in between.
At 9:40, they must have decided it was time and made their way toward the crossing point in the low black walnut. Instead of crossing, Eduardo passed tree eight on the ropes and went to investigate the holes in tree nine. Moe didn’t stop to see what his dad was doing and crossed right over in the low black walnut followed closely by Mara. Laranja climbed up the trunk after the kids but stopped at the fork in the tree. She let the babies climb off her before crossing almost all the way to Holly Hill with Eduardo, who had joined her. She stopped short of a full crossing though and retrieved Baby 2. Eduardo went back and got Baby 1 and they all rendezvoused in the bench holly.
Moe and Mara played sporadically at ever increasing speeds, shaking branches as they chased each other, giving away their locations to the watchers below. Most of the time was spent high up, not visible to the behavior watchers except for fleeting glimpses and shadows. Laranja made a quick trip back to the main exhibit at around 11 to eat. She crossed again at 1 and the rest of the family followed her. Laranja used the low black walnut and the rest crossed on the ground.
At 1:30, Laranja scurried to the top of tree five and crossed over into the high black walnut. She long called almost constantly, seeming to want the rest of the family to follow. The GLTs paid her no attention, foraging on the food trays and lounging in the hemlocks. She climbed down the high black walnut’s trunk and into the white ash, looking like she was going to pull an Eduardo and cross on the ground as she made agitated calls.
Just as I was preparing to clear a path in the large crowd, I saw a young boy walking up Holly Hill under that tree. It seems that she was moving that way to scold him for being in her territory because as soon as he left, she went back up and into the bench holly. She long called for a few more minutes and then at 1:41 she crossed back over to the main exhibit via the low black walnut and down the fence to join her family in the hemlocks.
The afternoon was spent moving between the hemlocks, the nest box, and tree five, where they foraged in the bromeliad. The babies are great fun to watch when left on the bromeliad because they jump and pounce on the leaves as well as any unlucky tails that stray into their reach.
By 4:30, the sky was overcast and the air felt cool. The family spent more and more time in the box, coming out to forage in a PVC mealworm feeder. The babies were left alone in the box but Baby 1 was feeling adventurous and jumped out of the box, onto the branch on tree zero, onto the rope, climbed halfway across it and into the small tree between tree zero and tree five where it sat and played until Dad came to deposit it back in the nest box. By 6:15, everyone was below the platform in the nest box except Laranja, who settled down to watch above.
July 4: Taking a Holiday
The watchers were in suspense all morning, wondering when the family would decide to cross to Holly Hill. They were disappointed: it never happened. It seems our monkeys decided to take the day off and stay home instead, which sounds like a good way to spend the Fourth of July to me! They slept in and, save for a few brief trips to the hemlocks, hung in and around the box until 11 a.m.
The majority of their afternoon was spent in the hemlocks. The babies are really starting to get rowdy in their play, as well as adventurous. They were even seen hanging upside down by their toes from the rope! Moe and Mara gave the public quite a show, playing tag in the hemlock to the left of tree four that sits very close to the fence. Both babies joined them, climbing one after the other down the rope from tree four to tree five and explored the little hemlock while trying not to get run over by their big brother and sister. They all moved back toward the nest box at 2:15 where they foraged from the food pan, played, and rested.
At 4:55, they held their own Fourth of July parade as they foraged down the fence line and onto the low black walnut. It looked like they may have decided to make a belated trip to Holly Hill but never crossed, instead coming back down and returning to the nest box.
Most of the rest of the evening was spent inside the nest box with little trips to the food pan to grab a handful and run back inside. Both babies celebrated their independence by stealing food from Laranja and Mara’s hands and eating it! At 6 p.m., thunder started to rumble like fireworks in the distance and it rained lightly for half an hour. Everyone disappeared beneath the platform in the box until 6:25 when Eduardo and Laranja were disturbed by a deer in their territory. They called at it until it was gone and then returned to bed with the rest of their family. Hope everyone had a happy Fourth of July.
July 5: Back to Holly Hill
After having not crossed yesterday, the family must have been craving Holly Hill because the tamarins crossed only a few minutes after 7. Eduardo, Laranja, and Mara crossed leaving Moe to carry both babies. He made it to the low black walnut and set both babies down before crossing into the bench holly. Laranja came back for Baby 1. Baby 2 climbed halfway across the branch that hangs over the walkway before Eduardo went and got it. At 8:20 they predator called at a deer walking through Holly Hill. Laranja crossed back to the main exhibit shortly before 9 via her usual path over the low black walnut, down the fence, and into the hemlocks. After a few minutes she rejoined the family. She did this once more at 11.
The whole family crossed back into the main exhibit at 12:45. Laranja used the low black walnut. Eduardo came down the white ash and crossed on the path with the babies while the kids came down the high black walnut and followed on the ground.
Between 1 and 3 p.m., they stayed near the box, mostly resting and foraging. The babies did some climbing on the ropes and Baby 2 even seemed to be foraging in the PVC mealworm feeder hung by tree four. From 3 to 5 p.m., the tamarins hung out in the hemlocks, where they foraged and rested.
When it was time to go home, shortly before 5, Eduardo led Baby 1 down the rope from tree four to tree zero, stopping every few feet in front of the baby but never actually picking it up. Most of the rest of the evening was spent in the box save for a few trips to the food tray and Laranja and Eduardo resting on the branches nearby. The babies attempted to take food from anyone who brought it back into the box. They were all settled in by 6:15.
July 6: An Average Day
It was another early morning when the family, after eating a little breakfast, crossed to Holly Hill at 7:35. Eduardo carried both babies and was followed closely by Mara and Moe across the ropes to tree eight and then over the low black walnut. Laranja took the same path a minute later. Moe and Mara took full advantage of their playground, tearing around the tops of the bench holly. Shortly after 9, they moved down to the shed holly led by Laranja. They were mostly not visible in the dense branches of the shed holly for about 45 minutes before heading back to the bench holly.
At 11 a.m., Laranja went back to the main exhibit for her mid-morning brunch and then rejoined her family in the Holly. The whole family crossed back at 12:10. Laranja took the low black walnut while everyone else crossed on the ground by the tupelo tree. They all foraged and rested near the nest box until 2, when they moved up Tree 2A to forage briefly, leaving Moe and the babies in the box.
The rest of the afternoon was spent foraging between the nest box and the hemlocks. They settled down by the nest box at 6:15 but Laranja, Eduardo and Baby 2 were all still resting outside of it when the 5-7 watchers left.
July 7: Playing Fetch
Once again the family rose early and crossed to Holly Hill shortly after 7. Eduardo led the way across the low black walnut with Baby 1, followed by Mara, then Laranja with Baby 2. Moe lagged behind and instead of following over the walnut, climbed high up tree eight. He moved up and down over the path looking for a way across and eventually moved from the maple in front of tree nine into the low black walnut and over.
The kids played in the tree tops and everyone rested in a large monkey ball at 8:30. Eduardo made a quick trip over to the trees bordering the Elephant Yard to forage at 8:45 before returning to the bench holly. Moe spent much of the morning tearing the numbers off of tree 35. He carried the pieces of paper around in his mouth like a prize before chewing on them.
Laranja crossed back to the main exhibit at 11:45. Moe looked like he might follow, first approaching the low black walnut and then climbing low down the trunk of the high black walnut before deciding to rejoin Eduardo and Mara in the bench holly. Laranja crossed back to Holly Hill at 11:52. They were settled into the dense branches high in the tree and were mostly not visible until 1:30 when Eduardo, Moe, and Mara made a foraging trip into the high black walnut and neighboring white ash.
It looked like they might come down and cross but they returned to the bench holly instead after ten minutes. Shortly before 2, someone long called and the whole family erupted into a series of chirps that lasted several minutes without stopping. I wish I knew what they were saying! The whole family crossed back to the main exhibit at 2:30. Laranja and Moe took the low black walnut and ran along the fence into the hemlocks while Eduardo, carrying the babies, and Mara climbed down the tupelo tree to the ground.
They all proceeded to feed while Laranja long called repeatedly for a few minutes. Baby 2 spent a lot of time on the food tray and appeared to be trying to reach the food but couldn’t seem to get much with such short arms. It even tried hanging on the side and bottom to get a better reach. Finally, the little one settled for just stealing little pieces out of the others’ hands.
The family spread out and rested. Laranja nursed Baby 2 in the hemlocks with Mara and Moe close by. Eduardo tried to settle down to rest far out on a branch off tree zero with Baby 1 on his back. Baby 1, however, had different ideas. Every few minutes, it would jump off Dad’s back and run down to the tip of the branch. Dad would then get up slowly and retrieve the baby before returning to rest in the same spot. The baby would sit still for a minute and then hop off and do it again. Eduardo is a very patient father and very tolerantly played this game of fetch for 15 minutes at least!
At 2:55, Baby 2 got left in the hemlocks while everyone else went to forage near trees zero and five. Instead of calling for someone to come to the rescue, the little one climbed from the hemlock onto tree four, down and around onto the rope from tree four to tree zero and then ran all along it until he climbed up tree zero into the nest box by himself! It was quite an impressive feat.
At 4:30, they all moved back into the hemlocks and shortly after, Eduardo jumped out onto the fence followed by Moe and then Mara. They ran down the fence, foraging in holes for insects and stopped parallel to the bench where they one by one hopped onto the ground to investigate its crevices for anything yummy. Then they climbed back up the fence and scent marked the kiosk before climbing back up into the trees. Laranja sat with the babies and watched the whole time. Then everyone moved back to the nest box at 5 and stayed there for most of the rest of the evening, lounging together on the top platform.
July 8: Freeze!
It was a late morning in the nest box. Eduardo and Laranja did not venture out until 7:53. They foraged in the food pans and rested until 8:20, when they decided to cross to Holly Hill after a brief session of predator calling at an unseen intrusion. Eduardo carried Baby 2 and was followed over the low black walnut by Moe, Mara, and then Laranja with Baby 1. They all settled into the bench holly and were mostly not visible other than brief glimpses of foraging or play between Mara and Moe. Laranja looked like she was ready to cross and almost made it into the low black walnut at 11:30, when she heard a baby calling from the bench holly and ran back to it. She finally did cross at 12:55 using the low black walnut. She ate for a few minutes and then crossed back to join everyone else on Holly Hill. Again they were mostly not visible for a few hours.
Moe continued his newfound habit of tearing the numbers off the tree and the entire family took quite an interest in it. They squawked and tried the steal the piece of paper away from one another for a full five minutes before getting bored and moving on to other things.
At 3:15 Laranja crossed back into the main exhibit again and Moe tried to follow but got left behind. Instead he climbed down the trunk of the high black walnut and looked like he might try to cross on the ground by himself. He waited, however, and it wasn’t long before Eduardo led him down the tupelo tree and across the path. Mara hesitated in the trees and climbed down the white ash when she realized she was now all alone on Holly Hill. She jumped to the stone wall and ran along it for a few feet before jumping to the ground. She shot forward and then stopped, seeming disoriented.
A GLT watcher had the crowd pushed back to the corner of the Red Light District to give the monkeys plenty of room but that is exactly where Mara chose to run to! One of the watches yelled, “Freeze!” and the crowd did so just in time as Mara skittered between their legs and up a tree behind them in the Red Light District. They certainly had a memorable day at the Zoo! After a minute or two, she found a way to cross through the branches above the path and rejoined the rest of her family in the hemlocks.
They spent the next three hours in the hemlocks foraging, playing, and resting. At 5:30, everyone predator called at a squirrel on the ground below their tree but Laranja and Eduardo quickly lost interest. Mara and Moe seemed intent on scolding it and paralleled its movements in the trees above. The squirrel stopped to take a dust bath in the dirt under one of the hemlocks and Moe inched closer down the trunk toward it. The squirrel took this moment to decide to climb up that very tree and for a moment it looked like Moe was going to stand his ground and chase it off. He puffed himself up, lined up in the tree above it, and then quickly ran away as the squirrel shot up the tree and away above him. Quite a courageous monkey! At 6:30 they moved back to the box and by 7, everyone was inside except Eduardo and Mara.
