What can fallen leaves be used for? Beijing Zoo's first attempt, chimpanzees happy
The Beijing Zoo’s chimpanzee colored leaves have recently become “new toys” for the chimpanzees.
It turns out that the zoo is experimenting for the first time with the use of fallen leaves to enrich the chimpanzees' faces, create an environment for them to explore the wild, improve their welfare, and find new ways to reuse the leaves from the trees in the zoo.
Every morning, keepers clean the chimpanzee’s enclosure and place green, yellow, and red leaves in piles on the ground, where they also hide food such as oranges, cucumbers, and bananas. After they are laid out, the chimpanzees will try to pick up the leaves, smell them, chew them, or even pick up a whole branch and wave it around …….
“Chimpanzees are animals from Africa, and after October every year, they go back to the animal house for the winter.” The keeper of the orangutan house, Wang Zheng, told reporters that the keepers thought of using colored leaves in order to let the chimpanzees experience outdoor exploration even inside the animal house.
The keepers worked with the park’s horticulture team to collect leaves from the park.
The leaves had to be colorful and non-toxic to ensure that the chimpanzees would not be in danger while playing.
The team chose green begonia leaves, yellow mulberry and ginkgo leaves, and red Chinese brocade and red Swisswood leaves for the foliage abundance. Every day, the horticulture team took care to collect these leaves while tending to the trees, and the keepers also took time to collect them in the leafy areas of the park and provided them to the chimpanzees daily.
Wang scrambles said that after a few days of observation, the chimpanzees' behavior changed slightly after being enriched with colored leaves.
Some chimpanzees will try to use branches and leaves to build nests; some will use them to fight and play with each other; and some will search for hidden food in the leaves to extend the time spent exploring for food.
“These are scenes that visitors can see during their visit to better understand the chimpanzees.”
(Original title: what can fallen leaves be used for? (Beijing Zoo makes its first attempt, and chimpanzees are happy ……)
Source: Beijing Daily Client
Process Editor: u019
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