Wild primates in Asian and South American zoos
- Thread starter Jurek7
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cornu aspersum
Well-Known Member
I have seen rhesus macaques in Delhi and Bannerghata zoos and I am sure they are common in other Indian zoos and I just don't remember seeing them. In Delhi, I saw two macaques sitting on the wall of the striped hyaena enclosure, one holding a big bottle of Fanta and the other a big bottle of Sprite and both of them drinking. In Bannerghata I saw a macaque jump and steal a packet of crisps from someone before racing up a tree and groups of macaques stealing and eating food from discarded polythene bags.
In the Paramaribo zoo, there are multiple monkey species roaming the area, since the zoo is located next to the botanical forest, and is further surrounded by farmland or houses.
It seems they do steal some food from the Tapirs, but they avoid visitors and don't cause too much trouble. Both Squirrel monkeys and Brown capuchins can be found
It seems they do steal some food from the Tapirs, but they avoid visitors and don't cause too much trouble. Both Squirrel monkeys and Brown capuchins can be found
On a big Southeast Asian zoo trek last month, @twilighter and I saw 4 wild primate species (Crab-eating Macaques, Pig-tailed Macaques, Dusky Langurs and White-thighed Surilis) in a variety of zoos, plus we heard wild gibbons as well. The Crab-eating Macaques are common everywhere in that part of the world, from backyards to zoos. Just at Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand), we literally saw at least 500+ wild Crab-eating Macaques and to be honest they were a pain. If we left anything on the golf cart, which is what you need to get around that massive zoo, then the macaques would steal it and take off with their loot into the surrounding jungle. We had to get new water bottles after some macaques were sucking on ours! I loved seeing them as it added to the whole jungle atmosphere of the zoo, but I can sympathize with staff who have to deal with them on a daily basis.
At a couple of zoos, there's the use of some kind of 'gun' to scare off the rampaging monkeys. I'm not sure if KK Zoo was using an air gun or a pellet gun, but on two occasions I saw a keeper firing something at macaques as those primates were everywhere from the African Savanna to the kiddie playground. At other zoos, such as seeing Dusky Langurs at Lost World of Tambun and Zoo Melaka (two Malaysian facilities), the animals weren't much of a problem as they stayed in the canopy of the forest. Nevertheless, so many Asian zoos had monkeys everywhere, as well as wild deer, colugos and hornbills. We didn't see any wild King Cobras or pythons, but those snakes are apparently just as bad as the macaques because they are attracted to tamarins, marmosets, various birds and their eggs. A curator told us that if a big snake squeezes into an aviary, then every few days another bird will disappear and it's tricky for staff to locate the predator snake.
At a couple of zoos, there's the use of some kind of 'gun' to scare off the rampaging monkeys. I'm not sure if KK Zoo was using an air gun or a pellet gun, but on two occasions I saw a keeper firing something at macaques as those primates were everywhere from the African Savanna to the kiddie playground. At other zoos, such as seeing Dusky Langurs at Lost World of Tambun and Zoo Melaka (two Malaysian facilities), the animals weren't much of a problem as they stayed in the canopy of the forest. Nevertheless, so many Asian zoos had monkeys everywhere, as well as wild deer, colugos and hornbills. We didn't see any wild King Cobras or pythons, but those snakes are apparently just as bad as the macaques because they are attracted to tamarins, marmosets, various birds and their eggs. A curator told us that if a big snake squeezes into an aviary, then every few days another bird will disappear and it's tricky for staff to locate the predator snake.
When I went to Nagasaki BioPark in 2016 the black handed spider monkeys were off display because of wild macaques in the region, according to a sign.
In several tourist hotels and resorts in Malaysia, I saw stuffed toy tigers on cleaners trolleys and desk counters. I finally asked why there are toys on every counter. It turned long-tailed macaques fear them (I did not visit any zoo there).
Rizz Carlton
Well-Known Member
There used to be a large group of wild crab-eating macaques on the ground roaming Taman Safari Bogor. Nowadays from what I observed there appears to be a drastic decreased in number seen there, I guess stricter control from the Park contributed to this.
If lucky, some wild Javan langurs can also be found in the Park.
If lucky, some wild Javan langurs can also be found in the Park.
