Los Angeles Zoo Primates Notes

Western lowland Gorillas
My first Ape i saw at the LA Zoo was the LowLand Gorilla. Because of the weather and temperature, the Gorrilas were not active as the stayed in the shade and away from observing eyes. Only one Gorilla was able to stay in the light and in the view of people trying to see into the zoo habitat for these Gorillas, Repunzel. Shes a beautiful lowland gorilla female sitting alone in te sunligt, happily grooming herself. Although shes alone, she seems fine and happy. Occasionally, she would get up, pick leaves from a nearby tree, and “Fluff up” her seat. Repunzel was born in Captivity on Feburary 20th ,1988. She looks great to be 25 years old.

Orangutan
Red Ape
While next on my list of Apes, the Orangutans were all inside their little condos but one. Just like the Gorilla Repunzel, this female Orangutan was alone and insight so i can observe her. She was on a wooden balcony alone with a black tarp as a blanket. She was a smart Ape, using the tarp as both shade for her eyes and to absorb the heat from the direct sunlight shes getting. While shes trying to catch some sleep, she gets comfortable by grooming the arm she sleeps on. her coat has a bright red tint with light brown. Shes a small/medium size female. Her age is Unknown to me.

Chimpanzees
From the Mahale Mountains
They are very active in the afternoon sun. As i watc, there is a lot of activity going on with these chimps. I saw a couple casing each other around a bolder while a couple are grooming each oter by a waterfalll.[see pic below] There was also a couple of loners around trees and bushes just sitting and enjoying the sun. There was also a baby chimp that was close to its mother. He was a curious baby, always swinging aroung his mom, never straying too far though. As the chimp baby settles down, he climbs his mothers back for some grooming and touching.

Goldon Cheeked Gibbon
Small in size, not tiny though. As I observed the little monkeys in their mini habitat, they all stared like i was the monkey in a cage. Te gibbons even got close enough to where we were face to face with only the fence between us. The zoo had many males and only two females. The males are darker fur with gold fur on their cheeks , hint the name they were given, while the feemales all tend to be complete gold fur. I spotted a baby and its mother swinging on a vine together so they can keep warm.The baby didnt like his mother groom him at all, he kept swatting her hand away so he could groom himself. The baby used both hands and feet to scratch himself everywhere he needed to be scratched . The gibbons are Quarapedal, using both hands and feet to climb and jump vines. The rest of the Gibbons were all huddled by the heating lamps provided by the zoo.

Kikuyu Colobus Monkey
Every kikuyu Colobus monkey eats leaves here at the zoo. These fury little monkeys are a little more playful, the swing from the built in vines with feet, hands and tail. They use their tails to curl around the vine or branch to help them climb to get to where they wanna go.

Safikas
To me their structure reminding me of a lemur with their small heads and black and white fur. the only thing different was obviously their ears are not visible like the ring tailed lemur and they dont have the famous stripped tail. These Safikas were munching on fruits and nuts the zoo provided for their meal of the afternoon. These Safikas were using only their hands to eat with the nuts and fruits but these primates are able to hop and walk like lemurs, making them quadrapedal. These Safikas like to move their head around to see the observers becuase of their vision.

Mandrill
These baboons are a lot smaller than i thought they would be. These apes use the method of Knuckle Walking like Gorillas and other apes use. These Mandrills have a colorful nose and face, has white beneath the eyes. Although these Mandrills use four legs to walk, they only use their hands to open and tear a paper bag.

Ring Tailed Lemur
These lemurs arnt very active because of the cold. All the Lemurs are huddled together under the heating lamps for extra warmth. Whats special about these lemurs is the way they use their tails. Every lemur had each of their tails wrapped around each other to protect from a slight breeze. They also used their tails as a sort of pillow to help them sleep more comfortably. Their stripped tails are very noticable in the dark little cave that they have for themseleves. I also saw a light Lemur grooming the Lemur below him, useing hands and mouth then went to sleep. I guess he didnt like layng on a dirty neighbor.

Siamang
These monkeys habitat in the zoo is covered in branches with many leaves covering it. The siamang use both hands to reach for leaves and branches that are far from the branch the are currently on. When I was watching them, they werent really doing anything but eating leaves.

Mustached guenon
Small monkeys who are very timid. Really shy when i approached. These little guys tend to stay away from the fences and like to stay within two feet from the next guenon. These little monkeys are also Quadrapedal so they use hands and feet to get around in there small home.

Crested Capuchin
These guys were the most active in all the primates Ive visited. They are small and dark with a tint of red. The small babies cling to their mothers back with and four legs and tail. They move with the mother as she jumps from branch to branch. As the mom is walking on a branch, her tail curls in. These capuchins are very loud. They like to make little noises next to each other and while climbing as a way of comunicating. These monkeys are Quadrapedal so they use their hands to eat their fruits but use all limbs to climb their small branches in their small habitat.

Black Howler Monkey
Sadly when i approached the cage, this monkey was asleep so i couldnt hear his famous voice that can be heard for miles away. From what i was able to see was that they are pure black with large nostrils and huddle towards the heating lamp as they sleep. These monkeys are Quadrapedal using arms and legs to climb their branches.

Spider Monkey
These little guys were very shy and cold as they huddled together in the very back of the cage. Every so often a small head would pop out of the mound of fur. These little guys use their tails to hold on to the branch while they climbed the branch for more support.

Emperor Tamarin
I was lucky to spot one Tamarin because the rest were inside their box beds for warmth. He was a special tamarin, he enjoyed grooming his long mustache infront of me. HE used both hands to collect and eat their fruits and nuts.

Squirrel Monkey
Very small monkeys with very small heads. They use both hands and feet to climb fast across the habitat. They carry their young on their backs as the climb and walk. The babies groom the parents while they take a ride around the cage. These little guys are very active and very noisy.