Trends in European zoo collections in the 21st century

[lintworm]

Spoiler: Key to abbreviations & symbols

Number of zoos kept (current and former during the holding period):
A 1 zoo
B 2-5 zoos
C 6-10 zoos
D >10 zoos

Time period kept:
1 < 1 year
2 1-5 years
3 6-10 years
4 11-20 years
5 > 20 years

* Species successfully bred
♱ Dead end (in case of species gained)
↑ Species gaining popularity (in case of species gained)

Langurs and colobuses - Colobinae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 16
# Species kept currently: 8 (-8)
# Species gained: 1
# Species lost: 9

This group of leaf-eating monkeys is one that isn’t the easiest to keep alive and healthy in captivity and especially the interest in langurs is fading. The red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nemaeus) are an exception, there are enough zoos interested in these colourful primates, but keeping them alive is the challenge in Europe. Cologne Zoo had a small breeding group until 2008 that then slowly died out. New imports by Zoo Chleby, Czechia, and Zooparc de Beauval mean this species again present, but especially in France mortality is rather high.

@Jakub Red-shanked douc langurs are potentially popular, but hard to keep alive

Species gained but lost

Proboscis monkey - Nasalis larvatus A2
The return of proboscis monkeys to Europe after the species disappeared in 1994 was supposed to be one of the biggest coups this century. Apenheul, which had a great reputation with other difficult leaf-eating primates, received 3 males from Zoo Singapore in 2011. But it didn’t become a success with the original animals dying in 2012, 2013 and 2015. 2 young males arrived in 2013, with one dying the same year. In 2015 the final animal was sent back to Singapore. Given the variety of death causes, it doesn’t seem to be completely clear what went wrong, but it wasn’t just bad luck. With the failure of this experiment it is unlikely that proboscis monkeys will make a reappearance anytime soon in Europe.

@Zooish The proboscis monkey experiment in Apenheul unfortunately failed

Species lost

Javan langur - Presbytis comata A5*
The only recent holding is in Howletts Wild Animal Park, which imported a group in 1994 and started breeding in 1999. Disinterest of the current owner meant the whole group was sent back to Indonesia in 2015.

Black-crested Sumatran langur - Presbytis melalophos B5*
This species was initially imported by Howletts Wild Animal Park in 1987, with a world first breeding in 1991. Animal(s) from Howletts went to Owl & Monkey Haven in Newport in 2009, where kept until 2011. Howletts kept this species until 2017, but disinterest was a reason for their demise.

Mitered langur - Presbytis mitrata B5*
This species was initially imported by Howletts Wild Animal Park in 1987 and did hybridise in the end with P. melalophos. It was kept in Howletts until around 2009 and the last animals were sent to Owl & Monkey Haven in Newport in 2009, where the final, possibly hybrid, animal died around 2012

Nilgiri langur - Semnopithecus johnii B5*
Always a rare species with a few German zoos importing this species around the 1960s. Only Zoopark Erfurt ever held this species long term and bred this species, though 4 of the 5 young were a mother-son pairing. 3 animals were still alive this century, of which the final animal (born in 1988) died in 2016.

Tufted grey langur - Semnopithecus priam B5*
This species of hanuman langur was quite rare in Europe, with only 3 holders this century. Between 2009-2011 all 3 holders stopped with this species, with the final 3 animals being sent from Zoo Antwerp to South Africa in 2011.

Purple-faced langur - Semnopithecus vetulus B5*
This species made a brief reappearance in the UK in 1998 until 2014. Whereas in 2010 2 breeding groups were present, one in Zoo Edinburgh and the other in the Cotswold Wildlife Park, both parks sent their groups away to China and South Africa in 2011-2012. A single animal remained in Cotswold, which died in 2014, meaning the end of this Sri Lankan endemic in Europe.

Sunda Silvery langur - Trachypithecus cristatus C5*
In the 1990s this species was kept and bred in a number of UK zoos, that era ended in 2012 in Colchester Zoo. The only recent holder on the mainland was Zoo Usti in Czechia, which acquired the species in 1999. The last animal there passed away in 2020.

Phayre’s langur - Trachypithecus phayrei B5
4 zoos imported this species in the second half of the 20th century, but since 1984 the only holder was Twycross Zoo, where the last animal passed away in 2009. This species was never bred in Europe.

@gentle lemur The early years of the 21st century Howletts Wild Animal Park was the langur capital of Europe

Species gaining popularity

King colobus - Colobus polykomos
Colobus monkeys have long been a stylish welcome addition to zoos. While guereza are still by far the most common of the 3 colobus species kept in Europe, an increasing number of zoos is now looking for the endangered variety. This means that especially in recent years the interest in king colobus has clearly risen. Being endangered is a big asset these days as a primate, even though it is not a guaranteed “out-of-jail” card, for king colobus it certainly seems so, it is to be hoped though that the shortage of breeding females will lessen in the future.

Francois’s langur - Trachypithecus francoisi
This is a relatively new arrival to Europe, with the first animals kept in Diergaarde Blijdorp, Rotterdam, in 1992. Together with tufted deer and Sichuan takin, this is one of the three zoo legacies that the friendship bond between the towns of Rotterdam and Shanghai has created. The European first breeding occurred in 1997 and with Zoo Belfast a second holder was found in the 20th century. This century the number of holders has increased from 2 to 9 and that number is likely to grow further in the future, given this is one of only 3 langurs for which an EEP was maintained.

@Jonas A surplus of males means many zoos can first gather experience with a bachelor group of king colobus, such as here in Cologne Zoo

Species losing popularity

Dusky langur - Trachypithecus obscurus
While never common, this was one of the most widely kept langurs in Europe. Recently the breeding program was discontinued and it remains to be seen what happens with the breeding groups in the Aspinall collections, which make up the bulk of the small European population.

@Deer Forest The just-out-of-bed look of dusky langurs couldn't save them from the phase-out list

Progress
14/22 orders completed
40/106 families completed
199-203 species present in 2000
189 species present in 2023
47-50 species gained since 2000
57-60 species lost since 2000

 

[remar]

Ouch, the langur post hurts.

 

[Dassie rat]

According to ZTL, Cologne Zoo kept proboscis monkeys from 1966-1988. I saw them there in 1982

 

[lintworm]

Ouch, the langur post hurts.

It does, doesn't it.... Fortunately there is no other mammal group with such a steep decline. The losses were partly unavoidable, but disinterest by Aspinall certainly accelarated the losses.

 

[lintworm]

Gibbons - Hylobatidae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 9
# Species kept currently: 8 (-1)
# Species gained: 0
# Species lost: 1

These small apes belong to the zoo staples and are also very popular in smaller sized zoos. There are a few very common species around, but most of the species in this family aren’t very common in zoos.

Species lost

Kloss’s gibbon - Hylobates klossii B5*
Always a great rarity, with only 4 European holders known and with only some breeding in Zoo Basel in the 1970s. In recent decades the only holder was Twycross zoo where the final geriatric animal passed away in 2006.

@GregOz These "little siamangs" are now only found in Asian zoos

Species gaining popularity

Southern yellow-cheeked gibbon - Nomascus gabriellae
At the start of the century this was still quite an uncommon species, but with over 40 current holders it has lost that status. Endangered & EEP-managed, attractive, active and relatively small size are all plus points these days and it shows.

Moloch gibbon - Hylobates moloch
At the start of the century this species was only kept in the 2 Aspinall parks and Tierpark Hellabrunn, Munich. By now there are 9 holders in Europe and the species is slowly spreading, given the unreliability of the Aspinall parks at the moment that is a good thing (though I am not sure how many of those animals are still owned by Aspinall), as it would be a shame to lose another attractive primate through mismanagement of a single institution.

@Therabu Moloch gibbons are slowly losing their rarity status

Dead ends

Southern white-cheeked gibbon - Nomascus siki
This was always one of the rarest gibbons in Europe, but is currently down to 7 individuals across 3 zoos, as it is being phased out by EAZA breeding has basically stopped. Given the age of some individuals this species will likely still be around for quite some time, but its days seem numbered.

Mueller’s gibbon - Hylobates muellerii
This species was in the past regularly hybridized with Agile gibbon (Hylobates agilis) and currently an increasingly geriatric population, which contains some hybrids, is kept in a few institutions. Whereas agile gibbons are still bred in low numbers, that is not the case for this species, so this species will likely disappear in the coming decades.

@Therabu Always rarer then their northern cousins, southern white-cheeked gibbons now seem really on their way out.

Progress
14/22 orders completed
41/106 families completed
208-212 species present in 2000
197 species present in 2023
47-50 species gained since 2000
58-61 species lost since 2000

 

[Pertinax]

It does, doesn't it.... Fortunately there is no other mammal group with such a steep decline. The losses were partly unavoidable, but disinterest by Aspinall certainly accelarated the losses.

I was at Twycross recently. They have had Dusky Langur breeding for several decades since around the 1980's(?) when they imported some which were the first I had ever seen. Now there are just two left, a father and daughter pair- it seems they could be their last? By contrast is a decent breeding group of Francois Langurs, around 7 in number with two young. They also had Purple -faced at one stage but sent their last ones to, I think Cotswold WP.

 

[PossumRoach]

According to ZTL, Cologne Zoo kept proboscis monkeys from 1966-1988. I saw them there in 1982

I’m sorry but what does a ZTL listing of Köln keeping proboscis monkeys between the 60s and 80s (and your privilege to see them during that time) have to do with the topic of this thread which focuses past the year 2000?

 

[TNT]

I’m sorry but what does a ZTL listing of Köln keeping proboscis monkeys between the 60s and 80s (and your privilege to see them during that time) have to do with the topic of this thread which focuses past the year 2000?

Why is it such a big deal? Others have mentioned seeing or referred to the presence of rare and unusual species outside of the 2000's timeframe and you haven't picked them up on that?

 

[Dassie rat]

I was at Twycross recently. They have had Dusky Langur breeding for several decades since around the 1980's(?) when they imported some which were the first I had ever seen. Now there are just two left, a father and daughter pair- it seems they could be their last? By contrast is a decent breeding group of Francois Langurs, around 7 in number with two young. They also had Purple -faced at one stage but sent their last ones to, I think Cotswold WP.

I saw dusky langurs at Twycross Zoo in 1968

 

[Dassie rat]

I’m sorry but what does a ZTL listing of Köln keeping proboscis monkeys between the 60s and 80s (and your privilege to see them during that time) have to do with the topic of this thread which focuses past the year 2000?

I included the information because Cologne Zoo kept proboscis monkeys for over 20 years, the species can be kept in Europe, even though the Apenheul experiment was unsuccessful.
Thanks, TNT

 

[OkapiJohn]

The end of most of these primate species does not look very surprising to me since they were always in a low number of individuals and their husbandry is quite demanding. I would suggest perhaps including the counting of the dead ends. That might give an idea of the near future. I usually advocate that counting species in zoos without looking at the sustainability of their populations is an imperfect exercise. Having the support of well-managed populations is essential to retain biodiversity in zoos. Hopefully in the future, if Asian zoos unlock the mastering of their husbandry they may return to Europe.

 

[Haliaeetus]

The people don't like them with exception of some strange species like the lion tail and sulawesi (they resemble a pony version of Gorilla).

I would add at least the Barbary Macaque, that remains popular as it can live in large, walkthrough exhibits, and easy to maintain and breed.
It's also the sole non-human primate to live in North Africa and even Europe, so it triggers the attention of the European public.
Then it's an endangered species, and subject to illegal trade from neighbouring Northern Africa with many rescued animals every years.
The zoos have a large role in the education of the public on their protection (even if personnally I think that this species has a great potential to enhance wildlife conservation in North Africa, whose countries are close by all means to Europe but often neglected in conservation policies).
I add that my point of view is from France, a country where many North African descendents live and where the North African countries and people have influenced the national culture (remember Zinedine Zidane and many singers and actors...) ; additionnally many French people go to vacations in Morocco and Tunisia (but not in Algeria for political reasons).
My point of view may be biased and not representative of other European countries that hadn't the same historical ties with Northern Africa.

I would also add the Japanese Macaque, because it is adapted to cold climates, thus it may be a good and cheap choice for the zoos of Northern / Eastern Europe that would display monkeys in naturalistic enclosures with minimal costs.

Conversely most South Asian / South-East Asian macaques seem really to be unattractive.
I remember zoos of the 1990's that had entire rows of unspecified Macaque cages, that weren't at all prized by the visitors.
Maybe some zoos could get former lab/circus/privately detained animals, even without breeding purposes : I think for example to La Tanière refuge/zoo in France (that isn't a conventional zoo).

 

[Haliaeetus]

Spoiler: Key to abbreviations & symbols

Number of zoos kept (current and former during the holding period):
A 1 zoo
B 2-5 zoos
C 6-10 zoos
D >10 zoos

Time period kept:
1 < 1 year
2 1-5 years
3 6-10 years
4 11-20 years
5 > 20 years

* Species successfully bred
♱ Dead end (in case of species gained)
↑ Species gaining popularity (in case of species gained)

Langurs and colobuses - Colobinae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 16
# Species kept currently: 8 (-8)
# Species gained: 1
# Species lost: 9

This group of leaf-eating monkeys is one that isn’t the easiest to keep alive and healthy in captivity and especially the interest in langurs is fading. The red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathrix nemaeus) are an exception, there are enough zoos interested in these colourful primates, but keeping them alive is the challenge in Europe. Cologne Zoo had a small breeding group until 2008 that then slowly died out. New imports by Zoo Chleby, Czechia, and Zooparc de Beauval mean this species again present, but especially in France mortality is rather high.

@Jakub Red-shanked douc langurs are potentially popular, but hard to keep alive

Species gained but lost

Proboscis monkey - Nasalis larvatus A2
The return of proboscis monkeys to Europe after the species disappeared in 1994 was supposed to be one of the biggest coups this century. Apenheul, which had a great reputation with other difficult leaf-eating primates, received 3 males from Zoo Singapore in 2011. But it didn’t become a success with the original animals dying in 2012, 2013 and 2015. 2 young males arrived in 2013, with one dying the same year. In 2015 the final animal was sent back to Singapore. Given the variety of death causes, it doesn’t seem to be completely clear what went wrong, but it wasn’t just bad luck. With the failure of this experiment it is unlikely that proboscis monkeys will make a reappearance anytime soon in Europe.

@Zooish The proboscis monkey experiment in Apenheul unfortunately failed

Species lost

Javan langur - Presbytis comata A5*
The only recent holding is in Howletts Wild Animal Park, which imported a group in 1994 and started breeding in 1999. Disinterest of the current owner meant the whole group was sent back to Indonesia in 2015.

Black-crested Sumatran langur - Presbytis melalophos B5*
This species was initially imported by Howletts Wild Animal Park in 1987, with a world first breeding in 1991. Animal(s) from Howletts went to Owl & Monkey Haven in Newport in 2009, where kept until 2011. Howletts kept this species until 2017, but disinterest was a reason for their demise.

Mitered langur - Presbytis mitrata B5*
This species was initially imported by Howletts Wild Animal Park in 1987 and did hybridise in the end with P. melalophos. It was kept in Howletts until around 2009 and the last animals were sent to Owl & Monkey Haven in Newport in 2009, where the final, possibly hybrid, animal died around 2012

Nilgiri langur - Semnopithecus johnii B5*
Always a rare species with a few German zoos importing this species around the 1960s. Only Zoopark Erfurt ever held this species long term and bred this species, though 4 of the 5 young were a mother-son pairing. 3 animals were still alive this century, of which the final animal (born in 1988) died in 2016.

Tufted grey langur - Semnopithecus priam B5*
This species of hanuman langur was quite rare in Europe, with only 3 holders this century. Between 2009-2011 all 3 holders stopped with this species, with the final 3 animals being sent from Zoo Antwerp to South Africa in 2011.

Purple-faced langur - Semnopithecus vetulus B5*
This species made a brief reappearance in the UK in 1998 until 2014. Whereas in 2010 2 breeding groups were present, one in Zoo Edinburgh and the other in the Cotswold Wildlife Park, both parks sent their groups away to China and South Africa in 2011-2012. A single animal remained in Cotswold, which died in 2014, meaning the end of this Sri Lankan endemic in Europe.

Sunda Silvery langur - Trachypithecus cristatus C5*
In the 1990s this species was kept and bred in a number of UK zoos, that era ended in 2012 in Colchester Zoo. The only recent holder on the mainland was Zoo Usti in Czechia, which acquired the species in 1999. The last animal there passed away in 2020.

Phayre’s langur - Trachypithecus phayrei B5
4 zoos imported this species in the second half of the 20th century, but since 1984 the only holder was Twycross Zoo, where the last animal passed away in 2009. This species was never bred in Europe.

@gentle lemur The early years of the 21st century Howletts Wild Animal Park was the langur capital of Europe

Species gaining popularity

King colobus - Colobus polykomos
Colobus monkeys have long been a stylish welcome addition to zoos. While guereza are still by far the most common of the 3 colobus species kept in Europe, an increasing number of zoos is now looking for the endangered variety. This means that especially in recent years the interest in king colobus has clearly risen. Being endangered is a big asset these days as a primate, even though it is not a guaranteed “out-of-jail” card, for king colobus it certainly seems so, it is to be hoped though that the shortage of breeding females will lessen in the future.

Francois’s langur - Trachypithecus francoisi
This is a relatively new arrival to Europe, with the first animals kept in Diergaarde Blijdorp, Rotterdam, in 1992. Together with tufted deer and Sichuan takin, this is one of the three zoo legacies that the friendship bond between the towns of Rotterdam and Shanghai has created. The European first breeding occurred in 1997 and with Zoo Belfast a second holder was found in the 20th century. This century the number of holders has increased from 2 to 9 and that number is likely to grow further in the future, given this is one of only 3 langurs for which an EEP was maintained.

@Jonas A surplus of males means many zoos can first gather experience with a bachelor group of king colobus, such as here in Cologne Zoo

Species losing popularity

Dusky langur - Trachypithecus obscurus
While never common, this was one of the most widely kept langurs in Europe. Recently the breeding program was discontinued and it remains to be seen what happens with the breeding groups in the Aspinall collections, which make up the bulk of the small European population.

@Deer Forest The just-out-of-bed look of dusky langurs couldn't save them from the phase-out list

Progress
14/22 orders completed
40/106 families completed
199-203 species present in 2000
189 species present in 2023
47-50 species gained since 2000
57-60 species lost since 2000

What about the Golden Langur / Lutung Trachypithecus auratus ?
In France it seems to be increasing (albeit not common) but I don't know the situation abroad.

 

[lintworm]

I would also add the Japanese Macaque, because it is adapted to cold climates, thus it may be a good and cheap choice for the zoos of Northern / Eastern Europe that would display monkeys in naturalistic enclosures with minimal costs.

For some reason the TAG decided to phase out Japanese macaque in favour of the already ubiquitous barbary macaque, which is indeed a poster boy for many zoos. But I fail to see why there wasn't room for more cold-tolerant macaques, especially as Japanese macaques are quite unique with their tolerance for very low temperatures and their love for steam baths. Not everything needs to be about the supposed conservation value of ex-situ populations of which most won't ever be used for reintroduction projects... Stump-tailed macaques would have been an even better option, but nobody seems interested in those monkeys in the first place....

What about the Golden Langur / Lutung Trachypithecus auratus ?

While France indeed added multiple holders, as a whole the numbers appears to be relatively stable with long term keepers such as Antwerpen, Twycross and Zoo Berlin stopping with this species.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

. A single animal remained in Cotswold, which died in 2014, meaning the end of this Sri Lankan endemic in Europe.

April 2015, actually - it died at quite a young age, sadly.

 

[Pertinax]

I saw dusky langurs at Twycross Zoo in 1968

Even earlier than I thought then. I know they were the first unusual Langur species held anywhere in the Uk that I'd seen. The orange babies were particularly eyecatching. Twycross have had them ever since though in recent years its been only a very small, diminishing group.

 

[lintworm]

Great apes - Hominidae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 6
# Species kept currently: 6
# Species gained: -
# Species lost: -

Except for the recently described Tapanuli orangutan all currently recognized non-human great ape species are kept in captivity in European zoos. Humans are only held captive in other institutions. Though all six species have been continually present since 1957 there have been some changes in popularity. The number of holders for both orangutan species has remained relatively stable, though both aren’t very common.

@gentle lemur Orangutan are a stable presence in European zoos

Species gaining popularity

Western gorilla - Gorilla gorilla
As the world’s largest primate this gentle giant has always been of special interest to zoos and it is still something of a status symbol. Gorillas have spread from their stronghold of the big zoos of mostly Western Europe into a more diverse set of zoos across the continent. Breeding results have been so good that place in Europe is too limited, so there are increasingly animals moving outside of Europe, and breeding is tightly controlled these days. That would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago.

Bonobo - Pan paniscus
Whereas this is still the rarest of the 5 apes that are currently breeding in captivity, the European population has been steadily growing. This has not translated into many new holders this century (just 2 out of 11 so one could question whether it really belongs in this category), the zoos keeping this species have seen their troops grow though. There are however multiple zoos interested in adding bonobos in the future and their wishes can now be granted.

@Therabu Growing bonobo numbers haven't yet translated in a large gain of holders

Species losing popularity

Common chimpanzee - Pan troglodytes
As the great ape of the commons this is still the most widely kept great ape but the number of holders has been slowly decreasing for decades. With changing space requirements chimpanzees are often the first apes to be axed. Additionally smaller zoos that often held a small number of chimps in small enclosures are also slowly moving away from chimps as their apes are ageing and slowly dying out. Another reason for the decline now is a focus on pure chimpanzee subspecies, primarily West African chimpanzees (ssp. verus). This means breeding with hybrids is now pretty rare in EAZA zoos, but a growing number of zoos have West African breeding groups. This means that the overall population of chimpanzees is expected to fall significantly in the coming decade, but the number of subspecies pure animals is growing.

@Lafone Already surpassed in popularity by gorillas in large zoos

Dead ends

Eastern gorilla - Gorilla berengei
This was always the rarest of the great apes kept in captivity, with only Zoo Antwerp being a long term holder. But given that Antwerp also only bred the species twice, it was clear decades ago that eastern gorillas would be on their way out. There is currently 1 female eastern gorilla, named Amahoro, remaining. She is wild born and brought to the zoo in 1994 as a young animal. This means that she could still be around for another 2 decades, but it will end. At the moment Amahoro is trying to fill the shoes of Happy the boto as the dead end that everyone wants to see before it passes.

@Sicarius Amahoro the eastern gorilla is one of the most unique high profile individuals currently in European zoos

That is all the primates done, a summarizing post will follow before we continue with some smaller mammals.

Progress
15/22 orders completed
42/106 families completed
214-218 species present in 2000
203 species present in 2023
47-50 species gained since 2000
58-61 species lost since 2000

 

[lintworm]

SUMMARIZING PRIMATES

There is no mammal order that has seen such a strong decrease in the number of species held this century. As primates remain one of the most popular animal groups of any zoo, if not the most popular, that might sound surprising, but it is not. There are however multiple reasons for this decline that put it into perspective. With a net decline of 20 species from ±167 to 147 in 23 years no other order has a larger net loss of species and the number is set to decline further in the coming years. But with 167 species in 2000 there was also not a single mammal order that was better represented in European zoos then primates in terms of number of species. Primates were mentioned by many in the survey as a group that had declined in popularity and if you look at the species numbers that is certainly true.

The first reason for their large decline is their longevity. From red uakari to Kloss's gibbon there are plenty of examples where the animals dying in the 21st century were just remnants of a long gone era. Back in the 1970s and 1980s wild caught primates, and other mammals, were still regularly added to European collections and something like coordinated breeding programs on a large scale were a long way off. Many zoos back in those days still represented post stamp collections where breeding wasn’t a priority, but displaying a large variety of animals was. Many of the species lost never had anything remotely similar as a sustainable breeding population, if they bred at all (in more than 1 place). This means many of the species that disappeared this century were destined to be lost for decades already. But given the longevity compared to other animals brought in in the 70s like solenodons this just took a bit longer.

@gentle lemur Red uakari were never even close to a sustainable population and had been a dead end for decades before disappearing

Primates have also been a victim of their own success, it is important to note just how well groups like macaques and guenons were represented in 2000 when it comes to species numbers. The majority of each group was kept in Europe at that time with 13/19 guenon species and 15/25 macaque species. That means a lot of relatively similar species were present simultaneously, often in small and unsustainable numbers. Back in 2000 plenty of zoos still had primate houses that were filled with a diverse array of species in small enclosures. Animal welfare has fortunately won, but that means that traditional holding capacity has greatly decreased, just look at changes in zoos like Artis, Erfurt, Cologne, Duisburg and countless others. Zoo de la Palmyre and Zoo Mulhouse still showcase this old-fashioned approach of housing primates, but they are in the minority these days. That loss can only be partly compensated by creating larger mixed-species exhibits. Some South American primates and lemurs have emerged as winners because of that, due to rise of mixed-species exhibits and relatively small size. But mixing guenons or mangabeys with gorillas can’t solve the property crisis these groups are in, especially as most gorilla enclosures aren’t up to that task....

@Maguari Primate poststamp collections are disappearing, the Zoo Berlin primate house already houses far less species then it used to

In recent years several species will be lost from Europe because of conscious choices to discontinue their holdings. You can criticise that and these decisions are never perfect, just look at golden-bellied mangabeys, but it was inevitable some choice had to be made given the lack of capacity. If you look at how small the populations of key managed species like owl-faced guenons, roloway guenons and crested mangabeys are, these species will need new future holders if we want a good chance to avoid a (near) collapse of these species in the long term. In an ideal world more zoos would invest in these primates, but that is not happening. There are however instances where one species is phased out in the name of phasing out, where it is then replaced by the “wrong” species, which only adds to the decline. An example is the recent departure of the moustached monkey (Cercopithecus cephus) from ZOOM Gelsenkirchen. This species is a phase-out species as its ESB was discontinued recently in favour of more endangered guenons (though its future depends on whether Zooparc de Beauval wants to continue breeding them). But what does ZOOM do, it remodels their enclosure for ring-tailed lemurs and crowned lemurs. These species are endangered and EEP managed, but they are not crying for new holders and are already well established in captivity. The zoo then makes some nice PR with how it keeps more endangered species now, but it only makes the capacity crisis for small African monkeys larger as the guenons weren’t replaced by their supposed replacements: guenons/mangabeys. More coordination at a higher level and some sort of thinking at the zoo level will be needed in the future to avoid this. EAZA should steer zoos away from more commonly kept EEP species towards ones with vulnerable populations and use a stick/carrot for that if the managed species are going to be conserved long term.

@Therabu When facing out moustached monkey, one should replace them with a species in dire need of new holders

While the net change is a big decrease, we should also not forget that there is a sizable number of highly endangered primates that are seeing a gain in holders. There is a larger number of lemur species that ride on the coattails of ring-tailed lemurs and there are some other primates that also profit from attention to endangered species such as king colobus and roloway monkey. Several South American monkeys are also spreading, often due to the prevalence of mixed-species exhibits. So while the number of species kept in families like Lemuridae and Pithecidae has decreased, the overall number of holders has gone up. So that can explain why some people said in the survey that primates were gaining popularity.

@RonBurrgundy The critically endangered white-naped mangabey is one of the primates that is gaining popularity

So while we can lament the loss of a number of primates, those losses were for a large part unavoidable, there are more losses on their way in the coming decades which could be just as substantial as what we have seen until now. But let us also not forget how lucky we are to still have high diversity and celebrate that and hope more zoos become serious about the species that do need new holders. Even with future losses there will be over 100 primate species in European zoos, which means this group will remain well represented with a diverse cast, though the overall loss in terms of species richness remains large.

 

[Fallax]

Great post, I think in the initial survey I put lemurs down specifically as a group gaining popularity.

 

[OkapiJohn]

I am wondering if the cetartiodactyls will not overthrow the primates