Dunedin Botanic Garden - Aviary Monkeys at the Dunedin Botanic Gardens (1953-1967)

Chlidonias

Chlidonias

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An interesting tale which I just happened across.

Monkey business in Dunedin

The article is quite lengthy but, to summarise, in 1953 a pair of Bonnet Macaques were obtained by the Dunedin City Council from Wellington Zoo for their newly-built Monkey House in the Botanic Gardens (presumably one of the cages in the current aviary complex). The pair had a baby in 1954. The female died in October 1956, and soon after the remaining two animals escaped and the youngest one was hit and killed by a car. The male was recaptured and the recommendation was made to rehome him. It seems a mate was obtained instead, but by 1967 he was alone again (apparently for "at least four years") and that year he was traded to a man in Picton for some birds.
 
Fun Fact: in the 1890s a small group of Brown-Tufted Capuchins were accidentally introduced to the north island, but died shortly after due to the colder temperatures and lack of fruit that saturated their diet.
 
E.J said:
Fun Fact: in the 1890s a small group of Brown-Tufted Capuchins were accidentally introduced to the north island, but died shortly after due to the colder temperatures and lack of fruit that saturated their diet.
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Do you have a source for this?
 
Chlidonias said:
Do you have a source for this?
Click to expand...

Hi yes sorry, I misread some of the information from the source.

Correct Information: Kawau Island from the 1860s to 1890s had an introduced population of monkeys including Brown-Tufted Capuchins, along with several other species of exotic fauna.

I'm terribly sorry, I was reading this thread and that news story I saw 6 years ago came to me and I forgot some of the information...

Stuff
 
E.J said:
Correct Information: Kawau Island from the 1860s to 1890s had an introduced population of monkeys including Brown-Tufted Capuchins, along with several other species of exotic fauna.
Click to expand...
Where are you getting "brown-tufted capuchins" from? That article doesn't say that, and everything I have ever seen about Grey's imports simply says "monkeys". They were deliberately eliminated after a while because of the nuisance they caused on the island. Given that most of the animals on Kawau were imported from Asia, Africa and Australia, they would have most likely been macaques.
 
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