I see they have prised open the drain cover at the back.
This is 'Joe'(Bornean) and 'Flora'(Sumatran) They were originally called Borno & Suma when they arrived. They did breed a couple of hybrids. Later Joe also had purebred offspring with Azimat- the existing female 'Jaz' at Dudley is his daughter.
Flora on the right is begging hopefully with outstretched arm. Enough people would disobey the sign and occassionally throw things over that they would always be on the lookout for titbits. It may have been wrong but at least it made the days more interesting for them as this was before proper enrichment-type feeding was known. Sometimes in the afternoons all the Apes would be given leafy branches though.
This photo shows how apes had to make their own entertainment in the old days. They have had as much fun as they could with the drain cover, so their only other resource is the visitors. Flora (thank you for the names Pertinax) is doing the basic pathetic expression and begging gesture, while Joe is assessing the punters, wondering which one is going to be the easiest touch and whether it is worth trying one of his repertoire of tricks. He knows the chimps do quite well by standing up and clapping their hands, but is it going to pay off with anyone here?
As Desmond Morris observed, animals quickly learn that people are easy to train.
Even in these days of stricter visitor rules about feeding etc I still sometimes see Apes use the outstretched arm in the 'feed me' gesture, indicating they still expect to get the odd illicit handout. '
