It was a very windy day. Anna, a four-year-old female Chimpanzee, climbed up a tree surrounded by an electric fence (a fence that delivers an electric shock when touched) by using a branch that was bending in the wind. She looked so happy as she ate leaves and relaxed with her body nestled between the branches. Seeing her like that, I thought, "I wish I could let her climb the tree..."

So, a senior colleague came up with the idea of modifying the foundation where the logs were originally inserted and inserting wood into it, which resulted in the creation of the "pot." It's a metal cylinder for supporting the wood.

Since there's a good chance that even after installing them, those strong guys could pull them out, we made them so they can be secured with bolts. We chose trees from within the park that were scheduled to be cut down, as well as trees from the bushes, to use as supports.

The work of carrying the wood and inserting it into the pots was quite difficult. Depending on the type of wood, we sometimes had to tie it to a pickup truck with ropes and have four or five people pull it up and insert it into the pot.

As expected, Chimpanzee' reaction was that the children were the first to swarm around. Led by Anna, they began climbing the trees one after another. They shook them, jumped from the towers and wires, ate leaves, scraped the bark, and used them as anthills and UFO catchers (toys that use branches to get food out of containers)...they were doing whatever they wanted! But more than ever, they looked full of life.

Despite our efforts in setting up the trees, they quickly become desolate, but we've learned that depending on the type and size of the tree, they can last for one to two weeks.

Setting up a tree requires determination and resolve, so replacements are irregular, but you should be able to see Chimpanzee climbing trees. Please come and see Chimpanzee 'Chimpanzee-like movements!

[Shinichi Kioka, Animal Care and Exhibition Staff, Tama Zoo North Garden]

(March 5, 2010)