Why doesnt Marwells gibbon enclosure come under this kind of fire? In my opinion this exhibit is much better suited to gibbons than Marwells new exhibit!
Why doesnt Marwells gibbon enclosure come under this kind of fire? In my opinion this exhibit is much better suited to gibbons than Marwells new exhibit!
Vulpes, Thanks for this little bit of encouragement I was getting a bit downhearted over some of the unrealistic criticism. I had a lot of input in this enclosure and spent a lot of time researching swing heights and door sizes etc. (I don’t have anything to do with the up keep of the furniture but I actually don’t think it’s all that bad) If anybody could suggest a good play item to add, I would love to pass it on.
Ps I would have loved to have made it the size of Wembley stadium but that would have slightly over stretched the budget.
While there could be a few more vines in Marwell's enclosure, the gibbons actually use the mesh around the exhibit which is high and plentiful, and can get good excercise and massive height of that. It also fills another gibbon favourite which turns out to be long grass, they love it!
Their love of grass came up in my research as did the need for plastic covered mesh to avoid cold or rusty wire on their hands as they spend a lot of time using it to swing.
I have to say that the indoor quarters for the Siamang at NAZF are much larger than those provided for the large collection of gibbons at Twycross .
The captive Siamangs love of grass is wierd , it cannot be a natural behaviour in the wild as , as far as I know , they do not descend to the ground . Indeed , if they did , there would not be grass growing beneath the tree canopy . I wonder if it is a displacement activity to avoid boredom .
While there could be a few more vines in Marwell's enclosure, the gibbons actually use the mesh around the exhibit which is high and plentiful, and can get good excercise and massive height of that. It also fills another gibbon favourite which turns out to be long grass, they love it!
I really dont think Marwells exhibit caters for the gibbons at all! In my many visits to marwell I have never observed them using the mesh! Infact they are either inside or sitting on the ground.
This enclosure is a little like the primate exhibits at Howletts and Port lympne! the only difference is that there is not as much furniture in this one. It is also a little like the gibbon exhibits at Monkey world and yet I dont hear anyone complaining about those. I honestly think you are being too harsh guys! Perhaps a look at the exhibits I mentioned above and model some new climbing frames on what they have done there would be an idea?
