That exhibit didn't come up in my research, but it does look quite impressive. Had I known about it, I likely would've chosen it over either Louisville or Cincinnati.Another really good Bongo exhibit IMO is at the Memphis Zoo, where they are mixed with Red River Hogs (and with other species in the past). It's quite a large size and is well-shaded with mature trees.
pc @Coelacanth18
It sounds risky, just in the sense that any novel mixed-species exhibit between large, potentially dangerous animals seems risky. That being said, I don't necessarily think it'd be doomed for failure either. Gorillas aren't nearly as aggressive as chimpanzees are, and I'd imagine the right individuals of both species could cohabitate together just fine. However, I've also seen firsthand how nasty it can get when gorillas do decide to fight during my research, and while it doesn't happen often, I wouldn't want to find out what happens if large horns were added into the equation. The mix would probably be most successful with a non-breeding group of adult gorillas. I wonder if anyone in Europe has tried any gorilla/antelope mixes though, as I know a lot of the great ape mixes are more ambitious over there.
Does Caldwell still do the bongo/colobus mix?
Perfect, that answers my question directly. Thank you
Speaking of another bongo exhibit that is too small… Both times I have visited, only a few colobus were in the exhibit with the bongo (most were in the old leopard exhibit), and both bongo were tucked away in the far corners of the exhibit. Colobus has probably worked better than other primates might because they are generally less active due to their diet and are highly arboreal, so there is some niche partitioning in the habitat. I would still say that is probably not the ideal situation for the bongo, even if it has “worked”. Even then, comparing colobus to gorillas is like comparing apples to oranges.
Unfortunately, there are none that reach the same level as the five mentioned in the thread. The best I could find when researching for this post was at Virginia Zoo, which has a decent exhibit, but not with as much vegetation as the others mentioned, and not quite as large. It does have a very nice looking pool though:
Photo By: @snowleopard
Photo By: @mweb08
What is that?
Agreed, I was waiting for Virginia to show up in that post. Jacksonville was another no-brainer, though, and it again makes me sad that the entire Africa loop was closed during my recent Brevard visit. Bongos might be my favorite antelope tbh.
Asian small-clawed otter
Ah, ok that makes sense, thanks.
Oh absolutely - I was moreso asking about primates and bongo in general. I am familiar with Doue's owl-faced guenon/okapi mix as well while we're on the subject, although they (and a plethora of African birds) have more than enough space to evade one another if necessary.