Los Angeles Zoo Observation

I attended the Los Angeles Zoo on Saturday, November 7th with my parents and sister. It was a very sunny and warm day at the zoo. When I first got to the chimpanzee enclosure, I first noticed that the chimpanzees were relaxing and were inactive. Some chimps were sleeping, laying down on the rocks near the shaded areas and near the waterfall. One adult chimpanzee that was yawning and was lying on their back. I continued to observe the chimps and suddenly I saw a baby chimp running really fast to a nearby palm tree were another adult chimp was sitting. The adult chimp was probably his/her mother. The baby chimp was hugged by their mother and played with her. The baby chimp began playing with a long grass root and used it as a back scrub. After

I saw two baby chimps playing with their each other and their parents. There were two adult chimps play fighting and the small baby chimp would go near the parents and would try to stop the fighting. The baby chimp was very curious and having fun. I could tell that there was male chimp playing fighting because I could see his large testicles hanging. They were pretty huge and black. We discussed in class how male's chimpanzees have larger testicles three times the size of adult male humans because chimps reproduce more and rely on sperm competition. I also noticed how the adult male and female chimpanzees had black and pinkish butts. Some of them were somewhat pink and others were very wrinkling and saggy. The baby chimps had small white little butts. I continued to observe the enclosure and noticed that one older adult male chimps was sitting by himself and looked very serious. I was staring at his entire body and noticed his large testicles and his feet. He had a big toe that was separated from his other four toes. The chimpanzees had opposable thumbs on their feet because they need to climb and grab things with their feet. This male chimp was also yawning and also picking his nose. I saw many of the chimpanzees hanging out in the shaded area, especially on this warm day at the zoo. They were sitting near the dirt and others were laying a few grass roots. I saw an

The zoo keepers name was Mark. Mark was answering people's questions about the chimpanzees. Some asked what types of foods chimps eat and Mark responded by saying that chimps eat fruits and vegetables similar to humans. He pointed a chimpanzee named Yoshi on top of the cliff and how she was enjoying her bell peppers. He discussed how chimps like to move in groups together and some like to be independent. He said that the L.A. Zoo has four generations of chimps and a total of eighteen chimps living in this zoo. I asked Mark some questions like how long do chimpanzees live on average. He told me that in the wild chimps tend to live into their 30's and early 40's because there is not a lot of medical care. There live in the wild and there are many dangers they face, especially predators. In a zoo, a chimpanzee can live as long as 50 to 60 years. He pointed out Pandora, the oldest chimpanzee female. Pandora was bald very bald and was a great-grandmother to some of the chimps at the L.A. Zoo. I asked him why some chimpanzees groom each. He told me that some chimpanzees enjoy grooming because of socialization. Some chimps groom their family members and remove little small bugs off their hair. Excessive grooming can lead to some chimps becoming bald. Grooming allows chimpanzees to build long-term relationships and bonding. After I heard Mark speak about the chimps I