The problem animal welfare-wise at Noah's Ark has nothing to do with the owners' religious background and (I suspect) a lot more to do with their professional background as farmers, with perhaps a more... utilitarian approach to animals than we are used to in zoos.
You think it lacks height? It's much taller than some gibbon cages I've seen. It's also quite long which (should) allow them brachiate. But the indoor area is small I agree.
@ashley: If this cage is taller than some of the gibbon enclosures you've seen then you've spent time viewing some crappy cages. Many zoos have spacious, naturalistic islands for all types of primates, and often those enclosures are highly successful. There is a completely unobstructed viewing of the active animals which is fantastic for human visitors, zero wire CAGES which I cannot stand and have no place in a modern day zoological park, and the animals have lush surroundings and great views without staring through grey mesh all of their lives.
Mesh gives them more to climb, so I see no problem in it. And they have less chance of slipping to a watery grave than they would on an island.
And When I say that some other cages are shorter than this then I meant that this one was very tall from the ground level as in taller than average, maybe about 20 odd feet tall?
@ashley: If this cage is taller than some of the gibbon enclosures you've seen then you've spent time viewing some crappy cages. Many zoos have spacious, naturalistic islands for all types of primates, and often those enclosures are highly successful. There is a completely unobstructed viewing of the active animals which is fantastic for human visitors, zero wire CAGES which I cannot stand and have no place in a modern day zoological park, and the animals have lush surroundings and great views without staring through grey mesh all of their lives.
I have to say that sometimes cages like this are a lot better for the gibbons than the often inadequate island enclosures which fail to provide enough opporutnities for swinging and not long enough to reach a wild gibbon speed. and again island enclosures have the unfortunate or unluckiness in that its inhabitants can meet a watery end. Cage (partucularly those long in length) can provide alot more opportunities to swing with the mesh providing these opportunities.
I have to say that sometimes cages like this are a lot better for the gibbons than the often inadequate island enclosures which fail to provide enough opporutnities for swinging and not long enough to reach a wild gibbon speed. Cage (partucularly those long in length) can provide alot more opportunities to swing with the mesh providing these opportunities.
That is very true, but it depends on the design- a good cage can be much better than a poor open island, and equally, vice versa.
Looking at these photos of recent developments at Noah's Ark, it seems very evident everything is being constructed in the simplest and cheapest fashion for economy- and it shows. The enclosures are quite spacious but with no imagination at the 'fitting' out stage. This looks like a fairly roomy(long) enclosure but very unattractive. Obviously much, much cheaper to construct like this than a much more natural looking island but very few swinging facilities are provided. They aren't the only ones guilty of this- Marwell's original Siamang cage was absolutely the Worst enclosure for a larger primate species. But I agree they should not have species like this unless they can build better enclosures than this.
Generally speaking Noah's Ark enclosures do look shoddy and cheaply built-- in the Tiger enclosures cheap looking 4x4 supports and planking are used around the raised platforms where large natural logs and poles would have provided a much more attractive and natural-looking effect.
But Noah's Ark will continue to grow along these lines, and I think it could provide a major threat to the Bristol Zoo conservation Park which has not even broken ground yet.
