Edinburgh Zoo’s Science Summer School students have been working at Living Links again. Our second group of science summer school students decided to study how the capuchins were using the magnificent new Scots pine trees recently supplied by the Forestry Commission. These trees are much taller than the original trees in the enclosure.
After some dedicated data collection and analysis, the students concluded that the capuchins used the original trees more. They believed this to be so due to the number of horizontal branches on the old trees in comparison to the new ones – something that will change when the installation is completed by the new horizontal sections. However, there are many other possible reasons, such as the position of the trees, and the old habits of the monkeys! The monkeys certainly have more choice and a larger volume to explore now!
The trees going in and the monkeys first experience of them: