Primarily Primates » » Life at PPI: Look Up!
by Brooke Chavez, Executive Director
This morning at the sanctuary, I saw this type of crane:
(a Sacred Heart Ibis crane)
and I also saw this type of “crane”:
This 50-foot “crane” was on hand today to lift our maintenance director, Tracey Jackson, into one of our lemur habitats to work on renovations. A lemur’s life expectancy is 16-19 years in the wild, but up to 30 years in a sanctuary like Primarily Primates, therefore maintenance of their housing and climbing structures is essential. Jackson is currently working on matriarch Ghali’s troop’s habitat (lemur social groups are dominated by females).
Thanks to the generosity of a grant from the San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF) and its donors (who have helped fund the renovation of chimpanzee habitats, and the construction of a 25-foot-high capuchin habitat and a large Primadome for chimpanzees, to name only few), we are currently renovating two major lemur habitats. The SAAF has been instrumental to our continued habitat maintenance and construction over many years.
You might not guess it, but lemurs are adept climbers, often reaching high into the trees. Our sanctuary lemurs make their way up the trees by walking, running, and leaping quadrupedally (on all fours). They are the mountain goats of the treetops.
Fortunately for our lemurs, the habitats enclose substantial trees for climbing, and the remodeling we have undertaken will ensure the trees remain a part of their environment for many years. As part of this update plan, new structures will be added for enrichment, along with new areas for them to lay out sunning – one of their favorite behaviors for relaxation.
by Brooke Chavez, Executive Director
This morning at the sanctuary, I saw this type of crane:
(a Sacred Heart Ibis crane)
and I also saw this type of “crane”:
This 50-foot “crane” was on hand today to lift our maintenance director, Tracey Jackson, into one of our lemur habitats to work on renovations. A lemur’s life expectancy is 16-19 years in the wild, but up to 30 years in a sanctuary like Primarily Primates, therefore maintenance of their housing and climbing structures is essential. Jackson is currently working on matriarch Ghali’s troop’s habitat (lemur social groups are dominated by females).
Thanks to the generosity of a grant from the San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF) and its donors (who have helped fund the renovation of chimpanzee habitats, and the construction of a 25-foot-high capuchin habitat and a large Primadome for chimpanzees, to name only few), we are currently renovating two major lemur habitats. The SAAF has been instrumental to our continued habitat maintenance and construction over many years.
You might not guess it, but lemurs are adept climbers, often reaching high into the trees. Our sanctuary lemurs make their way up the trees by walking, running, and leaping quadrupedally (on all fours). They are the mountain goats of the treetops.
Fortunately for our lemurs, the habitats enclose substantial trees for climbing, and the remodeling we have undertaken will ensure the trees remain a part of their environment for many years. As part of this update plan, new structures will be added for enrichment, along with new areas for them to lay out sunning – one of their favorite behaviors for relaxation.