The weather here in Nicholasville, KY has been scorching this summer! The primates love to cool off with tasty frozen treats, like homemade juice pops or frozen grapes, but their favorite way to beat the heat is with a pool party!
Inside each monkey enclosure are black rubber tubs that can be filled with water and turned into pools. Most monkeys, like the ones pictured below, love to sit on the edge and splash their toes in the cool water. However, some younger monkeys enjoy diving all the way under—follow the link below to watch a video of them splashing around!
Long-tailed macaques, Tonya (left) and Toby (right)
Long-tailed macaque, Ciera
Pigtail macaque, Maddie
Long-tailed macaque, Junior
Rhesus macaque, Rainey
Japanese macaque, Jake
The chimpanzees love a good pool party just as much as the monkeys do! On hot summer days, the PRC caretakers and volunteers fill up plastic baby pools with water and add various kinds of enrichment. The pools are filled with scented bath soaps, sponges, toothbrushes and washcloths. The chimps spend the day soaking the sponges up with water, which they then either drink from or use to “clean” parts of their enclosure by rubbing the wet, soapy sponges on the windows or walls. In the pictures below, you can see the chimps scavenging for frozen berries and playing with their pool toys. Follow the link below to watch a video of the chimps’ most recent pool party.
Noelle
Martina
Rodney
Martina
Zulu