Apenheul Primate Park A visit on 15 September 2009

[Gigit]

This was my first visit to Apenheul and I was expecting to be amazed. I was! What a wonderful place, from the first sighting of a very noisy free range tamarin to my ultimate goal, the Orangutan house. I won't describe it all because many of you will know it. It shows what can be done with a lot of trees, a lot of water, lots of timber and a lot of imagination. There
is so much to see and we wanted to see it all so didn't spend as much time just observing as we would do at Paignton, 'our' zoo. I'd like to go back and have a more leisurely tour.
I thought that the orangutan house was excellent but would have liked to have known who I was watching. I realise that the orangs are moved round but maybe there could be a sign where their names could be slotted in. They were all indoors and there was a film crew in action which was keeping them amused. I'd imagined that their islands would have been bigger but there are ample climbing opportunities.
I was interested to see that the floors of the ape houses were covered with what looked like compost rather than just being bare concrete. One of many things that other zoos could copy.
I was also interested to see a Dutch couple hold their small child up to an orang and make chimp noises. I thought this behaviour was only exhibited by gormless Brits but maybe it's universal. An English family did come in and typically tell their children to 'look at the monkeys'.
We went to the Gorilla feeding presentation and it was good to see the gorillas appear and then disappear as though in the wild. I'm sure the commentary was very informative but, as Dutch isn't one of my languages, can someone tell me why one of the gorillas stayed at the back of the group and was displaying very odd behaviour, shaking its limbs, rubbing its head....?
It was fairly quiet there (a wet day) and the small monkeys were almost walking over our feet at times. I wondered what happens when the zoo is busy - I wouldn't trust some of the people who visit Paignton in the summer to leave them alone.
A question on the Dutch language - we saw a sign saying 'Gorilla's' and our first thought was that it was a misuse of an apostrophe (very common in the UK) but realised it was the plural of Gorilla when we later saw 'Bonobo's'. So why 'Orangutans'?
If my photos are any good, and are not duplicates of others in the Gallery, I'll upload some later.

 

[Johnny]

It's common to use an apostrophe after an 'e', 'a', 'o' ( don't know the right word in english, sorry).

"I wondered what happens when the zoo is busy - I wouldn't trust some of the people who visit Paignton in the summer to leave them alone."

I wouldn't worry. I expect that the monkey's will keep more of a distance, and if visitors try to touch them, well, they are not warning not to touch the animals for nothing. And there always caretakers overseeing it all. They chase the monkeys away when they sit on a visitor by using a water-evaporator, because the monkkey's were getting a bit to social, and harrassed visitors, and stole things away.

 

[Pertinax]

... covered in compost rather than just being bare concrete. One of many things that other zoos could copy.
I was also interested to see a Dutch couple hold their small child up to an orang and make chimp noises. I thought this behaviour was only exhibited by gormless Brits but maybe it's universal.

Some Zoos both in the Uk and abroad do use Woodchip or similar softer flooring nowadays in Ape enclosures. I think Blackpool's (old) indoor Gorilla house has it now, ZSL's Gorilla Kingdom inside does. Bristol's doesn't, but the visitor area does. Is that the same at Paignton?

When I visited some Dutch zoos I thought the children and visitors generally were noticeably much better behaved than the gormless Brits at home.

 

[Toddy]

When I visited some Dutch zoos I thought the children and visitors generally were noticeably much better behaved than the gormless Brits at home.

That's funny. When I visit Germany, Holland or Belgium I am always appaled by the visitors' (both adults and children) bad behaviour compared to back home in Denmark (of course not all of them). I sure hope that you Brits aren't worse than that!

 

[zoogiraffe]

That's funny. When I visit Germany, Holland or Belgium I am always appaled by the visitors' (both adults and children) bad behaviour compared to back home in Denmark (of course not all of them). I sure hope that you Brits aren't worse than that!

We seem to have more than our fair share of idiots,but then doesn`t every country.

 

[Gigit]

Some Zoos both in the Uk and abroad do use Woodchip or similar softer flooring nowadays in Ape enclosures. I think Blackpool's (old) indoor Gorilla house has it now, ZSL's Gorilla Kingdom inside does. Bristol's doesn't, but the visitor area does. Is that the same at Paignton?

Yes, the visitor area at Paignton has wood chip around a wooden path, but it's not in the show dens. I guess it's harder to keep clean but I imagine the apes there would like it. Softer on the feet if you've got problems, for one thing.

 

[Pertinax]

Yes, the visitor area at Paignton has wood chip around a wooden path, but it's not in the show dens. I guess it's harder to keep clean but I imagine the apes there would like it. Softer on the feet if you've got problems, for one thing.

I think some zoos use it in the public areas to deaden sound nuisance for the animals. Those that don't use it for the animals is obviously because of the cleaning, but other places use it successfully. Some gorillas in the past that had to live on concrete entirely used to develop deformed feet from the soft undersides getting cracked- it starts with the toes becoming curled under, in bad cases the feet become turned in and the animal walks completely on the sides, not the sole. (I'm not sure from that p/c you sent me that Jambo at Apenheul hasn't a slight case of this- from his Krefeld enclosure). Look at any photo of London Zoo's 'Guy'- a classic example. Its less common nowadays.

 

[Johnny]

To my knowledge, most zoo's use so called 'bio-floors' for hygenic reasons. These floors break down animal waste, and have to be replaced only once or twice a year. This has multiple advantages, it's more work- and cost efficient, it's better for the physical condition of the animals, and it's even cleaner for the animals to live on than a concrete floor.

Zoogiraffe wrote:
We seem to have more than our fair share of idiots,but then doesn`t every country.

Britsh people seem to have a bad name for misbehaving tourists. I'm always appaled by my own people, who behave like arrogant, annoying *******. But when I hear german tourists, and especially their children, dutch people are not so bad in my opinion. At least we try to speak another language when we are abroad!;p

 

[zoogiraffe]

Zoogiraffe wrote:
We seem to have more than our fair share of idiots,but then doesn`t every country.

Britsh people seem to have a bad name for misbehaving tourists. I'm always appaled by my own people, who behave like arrogant, annoying *******. But when I hear german tourists, and especially their children, dutch people are not so bad in my opinion. At least we try to speak another language when we are abroad!;p

Yes got to admit that the Dutch people I`ve meet tend to speak better English than me and it`s my first language.