You know Kijivu. She fulfils her motherly duties diligently. Although she is patient, puzzles do not excite her; she is usually too busy to waste time thinking about a solution.
She always takes a pragmatic approach: "If there is something to eat inside the thing, let's go get it. The pipe or whatever childish puzzle the guys from the Radio have come up with, needs to be ripped out, broken or torn apart, I know how it works."
However, there is the "hedgehog in the cage" puzzle, which works perfectly. It is robust and has withstood all brute force attempts to crack it. The gorillas have not discover the principle yet; despite or because of it, its smooth bars keep attracting all members of the troop again and again. The truth is that Richard managed to open the lid but even his most devout fans must admit that is was purely accidental. An attempt to show the gorillas how to do it failed, either. So, due to the sturdiness of puzzle, Kijivu, too, is sometimes forced to start thinking. Unlike the young ones or Richard, who are playful, she is driven by a passion for good food.
Kijivu was supposed to take care of both babies but grabbed the hedgehog in the cage and started extracting the apple inside. She was totally absorbed by the task and nothing and no one could disturb her. She was focused like an old knitting lady who is trying a new elaborate Norwegian design she got from her neighbour next door, and is concentrated on every loop of the intricate pattern. "Bring it on, it can't be that difficult. I am not going to fiddle with it like Richard - let's sever one of those bars... it must work... I am not naive... let's see if there is a different way..." Kijivu is trying hard but her effort results in her hands dirty with bits of squashed pulp and sticky juice.
"Mum, what are you doing?" Tatu asked, peeking over his mother's shoulder and biting her fur gently. Kijivu, occupied with the puzzle, waves him away, so Tatu takes advantage of his mother's concentration and goes to play with the ropes. Moja, too, is trying to get hold of some snack - the apple looks enticing. "Mum, not this way, let me do it, I have thinner fingers, I can pull it out..." But Kijivu, sensing some truth in that, does not want to give up. Never mind, Moja used the opportunity to teach her brother a lesson - a pretty harsh one! (Life is hard for younger siblings, I can tell...)
By then Kijivu had added teeth to the arsenal and celebrates success, extracting the apple, albeit disintegrated. "It was not worth the effort. Next time, someone else do it," Kijivu leaves the puzzle on a stump and leaves with dignity. "Look, there is some cabbage over there, and looks fresh." Kijivu munches on the vegetable and appears to have come to a conclusion that puzzles really are not her cup of tea.
So, the "hedgehog in the cage" is still waiting to be extracted.
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