The Great Apes are top of their class when it comes to intelligence. For the clever animals they are, day to day activities can become mundane and boring. To stimulate their minds as well as their bodies they enjoy daily enrichment activities. Enrichment can range from training with toys, to anything that keeps them active, sharp and having fun. Painting, a new enrichment activity, has become a great hit for our apes, though it did not happen overnight.
As with all of our training, we only use positive reinforcement. This can range from a favorite fruit or veggie to a particular juice they like. We started out slowly, getting them used to the painting supplies, building our way up to the unique and beautiful pieces of art you see today. Each painting is unique because no ape paints the same. We use a wide variety of non toxic colors. Based on their mood, they decide what colors to use for the day. Half the fun is never knowing what kind of color mood they are in. It keeps us on our toes!
 | TUSABorn in December 1989, is one of the smartest gorillas in the group. She loves to train, and adding a new behavior to her vast list was easy. Sometimes, she gets so excited that she’s ready for the next brush stroke before we’ve even rewarded her for the last stroke. She has an eye for placing color on the canvas and can make any colors work together." |
 | TULIVUTulivu is our youngest Western Lowland Gorilla painter. Born in May 2004, she loves to be watched while she works, no audience is too small! She has come a long way from single harsh brush strokes, to actual moving the brush on the canvas. Her favorite colors are red and blue. Working with Tuli is slow and steady because she is extremely focused on her art.” |
 | MARCUSThe Silverback of our gorilla group was born in September 1985. As leader of the group, he always chooses when he wants to paint. Some days he prefers our routine training, rather than the painting activity. He will very politely refuse to paint by giving the paint brush back and waiting for his next behavior. But when he does paint, watch out! His paintings are very strong and bold, concentrating with each brush stroke. When he started, however he preferred to paint anywhere but on the canvas." |
 | HOPEBorn in January 1996 is another one of our female Western Lowland Gorillas. She loves to eat the paint! We began the process with Hope by putting globs of paint on the canvas. Her strokes are created by trying to get as much paint as she possibly can on the brush, so she can lick it off. We continue to work with her to paint without putting the brush in her mouth between each stroke. Hope is a lot of fun to work with because she loves to train and gets really excited about new activities." |
 | HUERFANITAHuerfanita was born to Moko and Samba at the ABQ BioPark in March 1973. In 1978 she was loaned to the Bronx zoo and was returned back to the BioPark in December 2006. She is the favorite among the public and docents. Huerfanita prefers to finger paint. She enjoys her juice and treats. If you are lucky she will blow you a kiss." |
 | MATADIBorn in February 1982, at the Lincoln Park Zoo, Matadi arrived at the ABQ BioPark in June 1992. In August 2000 Matadi met Marcus and it was love at first sight. She made it very clear that she wanted to be his number one girl and Mashudu became their first offspring. Matadi is a straight forward yet slightly stubborn kind of girl and is very food motivated, as you can tell from her girlish physique. She does not like to get paint on her and will quickly wipe it off and not attempt to pick up the paint brush again. Just like humans, painting isn’t for everyone." |
 | MASHUDUBorn in July 2001, Mashudu was our Silverback, Marcus’s, first Western Lowland gorilla offspring. Mashudu is a fairly easy going Blackback, who enjoys wrestling with the other youngsters. He hasn’t quite figured out if he likes painting or not. He will immediately give back his paint brush and wipe his hands on the wall if he gets any paint on them. " |
 | LINALina, a Western Lowland Gorilla, was born at the Los Angeles Zoo on January 1973. In May 1992 Lina joined the gorilla family at the ABQ BioPark. Lina became the proud surrogate mother of Tuivu in 2000. Generally a gentle submissive gorilla, Lina is extremely protective of her adopted daughter. Depending on her mood, sometimes Lina enjoys the opportunity to be creative and paint. Other times, however, she cannot be bothered to pick up a brush." |
 | HASANIHasani is the youngest male of the group at the Zoo. He learned to paint by mimicing his mother, Hope. He loves the hands-on method, and his finger paintings have become dynamic. Western Lowland gorillas are critically endangered, and are legally protected in all the countries where they live." |
 | PIERREPONT (JACK)Pierrepont (Jack) arrived at the ABQ BioPark from the Bronx Zoo in 2006, with his surrogate mother Huerfanita. He is one of our three bachelors. It is amazing to watch Jack chase and wrestle with the boys. He loves to train and is very smart. Before his trainers can ask for one behavior he has delivered several." Jack is starting to finger paint. He usually uses one finger to maneuver the paint. |
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