Yes, there are actually three generations of the same family living together. The most recent youngsters were born in 2004 (a female to Kumba and Asili, and a male to Kumba and Shani) and I believe these are who you can see in the photo. I love going there to watch them. The enclosure is so much better than it used to be (see my photo of the previous silverback Kumba in the old cage), but I am eagerly awaiting news of when the new enclosure will be built.
I love this Howletts-type exhibit; plenty of ropes, swings, straws and the like. Howletts, Columbus and other zoos have bred these endangered apes like rats with such exhibits, so they have justified their existence totally!
I love this Howletts-type exhibit; plenty of ropes, swings, straws and the like. Howletts, Columbus and other zoos have bred these endangered apes like rats with such exhibits, so they have justified their existence totally!
All is not quite as it seems... This Howletts-style 'cage' enclosure was originally perfectly adequate but is currently in bad need of upgrading as nowadays it is rather tatty and rundown looking(note the algae-stained walls) while grey squirrels and sparrows freely enter and feed on the leftovers from scatter feeds. There has been repeated pressure from the Zoo Licensing authorities in recent years to improve and upgrade the accomodation here and the Chessington organisation/management seem to have fought this all along the way. However at last this demand is being met with the construction of a 2nd, similar exhibit currently being built adjacent to this one.
The group has been very successful breeding wise, with a total of six successful births, but potentially they could have had a lot more, as most of the females here are currently on contraceptives because of the limitations of space, and the group is currently split into two, with one being offshow at any time, until the new cage is finished.
Hopefully the completion of the 2nd enclosure will put an end to these problems though.
