Now there is a group(?) of four Chimps living in the indoor part of this side of this House/enclosure, does anyone know if they have access to this outside area yet, or whether its appearance has changed at all?
Of course some member of this forum will probably reply by saying that the gorilla, chimpanzee, orangutan or gibbon exhibits are functional, wonderfully created masterpieces but from going through the gallery I found it a struggle to see any primate exhibits that could be called modern habitats. It is definitely easy to see many of the species as in most cases they can be found sitting on a clump of grass. Yikes!
I don't think any UK zoo chatter is going to defend Twycross's ape accommodation. It is awful, and a classic example of how by standing still you end up going backwards.
Most was built in the 1960s/70s, and conceived in an era when the apes at London, Bristol, Edinburgh and Dudley all lived on concrete. At the time grass was considered a wonderful novelty.
Similarly, the lack of roofing was seen as a gesture towards "barlessness", disregarding the fact that roofing over the outdoor areas would have made for infinitely more climbing space. Two-thirds of the Orang outdoor area might as well not be there as far as the wretched animals are concerned.
Similarly, the lack of roofing was seen as a gesture towards "barlessness", disregarding the fact that roofing over the outdoor areas would have made for infinitely more climbing space. Two-thirds of the Orang outdoor area might as well not be there as far as the wretched animals are concerned.
IMO what's worse is the fact that they haven't redressed the problem any time since, by roofing(particularly) the Orangutan enclosure and making it more suitable for them. As you say, the amount of space off the ground that the animals can actually use is minimal. Twycross are simply still putting the 'visual' aspect of the enclosure first, in front of the animals' needs, in this case.
From their Chimp blog it appears three Chimps (Noddy,Coco,Mongo) are now using this outdoors (which used to be for the single Gorilla 'Joe') as well as the converted inside of this half of this house, so it may have had a bit of 'furniture' added now.
I think this is correct, though it is rather difficult to follow exactly which Chimps are in which building as they don't always say...
Seems like Chimps are now using this as an outside area but with no additional equipment from what you see here(?) -the base of Joe's old structure. Presumably they dare not add anything more for fear of escapes!
There are a few chimps in this side of the enclosure and a few in the other larger side, which they plan to make into one group which presumably means this area will be merged with the other by removing the separating walls and making one big enclosure. It's no monkey world, but will be way better than the current accommodation for this group especially considering their ages.
There are a few chimps in this side of the enclosure and a few in the other larger side, which they plan to make into one group which presumably means this area will be merged with the other by removing the separating walls and making one big enclosure.
Good to hear this. If they can remove(or lower) the dividing wall they could add more climbing equipment in the central area without fear of them escaping. I think there are three on this side(the fourth Ricky, died after moving in here) and maybe eight(?) on the other side, which would give a group of eleven- far better than the smaller groups they have always had until now.
Good to hear this. If they can remove(or lower) the dividing wall they could add more climbing equipment in the central area without fear of them escaping. I think there are three on this side(the fourth Ricky, died after moving in here) and maybe eight(?) on the other side, which would give a group of eleven- far better than the smaller groups they have always had until now.
Not sure how distributed their plans have been, but the eventual plan is 3 chimp groups in 3 areas, this group is one, I don't know the zoo or the animals well enough to say who is in what group, in this bit Mongo was in the larger side and Jambo in the smaller, those are the only chimps I recognise in the zoo.
Yes, the three groups would be 1. in this house. 2. the existing 'chimp colony' building and 3. in the original gorilla House (behind the mansion).
At one stage a major new Chimpanzee complex to house them all in one large group was planned. It may still be on the cards but if you read the various discussions about Twycross, you will see that lack of finance seems to have put their more major building plans on hold.
