Best ape enclosures

[Pertinax]

Weren't gorillas supposed to be in the development that didn't occur and is now replaced by Islands.

I wish they would get the chimp genetics sorted and start some breeding, or even just have one baby,

All I know is that some years ago(in the Nineties) when Chessington WOA was going through one of its periodic threatened shutdowns/changes of ownership and the animals were going to leave, that Chester wanted to get hold of their successful breeding Gorilla group and were prepared to build an enclosure for them. Unfortunately it never happened and all of Chessington's animals stayed, including the Gorillas. It would have been good indeed if Chester had been able to have them, instead of them still living in rather mediocre accomodation and adjacent to a giant funfare.

Re the Chimps- one problem is where they have a large multi-male mixed group like Chester, how do you control the breeding so that only 'pures' are born? It would mean presumably doctoring the males so only a pure male could still be fertile and father young.

 

[IanRRobinson]

Has anybody tried to accurately assess the DnA of UK Chimps, as a precursor to the same scrutiny being applied to those within EAZA? I know that Monkey World isn't there to breed Chimps, but there may well be pedigree animals onsite that ideally ought to be in breeding situations.

 

[Pertinax]

I know that Monkey World isn't there to breed Chimps, but there may well be pedigree animals onsite that ideally ought to be in breeding situations.

Can't answer your first part, but I believe its only West African or 'Western' Chimpanzee that there is an interest/recommendation for breeding as a managed population. I believe there are still about four seperate Chimp subspecies recognized but whether there is a DNA test available for all, or only the Westerns, I don't know. Even if there was, I guess only the 'Westerns' which were identified as a result, might then be made available to be reshuffled into pure groups.

Its very likely Monkey World with all their chimps from smuggled/ex wild backgrounds, have at least some, perhaps many, from Western Africa. Twycross might have some too.

 

[Gigit]

.. I guess the younger ones certainly will, and probably the others too except maybe Martha (now oldest Orangutan in UK?).

If you include Durrell, then Gina is the oldest, born in 1964, one year before Martha.