Leather Hands and Feet

Squirrel monkeys scurry about, seeking pockets to filch with their little leathery hands and feet. On the nearby island there is nothing but a water trench between visitors and the Bonobo group. Thought to be the most intelligent kind of chimpanzee, the Bonobo are dissapearing rapidly from poaching, and are likely to be extinct within the next 10 years if the trend continues.

Welcome to Apenheul, http://www.goodzoos.com/Netherlands/Apenheul.htm a park one hour away from Amsterdam by train.

Janine's in town, so she's decided to visit the facility http://www.webshots.com/explore/Apenheul and see what she can learn.

It’s a place like a zoo, only if you want to walk through the park, you get a “monkey-proof” bag at the entrance, because the residents aren’t shy.

Do you know the ape, Washoe? She's bonobo, and lives at Western Washington University. She speaks in sign language, and has taught it to her children. http://www.friendsofwashoe.org/meet_the_family.shtml

Gorillas roam freely here. The recently-imported silverback Gorilla is just getting to know the group ladies this morning. He is young and brash, and pounds his chest to show off a bit. (just a typical teenager). Most of the ladies don't know quite what to think of him yet, but as he is really big and mighty powerful, they keep their distance and show him respect.

Speaking to the gorilla keeper for a while was great. He had been with the animals for twelve years, from the time that he started as a seasonal worker in his teens. He told us that Diane Fossey had visited once, and had invited a number of the keepers to come observe the gorillas with her for a full month in Rwanda. He went, and he said it was one of the best experiences of his life. Uganda is right beside Rwanda in Africa, and the forests connect together in places.

The Orangutan group was large.

Unlike Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, which has hybrid orangutans (a genetic combination of Borneo and Sumatra bloodlines), these 14 (fourteen) Orangutan all came from Borneo or were born from parents who originated from there. They are a dark red-rouge color, and extra furry.

One orangutan mother we saw had her own child, and had adopted another from a mom that couldn't produce milk. She was hanging out nearby with the two kids wrapped around her hip and head, looking patient. "They are all so calm," Janine said--"do they really like strangers?"

The keeper shook his head 'no' with a smile and responded that he left all the decisions to the chief male, to whom Janine was introduced upon first entering the caging area. "If he doesn't like you, then I go with his decision, otherwise you're ok..."

...whew...

Meerkat, bush babies and other 'half monkey' types share your benches, and stare at you as you eat your ice cream. It's a little unerving at first.

Keepers stand back and look on.
The keeper functions more like a friend in the background rather than a trainer, disciplinarian or even a peer to the primate communities at Apenheul. Each of them explained their jobs, and the overwhelming impression was how much they loved the animals, and loved what they did.

The behind-the-scenes peeks into the facilities took 4 hours. At the end it was evident that this place was really about CONSERVATION. Overall it was a very peaceful spot on the planet (with occasional scuffles over who was going to get the orange slice at lunchtime.)

Included are some of the photos from the day, along with some webshots taken by other people found online. You'll enjoy the cheeky little buggers!