Kenya born
July 1, 1993
Born at a breeding facility in Florida,
Kenya was
pulled from her birth mother soon after she was born due to poor
maternal care. After
living in a human household in north Florida, she came to the Center
when she was 6-months-old and immediately began social interaction
with other chimpanzees. She is very independent, exuberant and gleeful… and she
usually interacts with both humans and chimpanzees in a positive
way.
Kenya
is close to Noelle
and plays with her frequently during the day. However,
sometimes the two females get into a “spat” (usually over the
attention of the young male Brooks), and hand-slap each other
until one runs away.
When
Brooks arrived in the group, Kenya
adopted him as her new “best friend” and would approach him for a hug several times during the day.
She’s respectful of Grub,
sometimes grooming him, and always watchful of his mood.
Kenya
frequently has a “play face” and often invites the
other
chimpanzees to play with her. She
likes to roll around and somersault in the hay, “frog-hop”
backwards, twirl, and dig in the sand with a shovel. 
When
she was younger, her favorite activity was water-play. She
would often jump right into the hose-spray while the caregiver
tried to
wash down the outdoor habitats. When
she saw someone with the hose, she would get one of her “kiddie
pools”, carry it over to the staff person, and wait for it to be
filled with water. She would then lie down in the water, twirl around in it, and
even stick her entire head under water to blow bubbles!
Kenya
is very skillful at manipulating objects and often fashions tools
from sticks and toys. She
has removed all moveable parts from most of her toys and has been
successful in dismantling all types of climbing structures,
swinging devices, and sleeping hammocks.