Last week, volunteer Connie was here when it was about 100 degrees and we were working on ways to keep the chimps hydrated. It was a bigger concern than normal since the fire had caused a not-pleasant burned rubber smell to the well water, making us turn the chimps’ drinking spigots off. Staff decided to fill up plastic bins with bottled water and a bit of gatorade, put them in front of the fencing and give the chimps big tubes to drink out of. This resulted in a bunch of tubes and other various things that the chimps (mostly Jamie) had put in the water. So, enter Connie’s brilliance. She made some holes in the lid for the bin that the tubes just fit through.

Behold:

The awful burned smell in the water is not present any longer, but we’re waiting to get an all clear after sending a sample to the health department, so I used Connie’s invention today to provide a little afternoon refreshment.

Here’s Missy drinking:

The photo below is Annie, Jody and Foxie (left to right)

Foxie (pictured below) REALLY slurps while she’s drinking, as you may recall from this video from a few months ago