Foraging

Yesterday afternoon it occurred to me that I should give Bow some pointers on foraging. If we ever convert that five acre pasture to an island for him, and if he still refuses to do any work, then he will at least need to know what naturally growing plants are good to eat. Usually chimpanzees learn this from their mothers. I therefore decided to pick some of those chives, or wild onions, as well as a sprig of redbud. Since presentation is everything, I place them in a big blue willow china bowl.

Bow saw me do this, and he knew it was supposed to be food, since it was in a bowl, but he did not ask for it until snack time rolled around. Then he just said he wanted the bowl. He did not refer to the things in the bowl.

Bow examined what was in the bowl, decided that it was not food after all, and handed it back to me. Then it was my job to demonstrate that it really was food, by showing him that I could eat it myself. He took great interest in my eating, watching closely, and then sniffing inside my mouth, so he could get a good idea of what it tasted like. While I was still busy eating, Bow decided to try the chives. He liked how it tasted, so he had some more. He never took to the redbud, though. I guess he's  not a native American! Or maybe they did something to the redbuds before they ate them. I'm not sure.