This is the best response yet! What would be really impressive is if Twycross admitted what a truly crap exhibit this was and sent its chimps elsewhere. I'm sure that there is at least a handful of European zoos that have the space for extra chimpanzees, and there are some fabulous enclosures for the species scattered across the continent.
This is the best response yet! What would be really impressive is if Twycross admitted what a truly crap exhibit this was and sent its chimps elsewhere. I'm sure that there is at least a handful of European zoos that have the space for extra chimpanzees, and there are some fabulous enclosures for the species scattered across the continent.
Totally agreed. There is a huge surplus of Heinz 57 chimps that nobody wants and ethics dictate can't be treated as Fallow Deer in a similar situation might be. I don't like that fact but let's not pretend it doesn't exist.
I wouldn't count on that.. It is an improvement on GreenMile as the indoor areas where they spend a lot of time are much larger and the two groups possibly have better feeling of sociability than previously- though its a pity they can't have direct(mesh) contact if they have now blocked up the indoor window between the two show dens- I am not sure why they did that at all.
I've never been to Twycross, but if they had invested in 36 more panels and put them along the top of the wall giving extra hight the chips may then have a view out from over the wall.
At present if they climb up to the mesh it's a bit like someone going into the attic to look at the sky through a skylight. Looking at the gallery for TXZ it does though look like an improvement.
I remember watching Molly Badham on TV years ago berating the supplier of what looked like a childrens climbing frame for using screws rather than bolts in assembling the item, claiming the Orangs? would just pull it apart. I wonder if she ever looked at the enclosure in the cold light of day, rather than just what was in it? It's only just better than the bear pits of old in appearance.
The trouble with all this is its still a sort of 'make do' situation for all these Chimpanzees. The ones in here have this particular set-up, the ones in the other half of this building something different as they didn't need a covered roof to prevent escape because the outdoor area is larger- so they have a wooden climbing frame and/or logs, but few or no ropes. Then the ones in another building (the one built specifically for a small Chimp group) have a different set-up yet again. Then there are the ones in the very oldest Gorilla house too, though they are offshow nowadays and are less easily visible to the public.
With about 25 chimps now split into six groupings in three entirely seperate buildings scattered around the zoo, you can see its all still nowhere near an ideal situation. I really do think purpose-built accomodation to house all of them- or as many as possible- together- should be the Zoo's number one priority, when they can afford it, and take precedence over any other future new builds like Kuno/Asian carnivores or whatever. But I very much doubt that it will.
I'm not sure if they have ever made any approaches to rehome any of them elsewhere- somehow given their past history, I rather doubt it. However, I think you are correct in your other summations here.
