Field Biology class visits Lion Country Safari

Tina Cloutier Barbour, Curator of Primates at Lion Country Safari, gave the class a tour of the drive through safari and then an in depth look at chimpanzees at the park. You can learn more about their chimps here and the ongoing research through the chimpanzoo program.

Tina talked about all the history and management efforts that are ongoing in each section of the safari, as we drove through. It was informative and interesting to get a behind the scene talk for each species we encountered. She spoke of all the regulations, breeding management, enrichment and enclosure efforts that are ongoing in the park. We learned about behavioral quirks for some of the species and how the staff handles them, efforts to improve the natural habitats of the animals and future plans and research that are in the works.

We then stopped at the research station for the chimpanzees, Tina’s specialty and main responsibility at Lion Country Safari.

Lion Country Safari is home to one of the largest displays of wild chimpanzees in North America. Their four island habitats are home to several generations of chimpanzees, which trace their roots back to east Africa. Though some of our chimpanzees are former house pets and actors, many have been born at Lion Country Safari and they are now all fully integrated into the complex social structure of each island troop and may be considered wild.