Very spacious exhibit with a considerably big amount of climbing structures and vegetation. It holds a large breeding group of amazonian wooly monkeys.
Very spacious exhibit with a considerably big amount of climbing structures and vegetation. It holds a large breeding group of amazonian wooly monkeys.
@Onychorhynchus coronatus
Yes, sure. The group was larger when they arrived, afaik, but I think BH sent some individuals to other zoos as the babies were showing up. This exhibit has held, in the past, hamadryas baboons and mandrills, and in an even older past, some species of big cat. even Idi, the gorilla, has lived there for a while. It has indeed quite a good size for the woolies to thrive and show a very active behavior.
@David Matos Mendes it's a good enclosure and I can see why it was used for baboons and mandrill.
With the wooly monkey it isn't too bad either but the only thing I feel that could be improved upon would be the climbing structures which could be more extensive and at a greater height.
@Onychorhynchus coronatus
In this picture, it seems to have less climbing structures than it actually has. The scale might be a little confusing here too. I would consider these climbing logs would be something around 4 meters high in their highest point, and although it doesn't look like, these artificial climbings go from one side to the other of the exhibit. Also, there are two more trees besides these two we can see in the front, and a standing dead log in another part of the exhibit that provides them more climbing space. Check out different angles of it:
The enclosure wasn't made for arboreal primates indeed, and there is a lot of space in the moat that cannot have climbing structures added, unfortunately. The monkeys, although passing most of their time in the top of the trees, logs or playing in the ropes, sometimes go down to the moat too to bask or to have a better look at visitors.
Agree with you that the trees are a little short. They are considerably young trees, as they were planted in the exhibit's renovation in 2016, but they have been higher than this sometimes since then. The thing is that they sometimes tend to grow above the moat, and there's a danger of them meeting the trees that surround the enclosure, wich would cause the primates escape; so the zoo trims them from time to time. When they become a little higher, it will surely get better. I agree that the addition of more logs around it would be a good idea, as climbing structures are never too much for arboreal primates.
@Onychorhynchus coronatus
Yes, the risk of escaping is especially considered with the trees (even more with the chimps, who live in a similar enclosure and scaped once).
It's indeed probably the best exhibit for the species in the country, specially for the size, but yes, it could have some higher structures indeed; maybe some layed logs in the moat just to not leave it empty...
